More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
The online platform, OnlyFans, has allowed two girls from Kent to make thousands of pounds by selling photos of their bodies online.
During her best months one girl managed to make a whopping £10,000 profit, but it isn't quite as easy as it may seem.
Kaitlin speaks about being a content creator on OnlyFans. Her name and voice has been changed
Kaitlin (not her real name) from Gravesend, stopped using the site earlier this year.
The 19-year-old said: "I initially made the account in November 2019 but I didn't start using it properly until July 2020.
"I want to remain anonymous as hopefully I would like to apply to either some form of policing role or civil service job in the future and with the stigma that surrounds OnlyFans you do have to be careful unfortunately.
"It was fun doing OnlyFans, it was nice to dress up and have people compliment you."
"I stopped in February mainly because I didn't want to keep doing it, it was too much hassle.
"It wasn't because of anything bad, but priorities changed and it no longer became feasible for me to do it any more."
The site allows anyone to become a content creator and earn money from users who subscribe to their services.
There is a range of content on the website but it is best known for pornography, and requires users to be over 18.
Miki-rose has also been using OnlyFans on and off since she was 18.
The 21-year old from Gravesend goes by Kaiju online and can make five figures thanks to her content.
She said: "I’ve had my current account since January last year.
"When I first started I was posting just lewd photos - bikini and lingerie photos - and over the last year I’ve slowly gotten more comfortable with racier content.
"Nowadays I make and post toy play and some boy/girl content although it is few and far between.
"OnlyFans is not something I ever planned to do, I started with just a lewd Instagram page posting for fun so monetising my photos with OnlyFans seemed like a natural progression.
"At the time I started I was struggling to find a job that would fit around my sixth form courses.
"I really enjoy making content for a living although the income is nothing to turn your nose up at.
"Although I have plans for when I’m no longer doing OnlyFans, I don’t have a time frame for said plans. It’s more of a 'we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it' type thing.
"I did have a couple of jobs alongside my page back before everything hit the fan with Covid-19.
"My last contracted employment ended in March 2020, I was a shop floor worker at Clinton’s Cards, but by then my page was picking up in popularity and the lockdown started so I haven’t had to get a secondary job since.
"I personally haven’t noticed any affect OnlyFans has had on my potential employment options but I know of others that have had issues.
"To avoid it I don’t use my real name online and I try not to add coworkers on social media."
Unlike Miki-rose, Kaitlin did not use the site as her main source of income and only posted lingerie and teasing photo's to her OnlyFans page. Fans would pay a subscription fee starting at $3 (£2.12) to view her content.
If viewers wanted something a little more X-rated they had to request it and pay extra.
The customer service worker added: "With sex work there is a stigma around it, but it's nice to be able to post a photo when you perhaps aren't feeling 100% and have someone compliment you.
"However, I have had backlash from posting about my OnlyFans on social media accounts.
"I had people asking if my partner at the time was okay with it and people saying that I'm a disgrace and slut-shaming me as though what I was doing is some sort of illegal activity.
"I posted underwear photos in my feed and anything else was requested in case I wasn't comfortable with it.
"But with OnlyFans you have some content creators who will do anything and everything and post it on their main feed, then there are other people who would rather only post underwear or teasers like myself.
"My whole family knew about what I was doing on OnlyFans. My parents and my siblings and quite a few of my friends knew.
"My family and I used to make jokes about it. So I used to order my lingerie from a certain site and whenever I'd get a package from that site they'd be like oh is it OnlyFans time.
"There is no stigma in my house around sex work or anything like that because there shouldn't be.
"What do we get out of life by putting men and women down with being comfortable in their own skin?
"Having a supportive family most definitely helped me. When you'd have some customers be rude or some of them would ask for an obscure request I'd go downstairs and I'd tell my mum.
"Or if someone asked for feet pictures I'd get my mum to paint my nails and stuff like that.
"My family were very supportive, which was really nice, and it definitely made me feel a lot more comfortable about openly talking about it.
"Because the last thing you want is for your family to potentially be ashamed of you because of the stigma that surrounds it.
"But thankfully everyone that's around me is very open and accepting and minds their own business."
At the time Kaitlin was posting her content online she had a boyfriend
The soon to be 20-year-old said: "Having a partner while I had my OnlyFans wasn't an issue at all as we'd make content together.
"He was my friend when I first made the page and then as we got into a relationship I was still doing OnlyFans. He used to help me and take my photos.
"We used to make couples content which we would sell and make some money from and I think having a supportive circle including a partner if you have one is definitely beneficial.
"If you already have the platforms and you've got thousands of people that follow you and adore you then go for it.
"But it isn't as easy as just posting a photo and thinking you'll get loads of fans.
"You have to do the promoting which takes up a lot of time, you have to create captions and take teasing photos.
"When I started I would wear a normal T-shirt bra and Brazilian knickers or maybe a thong, it wasn't anything fancy.
"But the more you do it you have to buy specific outfits, like a maid costume. If someone requests something specifically and you want to keep them as a returning customer you do have to keep up with what they want."
OnlyFans also allows it's users to message and have conversations with creators.
Kaitlin said: "You can also share messages with the fans, some people just want to chat or maybe they want you to rate them sexually, some just like paying you to chat, there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes.
"To any young girls that are thinking of joining OnlyFans make sure you are comfortable in yourself and do your research.
"If someone asks you to do something that you are not comfortable with don't do it.
"Mainly because you should never be put in a position where you are not comfortable because it could potentially ruin something in the future.
"When I was using OnlyFans I was working on the Covid-19 testing sites at the same time.
"From the end of December to the end of January I made £1,500.
"But some months like November to December I only made about £400.
"Sometimes you make loads of money and you think you are doing really well but unless you do have a good platform and you can keep these people coming in and meet their expectations they do end up unsubscribing.
"There is so much more thought behind actually doing sex work than just taking a photo, posting and making loads of money - you do have to put loads of hours into it.
"If you are considering making an OnlyFans account make sure you do your research because sometimes you can bite of more than you can chew and that is never fun.
"But I do highly recommend doing it if you are comfortable within your body because at the end of the day you only live once.
"I don't see why I shouldn't be allowed to take some photos of my body and make a couple of pounds from it."
Miki-rose says she has also faced backlash due to her content online.
She said: "I’ve faced tons of discrimination. Mainly rude assumptions from people that I’m ‘dirty’ or ‘easy’ and girls think I’m trying to steal their man.
"Most of my friends are very aware of what I do online. Family wise, I’m not 100% sure just how aware they are of what I do. At least one of my siblings knows exactly what I do for a living.
"My grandparents know 'I do work online' but for obvious reasons I haven’t gone into depth with them about it.
"I actually had a long term partner when I first started. He wasn’t too happy about it at the time but his issue was more with me not communicating to him that it was something I wanted to do rather than with the idea in general.
"I’ve found it easier being single when it comes to content creation. I know my own angles and don’t have to deal with anyone else seeing the unflattering bits.
"It can be as easy as snapping a pic and posting it but that level of content isn’t sustainable for long periods of time as your subs will eventually get bored.
"I feel safe on OnlyFans but I feel that is due to taking my own precautions. OnlyFans as a site is what you make of it personally.
"Honestly, making money online is not quick and easy at all.
"I am personally successful and make enough to live off of because I had a large following on Instagram to market to. Even with that massive boost it still takes constant posting and promoting to keep numbers high.
Social media expert Zoe Cairns has warned people to be careful about what they put online.
She said: "You can't trust these platforms, number one with your information and number two with the types of information you're putting on there, because of security and privacy around those platforms.
"Make sure you are using platforms that are trusted and that they are platforms your browser trusts and whatever you wouldn't put on a billboard don't put online, just be really aware of that.
"Just remember, anything you put online is never private, it's always public even if you have a private account people can screenshot and right click and use it elsewhere."
This sentiment is shared by Miki-rose who said: "To any young girls considering it, think about it first. Properly think about it, is it 100% something you’re okay with having on the internet forever?
"No matter how hard you try no page will ever be truly anonymous, people you are close to will find out about your page. Is that something you’re okay with?"
Miki-rose's earnings vary greatly month to month depending on how much time she puts into making content.
She added: "My lowest earning month starts at around £2,000 with high earning months topping out at £10k, while these are amazing when they happen, £10k months are few and far between.
"As of right now I’m sitting in the top 1.2% of all OnlyFan's creators.
"My base subscription is set to $13 (£9.19) and that will get you access to everything posted to my main feed. For any extra content I charge anything from $3 (£2.12) to $60, (£42.41) it depends on exactly what it is I’m selling.
"I love being my own boss although it’s a bit of a struggle not having any workplace structure, I have to remind myself to make content and not slack."
To find out more about Miki-rose you can see her instagram by clicking here.
