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Every industry is going to have its pros and cons, its ups and downs. Our industry is not unique in this. Today we are going to cover the pros and cons of being an adult content creator in todays world. Some of the information we’ve covered in past blogs and some of it will be new.
Pros
There are a lot of benefits to being an online content creator. From the money we can earn to the freedom we find in our own sexuality and so much more:
Money
Financial freedom is a big reason a lot of people turn to adult content creation. With some creators boasting figures of $100,000.00 a month in earnings on platforms like onlyfans, it’s easy to see why a lot of people turn to this line of work. With the economy and current job market being what it is, most are turning to this to help make ends meet. Others, like myself, are giving up traditional jobs all together to eke out a living online. For people with disabilities or who are otherwise unable to find or keep a job that pays enough for them to live off of, gig work and online Sex Work has offered them a means to not only live, but for a lot, to live comfortably.
Sexuality
A lot of adult content creators find that they are able to freely express their sexuality and without judgement behind their online persona. It opens doors to trying new things that maybe you wouldn’t try if you weren’t filming content, or fulfilling custom requests.
Creativity and Autonomy
Being an online sex worker requires you to use your creativity in ways you just cant do at a traditional job. Planning shoots, wardrobe, social media postings, fan subscriptions platform posting interacting with fans, etc… all requires a level of creativity. You’re forced to used your imagination much more than the average 9-5 allows. You also have complete autonomy and control over your work, no one telling you what to do and how to do it. For a lot of people this in itself holds a lot of appeal for leaving traditional jobs to become a content creator.
Saefty
A lot of escorts have turned to online Sex Work as it provides a wider pool of clientele and offers a more secure way to interact with thier clients. Most escorts have their own screening processes that they put all in person clients through, but no screening is going to be 100% fool proof. Online sex work helps to supplement their in-person appointments and provides an extra level of safety while still allowing them to earn a living. Creators who do strictly online work, are able to hide their identities behind pseudonyms and even remain faceless if they wish. Members of the LGBTQ+ Community are able to work freely within their own sexuality and not fear so much for their safety.
Freedom
The freedom from working a 9-5 and having a boss and a job I resented is what drew me to this industry to begin with. Within 3 years of starting out, I went from working full time for a corporation to being self employed and living on the beach in South America. the financial freedom that this industry affords is a huge drawing point for a lot of people. You own your own time and you’re living by your rules.
Cons
There’s quite a few benefits to working online as an adult content creator. Now lets cover some of the cons:
Market Saturation
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the online content creator space has become saturated with new users, with sites like Onlyfans boasting an average creator sign up of 8,00 new creators a day! That’s a lot of competition, and you have to be on the top of your game in order to compete and make you content stand out from all of these others.
No benefits or vacations
Your typical corporate gig will get you health insurance, sick days, and vacation time. As an online content creator, you don’t get any of those benefits, so if you want health insurance, you have to pay exorbitant prices for it. Sick days are non-existent and vacation… babe. This is a full time job where you can expect to be working 7 days a week and even one day off can drastically affect your earnings if you’re not prepared. Having pre-shot content and a scheduling app can help give you a day off here and there, but in general, your fans are looking to connect personally with you, and you cant schedule that kind of connection.
Burn out
As you can imagine with the lack of sick days and vacation days, burn out is very very real. There are ways to combat burn out, or you can just let your fans know you’re taking a few days off and hope your earnings don’t take too much of a hit.
High and low seasons
Online Sex Workers experience high and low seasons, much like some tourist industries experience. Our lows are usually mid summer, and halloween through new years. Tax season through the mid summer and then fall through halloween are our peaks. So you need to be prepared to not make as much durning the dips as you would during the peaks. And don’t get discouraged by these dips in earnings. It happens to all of us. Make sure you’re setting money aside to help get you through these slower times, especially if you’re fully invested in this and dont have even a part time job to sill in the gaps.
Taxes
Taxes are a bitch. Not only do you have to make sure you have money set aside for slow times, but you also need to have money set aside to pay your taxes. You also need to find an accountant that wont ask too many questions about the issuer of your tax form. On the other hand, if you play it right, you can write off a lot of the items you buy for your content as deductions. Talk to a tax advisor about setting up an LLC and the benefits of doing so.
Privacy
Last but not least is privacy. We offer a lot of tips at keeping your information private and secure. But it’s not 100% foolproof. Some people will be able to find you no matter how careful you are. It is important to keep in mind that if you post anything online, it is there forever, for anyone to find. This is not an industry where you can expect absolutely no one to find out about what you do. Heck, I didn’t tell any one what I was doing for the first 3 years I did this and half of my friend group and some of my co-workers found out on their own. SO be prepared for that.
So there you have it. All of the pros and cons I can come up with for this blog without boring you to tears or scaring you away. Is there something you would like to see me write about in the daily blog? Shoot me an email at Sara@unfiltrd.com
See you tomorrow, Sara Chacón, Unfiltrd Staff
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