How much media did you have before you gained traction?

TLDR

I've watched a lot of creators launch from zero, and the pattern you're describing - a hot first week, then silence - is so common it's practically a rite of passage. Honestly, that $150 week built mostly on customs is a better start than most people get. Here's what I'd tell anyone staring at 30 posts and a quiet feed.

Why does the first week feel amazing and then go crickets?

That initial push is the platform's new-creator boost doing its job. Fansly (and similar platforms) surfaces fresh accounts to seed the discovery feed, because they need new creators rotating through to keep browsers interested. It's not a verdict on your content - it's an audition slot. When it fades, most people panic and assume they flopped. In reality, the boost ends and you're handed over to the "now what?" phase, where discoverability comes from your own posting rhythm, engagement, and word of mouth rather than an algorithm holding the door open.

So if your feed went quiet around week two, that's not your failure. That's the predictable handoff point. The creators who survive it are the ones who treat the silence as the real starting line, not the finish.

Does library size matter, or is quality enough?

The honest answer is that most working creators report seeing consistent momentum somewhere in the 50-100+ pieces range, not 30. But be careful with that number - it's not a magic threshold. What a bigger library actually does is give the algorithm and a first-time visitor enough to work with. Someone who clicks your profile and sees 30 posts can binge it in ten minutes; someone who sees 80 posts lingers, subscribes, and has reasons to stay. Volume also gives you more surface area for clips, previews, and FYP-friendly posts to catch attention.

That said, stunning quality with no marketing is like opening a beautiful shop in the woods. What moves a small library forward is engagement: answering DMs, building rapport with the people who already "want to chat you up" (that's not noise - that's your warmest audience), and showing personality in captions and behind-the-scenes posts. Chatting people up in your comments and replies is free marketing most new creators skip.

Which media types actually pull attention and money early?

Your own numbers already told you: customs were the engine, not subscriptions. Direct requests convert better than passive browsing because someone asked for exactly what they wanted. Lean into that - promote that you take customs, showcase past custom work (the teaser version, not the delivering version), and price the first ones competitively to build a client base.

For attention, short clips and previews tailored to the FYP outperform full-length posts on a small account. Teasers that leave an obvious question unanswered, plus behind-the-scenes and personality content, tend to bring followers in who then decide whether to pay. Subscriptions are a later-game earner once retention and rapport exist. And about that deleted sub - that's routine churn, not a verdict. Retention beats constantly chasing new subs.

How much should I actually be posting with a full life outside this?

Realistically, three to five quality posts a week plus active engagement will outperform a scattershot daily flood that burns you out in a month. Batch content on your good days so the busy weeks don't go dark. And bank on the first month being market research, not payroll - that $150 first week is a genuinely good outlier, but it's not an income floor you can count on yet.

If you want a low-pressure way to keep visible while building your library, live cam work is worth a look - I'd point you toward xlovecam first since the audience engagement is direct and it pairs well with customs as your revenue mix.

So what's your plan for the "crickets" phase going to be: more media, deeper DMs, or a bit of both? And which piece from your first 30 got the most conversation, because that's telling you something already.