Being an independent content creator in the adult industry can give you a lot of freedom, but it isn’t quite as easy as some people might think.
As a self-employed individual, everything depends on you. You’re the CEO, CTO and CMO of your own company all at once.
Put old content on sale before retiring it. When refreshing your offerings, consider holding a sale with a set end date before you officially delete your old clips.
Whilst building a brand and business in the adult industry certainly brings a unique set of challenges, many of the techniques and strategies we employ are very similar to those of “mainstream” businesses.
Existing Content
If you’ve been in this industry for a while, chances are that you’ve built a large library of content that just sits on your platforms, not getting as much love as newer clips. So, what can you do to make more money from your old content?
Reupload your old content to new platforms. Do you have old clips that are just gathering dust? Upload them to a subscription platform such as MV Crush or OnlyFans, or post them on your premium Snapchat story on a day you can’t do a live show. Your fans will love a throwback to your earlier days! Nostalgia strengthens customer loyalty, and new fans get to discover a brand new side of you.
Don’t just use your new content on one platform. If you do a lot of Snapchat shows offer your fans downloads or create bundles of shows to sell to people who don’t use the app. If you have a large video library, upload it across all clip sites! You already have the content, so uploading it elsewhere doesn’t take too much effort. It makes your products available to a whole new audience, and also spreads your risk of being dependent on one company for your income.
Put old content on sale before retiring it. When refreshing your offerings, consider holding a sale with a set end date before you officially delete your old clips. Creating a sense of urgency pushes customers to act fast and boosts your conversion.
Offer old content as a free add-on with new purchases. Rather than discounting your product and risking lowering your customers’ willingness to pay in the future, this strategy adds value to your product, without reducing the price.
Create new teasers and stills from old clips to promote yourself on social media. Even a three-second video or a couple of pictures from an old video can get a lot of engagement on Twitter or Reddit, and get people curious about your work!
New Content
When creating new content, I follow a pretty straightforward workflow. I plan, shoot, edit and publish. But what exactly goes into each of these steps?
Step 1: Planning
Knowing what kind of content sells well for you is the key to knowing what to make next. Look at your past video sales and analyze how different types of content have been received. Trying out new types of content is a great way to keep yourself from getting bored or simply spice things up, but sticking with a couple of different niches is often the key to long-term, stable income.
A detailed script that you have to memorize word for word is not necessary (and oftentimes more stressful than helpful), but preparing a rough scenario or idea before you grab your camera can help you stay on track. Write down in a few keywords or sentences to pin down what you want to film, and everything will go a lot smoother.
Step 2: Shooting
Regardless of whether you are shooting photos, videos or doing a live cam show, lighting is more important than camera quality. A well-lit iPhone video with a good composition looks (and will sell!) a lot better than a dimly lit, zoomed in video filmed with a DSLR. Sure, many customers who buy clips love an “amateur” vibe, but they still like to see that you put effort into your content. Take some time to learn about lighting and composition, and figure out the settings of your camera.
Step 3: Editing
Learning some basic color grading and video editing skills can do a lot to make your footage look more exciting. Even a few small tweaks to adjust the contrast and color temperature can make your content look much more appealing to potential customers.
Watermark your content! Piracy is rampant in this industry, and impossible to prevent. However, if your videos are watermarked, you will still get publicity from your content even when it is posted elsewhere. There’s a fine balance between a watermark that is visible and one that is distracting, but my advice for videos would be to move your watermark to a different corner of your video every transition (to avoid it from being cropped out easily).
Step 4: Publishing & Marketing
Now that your content is ready to be shown to the world, let’s make it shine! As mentioned previously, I would recommend uploading your clips across as many platforms as possible, even if you only market one of them to your fans. Internal traffic will still bring you occasional sales from other sites, and having your videos on multiple platforms helps to build brand recognition.
Previews, descriptive captions and keywords are essential in marketing your content. Show the world what you have to offer! Post teasers on social media that tempt the viewer yet still leave them wanting more, and properly describe and tag your content on clip sites so that it will be found in searches.
Use a wide range of marketing channels, and don’t depend just on Twitter and Instagram. Many social media platforms ban sex workers without notice, so you want to have alternative ways to reach your customers. Encourage your fans to follow you on clip sites, build a mailing list, make a Discord server or Telegram channel, and find other ways to stay in touch with your fan base and update them about your new content.
Consistency is key. Regular social media posts remind your followers that you exist and keep you on their minds, and they are more likely to actually spend money. Plus, if fans see that you update frequently, buying a subscription will suddenly seem a lot more tempting.
Sarah Calanthe is a content creator, GG adult star and ManyVids New Cummer of the Year who can be followed on ManyVids.Sarah.link and SarahCalanthe.com — as well as @SarahCalanthe on Twitter or Instagram.
