Well, if that is not an attention-grabbing title, I don’t know what is. But bear with me because there is a lesson to be learned and it is a good one. And I promise all links will be completely suitable for work.
I have long championed owning your own sandbox when it comes to an online presence. There are many travel agencies that rely on cookie-cutter websites provided by their host, franchise, or consortia. There are even some who have foregone a website and are relying on Facebook for their online presence. This is one of the most dangerous mistakes you can make.
Own your own sandbox. Make your own rules.
When you don’t have complete control, you are operating at the whim of another. What happens if Google decides to get out of the email business and all you have is a Gmail address? While that seems unlikely, consider Only Fans.
Yes, and here is where the porn comes into play. For those who are unaware, OnlyFans is a website that allows creators to post their content and charge a subscription for access. They take a 20% cut of the subscription. And it should come as no surprise that adult content quickly became the most popular type of content. The creator was somewhat able to control who saw the content, decide how many fans to have, and determine the cost for a subscription.
It was lucrative. A California mom was making $150,000 per month from her content. There was a lot of resistance and many stories of people losing jobs for their side hustle, which turned into a prime gig for many. And eventually OnlyFans caved to the pressure from their banks and changed their policy to disallow adult content!*
Think about that for a minute. One month you are earning $150,000 and the next, $0.
And OnlyFans had every right to do that. It is their business, and they can run it any way they see fit.
Now imagine it was your travel agency and you have built your business around cruising and your host decides to slide away from cruising. Or worse, goes under. What happens when Facebook decides to it is time to call it quits? If you don’t think it can happen, go check out Friendster, Yik Yak, Vine, and Google+. It happens, and it can happen.
Own your own domain. You may direct it to your host’s cookie-cutter site but own your name. You work hard to get clients, why risk the relationships? Why risk them not being able to find you online? Why put the fate of your business all in the hands of someone else?
Domains are cheap. Website hosting is cheap. Software that runs websites is usually free (WordPress). Take a lesson from the porn creators, make your own space on the Internet and own it.
* Update. OnlyFans has backed off the change and secured assurances that adult content can continue. But based on the reaction to their tweet announcing the change…
Thank you to everyone for making your voices heard.
We have secured assurances necessary to support our diverse creator community and have suspended the planned October 1 policy change.
OnlyFans stands for inclusion and we will continue to provide a home for all creators.
— OnlyFans (@OnlyFans) August 25, 2021
They may have bitten their own nose off to spite their face!
