Getting started on OnlyFans: a six-step checklist where step seven is not a pricing page

How to set up an OnlyFans page in six steps: the rules, bio, welcome message, photos, a promotion plan and an organised vault.

Setting up a page well takes six steps, and most of them take an afternoon. Copy this checklist, tick it off in order, and you will launch with a page that looks finished on day one.

Step 1: Learn the rules

Read the OnlyFans Terms of Service and the Acceptable Use Policy before you upload anything. They cover what content is allowed, who can appear in it, how co-creators must be verified and how payouts work.

[ ] Read the Terms of Service and the Acceptable Use Policy.
[ ] Note anything that affects your plans, such as rules on featuring other people.
[ ] Bookmark the Help Center so you can check details later.

Step 2: Write the bio

Your bio is the text a visitor reads before deciding. Keep it short, specific and easy to scan.

[ ] One hook line.
[ ] What you post and how often.
[ ] Whether you take messages and custom requests.
[ ] One clear call to action at the end.

Step 3: Set up the welcome message

The welcome message is sent automatically to every new subscriber, at the moment their interest is highest. Find it in your settings under chats, turn it on and write something short.

[ ] A warm hello in your own voice.
[ ] What to expect: schedule, content types, how to reach you.
[ ] One question that invites a reply, such as how they found you.

Step 4: Choose the photos

Your profile picture, banner and first posts are your brand. They should look like they belong to the same person.

[ ] A sharp, well-lit profile picture with a centred subject.
[ ] A banner that matches it, with important elements in the middle so phone crops do not cut them.
[ ] A consistent colour palette or style across both, and across your other platforms.

Step 5: Plan your promotion

OnlyFans has no strong built-in discovery, so nearly every subscriber arrives from another platform. Decide where you will promote before you launch.

[ ] Choose two or three platforms and read each one's adult-content policy.
[ ] Prepare safe-for-work teasers for platforms with strict rules.
[ ] Use the same handle everywhere, so fans can find you.
[ ] Create separate tracking links per platform so you can see which one brings subscribers.
[ ] Set a weekly promo schedule you can keep.

Step 6: Organise the vault from day one

Every photo and video you upload lands in the vault. Ten files are easy to manage. Five hundred are not, unless you started with a system.

[ ] Create folders or lists by theme, shoot or content type.
[ ] Name new uploads consistently, for example by date and set.
[ ] Keep a local backup of everything you upload.
[ ] Mark what has already been sent as a paid message, so fans are not offered the same thing twice.

Beginner tips for the first month

Launch with a few dozen posts live so the page does not look empty.
Post on a schedule you can repeat for months, not one you can manage for a week.
Reply to messages in set windows rather than all day.
Review your numbers once a month and change one thing at a time.

The pitch. Step 6 is a habit, not a purchase. Agencies run Vault Pro (/growth/vault-pro) and Messages Pro (/messages-pro) on their own server for any number of creators. Deploy it yourself.