We are going to explain what OnlyFans is and how it works, the crowdfunding platform for adult and pornographic content. It is a kind of Patreon of porn that has become one of the big winners of the pandemic since at the end of 2020 it achieved a growth rate of half a million new users a day.
It is a service that generates some controversy around the content found in it, but we are going to focus on talking about the service itself. We will start by explaining what it is exactly, and then we will explain how it works and what payment methods it has for content creators to remunerate their accounts.
What is OnlyFans?
OnlyFans is a subscription crowdfunding platform for adult content creators. Its operating principle is simple: a creator creates an account, and you can subscribe to access it by paying a monthly fee to access its content and/or paying individually for part of that content. Therefore, it is not a social network, but a patronage system.
Therefore, it is a platform with a philosophy similar to others like Patreon. The objective is the same, that as a user you can donate money to the creators to support their work. Although in this case, instead of bloggers, writers, cartoonists, or video game creators, what you are going to find in OnlyFans are creators of erotic or pornographic content.
As we will explain a little later, it is a fairly flexible platform that adapts to the creators and the type of subscribers you want to attract. It can be a free or paid page, and the content that is published can also be free for subscribers or have an extra payment.
And this flexibility of operation is its main difference from Patreon and other similar platforms. In OnlyFans, you can pay monthly so that your favorite creator gets a salary just like in them, but the methods of remuneration are also expanded, being able to upload photo galleries or videos that you must buy to see, thus having a pay-per-view component.
It is a fairly new platform, a service born in 2016 aimed at a more general public, it was something much more similar to Patron. But in 2018 the creator of the erotic webcam website MyFreeCams, Leonid Radvinsky, acquired 75% of the service and became its top manager, beginning to give it a more focused approach to sex and adult content.
In OnlyFans, you will find several types of creators, ranging from the most renowned pornographic actors and actresses to completely independent amateurs, models, or actresses who decide to try to earn some money with more spicy content.
With its adult orientation, OnlyFans hasn’t stopped growing, but it was during the COVID-19 pandemic that it exploded. Filming of the pornographic industry has stopped, and the stars have gone full-blown to OnlyFans. In addition, normal people who have lost their jobs have also seen an option to earn money through this service, and due to the restrictions of the pandemic, there has also been an increase in the number of users who consume the content.
How OnlyFans works
The first thing you need to use OnlyFans is to create an account. By default, all accounts are user accounts, and you can create posts as if they were a Facebook wall. However, if you want to share links or if you want to request money to access your account or content, then you will have to provide certain personal documentation to create a content creator account.
OnlyFans charges a 20% commission. This means that if you are a content creator when you go to collect the money that you have been accumulating in your OnlyFans account, you will take 80% of what you have collected. The other 20% will go to the service since this money is their method of remuneration.
OnlyFans accounts can create four types of content, three of which are multimedia. A creator may upload photos, videos, or audio files. This content will be published directly as such, or in a normal post accompanied by text. Here already, what each one writes will depend on each person.
Accounts can also have up to five content tabs. In the first tab, you will see all the publications, and then there will be specific tabs for photos, videos, or audio. There will be a fifth tab for archived posts that have been removed from the main wall. These tabs will only appear if that type of content has been created, so there may be accounts that only have posts and photos.
To view a creator’s content, you need to be a follower. This can be free in free accounts or paid in exchange for paying a fixed monthly payment of money. In addition to this, creators can create posts that you have to unlock with payments. For example, you can be in an account that publishes almost all the content openly for its followers, but that certain photos or videos are paid.
This gives creators a lot of flexibility in setting up their compensation. You can find free accounts to follow where all publications are paid, and other accounts with monthly payments that have open content. But there may also be accounts that require a monthly payment and also payment for content. The price of subscriptions and content is set by each creator, so there can be many big differences.
The content you pay for separately will stay in your account, in a purchases tab, and will be yours forever even if you have left the subscription of the creator you bought it from. Come on, if you pay for access to an account, you will lose access if you stop paying for the subscription, but if you pay for a photo gallery or a video, they will remain in your account forever.
In addition to these payments, OnlyFans also implements a Tips system. This system means that you can send a content creator money for nothing, being able to add messages to the tip notification. In addition, content creators can also launch campaigns to collect a certain amount of money based on tips. Again, these systems are flexible and can be used in different ways.
To all this, we must add that when you subscribe to an account, you have the possibility of sending private messages to the content creator, something that can be attractive to fans of some renowned porn stars or models. In the publications, there is also a system of Likes and comments.
Finally, you should know that OnlyFans also has a promotion system. Content creators can make discounts on their monthly subscriptions, create bundles or discounted packs to subscribe for 3 months, 6 months, or a year, or even send specific users additional discounts.
Sharlene Meriel is an avid gamer with a knack for technology. He has been writing about the latest technologies for the past 5 years. His contribution in technology journalism has been noteworthy. He is also a day trader with interest in the Forex market.
