I’ve been working in the porn industry for 8 years and the question I get asked the most is: how to become a pornstar? In this article, I’m going to be brutally honest and take you through everything you need to do to become a pornstar.
I get at least one email or DM every day asking me how to become a pornstar. Almost always from guys. So I’m going to answer this question as thoroughly as I can.
I can’t guarantee that after reading this you will become a pornstar but I can guarantee that you will know exactly how to get there and the rest is down to your execution.
I’m not going to get into the pros and cons of doing porn in this article but there are many things you should think carefully about before you start your porn career. Check out this guide to porn if you’re still deciding if it’s right for you.
In this post, I’m also talking about how to become a pornstar with an emphasis on the word star. This guide won’t be relevant for everyone entering the porn industry. Almost anyone can make a few videos and make decent money for a while.
This guide is for dedicated people that want to get famous through porn. I’d describe a pornstar as someone with at least a million social media followers who get featured regularly in mainstream media.
How to become a female pornstar
Ultimately you have two options when it comes to being a porn actress. You can work for professional productions or you can be independent and do everything yourself.
There are pros and cons to each approach and there’s no one size fits all. It all depends on personal preference. Often different approaches work at different times in your career.
Some people open an OnlyFans, join a webcam site or contact a porn agent or production company and just get started right away, learning as they go. But it’s best to spend some time focusing on yourself before you get started.
Your image
Almost anyone can be a porn actress. It’s very inclusive. It doesn’t really matter what shape or size you are. If you have tattoos, big breasts, small breasts, tall or short. Race doesn’t matter. Even age doesn’t matter.
However, it is important to be the best you that you can be. You need to put effort into your image. Doing this now will help you get your career off to an explosive start.
At the very least you need to have a hair and makeup style that suits your face and image. Take time to get it right. Talk to experts like good makeup artists and hairstylists before you begin and create something you can reproduce on a daily basis that you’re really happy with.
The same goes for your clothes. When you sell porn you are really selling yourself. You are the brand. Every item of clothing says something about who you are.
It doesn’t matter if you dress like a teen or MILF, elegant or trash, alt-girl or mainstream. The important thing is to be consistent with your styling and make sure everything looks good. At the very least learn the basics of colour matching and what shapes look good on your body type.
Porn is a relatively poor industry compared to TV, film or music so you have to be your own stylist and create an image for yourself that makes you stand out.
Social media
Before you start doing porn I recommend testing your image on social media. Instagram is probably the best for this because it’s the most visual. Start posting your different looks and get used to being on camera.
Remember your goal is to become famous so try to feel what people like about you. What type of photos gets the most likes and follows? Which looks do people respond to?
If you’re growing quickly then you can be sure you will make good money in porn and have a chance of being a star.
Of course, it’s not all about looks. You should also be creating videos and writing captions etc. and you need to show your personality. You need to learn which parts of your life and personality are relatable.
My advice is to limit yourself to just one or two platforms at the beginning. Blow one up with your awesome looks and personality. Then start blowing the others up too.
The brutal truth is that if you’re not popular on social media you’re probably never going to be a big name in porn. Think of social media as testing the water. It’s a good way of finding out how popular you are before you jump into porn.
Your limits
Limits are very important in porn and it’s best to think about these before you start your career. The last thing you want to do is find yourself on the spot having to decide if you want to do something or not. This is how you can end up doing something you regret.
Think carefully about all the sexual activities you want to do on camera. Write them down. There will be things you want to do now, things you want to try in the future and hard nos.
Limits are also important as part of your brand. For some people being uninhibited, being the wildest, craziest pornstar they can be is part of their image.
While for others they may limit themselves to softer, more glamorous types of porn. And again others may start gentle and get harder and harder over the course of a long career.
Make sure you think about this stuff before you start and stick to your decisions. Don’t let anyone convince you to do something that’s good for them but not good for you. In porn, everyone is really nice but everybody is self-interested, as you should be too.
Professional porn
It’s much quicker to get famous doing professional porn. Professional porn companies already have a huge reach. They have all their established marketing channels all over the internet.
When you work for a professional porn studio you get a fee for each porn shoot. This is guaranteed money. It doesn’t matter if it’s a good or bad video. It doesn’t matter if it sells well. You get paid for your time.
And if you imagine all the different porn studios you can work with, you can see how it can be pretty fast to go from an unknown girl to being recognised in the street very quickly.
Keep in mind that if you didn’t take time to craft a popular image and personality beforehand then you are leaving it to chance as to whether you will be popular.
If you’re popular and your videos sell then everyone will want to shoot you. You will always be in demand and you will be able to pick and choose jobs and even charge higher prices.
If you’re not popular then many companies will shoot you once to see if you sell but after that, you’re going to have to really work on yourself and try to improve your image and popularity if you don’t want the work to dry up.
Porn agents
It can help to have an agent at the beginning of your career. This helps with networking. Just remember that agents are only there to make money for themselves.
The advice they give you will be about making them as much money as they can in the short term. They don’t care about your long term career because you might not be working for them in the future.
So they will probably want you to have a safe mainstream image that most porn productions will want to shoot and they will probably want you to do as many different sexual activities as possible, including all the more extreme things.
Remember that you already have your image and strategy. Stick to it and just use agents for the jobs and connections they can give you. If you’re looking for an agent, I made a list of the best porn agents in Europe.
Independent porn
You will make a lot more money in independent porn but you will have to work harder for it. If you are not popular on social media then you will struggle on independent platforms.
I’ve seen girls that look like Victoria’s Secret models make less than 500 dollars a month on OnlyFans because they had no strategy or image. Being attractive is rarely enough.
This makes sense when you think about it because PornHub, OnlyFans, webcam platforms and such are just porn social networks. You have to work your ass off to create content people love and then market it well.
Marketing skills are so important for growing your fanbase. Fans are like a kind of currency. More fans mean more money and power.
If you are struggling to grow it can help to work for some professional porn productions in order to give your profile a boost.
Try to work for porn companies that are popular in the US and the English speaking world because they spend the most money. It’s much better to work for American companies than European ones.
But some European productions have large followings in the English speaking world. If you’re in Europe and you need a boost try to work for Brazzers, FakeHub and Vixen productions if you want to really turbo-charge your fame.
You should also look for projects that have good viral potential. That usually means some topical storyline, a porn parody or doing something bizarre.
The advantage you have as an independent porn model is that you are always making money for yourself so you are not dependent on professional porn companies for your survival.
The bigger you get, the more control you get. If you’re popular and a big production wants you they will pay a lot more money than they will to average performers. And you can set any terms you want.
Even if you start out shooting professional porn you need to be in independent porn too because this is where the real money is. You can see my guide on how much pornstars make to see earning potential for different types of porn.
Collaboration and mainstream
Once your porn career is on the way you need to start collaborating with others in order to take things to the next level. By doing professional or independent porn you are building up your own fanbase.
But now you need to break out of this. You need to regularly cross over into other people’s fanbases.
The easiest way to do this is by networking and collaborating with other models in the porn industry. Try not to think of other pornstars as your competition. When you collaborate with another model on social media or in porn you will find you both benefit.
Once you get the hang of collaborating. You need to apply this to mainstream audiences too. You need to find a way of transcending the porn industry.
If you are good at social media you may already be doing this via a YouTube, Twitch, TikTok channel etc. showing your personality as something separate from your porn work.
If you are not then you need to start doing this and trying to get some mainstream attention. At the very least you should be trying to get onto podcasts, YouTube, TV, newspapers and magazines. You need to find a way to get yourself everywhere.
Some people in porn will use a porn PR agent. To be honest most of these are scams or useless. The best publicist is yourself. You need to network and contact people in their DMs. Send journalists and content creators your opinions in their DMs.Be totally shameless with your self-promotion.
If you do feel shy about this then a little trick is to create an online alter-ego that works as your publicist.
Once you start getting mainstream attention you are well on your way to becoming a household name and a genuine pornstar.
How to get started
It’s really easy to get started in porn as a girl. To get started really fast companies like mine will happily buy your homemade sex tapes from you. Please contact me if you’re interested in this.
To get started in professional porn I’d recommend contacting an agent first. But also contacting two or three established pornstars so you have a kind of big sister to mentor you. They will be able to tell you things to watch out for and how to look after your own interests.
If you prefer the more independent route then simply build up your social media followers and when you’re ready, start to reveal more and more on OnlyFans, PornHub, in webcam shows or the platform of your choice.
If you do feel confused or need help, please feel free to contact me via my site or social media and I’ll be happy to point you in the right direction.
How to become a male pornstar
It’s much harder to become a straight male pornstar. The industry doesn’t need that many guys. Girls are the main talent.
Usually, once a porn director finds a reliable guy that they like, they will use him over and over again. This doesn’t leave much space for new guys.
What’s more, it’s rare a male performer becomes a pornstar in his own right. Most guys are fairly anonymous and more like props. It’s rare that the male performer will contribute towards porn sales.
But don’t worry. It’s certainly possible to become a male pornstar and I’m gonna tell you how to do it.
Getting your first job
The hardest thing for guys asking how to become a pornstar is getting their first job. There are two easy ways of getting started and one that’s more difficult. Ultimately it’s going to come down to how bad you want to be a pornstar.
Your girlfriend
The easiest way to get started in porn is if you have a girlfriend that wants to do porn or if you start dating a pornstar. Your girlfriend will be able to convince some porn producers to give you a chance and then it’s up to you to take it.
I have some thoughts on this approach and doing it the right way. First, please don’t pressure any girls you’re dating into doing porn. This would be classed as sex trafficking and abuse. No one wants anything to do with a person that’s this shitty.
Second, I see some couples join the porn industry and the girl will say she will only work with her boyfriend. And often the guy is a terrible performer that can’t do the job.
If you want to be a pornstar, have the confidence to let your girlfriend be a pornstar too. Don’t control her. Both be free to do porn with whoever you like. It’s actually a lot easier to work with a new girl on camera than with your girlfriend anyway.
Focus on being the best porn performer you can be rather than being that annoying boyfriend that everyone hates. These situations are not healthy for work or for your relationship. Usually, the girlfriend leaves eventually and that’s the end of the guy’s porn career because he’s already annoyed everyone.
Gay porn
Many guys start out in gay porn and many straight porn performers do both. It might be surprising but there are several benefits to doing this.
The big one for you is it’s a lot easier to get started because in gay porn the men are the talent. The industry is always hungry for fresh faces.
It also pays a lot more than straight porn because you will be the star rather than the support act to the girl.
Finally, if you do gay porn and build up a popular fanbase, you will make a lot more money than many guys that exclusively work in straight porn. You will be able to sell on OnlyFans, webcam etc just like girls can. The money is enormous if you are popular.
What’s more, when you crossover into straight porn you will be in demand because you will have a lot of fans already. it might be strange but many of your gay fans will pay money to see you have sex with a girl. This makes you valuable to producers of straight porn and gives you an edge over other guys.
Producers will also know that you can do the job and that you’re a reliable performer due to your experiences with gay porn. It means you are less risky. If you want to be a pornstar it’s something you should really at least think about.
If you are going to be a pornstar you’re going to have to fuck girls you are not attracted to, does their gender really matter?
Implied gay Content
Implied gay porn means things like being nude with other guys but not touching each other. Think showing with other guys, etc. It’s a good alternative way to build a gay fanbase. It takes more time but it has a similar result.
You should focus on posting sexy photos to build up your social media. Try to create an image and personality that people connect with and then start an OnlyFans, webcam or PornHub profile.
You can sell nudes and implied gay content to your gay fans. As you build your fame, producers of straight, trans and bisexual porn will be more and more interested in booking you for porn shoots, assuming you are a solid and reliable performer. Make sure you read my guide to getting hard and staying hard in porn if you need it.
The hard way
The hardest way to become a male pornstar is without a girlfriend or doing gay porn first. Ultimately, you need to really want it. You have to go through all the steps you would as a girl and create an image and a nice social media profile. This is your CV.
Then it’s about contacting as many producers as you can and see if someone will give you a shot. It’s hard!
You could also register with an agent but it’s unlikely an agent would put forward an untested guy for their first job.
A good starting point is in amateur porn. Remember on sites like PornHub, Onlyfans and others there are thousands of independent porn producers. Some of them need more guys and they might give you a shot.
The key is being a nice person. Being respectful and not being creepy. Your social media profiles should show that you’re a normal, functioning member of society. Make sure you don’t look like a loser that’s just desperate to have sex. Nothing is more off-putting.
Creating a brand
Men also need to create a brand and image if they want to be a pornstar. There is a lot of flexibility in this but it can be really hard to stand out. One of the mistakes guys often make is to be too much of a basic bro. This just isn’t a good way to stand out and get attention.
Some of the most popular guys in porn are famous because they’re abnormal. Jordi El Nino Polla for example is skinny with boyish looks. Jordi doesn’t try to work out or try to be more macho. He makes the most of his uniqueness. He emphasises his youth.
At the other end of the spectrum are people like Pierre Woodman. He makes his own porn but the selling point is that he’s a fat, ugly hairy ape. When Jordi or Pierre are having sex with a beautiful woman it makes guys who are like them cheer them on. It makes their fans think: if they can get girls like this, maybe I can? It makes them instantly relatable.
There are many ways a male performer can stand out. They could be known for passionate sexual performances like Bruce Venture, movie-star level looks like James Deen or hard performances like Rocco Siffredi.
Penis size can also be a factor in the extremes. If you have a giant dick or a tiny dick then this can be an asset but generally, it’s not as important as you think.
So think about your brand, think about what makes you unique and how it could sell more porn. What unique things can you bring to the table? Everyone has something.
Then move to a city where a lot of porn is filmed like LA, Miami and Las Vegas in the US; and Prague, Budapest and Berlin in Europe. Then just get hustling. If you really want it then eventually someone will give you a chance.