I may be aging myself here, but uh - I have been on SG for a minute. Most of that time has been as a member. A not insignificant part of it was spent as a hopeful, and now most recently finally as an official SG. I've noticed a lot of concern that activity on the site is slow, or sets aren't doing as well. In my limited sample size corner of SG, my sets have been fairly consistent in engagement over the 7 years I've been submitting them. So, I don't know if this is a thing anyone wants or cares for, but I thought it might be helpful to write down some things that I think are probably helpful in getting traction with your sets and visibility on the site. And just generally making your experience in the community more enjoyable.
apologies in advance! this is a long one! very long!
1. Hi, this is obvious, but you need to be active. If you have a set come out in December, and you've only posted on your page twice since August, that is going to affect how your set does.
What does activity look like? Yes - post on your page. But the quality of those posts matter. Remember that members here pay for the privilege of being in the community. If your only posts are promoting other paid sites like OF, MFC, etc - that's going to be a turn off for a lot of folks (validly so) and they are not going to follow you. Does this mean you can't promo those sites? No! Of course! Your fans want to support you! But SG has made it super convenient to link to those pages from your profile so the people who want to can find them. And of course advertise for sales or holidays if you special posts for those things, but make sure those are not the only (or even majority) of your posts here.
And in that vein:
2. "SG doesn't promote my posts." Do you only post nudes? Explicit content? Promo for other paid sites? That's...probably why. SG only posts *safe for work* content on the front page and on socials. They also don't promote content that is promoting for other sites. Not only does posting a variety of content give you a bigger likelihood of having your posts shared, but...it makes it easier for models and other members to get to know you, to connect with you, and to feel invested in you and your sets. Which will in turn help your sets do better. And dramatically improve your community experience on the site.
3. Activity is not just about what you post on your profile. Are you active in groups? Do you post things in groups aside from promo for your paid site or new sets? Do you interact with members in genuine ways? What about other models - hopefuls and SGs alike? Can you name hopefuls and SGs who inspire you? Who you feel connected to? The main attraction of SG, to me, has always above all been the connections I get to make with other people and the fact that SG is a place where I can be my genuine self. That means sharing and talking about stuff that doesn't just revolve around the fact that I'm naked on the internet. Who are you as a person, and how do you think people are going to be able to connect with you and care about you?
And, not for nothing, I think this is REALLY IMPORTANT FOR SOCIAL MEDIA ALSO!! I see a lot of folks getting frustrated with limited growth on socials but like. All they do is promo OnlyFans. If people want nudes they can literally google that for free. They are going to pay for you if they care about you. For them to care about you, they have to know you. Be yourself.
So now for maybe some less obvious stuff.
4. Be aware that your behavior off the site might influence how much SG decides to promote you. Your IG only promos your OF? Not much incentive for them to share that. You talk shit about other models on twitter? Doesn't look great. Seriously if you don't like someone you can just block them, or if it's affecting your ability to use the site then let staff know and block them. Are you doing and posting about things that put other models/photogs at risk? SG doesn't want to promote that. This might not be obvious, but hopefully it makes sense. And regardless of its affect on how you do on SG, just....you should treat people kindly. Just be kind.
Hey, let's make that its own thing.
5. Be kind.
6. Members are not just money bags to milk for tips and engagement. Members are a significant part of the SG community and the site would not be here without them. Spamming for likes on your set, spamming for tips, ignoring member comments and only responding to models - yeah, that looks bad. Interact with a variety of people on the site and your experience will improve so much.
7. But like, yeah. We need and want to promote our sets. Blog about your set on your page. Find appropriate threads for sharing your set. But also...don't post stuff from your set in every single relevant thread all at once? If you overexpose your set you are not leaving any incentive for folks to look at the actual thing, you are probably annoying some folks, and you are missing members who are active at other times. Be patient! Leave some mystery to the set! Don't overdo it! And continue being active in other natural ways! You are more than just one set!
8. Support other models!!! We are all peers here. I don't care if you're an official SG, or a hopeful. I don't care if you have 100 followers of 100,000. We are all equal. There's no....classes of SGs based on followers, longevity, looks, or anything else. I straight up do not understand the cutthroat mentality that pops up in some folks at times. If someone tells you they are better than you, they are wrong. If you think you are better than others on the site, you are wrong. There are 365 days a year, 2 SotDs a year. And hopefully many many years to come. That's a lot of SotDs. There is space for everyone here. If another model turns pink, it doesn't mean you won't. If another model has a set bought, it doesn't mean yours won't be. If you engage with other models with the mentality that we all have an opportunity to lift each other up vs trying to get your sets to "beat" theirs, I guarantee your site experience will improve. You will make more friends, and you will have more people in your corner, supporting you, loving on your sets, and cheering for you to succeed.
"But I'm not here to make friends, SG/modeling is work for me and I need to make money." Whether modeling, retail, or corporate office work is your job - successful people have peers and friends in the industry who help and support each other. You are not above other models regardless of who is modeling for work, hobby, or side hustle. Also. Burnout in SW is real. Having likeminded folks to speak with is a blessing.
9. Remember that SG is a business. Full stop. Regardless of anything else - remember this, and just....don't take things personally if they don't go the way you think they should. Does this mean SG can't be held accountable for things or can't be asked to do things better? Of course not. But, in my (again, limited, decade +) experience....SG does consistently try to do right. But staff is human, and therefore fallible, and may not always get it right immediately or on the first try. (Staff also have family and obligations outside of SG, so it's worth noting that good fixes are generally more desirable than immediate fixes). So. SG as a business can do some things better, sure. But they are always going to be a business, which means a lot of decisions are going to be made for business reasons. It's not personal, and SG doing well from a business standpoint means they get to continue to be here giving a platform to the rest of us.
There are going to be recruited models who get bumped because they bring traffic in, or are working with partner sites, to get more representation of underrepresented groups of models (I hope they do more of this!), or are dancing in the Blackheart Burlesque groups. This doesn't mean your sets aren't valued. Would more transparency about those decisions be nice? Maybe. Personally, I think a lot of the fast tracked sets are fairly obviously anyway and I think SG is making the right call by not highlighting those sets/models. Why? Because again - we're all equals here. And regardless of why or how someone is on the site, they deserve to be part of the community if they are making an effort to do so and shouldn't be ostracized. (for the record, I was never recruited and was a hopeful for YEARRRRRRS before I ever had a set bought - I just don't think there needs to be any additional division between models. Especially when folks will - rightfully so - call SG out for diversity issues, but then turn around be incredibly negative about SG trying to rectify that issue and make space for models in the underrepresented groups. No model should have a target on their back for any of the above listed things, regardless of how you feel regarding SG's handling of it).
10. Quality of photography, and quality of your modeling matter. If you are not an experienced model, I strongly recommend you work with an SG Team/Staff photographer if at all possible. They know what SG is looking for, SG has more visibility in their sets and input. They have more experience helping models pose and establishing themes, looks, etc. I know working with SG Team photogs is not possible for many. In that case - non-staff photogs can also be great resources (and every staff/team photog was at one point...not), but also: look at local boudoir photographers. However: familiarity as a model with what gets bought is incredibly important if you are working with a photographer who is not familiar with the site themselves. Handing them the photographer and model guides alone is not enough.
In fact, my number one suggestion is that if the photographer you're going to work with is not familiar with SG - buy them a subscription to the site. It's like $5 for a month to do this. It's a gesture of goodwill to the photog and benefits both of you. I have literally done this multiple times. SG sets are...incredibly difficult and time intensive for photographers (who are not just shooting with you, but organizing, ordering, and editing photos - hours and hours of work). They can be expensive for models who are paying their photographers. Don't waste your money, and don't waste your or your photographer's time shooting something you can't use or won't do well on the site and is unlikely to get bought.
Pay attention to sets that get bought and go up as Set of the Day. What is the model wearing? How many different angles are shots taken from? What is the lighting like? The color balance? Is there a theme? Continuity through the photos? What kind of makeup are they wearing? (a little freebie here - majority of sotds over the years have consistently had minimal or neutral/natural looking makeup with no lipstick or neutral lipstick. A good rule of thumb is to stay away from bright reds or other vibrant colored lipstick unless it's thematic for cosplay). How is their hair done? How many poses are in a set? How many close ups vs wide shots in a set? In how many pictures is a model smiling, and or making eye contact? How many shots into a set are there before there's a shot with the model making eye contact?
Practice poses and angles in the mirror at home and with your cellphone camera. Get comfortable communicating with and asking for feedback from your photographer. Poses that look good in a mirror might not work in practice depending on the space and angels a photographer has to work with (and depending on what you're interacting with in the shoot environment). Have poses in your repertoire to work with, but also ask them to tell you when something doesn't look good and ask for direction if you need it. Have these conversations before you start shooting so you both know what to expect and what the other is comfortable with.
Don't have any photographers to work with? Get a camera and start practicing self shooting. A full length lightweight mirror (target has some good ones that aren't too pricey) and a remote shutter are going to make this way easier for you. It will still be hard and frustrating and a learning process. But also - incredibly satisfying AND it gives you a lot more creative control, which can be a huge incentive even for models who do have access to great photogs. (I've already gone on more than long enough here, but if anyone is really interested in more info on self-shooting I am happy to talk more about that elsewhere).
Love poses from other models' sets? Save those photos. Have an inspo folder on your computer or phone or whatever, and look at it and practice them before you shoot. But also remember that all bodies are different, and different poses may be more or less flattering for different body types. Find what makes YOU feel confident!!!! And keep growing your pose repertoire over time.
And just remember that the majority of models do not go pink on their first set. If it's important to you, keep going. Learn more. Improve.
11. My personal rule has always been that SG has to be fun. Regardless of my work/income needs, regardless of goals on the site - if SG stops being fun, then I stop submitting sets and step back. Know why you are here. Is your only goal to turn pink? Yeah, that might be frustrating. But....there is a lot more to SG than just going pink, even if making money is your primary goal. Network with the community. Meet members who will get to know you and support you. Meet photographers. Meet models who you can connect with over shared struggles, wins, and goals. Find inspiration. Learn. Have a place to share your work. Have a place to grow your following. Attend shootfests (when things are not pandemiccy). Go to Blackheart shows. Have a place where you can just. be yourself!!!! There are so many groups and sub communities here!!! For writing! Art! Cars! Sports! Specific fetishes! For fandoms! For so many things!! If you are frustrated by not being pink yet, or not having sets bought, focus on those other things. If they don't feel like enough, ask yourself why. And if being frustrated continues to overshadow the rest - step back and take a break. It is simply not worth being stressed over. I have taken time off during the years, I nearly quit after years of being a hopeful, I have had times when I just didn't feel great about myself and those were not good times to be trying to shoot content, I have felt jealous of other models (which to be very clear was a reflection on me and what I was struggling with - not those models!). But if being here doesn't feel good? Then...why are you here? Remember earlier when I said to be kind? That includes being kind to yourself. Be kind to yourself, and sometimes that might mean taking a break and coming back when you're ready so that you can be the best version of yourself.
12. Just because the idea of ending on an 11 bothers me :) I love you and appreciate you if you read all this.
Edit: adding a bakers dozen clarification -
13. Since apparently it needs to be said...you can do everything right to the best of your ability, and still not necessarily get shared on SG's socials or go pink. To expect as much is the fundamental misunderstanding of what SG is with the assumption that due to time/money/desire input we are owed either social promotion, or set purchases. SG isn't a modeling agency, nor a democracy. It's a business and we need to stop applying parasocial relationship parameters onto it. SG has created a path for folks to recieve the opportunity of those things...and the pursuit of that opportunity is what generates SG's business. There is no guarantee. If you want a site without an official/unofficial structure, there's things like onlyfans. If you want a site that tells you upfront whether a set is accepted and you're official without going through a live or uncertain review process, there's things like cosplaydeviants. And if you don't like SG's approach, there are other places with different approaches.
But you know - no other similar site I know of shares even a fraction of its users on their socials either. None of them have a community like SG, or the kinds of engagement SG facilitates. But SG has made an effort to foster that community and those opportunities, and people have interpreted that as democracy and guarantee. It's not. SG makes more of an effort to take and implement feedback then any other similar site I know. They don't always get it right, and it doesn't always happen quickly - but the fact that they try and want to do right is a lot more than we get anywhere else. There are thousands and thousands of models. It is simply impossible to implement a system that every single person is happy with.
There are folks getting hung up on feeling owed posts on social media or purchasing of sets and are losing track of what they get through SG. Regardless of whether you are a hopeful or an SG, you have a platform here. You get to interact with as many members either way. The same number of people see your sets when they release either way. You have as many people to share your work, your paid sites, your anything else with. You have as many models to make friends and network with. You can equally recieve tips from others (or send them). You can equally attend or host events. Those are all very good things, and many of them have their own other opportunities present within them.
I've seen suggestions that SG should pay for every set in member review. If SG were to do something like pay even a minimal amount for every set submitted, they would either go bankrupt - or have to start rejecting sets en masse and only allow a few very select sets onto the site. Either way those options not only don't provide models who are against the hopeful/sg dynamic what they're looking for - but entirely removes the platform and audience they benefit from even as hopefuls.
