Since you’re here, you’re either binge-reading our articles — a fine idea, if we do say so ourselves — or you’d like to learn how to start an OnlyFans.

And why wouldn’t you? Today, the platform is iconic in pretty much all parts of the net, with creators such as Mia Khalifa, DJ Khaled & Fat Joe, or Dorinda Medley making huge amounts of money on it.

In fact many consider it an even better place to sell your homemade porn than Pornhub.

To help you get a piece of OnlyFans’ cash-packed pie, we’ve created the definitive guide on how to start an OnlyFans profile for newbies, based on advice from the biggest stars on the platform.

Read on, and you’ll be a simp magnet in no time!

In this article, you’ll learn:

What You Need to Start an OnlyFans

The first step should be about as surprising as STDs after a Craigslist hookup.

That’s right — to create an OnlyFans account, you’ll need an email address and username.

If you want to keep your identity secret, we recommend creating a new email address and using it only to handle your OnlyFans business.

Going with your real name as your username should be out of the question.

But you should also avoid using your nickname(s), age, date of birth, or any other personally identifiable information. Choose a playful, erotic, and easy-to-remember name like Dildomancer.

Although 99.9% of your subscribers will be cool, remember that fan comes from fanatic, so let’s not provide any clues that could lead to you being doxed or blackmailed.

None of that will be important if you’re not old enough (18+) to sell your sex tape, though. And no, trying to pass your grandma’s passport as yours won’t work.

In addition, if you plan on offering content featuring your partner, friends, or anyone else, each of them will also need to create their own OnlyFans account, and verify their age.

The Bare Necessities

Next, you’ll need a modern device with fast, stable, and limitless internet access, and a camera. If you have a recent midrange smartphone or laptop, you’re set for a good start.

To take your OnlyFans game to the next level, though, you should consider purchasing a DSLR or a mirrorless camera, or perhaps also a lighting set, to start producing higher-quality content at some point.

Laying The Groundwork

OnlyFans, of course, isn’t a perfect fit for everyone, as it requires the right frame of mind. However, the same can be said for any similar career, such as becoming a porn star or simply selling nudes.

Above all else, you’ll need to feel comfortable in your own body, and be open to experimenting with sexual acts and explicit content in general.

And if you’re thinking that the platform is only for hot, fit people, that’s where you’re wrong!

A lot of creators with different and unconventionally attractive bodies have seen huge success on the platform!

Whether we’re talking about bite-sized hotties like @sasseecassee, chunky bunnies like @prairiepeach, or transwomen like @nataliemars, everyone can find an audience on OnlyFans, regardless of what they look like!

How to Register an OnlyFans Account — Step-by-Step

With everything lubed up, it’s time to get down to work and actually slide into your OnlyFans account.

Step 1

First, like with any other site, you’ll need to create an account.

As we’ve mentioned above, all you’ll require for that will be a username and an email address, but you can also sign up through Google, Twitter and Windows.

Important: Remember to use a separate email address for your OnlyFans account, and follow our earlier tips for choosing a username.

Step 2

After registering, you’ll be asked to add a payment method.

Unfortunately, OnlyFans doesn’t support PayPal, Payoneer, or other mainstream payment processors, so you’ll need to connect a bank account to your OnlyFans in order to collect your earnings.

On the upside, payments are daily and automatic, and you can update your bank account information at any time.

Step 3

At this point, you’ll need to verify your identity and age with official government-issued documentation: driver’s license, ID card, or passport.

Whichever document you end up going with, you should submit a scan or photo of it to OnlyFans, alongside a picture of yourself.

They’ll take a short while to verify it (no more than 72 hours, or just a bit longer than your girlfriend takes to get ready), after which you can start uploading and selling content.

This step — just like that anal swab Covid test for foreign visitors in China from a while back — is mandatory for all creators, and that refers to any partners that may appear in your content. You’ll need to fill out an OnlyFans release form verifying their age and consent. But hey, at least it makes it legal to sell nudes.

However, you can rest assured that OnlyFans will not reveal your real identity anywhere on their site. They take extra measures to ensure the privacy of all creators on their platform, as outlined in their transparency center.

Now that you’ve set up your account, it’s time to start making some big bucks. But before you begin stackin’ loot, you’ll need to set your prices.

How to Set Your Prices on OnlyFans

With your account verified, it’s time to set your subscription prices. These subscriptions will be your primary source of income, so it’s important to think them through carefully.

Unless you already have a sizable online presence, we highly recommend setting an accessible starting price.

Aim for the $4.99 to $14.99 range, and even then, go for the lower end.

It’s better to have 50 subscribers at $5 than 20 at $10. As an additional upside to going cheaper, more subscribers will mean more word of mouth about you and your content.

Remember that your prices — like any part of a bimbo’s body — can be tinkered with and pumped up in due time. And you can always use promotional tools like discounts or bundles for extended subscriptions (3+ months) to entice your on-the-fence horndogs.

To set your prices, go to Settings, and choose Subscription prices and bundles. Then, enter your preferred prices into the appropriate fields, and save those changes.

Pro tip: To find out your earnings potential with any subscription price, check out the official OnlyFans earnings calculator.

How to Actually Make Money With Your OnlyFans Account

By now, you’ve got your OnlyFans account verified and your prices set up, but you can’t just post your nudes, cross your fingers and legs, and hope for the best.

No, you want to ensure that no money is left on the table, so you should take a more strategic approach.

Pick a Niche

The next step to making big bucks on OnlyFans — and answering the question, How to start an OnlyFans — is picking a niche. Why, you ask?

Well, OnlyFans jizzed onto the scene during the COVID-19 pandemic, and while that meant more money for content creators, it also meant more competition.

By estimation, more than 1.5 million OnlyFans creators are actively producing site content.

Therefore, if you’re serious about making your OnlyFans career a successful one, you’ll need to find a competitive advantage for yourself, and that’s where picking a porn niche comes in.

You’ll want to specialize in producing specific content for your fans — for example, cosplay and JOI content is doing exceptionally well on social media sites like Reddit.

Even Belle Delphine — the most successful OnlyFans creator ever — produces content within  a specific niche: the quirky gamer e-girl. Or did you think that’s just a coincidence?

Fetishes are another easy way to distinguish yourself from the mob. It’s better to go for something common, though, instead of something less so — simply due to the size of your potential audience.

And who knows, maybe you’ll be the next Dita Von Teese, who started off as a humble tightlacer. Just skip the marriage with Marilyn Manson part. You don’t want that.

Produce Sexy and High-Quality Content

After you pick your niche, it’ll be time to put those naughty bits to work and produce cum-worthy content.

At this point, we recommend focusing on producing material, and not spending much (if any) time on marketing and hype. You should aim to have at least 10 vids and 50 pics on your profile before actually promoting your OnlyFans.

If you’re wondering why, you should know that your numbers will be like Kim Kardashian’s sex tape — publicly available. Many users had invested in models who ended up flaking out of their OnlyFans careers.

To earn those users’ trust (and money), you’ll need to show them that you mean business. And the best way to do that is, of course, a back catalog of content.

However, quality matters more than quantity, so make sure to know your angles and poses — if you look like a million bucks, so will your bank account.

Don’t forget to play around with content ideas and follow the latest trends. For example, Christmas-themed content is bound to be a hit in the winter months, and there are many ways to go about it.

You can bring a Santa into the mix, to put you on his lap and give you a present or punishment, depending on whether you were naughty. Or, you can hop into a Santa, elf, or reindeer (for the furries) costume yourself, and stroke some candy canes. Holiday-themed sex toys and lingerie unboxing videos and try-on hauls are also an option.

If you ever find yourself going dry on inspiration, just turn to the popular OnlyFans creators, and check out what they’re doing. They’ve got strangers eating out of their hands for a reason, and you may be able to replicate a bit of their success by producing similar content — after giving it your own flavor, of course.

Upload Your Content to OnlyFans

Aside from making your content available to subscribers, you can also upload it as a time-limited post or pay-per-view content.

Still, we advise against using these advanced approaches when starting, especially the latter. People won’t know who you are, so they’ll be unlikely to pay $5+ to see a single picture or video of you.

Stick to the tried and tested regular updates for your subscribers, but remember to upload at least a few promo posts that everyone can see. Running an OnlyFans is similar to dealing drugs — you need to give people a free taste to get them hooked and coming back for more.

To make a post available to everyone, simply move the photo or video in question to the Free Preview section before clicking the Publish button during the upload process.

Stick to a Consistent Posting Schedule

Rare and inconsistent content uploads are almost as disappointing as an ill-timed limp dick.

Your subscribers are paying for your content, and if you’re not delivering, they will quickly move on and find a different model to support.

And as we mentioned earlier, with roughly 1.5 million creators to choose from, they can pick and choose like Leonardo DiCaprio at Victoria’s Secret fashion shows. Well, at least until models aged 25 and plus hit the catwalk.

To keep your subscribers in a constant state of afterglow, try to post at least one quick message or photo a day, and treat them to a special video at least once a week. Figuring out the best time to post on OnlyFans will also help.

But of course, getting yourself and everything else ready for daily photo shoots isn’t exactly easy or quick. It’s like having sex with someone suffering from delayed ejaculation — it takes a lot of effort.

If you don’t want your OnlyFans career to be a daily chore, we’ve got a special tip for you.

Have your sessions over the weekends.

Prepare multiple outfits, and take as many photos and videos as you can, or at least one week’s worth of material. If you carefully drip-feed it, no one will know any better, as horny fans aren’t exactly known for their detective skills.

This way, you’ll be free to enjoy your work week without stressing about keeping your OnlyFans subscribers happy.

Promote Your OnlyFans Account

In terms of OnlyFans success, creating and uploading a decent backlog of content is just getting the tip in. To truly thrust your way to riches, you’ll have to promote yourself — and the best way to do that is through social media.

Although threesomes might not be for everyone, you should definitely partake in this one. Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok are your best places for promotion, so let’s dive right into these and see how you can use them to entice potential subscribers.

Twitter

Twitter is what Tumblr used to be years ago — before they exchanged porn for blue hair and a side shave — a safe haven for adult creators and those looking to get off. Twitter has absolutely nothing against most forms of pornography, and its robust and easy-to-use tagging system makes it a breeze to get noticed there.

You should think of your Twitter profile as one big tease. Even though the platform will let you post explicit content, the game plan here is to show just enough to get people to subscribe to your OnlyFans.

So, you’ll want to post censored or less saucy versions of your pics, or shortened videos — with the promise of steamier content on your OnlyFans.

This is actually a huge advantage that you’ll have over bigger creators, as a lot of them won’t personally respond to tweets. In your case, your fans won’t be tweeting at hired help, but you, and your exchanges will be much more genuine and memorable for it.

So, engage with fans in replies, and keep your posts like people would like their sex — regular.

Use all relevant tags, and always include #nsfw and #onlyfans. Finally, add a link to your OnlyFans in your bio, and you’ll be like a healthy cock in the morning — good to go!

Instagram

Even though it has a bit of a stick up its ass, Instagram lets users post pictures in swimsuits or other suggestive clothing. You can be as sexy as you want, as long as breasts or genitalia are not on full display.

Post these suggestive pictures of yourself on your feed and story. When you do, use hashtags like #babe and #sexy, on top of any others that apply to your niche of choice.

Proper hashtag usage is important, as it’s the best bait for the horny masses. Avoid overly explicit ones like #pornstar or #onlyfans, or Instagram might hide your post from most users.

You can’t put your OnlyFans directly into your bio, but you can use a site like Linktree to hide it behind a layer of abstraction. Simply add your OnlyFans URL to your Linktree, then your Linktree to your bio. Easy as that!

TikTok

A strict platform like TikTok might seem like the worst possible place to promote an OnlyFans profile — perhaps 2nd worst behind your local church — but it’s quite the opposite.

In fact, many TikTok trends revolve around dancing in suggestive ways and showing off your body in the process. Thus, many OnlyFans creators (Rubi Rose, Katie Sigmond, Pia Mia to name a handful) gain a lot of their traffic from the platform.

You can do so, too, as long as you make sure that you’re always fully (or mostly) dressed in your videos. Again, swimwear and non-revealing underwear are allowed, but genitalia and breasts are a no-go.

Also, using words like sex, porn, or even sexy anywhere on your profile, or as text in your video, will block your content from getting picked up by the algorithm, so avoid those like unprotected one-night stands.

As for what you should do, simply follow trends and do the most popular TikTok dances. Also, use the tag #fakebody, as that’s the tag that most people will browse while looking for adult creators.

We know that it’s weird, but it’s a thing.

As you might’ve guessed, you’ll have to be even sneakier to get your OnlyFans profile under TikTok’s radar.

Annoyingly, the platform will only let you add a link to your bio once you have 1,000 or more followers, and have applied for a business account.

With that achievement under your belt, you‘ll be able to use the Linktree trick we’ve described before on TikTok, and direct users to your OnlyFans profile without consequences.

Until then, though, you can — assuming that you have an Instagram account and have added a Linktree link to your bio there — simply add the caption What you’re looking for is on Instagram to your videos. Because this trick will use multiple redirects, it won’t be as effective as just having a Linktree URL, but hey, more viewers is more tokens!

Bonus: Reward Your Fans for Sharing Your Profile

Everyone loves getting a personalized message or picture, and this goes double for adoring simps who are already paying a monthly fee to see you naked.

To keep them happy, offer rewards such as a 10-minute sexting session, free access to a pay-per-view post, or a subscription discount for any fans who get their friends to join your porn cult by subscribing to you!

How Much Money You Can Earn from OnlyFans

There won’t be any equal pay protests around these parts any time soon, as female models earn considerably more than their male counterparts. Men with OnlyFans might make a lot less, but at least they can start a club with butchers since they both get paid to beat their meat.

Anyway, you’ve probably heard tales of how Bella Thorne earned $1 million in less than 24 hours on OnlyFans, or how Blac Chyna raked in about $20 million per month in 2021.

Well, if you’re expecting to get similar numbers, you’re either the world’s biggest optimist, or need to wait for those shrooms to expire.

And if you’re more modest and expect to get a few thousand dollars after posting a couple of nude selfies — you’re not that modest, honey. A little-known fact that your sugar daddy or mommy never told you is that the average OnlyFans creator brings in only about $180 per month.

Feeling discouraged? Don’t be.

Most OnlyFans accounts have a thing or two in common with these celebrities — they are inactive and without a consistent posting schedule.

If you don’t want to end up as another lost creator in this unfortunate stat, you’ll need to take your OnlyFans account at least somewhat seriously.

So, stick to our suggestions (mentioned earlier), post regularly, and touch your fans’ inner perv the way they want.

Ultimately, the only thing determining your success on OnlyFans will be you alone. How much you can earn on the platform depends only on your own commitment and willingness to invest a little time and effort.

If you’re ready to do that, there’s no reason why you can’t join the premium club of models who earn between $5,000 and $100,000 per month.

You might be hotter, but that celebrity boost is hard to overcome.

Okay, now that we’ve tempered those expectations, let’s recap how to start an OnlyFans account and actually make money on the platform.

Recap: What Makes an OnlyFans Profile Successful

While an OnlyFans career won’t exactly require you to plan things out like a German porn director, thinking ahead and covering your bases will still take you far.

Think of it as a part-time gig or a secret money-making project.

Follow our cheat sheet, and you’ll be counting your dollar bills faster than strippers when James Harden visits their joint.

  • Make sure that you meet all the requirements for an OnlyFans creator
  • Register and verify your OnlyFans account
  • Set your OnlyFans prices
  • Select a specific fetish or niche for your account
  • Be relatable and honest
  • Produce high-quality content
  • Enable tips on your content
  • Stick to a consistent posting schedule
  • Use social media to drive people to your OnlyFans
  • Treat your fans and reward your most vocal subscribers

Conclusion

Starting an OnlyFans can be incredibly profitable, and if you follow our guide, you’ll avoid the common mistakes that many new creators tend to make.

As one final piece of advice, we recommend just being yourself and not stressing about your looks or putting up a persona. That’s for the produced porn market, and OnlyFans is about authenticity.

As the name says, it’s just you and your fans, and if you offer them something that feels real, they’ll gladly reward you with their wallets and rub one out in your honor.