Sister$Cash - Sisters in Cash

Earning Stability in the Adult Industry with Liah

Jessica / Liah Season 2 Episode 5

How does an adult content creator transition from cam girl fame to managing multiple models and ensuring their financial stability? Meet Liah, who shares her remarkable journey from the highs and lows of OnlyFans to her pivotal role at Unicorn Agency. Liah reveals the innovative content licensing model from the agency employs, where creators earn a fixed salary without the constant stress of traffic and social media management. This episode offers a window into how Unicorn Agency is providing stability for models across various regions, including the US, Latin America, and Europe, especially those looking to transition or monetize unused content.

The landscape of adult entertainment is evolving fast. We unpack the shift towards creator independence and the nuanced challenges of traffic acquisition. Liah sheds light on how platforms like OnlyFans have empowered creators but also introduced hurdles in generating consistent traffic. Discover the emerging marketplaces that connect creators with affiliates, the novel use of streaming services for advertising, and how these solutions are addressing the modern creator’s needs. We also explore revenue-sharing models and the importance of traffic solutions for both small creators and large agencies.

Finally, Liah opens up about the personal dynamics of content creation and platform management. We explore the dichotomy between established platforms that provide extensive promotional support and the newer, self-driven spaces that demand individual effort. Hear stories from Liah's experiences, including the challenges of building a fan base and maintaining audience engagement. Don't miss out on our discussion about upcoming b2b events in Berlin and Amsterdam, and the vibrant community spirit that binds the industry together. 

Liah´s Instagram https://www.instagram.com/itsliahlou

This Episode is featured by https://www.instagram.com/modelsearcher_com

Speaker 1:

Welcome to another episode of the Sisters in Cash podcast. This podcast is featured by ModelSearchercom. Modelsearcher is an adult-friendly social media platform. Today is my guest Leah. I think Leah is now the third time in my podcast, second, second time in my podcast. And yeah, leah, but please tell us a little little bit about you okay.

Speaker 2:

So, um, yes, I've been a like I'm Leah. I like, first of all, I've been a creator for like eight years or something, or even more, I don't really remember. Um, but yes, like I've, I'm based in Germany. I've done a lot of like cam. I used to be a cam girl, I used to do clips and I used to do OnlyFans and several premium platforms and, like a year ago, I decided to like go over and switch over to the business side of the industry, to like go over and switch over to the business side of the industry. So now I am also working in management for a unicorn agency and, yeah, like, right now I'm doing basically both.

Speaker 1:

Okay, can you tell us a little bit more about what is this for an agency? It's an normal model agency or an only fans agency, or what kind of agency it is?

Speaker 2:

so we run different business models with different girls, like, basically we focus on premium platform monetization, like only OnlyFans, fancentral, but what we do, what's maybe a bit different from other agencies, is that we do content licensing.

Speaker 1:

Okay, so I think this will be the topic today, because I think this is a really interesting thing. We were talking the last days about this. Can you explain us a little bit all the girls and the guys we hear this podcast what this means?

Speaker 2:

So yeah, basically, content licensing is very simple. It's basically we pay you a certain amount of money or a monthly salary or pay for your content. So it's not like the agencies that we're not doing the. We don't make the money by doing the girls, only fans and getting our share. We pay the models to give us content.

Speaker 1:

Okay, how many models you have in the agency? Will you talk about it or not?

Speaker 2:

Oh, it depends Like we. The thing is, we've worked with like I don't even know like before, because this business model has been running for like a couple of years. So we currently have like around eight active models and, yes, we're, but we're currently like searching for new models. But basically, yes, we we're currently like searching for new models, but basically, yes, we focus on that. We want to like, because whenever we have a new model, we have to like see what kind of content we try to like adjust like her content and give her a bit feedback of what we need, what's good, what's not good. So we always have like kind of like three months where we're like, yes, review the content and see if we want to like continue working together or not. And then, yes, so, but in the past, like we've worked with a lot of models.

Speaker 1:

Like yes. Okay when the models are from. They german girls or us girls or?

Speaker 2:

uh, we work with models all over the world. Basically, right now, our models are mainly from the us and, uh, latin america. So but yes, like we, we also used to work with EU-based models, mainly from Spain. We have models from Germany, like we have models from everywhere.

Speaker 1:

Nice, this is really nice. So I understand it right the models are just creating content.

Speaker 2:

They don't have to bring any traffic or something, and then they get money right, exactly so, uh, this is basically for models that do not want to build their own brand, or that already have a lot of content they not use anymore, or or they they step out of the industry and um the our models don't need to have social media, they don't need to have OnlyFans account, they don't need to have anything, they don't need to have ring traffic or nothing.

Speaker 2:

The only thing they really have to do is deliver the amount of content that we agree on. And, yeah, like for content licensing, there's like different business models. You can either like pay a one-time amount or a certain you know, like a one-time fee for a certain amount of content. Basically, you say like okay, I have like 50 clips and whatever pictures and people pay you a one-time fee to like get, can and can use it. Or you do it like a monthly base that you say like okay, you deliver like this amount of content per month and that's like what you get your fixed salary for oh, this is interesting.

Speaker 2:

So you get every month free new content from the girls yeah, like with the models that we, we currently work with, they, um, they have agreements about like a certain amount of content and they send it to us and therefore they get like a fixed salary. So, um, yes, this is this is interesting for for girls who prefer to have a fixed salary towards a, like you know, the yes, the, what we all have to deal with, like the numbers go up and they go down, and then you have to put more work into it less work into it and stuff like that.

Speaker 2:

So yeah, it's just like it's people out there that say like, hey, I see the potential and whatever, but I don't care, I just want to have like my fixed amount of money and like not have the issues with like getting traffic or is it a good month or a bad month on OnlyFans or whatever. So this is all on us. So we take the risk of paying the girl and then like trying to get the money out of the contract.

Speaker 1:

Okay, this is nice. And so the good question for all the models outside from where you get the traffic?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so, yeah, I mean, we all have our secrets. You know, um, this is like, yeah, I mean, but but I can't tell. We all have the same struggles, like I. I I talked to a lot of like other agencies. We are also like always looking for for traffic providers or whatever, but we also go the normal way, you know like. We also like do social, you know, and try to promote the content and the girls on like the regular way almost every creator does out there. But we also, for example, use Model Searcher.

Speaker 1:

Okay, next point yes, for example. Yes, you do right, okay. So, guys, um, for example, um on model searcher is the adult friendly social media platform. So you post um pics and clips, whatever, and you will get traffic for free. Um, I tried it also for my accounts and there's also a tracking link and it works really, really, really, really well. Also, as an agency or studio, you can use modelsearchercom. Yeah, I think, in times where it goes harder and harder with Instagram and X platforms like modelsearchercom, it's only adult-friendly social media platform yeah, no, it's not not no, that no.

Speaker 2:

I think it's definitely the most popular and probably the biggest yeah, it is, yes, it is like and like I mean there's other other, like social networks where you can post. I mean Reddit, for example, is a social network as well.

Speaker 1:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

But model searches. The difference is also compared to all other not-safe-for-work socials is that you can directly link your OnlyFans, that it gives the user already info about your OnlyFans, like is it a free trial or whatever. That's all on your profile on model searches. So yeah it's really focusing on OnlyFans Creator, which is great.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I think they will come up with a lot of new cool futures in the future.

Speaker 1:

Yeah you probably know better than me okay, um, can you tell us because now you know the, you know the model side of the industry because you was a really famous german porn actress, but I think also internationally. You had a big um us fan base, um, so you know the industry as a, as a model, yeah, but now since one year, from the business side, and I know that you was on a lot of shows like X-Biz and Tess. I don't know if you were Do. You was in Prague.

Speaker 2:

No, I haven't been to Tess. I'm going to go this year. But oh yeah, I mean Venus. I've been in Venus, in Venus, venus.

Speaker 1:

So, yeah, yeah, I've seen a couple shows. Yeah, um, so I think you are also great in put for the company you are working right now for. But are there big changes in the industry right now? Can you feel something um, especially when you're talking to the, to the people at the show? So, for example, maybe um because of ai or something like this?

Speaker 2:

so I think that the major change we've been in for a couple of years like when you, when you look at the big, big, big picture is really the shift from from the labels and big sides over to the creators right, so that we have our only own, like I. I from a time where we had like the websites where we did like live camming and uploaded our clips and we had like a low revenue share, but therefore the sites brought you all the traffic you didn't even have to have like social media, you know, so you could just like make real good money by just being on the side. So the big shift we have right now is that creators are more independent, get like way higher revenue share, um, which is like, in my case, like I think that's often like misunderstood that girls be like no, I want like work or a camp or a site where I only have like 30 share, when I can go to onlyfans with an 80 share. But, girl, they bring all your traffic and that's a shit ton of traffic, right. So, um, but I I can't see the point still, though. But, um, I think that's the major shift like going, going, like taking away the power from like big big platforms, um, but I think the biggest like I don't really like I see we're still in that change.

Speaker 2:

What I see now what a huge issue for um trap or not issue, but a big challenge for traffic providers as well is like we have those huge traffic provider that send traffic and that work with the big big platform, but now the small creators and the agencies which are like compared to big sites, are also small, right, but we all want some of that traffic and we are willing to pay for that traffic. We'll be like hey, I want to like have an ad here or this or that. So the first companies open up with like small packages or offers for single content creators or agencies, because you know for them, like somebody, somebody that invests like a couple thousand dollars for traffic, is like random. You know they usually work with like big websites that pay hundreds of thousands, probably millions of dollars for traffic. So of course, they're like like why would we like start working with like single creators that give us like 500 a month, you know? But at some point like the, the so many people want this and need this.

Speaker 2:

And what I see now is the first marketplaces popping up for for creators, you know, for creators and affiliates, like small affiliates that do not have like billions of users but that that have like a decent amount of followers or whatever, and like marketplaces that connect creators with affiliates because, yes, traffic is is the main thing right now, and I think that's that's what the industry, that's the, the challenge the industry is facing now, like um and I'm so happy about it because there was a time where the companies don't understand that the models need traffic.

Speaker 1:

All what the models need are not special features of something, it's traffic, if you have it. Yeah, so also from me as a model and the business side, you know and I know all we need is traffic. Nothing else we don't need, we know, don't need a nice page or everything, just traffic, traffic, traffic. And yeah, like you say, there are a lot of cool companies. Now they come up with cool features for the models to, of course, with affiliates, but special, like advertisement in TV shows or on channels. So, for example, I was, I was also a live cam girl for a lot of years on one page and at this page there was something special. It was the only page in Germany where it was allowed to stream on the German channels in the night, the girls. So we had always a lot of traffic. And I will never forget when, when you as a girl, as a model, you was in the, in the tv, you got tons of users.

Speaker 2:

It was crazy, it was crazy and this specific platform you're talking about, they're like. They're like what they do now is they're gonna be the. As far as I know, they're gonna uh start advertising on like um, a streaming service in germany, one of the biggest streaming services no yeah so and like wait they they are working with this what? They are working. They're going to like the TV promotion they did or still doing. I mean, everyone who's from Germany knows what we're talking about.

Speaker 1:

Hi. To us we're talking about live strip now and Suzy live, so hi.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and as far as I know, they, as I know they're gonna like it's rumors, but as far as I know, they're gonna, um, gonna do the same thing with, with, uh, with streaming platforms that are big in germany, like netflix not netflix, but kind of like no, yeah, but that's like, yeah, but that's the right thing, because I have to call Thomas and I have to ask him about it, because this is an amazing move.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, because new people, new generation, they're not watching TV at 1 am in the night anymore, they're going and go live streaming. And that's what I mean that specific platform has never said, and that's like a big issue. The other platforms that were like, hey, you have this feature and that feature and that feature and whatever they pay out, like a high share of like 70 to 80 percent, of course, they cannot afford to buy traffic. They cannot afford it, because the 20 that's left for them, or 25 they needed to run their company. So, and now? And they thought like, okay, we don't have to do anything, we just have to provide the platform and the creators will bring all the traffic.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, at some point that worked, but now social media is like fucked up for all of us, you know. So for us it's not easy anymore to bring traffic because we get limited. So, yes, and now the platform can't be like oh wait, you know we're going to start buying traffic now, but instead of 80 percent, you only get 50 percent. Now, because traffic is expensive, of course, you know, and people want their share. So, yes, like, traffic is the currency here. So, and that's the issue that many platforms have, I guess many platforms have, I guess and like, when there is no traffic coming from the platform and when, like, girls can't bring traffic because they even have an issue to bring traffic on social media or from social media, they will leave the platform.

Speaker 1:

I know, but I was. I was talking to the owner or co-owner from for based, and there are also rumors or he come up with an idea. I think it's not fixed now, but in our podcast I can leak us, I can leak it. So, um, it's like the girls give, for example, 30% to an affiliate, yeah, and they will bring traffic also from a TV channel.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that makes sense.

Speaker 1:

They can agree to this. Yes.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and that's what platforms like whatever my Dirty Hobby have been for forever, you know. So it's like, yes, you only get a share of like 30 percent or whatever, and it's like nuts, but they have millions of users and they send out um, they send out newsletters every week, you know, and sometimes promote you. They, uh, they pay tons of money for tube marketing, so you don't need to bring one single user to make money on that. And you know what? The funny thing is, what many girls forget, like that, okay, this is only for, like, german platforms.

Speaker 2:

I have to say that. But when you like Livestrip or Livestrip or MyDotGH, my dirty hobby, like when you bring your own user, you know, via your own link, you know, then you get like a 60 of something because you get the 30 that he spent on your content, plus the 30 you get because you get a share of whatever the the person spent. Right, so you're even close to premium platform. The only difference is that when that that that user on live strip or my dirty hobby spends money for another girl, you still get 30 yes that's something you do not have an only fan you know when I like, bring users to OnlyFans and they go over to another girl, another girl.

Speaker 2:

I don't earn shit, I only earn the money like when he is on my page. Yes, it's the 80%, but do you know how many girls out there living their best life from the years? They I don't know from years ago, because they were really good in bringing users to platforms and they've been cam girls for like four years or?

Speaker 2:

whatever, but they're still making monthly money because they brought so many users and the users are still spending. That's insane, so, yeah, so I don't really like that. That. The bashing, you know that, yeah, all those platforms like OnlyFans is a better share. A better share, yes, but only fans and premium platforms are fucking hard work. You either have to invest and buy your own traffic or you have to work and you have to work every day.

Speaker 2:

You have a pressure every day and you also have to be like social. Nowadays it's not only being consistent, hardworking, creative, good, it's also being like be in the right place at the right time. Like you know, you can go viral, but there's no like the you know idea or the guy to go viral. It can happen, but it can happen that it's never going to happen.

Speaker 1:

But Instagram also changed the algorithm again, just saying.

Speaker 2:

So yeah, that's heavy. And to go back to the content, licensing all that stuff is not the girl's business like. That's all stuff. They can just like lean back and work.

Speaker 1:

So maybe just focusing on creating content that's it.

Speaker 2:

So maybe they can be like okay, so the the thing is, of course I mean, of course we want to make more money with the content than we pay the girl, of course, otherwise it wouldn't make sense, right? But and of course the girls know, but that's what I mean Like maybe, like I don't care if they make like the double or triple or 10 times the money with my content. I don't care, because I only want my $6. I don't want to have a headache about traffic, about social, about nothing. They just like do their content, get a decent salary from us, like what they have negotiated, what's good for them, and the rest is like not on them. You know, and I can understand that some girls will be like oh what, and then they make like 10 times more or whatever. But yeah, that's what I say. It's just girls out there that be like I don't want to waste my lifetime having a fucking headache every day about social media and getting new users chatting with them, everything, so they don't have to do anything, right yeah, I think it's.

Speaker 1:

Also, this is a really good opportunity, like you said, for girls. They have not a big social media and they don't like to create their own brand, and I think this is um really fair to give them the this girl's also a chance to.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, because yeah, totally, totally like. Uh, we have one model. She doesn't. She doesn't have social media. Um, she just likes.

Speaker 2:

She's just like I don't care, like I don't care creating other content, like she likes being sexy and like nice pictures and everything, but basically she gets the fixed salary from us and just travels the world, you know, and she doesn't have to. Yeah, like she's living her life, you know. And yeah, it's not that we say like you have to create daily content. We have a content package that we want and let me say if you're, if you're good, you can do all the content within like three to four days. You know, working days, nice, yeah, like you have to be good for that. But yes, I mean that's the girl. She says I want to travel the world and like sometimes she's super busy, sometimes she's not even responding to us, you know, because she's just like. I know I get my fixed salary every month so I can calculate what to do this month, what to do next month and what to do the month after. You know she can calculate every month. She knows how much work she has to do and how much money she will have, and that for her it's a privilege money she will have and that for her it's a privilege.

Speaker 2:

You know other girls may be like no, I want to like scale my OnlyFans and make it bigger and grow and have more money.

Speaker 2:

But therefore they have to put the work in it and they don't know. Sometimes it needs like 10 hours a day because your account is very busy and sometimes, or or because you have to get users and it's very slow and sometimes it's just like so and that it's just a thing of like what kind of person you are. You know so. And if you're not like the big, big money chasing, be like, hey, this is good money for me and I and I, I can like buy me a house, like that's another thing. You can go to your bank and be like, hey, I have an agreement here, like the last five years, we have more that have been with us for like five years, you know, and they get their monthly salary. They've been getting it for five years, so they can go to the bank and be like, hey, this is my salary monthly and can maybe like buy a house or something. So, yeah, it's just, it's just a matter of of character and what you prefer, how to live yeah, so also.

Speaker 1:

Um, it's especially the german girls they come from for a big streaming platform or my Dirty Hobby. They don't understand because it's another system to work how hard it is to bring their own traffic from social media.

Speaker 2:

And I learned it the hard way too. I mean, I've had a very good contract with my Dirty Hobby. I used to be exclusively with them and they're good, they're good, they're awesome. I can't say a bad word about them. But I had the same. I was like no, I want to try it, I want to learn something new, I want to see what OnlyFans brings and whatever so I had the same. I was like no, I want to try it. Like, I want to learn something new, I want to see what OnlyFans brings and whatever so. And I learned it the hard way. Like I have a good social with a decent following. I built a fan base on MyDirtyHobby that was active during that time, but it was not. Honestly, it's not. I expected that when I start only fans and I posted on my socials like hey guys, I'm not with my dirty hobby anymore, like come to my only fan, I thought, yeah, okay, that's it. Like there will be like a thousand users, not that. But that was kind of what I expected, but it was not.

Speaker 1:

So, um, yes, and that's like yeah, will you tell us what's your only fans for the, for the, for the guys who hear it, or not? My only fans link yeah it's um it's lialu okay, so just the guys. Now, what's your stage name? Yeah, yes, of course, like my instagram and everything else by the way, yeah, I will also link your instagram under this podcast so, yes, um, it's I.

Speaker 2:

I learned the hard way. Like you, you're nowadays, you're in a very, very comfort, comfortable position if you work closely with a big platform that that pushes. I mean, that's also like not, they don't do it with every model, but if they push you, if they promote your brand, if they help you grow your brand I, I, I can tell you you know it as well, like you've worked with with live strip as well, like very closely, and you know what a blessing that is.

Speaker 1:

But then at some point you'll be like you just have to go in the evening in front of the camp. Do your shit yes, and you don't have to do. I mean, we're both from the time where no one asked us to bring wow yes, yes, this was crazy and I okay, we don't talk so much now about my dirty hobby, but but when you was big, like you on my Dirty Hobby, a lot of people know you In Germany, of course this was crazy.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and you don't do anything for that. It's them. They send out newsletters, they do the cheap marketing. They put your face on every shitty banner on the internet, like, of course, you have to be open for it exactly so.

Speaker 2:

If you want to be like, hey, I'm the girl next door having like a hobby or whatever, and like, put it on instagram every second week, so that's, that's an only fans girl, okay, you can't do that on my dirty hobby. Like, my dirty hobby will expose you like definitely. So same with like live shows. Like yeah, what you're when you're on the tv, you're on the tv like people know you, so you can't do anything about it. But therefore you get good money that that they, therefore they have good traffic.

Speaker 2:

But that's the business yeah, and they pay for it. They pay a lot of money for it, so of course you have to.

Speaker 2:

Of course your revenue share is, like it's like lower compared to only fans yeah I mean only fans doesn't even have a directory where you can put like I don't know, you know, preference of like red hair or whatever, and they will show you some creators, but they don't have anything I know they just have only fans tv and but it's also you had because I was trying to get featured by them for my podcast, um, so I had a one-to-one call with one people from OnlyFans.

Speaker 1:

It was really cool, but they had you have to. It's not so easy to upload your content on this OnlyFans TV because this have to be a really high quality. They have a special format and, yeah, it's, it's not easy also for me. I'm now 12 years no, 13 years now in the industry and it's so hard to upload some stuff there and they will check anything, anything.

Speaker 1:

It's really yeah yeah, I know they're very like but but they but they feature it now a lot because I saw they come up with a lot of new series, so episodes from big stars on this OnlyFans TV. I think this can be really interesting too. It's another. It's a little bit like Netflix, you know. It's cool.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, let's see. Oh, like we're currently testing it with one model.

Speaker 1:

This OnlyFans TV, but you know what format it's calling format. It has to be at the timeline when you like to upload something.

Speaker 2:

I don't know, she did that one-on-one call with the models manager but uh she, everything's been approved, so we know that it'll be posted like I'm approved too.

Speaker 1:

My channel is approved too, but the problem is always when I'm trying to upload something. I think you have to record it with um, with a vlogging cam, you know, not with a phone.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah of course, yeah, but she did that. She really has really high quality content so yes, um yeah, yeah, I'm excited, like what? Yeah, and she did like amazing content with like voiceover and yoga routines and like it's great she's doing some yoga stuff for fitness or what yes, yoga and travel and lifestyle blogs and stuff like that.

Speaker 1:

Nice, so she used it as a naughty YouTube.

Speaker 2:

Yes. Perfect no not even naughty. The thing is, they don't want it naughty.

Speaker 1:

I know, I know, but you can show more like in YouTube, but not.

Speaker 2:

She had yoga scenes and then she did some positions and that was too explicit for only fans and they asked her yeah, they asked her to cut it out, like second, three, two, five has to be cut out and everything.

Speaker 2:

So it has to be like very safe for work. Also, the page that's linked um has to be super, super, super, super, super safe for work. Not even like, uh, not even like emojis that are, you know, like the eggplant emoji or whatever, not even that like we had to clean the page and it was yeah, it took the team a while to clean everything oh, my god, I have to log me in to again.

Speaker 1:

I have to work, because before I was trying to use this for this podcast but I never found the right, because I think this can be really cool, because we are talking about a lot of stuff, you know. But yeah, I will see what I will upload there, because the channel is the proof, why should I not use it?

Speaker 2:

That's cool though. Yeah, yeah. That's cool though.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, yeah, that's cool leah yeah this was so interesting, always when you are you can tell us more good? It's up to you, but the thing is when we do the podcast too long, then the people.

Speaker 1:

No, no, I was just surprised because the last, the last time it was nearly two, two, two hours yeah yeah, stuff like that yeah, but um, I think it's after 40 minutes or 50 minutes people yeah, I agree to hear a podcast. So I agree and I think this was really interesting again and I think I will have you more often in my pod for more episodes, because I think you will be, in the future, a really big person in the industry from the business side, because you're really intelligent and I'm really proud of you and, yeah, there will come a lot of more from you.

Speaker 2:

So, yeah, we'll see, we'll see it will be like maybe, maybe maybe the next time we have new topics, you know you know yes like crazy and I, and I hope I will see you at the next shows. I have to go there too, girl, come on of course, yes, I mean, venus is not far from you.

Speaker 1:

I will be there, I think I will be there with model searcher. I get a booth for my podcast there and I'm really happy, and then I can do my my, my interviews with the models, and this is really, really, really, really, really cool.

Speaker 2:

So I will see you in Berlin probably not on Saturday, because Friday night is the b2b party and I'm like always, hello yeah, you too, but I would come to like to your booth on saturday because I'm gonna sleep on saturday, okay, but maybe, maybe I will see you in amsterdam too, the next time, definitely, definitely I like to be there yeah, okay yeah, thank you so much for your time thank you and, yeah, see you next time.

Speaker 1:

And whoever like to know more about leah or like to ask her something, I will link her email and her instagram under this podcast. Leah, thank you so much thanks for having me okay, bye, bye.

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