When Ainslie Gardiner was made redundant from her job last year she turned to OnlyFans thinking she’d make money fast.
And while the 32-year-old from Sydney did make $10,000 over three months, she deeply regrets using the X-rated platform because of the ‘cringeworthy’ content she needed to create.
Speaking to FEMAIL, Ainslie said she felt ‘constantly uneasy’ and ‘made herself sick’ promoting herself on social media to get subscribers.
While hundreds of successful OnlyFans stars boast about the money and freedom they’ve gained, Ainslie warned others to think twice when considering signing up.
‘My job was made redundant so I went travelling and saw how many people work online. I was struggling to think of something I could do and transfer my skills,’ she said.
‘Once home and back to the rat race I made an OnlyFans account and booked a one-way flight.
‘When I joined I really thought it was just going to be some PG photos, but quite quickly you are trying to keep up with everyone else and doing things you aren’t comfortable with. I don’t think I realised what I had signed up for.’
Ainslie said those on OnlyFans also need to constantly promote themselves on social media platforms to make money including TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, X (formally Twitter) and even Reddit.
‘To be honest, during that period I felt constantly uneasy and made myself sick posting on these sites every day in the fear that someone I knew would see,’ she added.
She admitted earning $10,000 over three months ‘isn’t a lot of money’ in this day and age.
‘If you are considering doing OnlyFans, avoid being swayed by the glamorous lifestyles you see online and resist the temptation to a quick fix. Take your time to carefully consider your decisions,’ she warned.
Ainslie also decided to post a detailed TikTok video to share her experience, which has now attracted more than 114,000 views.
‘A lot of young girls think, “it’s going to be so easy to make money”, but in reality if you don’t have a following it’s a f****** grind,’ she said in the clip.
‘It is a full-time job within itself… I think another thing would be to set time in the morning or afternoon where you want to talk to people because you want to make money and it starts getting out of control talking to people all day long.’
Ainslie quickly realised creating and selling explicit content online ‘didn’t align’ with who she is as a person or how she wanted to portray herself on the internet.
One of the biggest misconceptions about OnlyFans is the number of followers a creator has.
‘Girls can give each other free subscriptions. This makes the account look like it has a lot of subscribers and likes which makes people sign up,’ Ainslie said.
‘Don’t believe everything you see on the internet.’
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