Mass messages and PPV: where the money on OnlyFans actually comes from
4 min read · Updated on 2026-09-18
Short answer
For most creators the larger share of revenue comes not from subscriptions but from pay-per-view messages in chat. The subscription is the entry ticket; the selling happens afterwards. The most common mistake is not a price that is too high but too many messages to everyone — a list that gets an offer three times a day stops opening them.
Anyone looking only at the subscription price is looking at the smaller half. Here is how the larger one comes about.
Why the subscription is only the entry ticket
A subscription brings a fixed, small amount per month. Everything around it — individual content, custom requests, tips — is a multiple of that on most accounts. That is exactly why many creators lower their subscription price or give away free trials: not because the subscription does not matter, but because every new subscriber only becomes a buyer in chat.
What that means for pricing is covered in the piece on prices.
What a mass message is — and what it costs
A mass message goes to a group at once: everyone subscribed, everyone who bought recently, everyone who has not opened anything for two weeks. Attached to it is a piece of content with a price that is only visible after purchase.
It costs nothing in fees and a great deal in attention. Every message that is opened and not bought makes the next one a little less likely. A list that gets an offer three times a day stops opening at all after three weeks — and at that point better content does not help either.
The same calculation gives us the rhythm we run: few, well-prepared sends instead of many. What sits in between are messages without a price.
Segments instead of "everyone"
The difference between a campaign that works and one that fizzles is almost always the choice of recipients.
- People who have bought before are the most likely to buy again. This group tolerates the higher price.
- People who have only subscribed need a reason first. A cheap entry point is worth more here than the big release.
- People who have not opened anything for a long time get no more offers but a personal message with no price. Skip that distinction and you lose the group entirely.
This split is the real lever — not the wording of the message.
Which segment gets what
| Group | What they get | Price level | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| has bought before | the big piece of content | higher | most likely to buy again, and can take the price |
| has only subscribed | an affordable entry | low | needs a reason first |
| has not opened anything for a while | a personal message with no price | none | another offer loses the group entirely |
This segmentation is the real lever — not the wording of the message.
What belongs in a good send
- Content that exists nowhere else. What sits in the feed is not worth a PPV message.
- A preview that shows something. A blurred rectangle sells nothing.
- A price that matches the length. A short clip does not carry the same amount as a set.
- A line that comes from you. Picking up the last conversation sells better than any pre-written phrase — which is why our chat team reads the history before writing.
Moving to the one-to-one conversation
PPV to a group is the start. What follows is the conversation with an individual — and that is where the larger amounts appear: custom footage, repeat purchases, special requests. What to watch out for and where the line sits is covered in the piece on custom requests.
Our take
Revenue depends less on price than on rhythm and selection. Send to everyone every day and you earn well for a few weeks and nothing afterwards. How we split that for an account depends on size and niche — we go through it in the first call.