Are you a spicy content creator who’s been in a bit of a rut? Even the most passionate and disciplined creators can find it hard to keep things fresh, especially when working alone at home all day. It can get tiring and feel isolating.
The good news? Networking isn’t just possible, it’s fun! It’s great for trying out new types of content and getting your fans excited again. Building your list of connections doesn’t just help with loneliness, creativity, and bringing in new followers. The more folks you’ve worked with, the more community you create. You can trade tips, share news about bad actors, and meet people who understand you and the unique challenges of the industry. Here’s our best tips for how to get yourself out there, connecting with others and co-creating.
Branch Out, Build Bonds
Networks and communities start small. Spend time at sex positive and queer locations like gay bars and pride events around your area. If you’re kinky, maybe find BDSM classes or local munches to attend. This step is also great because it’s accessible no matter how small your audience is or how recently you started your journey into sex work.
Ask folks you already know if they know anybody else who does sex work. This requires openness, but if you’re making a career in the industry you should probably be prepared for everyone to find out anyway. People can sense desperation and no one likes someone who feels fake. Don’t be too goal oriented or “use” people for the opportunities they could bring. You’re spreading seeds (no pun intended) and waiting to see what blooms. You don’t need to force anything.
Make connections with the people you’re truly drawn to. Are they hot? Funny? Do they have cool, weird content ideas you’ve never thought of before? Do you share similar goals or ambitions? Even if you don’t have sex on camera together, maybe you can brainstorm, help out with the technical side of things for each other, or just support each other as people. Whether you end up collaborating or not, you’ve made friends and that’s what counts.
Get Involved in the Community
As great as gay bars and fetish events are, it’s even better if you can make your way into more specific circles for workers like you. Activism is a great first step. Are there any local organizations of sex workers in your area? Maybe you can get involved, even long distance, with the myriad or non profits, collectives and organizations sex workers have built such as Sex Workers Outreach Project (SWOP), Pineapple Support, The BIPOC Adult Industry Collective (BIPOC-AIC), and the Free Speech Coalition. Maybe you can join a protest or march one day for a specific issue affecting sex workers. It’s a great way to help out, advocate for yourself, and meet people with similar passions and interests.
When you build connections to organize sex workers, you can simultaneously make the world better for fellow workers, gain safety and community, and make connections that could naturally evolve into collaborations. Again, don’t just use people for networking points and profit. Let things develop naturally. The more connected you are to fellow workers, the more likely opportunities will pop up.
Beyond activism and organizing, there’s also more actively fun ways to meet potential collaborators. Events thrown by MASS COLLAB are a great example. They’re organic, unstructured queer events for sex workers, exhibitionists, and anyone who wants to play and be filmed. Each event has a special theme, so they don’t get old. Plus, the freeform structure means just about anything could end up happening. Right now, MASS COLLAB events have been mostly going on in New York and DC, but click the link to see where they pop up next.
Use Apps & Social Media
If you’re already running an OnlyFans/clip selling business effectively, you’re probably been using apps like Instagram, X and Reddit to market yourself. But while you’ve been honed in on attracting fans you might have forgotten something important: social media is useful for other things, too, like being social. Finding friends and collaborators is easier than ever, but it might not be for long. Before more platforms start pushing out adult media, take full advantage of the spaces you occupy now.
The easiest way to find collaborators through social media is to see who else is in similar spaces to you. Are you a frequent poster to r/twunks? Maybe you can check out who else gets similar numbers. Do you notice a lot of your fans also follow another creator on Twitter? Give them a follow and interact with their tweets.
Beyond big social media platforms, you can also connect through more interpersonal apps like Lex, OkCupid, and, most specifically, Plaiir, which is specifically designed to help content creators find each other for collaborations. It’s like a dating app, but for making porn together. All users are verified and you can search by location. Plus, their profiles show shared interests and other info like height, preferred position and body type.
Remember That Competitors Can Be Your Best Friends
Online sex work has gotten very oversaturated. Marketing yourself effectively requires fitting a niche and knowing your audience. Sex work’s never been easy, but now it requires a discipline, dedication and specificity that it didn’t before. There’s good news about having so much competition, though: there’s plenty of fish in the sea to learn from and collaborate with.
What niche do you fill? Are you an emo twink? A buff bottom? A trans leather pup? Maybe it’s more about the kind of content you produce than your body type or archetype. Do you impress your fans with monster dildos? Or piss through your blue jeans? If there’s a big enough audience for your niche, chances are there are other folks out there catering to the same people. Try checking out other creators’ in subreddits or look at who else your fans follow on Twitter and reach out to some folks!
Oh, and don’t be afraid to collaborate with smaller creators. Sure, if someone just started last week and barely has any content, it’s best not to waste your time. But if someone’s posting consistently with a growing fanbase, they’re a great connection to make. It’ll excite your fans if you expose them to new folks they don’t expect and it’ll keep your content fresh and interesting. Encourage a culture of “passing it forward.”
Ask Fans For Feedback
Your fans might just be your most important resource. Only they can show you what sells, what needs work, and what else you can expand into. Plus, asking for their insight shows them you care about their support and opinions. What’s more exciting than suggesting something to your favorite creator and actually seeing them do it?
Find out what fans want to see from you. Do they have other creators they’ve been fantasizing about seeing you with? Do they love the idea of seeing you try something new, like getting suspension bound or having a threesome? Chances are they’ll jump at the chance to influence your content.
The easiest way to use your fan’s insight is to see who else they follow and support. You could also post a poll or ask publicly, which could boost engagement and add to the conversation. Possibly the best option is to message individuals one on one. It shows that you value their opinion and want to please them.
Stay Safe & Pass It On!
Unfortunately, there’s bad people in every industry. Especially in situations with little oversight or accountability, it can be easy for people to make a habit of harming others in the workplace and just keep working. With no HR or higher ups to contact for content creation, it’s up to us to keep ourselves and each other safe.
Do your research on potential collaborators before connecting. Has anyone posted or spoken publicly about working with them? Were any of those experiences notably negative? If so, how long ago and how severe? Was it a matter of poor communication or explicit boundary violation? Does it look like they’ve addressed the issues in the time since?
Make use of whisper networks. If you’ve followed the other tips, you are likely already connected to friends and networks of other sex workers. Even if no one’s said anything publicly, folks might be comfortable telling you things in confidence about people to avoid. Good luck!
All photos here from SC House Hollywood.
