20 Jul Pros and Cons of Being A Solo Content Creator
Posted
in Marketing Yourself
Most people start out in the adult content creation industry as solo performers; people need to build credibility, trust and a portfolio of sorts before reaching out to collaborate with others. From my perspective, it appears that most people in this business have the goal of working with others, rather than just remaining as solo content creators. As someone who started out working solo, and then dabbled in work with others before choosing to return to solo creation, I can provide some pros and cons of both types of work. Read on to learn more…
PROS OF SOLO CONTENT CREATION
The first pro of solo content creation is that you do not have to collect, store and maintain documentation for the other performers in your content. For most sites, you require copies of IDs and signed releases that need to be updated periodically. If you lose track of the performer then you potentially lose the ability to share that piece of work, rendering it unusable.
Secondly, as a solo content creator, you can work according to your own schedule. If you suddenly feel like filming, you can do it and not have to do additional planning around another person. If you want to film at 3am, this may conflict with the way others run their lives but if you are solo, you can create where and when you please.
When you are working alone, you retain control in other areas too. This includes what you are producing; you have sole control over what you make, what you want it to look like and what you do in your work. Although you could keep a tight hand on this when you are working with others, just the fact that there are other people involved can sway the way the content goes, whether that means trying to please the other person or not being completely authentic (because this is a hard thing for anyone to do!). By producing content alone, you also have full control over where and how content is distributed, as any co-performers need to consent to where the content is released. This just doesn’t include specific sites, but it can also impact regions, as some people are not comfortable with their content being available to audiences in certain areas. Although you may be fine with something, your collaborator may not be, and you have to respect this.
Finally, the last and the best thing about solo content creation is that it suits particular niches and audience types. The thing that swayed me towards making content on my own was that my fanbase told me that they liked having the experience that I was performing for or talking to them in my content. This is the niche or style that solo work really lends itself to; the intimate POV you get with niches such as Femdom, StepMommy roleplay and Jerk Off Instruction draws fans in and you can build your brand around this type of content.
CONS OF SOLO CONTENT CREATION
The first con of being a solo content creator is the isolation; working on everything yourself can create a bubble around you that is not particularly helpful from a work and health perspective. Even people who work in mainstream jobs that are very autonomous still generally have a team they can refer to, providing guidance and support when needed. As a solo content creator without collaborators, this can put you in a position of having no one to go to for help if needed.
Similarly, being a solo content creator means that you don’t have someone to bounce ideas off of. If you are not sure if something will work, it is good to have someone to talk it through with and try the idea out before you invest too much time in it. This is different than talking through ideas with people who are not in the business; that knowledge base takes time and experience to gain and if someone is working with you regularly, then they have a pretty good idea of how successful a particular content concept will be.
Following on from this point, being a solo content creator means you carry all the workload. If you are collaborating with someone else, there is the potential to delegate tasks and reduce your load in the spirit of the content you have made together. Although you can create a team to help you when you are a solo content creator, you need to be able to pay them, and people early in their careers or who don’t have the support to carry a team in an industry that can be inconsistent, will have problems funding this.
Finally, being a solo content creator means you are automatically locked out of certain niches and content types because they are things that simply cannot (or are very difficult to) be pulled off by one person. Outside of couple or group sex content, I am also referring to diverse fetishes such as wrestling, human furniture, certain types of spanking, and bondage.
THE VEREDICT
Solo content creation suits some people more than others, and is also dependent on the type of content you like to make, and that your fans enjoy. For me, being a solo content creator suits my personal circumstances and is preferred by my fanbase, so it is a natural type of work for me to gravitate towards. Although some of the cons can be addressed in different ways, some of them just cannot be helped. Some may feel that you have to collaborate with others to be successful in the adult industry, but I feel this is an old myth generated by mainstream studios, as opposed to the current landscape of content creation which is easily accessible to anyone with a smart phone. So what do you need to do to be successful as a solo content creator? Well, that is a question for another time…
Rem Sequence is an Australian adult content creator, blogger, and internationally published alt model. She has a background in psychology, philosophy and political science and worked in health and sex education, youth work and trauma counselling for almost two decades. Now, she works full time in the adult industry, as well as indulging her passion for arts, writing and music in numerous side projects.
Most people start out in the adult content creation industry as solo performers; people need to build credibility, trust and a portfolio of sorts before reaching out to collaborate with others. From my perspective, it appears that most people in this business have the goal of working with others, rather than just remaining as solo content creators. As someone who started out working solo, and then dabbled in work with others before choosing to return to solo creation, I can provide some pros and cons of both types of work. Read on to learn more…
PROS OF SOLO CONTENT CREATION
The first pro of solo content creation is that you do not have to collect, store and maintain documentation for the other performers in your content. For most sites, you require copies of IDs and signed releases that need to be updated periodically. If you lose track of the performer then you potentially lose the ability to share that piece of work, rendering it unusable.
Secondly, as a solo content creator, you can work according to your own schedule. If you suddenly feel like filming, you can do it and not have to do additional planning around another person. If you want to film at 3am, this may conflict with the way others run their lives but if you are solo, you can create where and when you please.
When you are working alone, you retain control in other areas too. This includes what you are producing; you have sole control over what you make, what you want it to look like and what you do in your work. Although you could keep a tight hand on this when you are working with others, just the fact that there are other people involved can sway the way the content goes, whether that means trying to please the other person or not being completely authentic (because this is a hard thing for anyone to do!). By producing content alone, you also have full control over where and how content is distributed, as any co-performers need to consent to where the content is released. This just doesn’t include specific sites, but it can also impact regions, as some people are not comfortable with their content being available to audiences in certain areas. Although you may be fine with something, your collaborator may not be, and you have to respect this.
Finally, the last and the best thing about solo content creation is that it suits particular niches and audience types. The thing that swayed me towards making content on my own was that my fanbase told me that they liked having the experience that I was performing for or talking to them in my content. This is the niche or style that solo work really lends itself to; the intimate POV you get with niches such as Femdom, StepMommy roleplay and Jerk Off Instruction draws fans in and you can build your brand around this type of content.
CONS OF SOLO CONTENT CREATION
The first con of being a solo content creator is the isolation; working on everything yourself can create a bubble around you that is not particularly helpful from a work and health perspective. Even people who work in mainstream jobs that are very autonomous still generally have a team they can refer to, providing guidance and support when needed. As a solo content creator without collaborators, this can put you in a position of having no one to go to for help if needed.
Similarly, being a solo content creator means that you don’t have someone to bounce ideas off of. If you are not sure if something will work, it is good to have someone to talk it through with and try the idea out before you invest too much time in it. This is different than talking through ideas with people who are not in the business; that knowledge base takes time and experience to gain and if someone is working with you regularly, then they have a pretty good idea of how successful a particular content concept will be.
Following on from this point, being a solo content creator means you carry all the workload. If you are collaborating with someone else, there is the potential to delegate tasks and reduce your load in the spirit of the content you have made together. Although you can create a team to help you when you are a solo content creator, you need to be able to pay them, and people early in their careers or who don’t have the support to carry a team in an industry that can be inconsistent, will have problems funding this.
Finally, being a solo content creator means you are automatically locked out of certain niches and content types because they are things that simply cannot (or are very difficult to) be pulled off by one person. Outside of couple or group sex content, I am also referring to diverse fetishes such as wrestling, human furniture, certain types of spanking, and bondage.
THE VEREDICT
Solo content creation suits some people more than others, and is also dependent on the type of content you like to make, and that your fans enjoy. For me, being a solo content creator suits my personal circumstances and is preferred by my fanbase, so it is a natural type of work for me to gravitate towards. Although some of the cons can be addressed in different ways, some of them just cannot be helped. Some may feel that you have to collaborate with others to be successful in the adult industry, but I feel this is an old myth generated by mainstream studios, as opposed to the current landscape of content creation which is easily accessible to anyone with a smart phone. So what do you need to do to be successful as a solo content creator? Well, that is a question for another time…
Rem Sequence is an Australian adult content creator, blogger, and internationally published alt model. She has a background in psychology, philosophy and political science and worked in health and sex education, youth work and trauma counselling for almost two decades. Now, she works full time in the adult industry, as well as indulging her passion for arts, writing and music in numerous side projects.
