I make $58K a month on OnlyFans mostly from messaging people. Men come to me for a safe space to vent about their lives.

• Emma Kanngiesser is a 22-year-old content creator on OnlyFans who earns most of her money from messaging.
• 60% of her conversations are non-sexual and her most loyal fans are often busy corporate men.
• Kanngiesser quit her job and works eight hours a day from a co-working space to build her business. 

This is an as-told-to story with Emma Kanngiesser, a 22-year-old content creator on OnlyFans. The revenue has been verified by Business Insider. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I started posting on Instagram when I was 14. When I turned 20 in 2021, I started working out more and posting pictures that showed off my body. I grew my profile to 120,000 Instagram followers.

On days I don't post Instagram stories, I get over a hundred DMs. Now, on days when my stories do well, it can be over 300 messages daily. I can't respond to everyone.

I wanted to connect with my most loyal fans on a deeper level because there was no way I could respond to everyone. So,I opened an OnlyFans account in November 2022 while I was still at university. I made $10,000 from OnlyFans my first month.

Less than two years later, I quit my job selling yachts at a real estate agency in January 2024 to focus full-time on my OnlyFans and creator business.

My income jumped to $30,000 a month in January. Over $17,000 came from messages. I've scaled my income to $58,000 a month on OnlyFans in just three months. In March, I made over $47,000 from messages.

I was nervous about posting on OnlyFans, so I started with messaging

I was super anxious to post on OnlyFans, even though my friends and family have been very supportive. A lot of my un-paywalled messages from fans are sexual, and I didn't know what to expect.

I posted a few pictures that were sexier than my Instagram content and started with messaging to ease in. I was surprised by the conversations I was having. My subscribers seemed genuinely interested in my character.

When I started my Instagram and OnlyFans journey, I saw it as a side hustle because I was still a student and had a part-time job selling yachts at a real estate agency. I messaged in my free time a couple of hours a day, and it was always a struggle to squeeze in time for messaging between my other commitments.

But in January 2024, I started taking it seriously because I realized the potential of connecting with my fans.

I got a membership at a coworking space, where I spend at least eight hours a day on OnlyFans. I message about 200 to 300 people daily. I can message so many people because not all my fans are online simultaneously.

How I built up my OnlyFans subscribers

I post sexier pictures or videos of myself on OnlyFans, but I don't have outright sexual conversations — I just flirt and show sexier content than I would on Instagram. My subscription costs around $20 a month.

Some people will leave once they see the sexier photos. But when I start messaging new fans and connecting with them, they find it more exciting to see a sexier picture of me. Creating this relationship with my fans is so important.

When I get a new subscriber, I send them a message asking them how their day's going and their hobbies. Then, I can build on that information and start a genuine conversation. I also share more information about myself, making them feel closer to me and creating a virtual bond.

In chats with new fans or people I speak to regularly, I send photo or video content behind a paywall with a fixed price. They can decide to unlock it. Attaching pictures or videos can be very lucrative.

My most popular request is a greeting video. I film myself telling a fan to have a great day or asking them how they are. For a 15 to 45-second video, I charge $100.

My top fans message me every day, and we have genuine conversations

There are three types of people who spend money with me on OnlyFans.

About 20% are monthly subscribers who don't message. They're curious but may not have the budget for custom photos or videos. I'm happy for any support I get.

50% are guys who spend more money and message me regularly but only stick around for three to five months. They have busy lives and eventually drop off.

The third category is the loyal fans who have never left my side from my first month. They message me daily and spend money regularly. Those are 30% of my subscribers.

Because people can sign up anonymously, it's also a safe space to talk openly with me about their issues and what's going on in their lives. They'll often want my opinion as an outsider without the worry people will find out. Around 40% of my messages are flirty and sexy, while actual friendship and genuine conversations make up around 60%.

My long-term clients are often lonely, successful businessmen

My average long-term messaging client is usually successful because they can afford to spend a lot on the platform. Most have a corporate job with little time to get to know women offline.

They're exhausted from work and just want someone to chat with who will be available at night or when they have a minute to step away. From what they tell me, they're usually not married or in a relationship.

Many of my fans also don't want to go to a bar because it's not guaranteed they'd meet someone they'd be interested in. OnlyFans is an easy and direct way for these men to connect to their dream woman. They can scour the internet for the woman who fits their ideal type and then message her directly.

A day in the life of an Only Fans creator

My day at the coworking space looks like a day at the library for university students. I put my headphones on and post on social media. I'll always take photos and film videos when I'm out with friends or getting ready, so I'll post that content. Once I've posted, I start messaging.

After those two hours, I take a break to work out or get food. And then I repeat that same cycle until the sun goes down and it's time to go home.

Messages and interest in me have increased as I've spent more time on it. You can't form the same deep level of connection with only one or two hours a day. The biggest change is the amount of time I'm spending on it.

I think about my OnlyFans business constantly. If I'm not spending time with family or friends or working out, I'm messaging my fans.

Beautiful women and men are everywhere. What makes a creator stand out is their character — all their little quirks, likes and dislikes, making jokes, or being funny. My connections with my fans have grown as I've had more time to show them more of my personality.