The False Promises of Passive Income Doing Sex Work

I originally meant to write this blog post first, but this Twitter thread was the result of me wanting to rant.

During my time as an online sex worker (since 2012?) and especially within the past few years, I see articles and social media posts touting the benefits of creating and maintaining passive income, specifically within the adult industry. Some of these are from people who genuinely want the best for their fellow sex workers, and others are from companies...who I hope want the best for their creators.

I'm glad that more and more people are starting to become aware of building passive income, but there are a few big problems I've noticed with trying to make a reality of living off of what you earn passively.

Before I go into that, let me explain passive income for anyone who don't know what it entails: it essentially means that automation and/or outsourcing provide the bulk of the labor, allowing the creator to only put in a minimum amount of active work into creating a long-term source of income. That means, if done successfully, that a person can go weeks or even months without working. For example, a camgirl spends an entire month creating clips and other content, then schedules everything to post on the clip site for the next eleven months.

I love this idea, but through my own experience and looking at how the platforms are built, this isn't as easily achieved as many probably think.

In the same way there is the "get rich quick" sort of mindset, there is also the "I will build long-term passive income by devoting three months to creating content" mindset. Sure, if you make even a few sales after those three months, it's technically passive income, but when people talk about passive income, it is insinuated that you make enough to live off of it.

Making a living as an online sex worker isn't necessarily an easy thing to do, and making a living earned from passive income is even harder. Either way, you have to work hard to build a following (that pays) to ensure longevity.

One of the bigger problems, I think, is that many of the platforms that allow us to sell content aren't good at directing site visitors to clips and profiles, or barely (or outright don't) function as a marketplace, meaning that creators have to direct their own traffic to the virtual storefront in order to make sales. I've found that even sites that do at least a decent job with directing traffic to creators are dependent on new videos being uploaded - so either the creator has to regularly manually publish the videos, or the platform has to have a (good) scheduler option. Personally, I think how the platforms function are a huge obstacle for sex workers to be able to achieve the dream of making sizable passive income.

Excluding ScatShop, I'm currently using nine sites to sell clips. Only two of them - ManyVids and Clips4Sale - have resulted in what I would call a reasonable amount of sales. (My sales on Modelhub haven't been anything to brag about, but I make a decent amount through Viewshare Video earnings, which is what they call what I make from Pornhub Premium.) As a result of dismal sales, I'm not as proactive with uploading clips to the other sites.

Alongside naive mindsets and lackluster platform performances, the third problem I find with achieving passive income is that people throw that word around, not really understanding its meaning. For example, unless you have someone else uploading for you or you have found a way to schedule, having a premium Snapchat isn't earning you passive income, even if you use subscription sites like FanCentro to automatically collect the proper amount from subscribers. If you don't open up Snapchat for two months, nothing is being sent to your subscribers, and while FanCentro may charge them, you'll have some very pissed off (and reasonably so) customers.

If someone says that maintaining a premium Snapchat, being a phone sex operator, public or private cam model, or magazine model are forms of passive income, then they don't know what passive income truly is, unless they suggest a very specific business plan, like outsourcing. Yes, all of these forms of work can help build passive revenue streams, but they're not in themselves a form of it.

Some tips:

• Take advantage of automation, but take note of its limits. A site may say that it's gonna automatically share new uploads and video sales to Twitter, but with what I've experienced, it doesn't always happen. (While not passive income, I recently became aware of models using bots on Twitter to automatically post on tweets that mention interest in buying videos. Unfortunately, these bots will also post on tweets of people who are under 18.)

• As a sex worker, you should be aware by now that a hefty portion of your income will go towards taxes. Keep this in mind while determining whether the income you are truly making a livable amount from your passive income or not.

• Even if you don't care about making a living just on passive income or know you want to actively work for a long time, it's still a good idea to have at least a small passive income stream, which can help you during unexpected or expected slow months (like during the holidays) or if you need to take a break from actively working.

Paying Off My Student Loans, One Video at a Time

I graduated college over two years ago. Like many, I felt pressured into taking classes and taking out large loans to pay for them as if this was a rite of passage (and a good investment). On top of it all, I was very naive.

While I don't regret going to college or studying what I did, I sigh looking back on the things I could have changed. Maybe I could have gone to school in a city that had a strip club. Maybe I could have spent more of my breaks working in the strip clubs back home. Maybe I could have focused more on making videos, and directing strip club patrons to them. Maybe I should have worked full-time in a strip club after I graduated for six months to a year. And other non-strip club related thoughts. I can't change any of that now.

I have a lot of student debt. It literally almost increased my cost of living by 100%. To alleviate some of the burden - and to make it more "fun" - I've decided to dedicate some video sales solely to paying off the debt. For example, I will upload some clips to ManyVids, and place them at a discount until my loans are paid off. Somewhat of a win-win: the customers get discounted videos, and I use that money to make a payment. Based off of what I made of those specific videos, I will make an occasional one-time payment, and share the screenshot with an update and the hashtag #TheTrinaStudentLoans to show my followers what is being accomplished. (That doesn't mean those are all of the loan payments I'm going to make.)

In the captions of the videos, I will include a brief explanation of what I'm doing, then link to this post if they want more information. I'm trying to expand to every clip site I can, but that doesn't mean that sales of the same clip will all go towards my student loans. Please read the description of the video, and if it makes no mention of this endeavor, then you'll know that the video doesn't count towards this.

I have a long way to go with paying of these loans. When the time comes to announce the success of my loan payoff, I will post on Twitter and take the discounts off of the pertaining videos. The money from such sales will go towards whatever I please by that time.

To keep up with new content, sales I've made, and announcements, keep tabs on this annoying hashtag - #TheTrinaStudentLoans - and decide whether or not you'd like to chip in.

(Of course, I'll accept donations as well. You can tip me on ManyVids, Pornhub, OnlyFans, MyFreeCams, iWantClips, or FanCentro. If you can provide a note, let me know if you want it to go towards my loans. If the platform doesn't have a message option, reach out to me through DM on another platform or email thornforever@gmail.com to inform me.)





These are the clip sites that I am currently using for this, and I may add more in the future:

ManyVids

iWantClips

MFC Share

Chaturbate

AmateurPorn

Unblur.media

Pornhub

$10,000 Shaved Pussy

Originally posted on Pornhub.

From one of my Pornhub videos.

When I used to cam, I decided that saying I would never shave my pussy (for any amount of money) was close-minded…so I decided to put it out there that I would do so for $10,000.

I have never completely gotten rid of my pubic hair. My preference is to keep it trimmed. Even that doesn’t work out so well, as I often am too lazy or forget to do so. I also sometimes get rid of the hair on my bikini line so that nothing pokes out when I wear a swimsuit.

Some guys would get really offended, and try to charm(?) me into offering a reasonable price, but I would tell them that the point of having such a high price is to get them to stop bothering me about it. And if it so happened that someone actually would pay me that (of course, I would require payment beforehand), then I would get $10,000 out of it.

It’s not like I really give a shit if you “can get another woman for a decent price.” I have standards. I’m not going to shave my pussy for $5, $10, $50, $100, or even $1,000. (I’m also not going to write a 1,000-word erotic story for a measly $10, or do a full nudity show for $2.) I choose my prices, and complain all you want - I don’t give a shit.

So, if anyone has $10,000 they wanna drop on seeing me shave my pubic hair in its entirety for the first time, drop a line. The recording of that will go for $500. Too much for you? I don’t give a fuck.

"Lifetime" Snapchats and the Marketplace

My thoughts on this topic would be too annoying to try and write out on a Twitter thread, so I decided to start up a temporary blog on here.

I was appalled when reading through this thread on Life of a Camgirl that many camgirls think that it's not only okay if those offering premium Snapchat revoke lifetime access to members who paid, but that it's an expectation if you're not making enough money from them.

If you read through the thread, you can see some of my opinions; I have way more strong opinions, but I held them back, and I'm even holding them back on this blog. I also tagged MemberBlasts to see if they had any stances or advice to offer. (I recall seeing them post about a lot of disputes between irked customers and models who revoked lifetime memberships.)

In one post, they linked back to something they had written before on CuriousCat. In short, a camgirl submitted feedback saying they think MemberBlasts is going too far if they are going to blast models who are revoking lifetime subscriptions because of changing up business models. MemberBlasts then provides some suggestions that you should just read about in the link. The following sentence has been haunting me in the past week, leading to quite a bit of frustration:

"Being a model myself, I see how it has hurt me immensely keeping my Snapchat on a lifetime basis but also feeling like I can't change it because I will have you blasting me, anonymously at that."

So, what is this "blasting"? They're referring to when a model or "customer" is called out for scamming or making an unfair decision that hurts the other. Twitter handles, site usernames, etc. are revealed.

Just to put this out there, I highly appreciate the work that MemberBlasts does. Personally, I haven't had a potentially bad interaction prevented by them, but whenever I come across bad eggs, they've shared what I've messaged them. I discovered them when they RT'd screenshots of this one particularly foul encounter I had. It made me feel good to know that there are at least some people who care and are trying to make things easier for all of us. There are a lot of criticisms about MemberBlasts (not surprisingly, many of them who have been blasted), but I disagree with pretty much all of them. Sometimes, I feel like a few critics make good or interesting points, yet it's not enough for me to think that what MemberBlasts does is any less good.

The reason why that sentence from the anonymous camgirl irks me is because she's afraid of being blasted for a legitimate reason. I don't want to go too much into why I don't really like lifetime Snapchat offers, but one big reason is because those offering it don't seem to know what "lifetime" actually means. There shouldn't be a debate over the definition. To make it simple, here's a list why it's bad to revoke lifetime membership for paying customers (some bleed into others):

• When you advertise something as lifetime, it actually means something;

• This is a business where you have to provide or give the illusion of companionship and attention;

• Customers are going to stop trusting you;

• Times will get slow again, and it may be tempting to revoke lifetime Snapchat once again;

• "They only paid $30 for lifetime. That's not much!" When does it become "too much"? There's no clear line. I bet models are going to (rightfully) complain if they send a nude picture, but the customer doesn't pay the $5 that they promised to;

and finally:

If you are breaking the terms of the service you promised, customers are going to worry about what other services they have fair access to in the future.

That's where MemberBlasts come in. They don't blast people to embarrass them, but to warn others. If a model is known for setting up "lifetime" Snapchats, but deleting them when she feels like it, customers have a right to know. That's what is so great about doing business in an open marketplace.

If a customer can't trust a model, they have the right to buy the services of others who can conduct business fairly.

My advice for models who are contemplating offering lifetime Snapchat services:

• Don't;

• Consider monthly, a set of months, yearly, etc.;

• If you do, set it at a price that you think you won't regret later;

• Know yourself and let your customers know how frequently you'll post;

• Come up with a new marketing term that sounds as enticing as "lifetime";

• Consider upselling other stuff, especially when times get slow, such as OnlyFans, custom Snapchat content, etc.

With all of that said, I actually am planning on selling a lifetime subscription to my premium Snapchat in February 2019, but only during that month. (Lifetime is guaranteed at three years of regular content, and will only be disbanded if I retire, which I have no plans to currently.) I will also be offering one month, three months, six months, and one year options. I am currently writing out an information and rules document that people can access once I'm finished. (I'm finished with it now.)

As with any business decision, don't assume you'll be able to make money quickly and don't launch anything too soon. Consider what I'm doing and write things out so both you and the customers know what to expect. Build a following. Learn how much your potential customers are willing to purchase for subscriptions, and if they'll continuously provide financial support by buying other things or tipping.

If you already have a lifetime Snapchat, but no longer want it, or want to redo it? Talk with your subscribers to see how you can settle it so both parties can feel good at the end. Again, read MemberBlasts' response.

Shameless plug: I'm on Snapchat as TheTrinaCam. You can read more about premium here.