I’m Kayla, and yes, I run an OnlyFans. I started scared, broke, and curious. I stayed because it paid my rent and let me work in leggings with a messy bun. You know what? It wasn’t quick cash. But it was clear once I treated it like a small shop.
For the longer play-by-play, I jotted down every lesson in this real talk from my page.
Let me explain how I made it work, what flopped, and the simple steps I’d give my best friend.
The quick version (numbers first)
- First 30 days: $1,589 gross. After the platform’s cut, I kept $1,271.
- Month 4: $3,120 gross.
- Best month so far: $4,240 during holiday promos.
- Average time: 1.5–2 hours a day. Sundays I batch content with coffee and a ring light that gets too warm.
Not huge. Not tiny. Steady and real.
If you want to see where my numbers fit against the wider creator landscape, skim this in-depth analysis of OnlyFans creator earnings and income distribution patterns for extra context.
If you’re more of a data nerd, there’s an even deeper dive into how much money you can really make on OnlyFans.
Want to see how the real heavy hitters stack cash? Peek at this breakdown of who's made the most money on OnlyFans.
My lane: cozy cosplay + gym vibes
I picked a simple niche. I post:
- Cosplay try-ons (PG).
- Gym check-ins and meal prep.
- Behind-the-scenes outfit pics.
- Lives with chat and little games.
No wild scripts. Just me, upbeat and goofy. That tone stuck, and people stayed.
Gear that helped:
- iPhone 14 + Neewer ring light.
- Tripod with a remote button.
- CapCut for quick edits.
- Canva for banners and watermarks (I add my handle in a corner).
- Notion to plan posts so I don’t panic at 10 pm.
Pricing that didn’t make folks run
I tested for one month, then set this:
- Sub price: $9.99.
- 3-month bundle: 20% off. Yes, bundles kept churn low.
- Welcome message auto-sent on sub: “Hey! Thanks for joining. Here’s a starter pack of 12 photos for $12. Want it?” That pack sold 1-in-3 on good days.
I also did:
- Pay-per-view sets at $6–$20.
- Live stream tip goals (small, fun, like “pick next cosplay”).
- Custom shoutouts for $10. Clean, cute, fast.
Tip: never give away what you plan to sell. Tease? Yes. Give all? No.
The funnel that actually brought people
I posted safe teasers on:
- TikTok: outfit swaps and quick fit checks.
- Instagram: stories, a bit flirty, not risky.
- Reddit: cosplay subs with clear tags.
Additional note for creators who like to cast a slightly wider net: some models quietly plug their pages inside adult-friendly dating hubs where potential subscribers already hang out. One example is Fish4Hoes—a geo-based community built around casual flirting and hookups that can double as a traffic source for spicy content if you engage respectfully and follow the rules. Visiting the site lets you scout local audiences who are actively searching for creators, giving you another pool of warm leads to funnel back to your OnlyFans.
Another regional option worth exploring, especially if you’re touring the Southwest, is dropping a short, enticing ad on Backpage Santa Fe—its rebooted classifieds attract locals actively looking for adult encounters, so your listing can drive warm, geo-targeted subscribers straight to your page without fighting mainstream algorithm noise.
I used Beacons for my link page. I kept captions short and friendly. After plenty of trial and error, I ended up borrowing quite a few tactics from this comprehensive guide on effective marketing strategies for OnlyFans creators and tweaking them for my own “cozy cosplay” lane.
Big mistake early on? Posting long, heavy captions. Folks swipe. Keep it snackable.
Also, don’t say “OnlyFans” too much on socials. Some sites hide that. I used phrases like “link in bio,” “page,” or a small star emoji.
And yes, guys wondering if it’s worth jumping in can check out a candid take on whether men can make money on OnlyFans.
What really made me money
- The welcome pack. That little upsell was gold.
- Replies in DMs. Fast replies made people feel seen. I set a script for common asks, but I always add a real line, like “Your dog in that pic? Cute.”
- Weekly themed drops. “Marvel Monday,” “Pink Friday.” Simple themes make people wait for the next one.
- Live streams under 45 minutes. Short, high energy. Music low. I stand, not sit. It changes the vibe.
- Holiday promos: Black Friday, New Year, Valentine’s Day. I pre-made banners in Canva and ran 48-hour timers. Scarcity works, but keep it honest.
Pretty much all of this lines up with another creator’s experiment on what actually worked for her.
What flopped (learn from me, please)
- A free page that I hoped to convert later. It ate my time and didn’t convert well. I shut it down.
- Spamming PPVs every day. People unsubbed fast. I switched to 2–3 quality drops a week.
- Over-discounting. If everything’s always on sale, nothing feels special.
- Over-sharing my schedule. If I promised daily lives, I burned out. Now I promise less, deliver more.
A day that worked
- Morning: Reply to DMs with coffee. 20–30 minutes.
- Afternoon: Post one story and one feed photo. Done in CapCut/Canva.
- Evening: Quick check-in. Tease tomorrow’s drop with one line and a wink.
- Sunday: Batch 2–3 outfits. Shoot for 90 minutes. Edit 30 minutes. Schedule posts for the week.
Tiny note: I label sets in a Google Sheet. Name, date, price, who bought. When tax time came, I didn’t cry.
Setting everything up felt wild at first; this walk-through of how someone set up an OnlyFans to make money saved me hours.
Real numbers from one strong week
- New subs: 42 at $9.99, plus 7 on the 3-month bundle.
- Welcome pack: 19 sales x $12 = $228.
- One PPV set: 61 sales x $8 = $488.
- Tips from a 35-minute live: $176.
Is it always like that? Nope. But the pattern holds when I show up.
Safety and sanity
- Stage name only. New email. 2FA on everything.
- Geo-block a few regions I don’t want. Your call.
- Watermark each post. I also do reverse image search now and then. If you plan to stay incognito, check how one creator made money on OnlyFans without showing her face.
- Boundaries in writing. If someone asks for what I don’t do, I say, “Not my style, but I can offer X.” Kind, firm, fast.
- Money: I set aside 30% for taxes. I export monthly statements and hand them to a CPA. Boring, but peace of mind is hot.
- Bonus: For clever ways to stretch every OnlyFans dollar, I skim Broke Girls Guide for bite-size budgeting hacks.
Tools I swear by
- iWatermark+ or Canva for watermarks.
- CapCut for edits and auto-captions.
- Notion or Trello for a simple content calendar.
- Beacons for a clean link page.
- A Shure MV7 mic if you care about voice quality on lives.
None of this is fancy. It’s steady.
My little checklist (what I’d do if I started today)
- Pick one niche and one tone. Cozy? Glam? Fitness? Keep it tight.
- Set sub at $7–$12. Add a 3-month bundle.
- Build a welcome message with a $10–$15 starter pack.
- Post