Sole Mates turned 8 this year. Ask Me Anything

Hello all you beautiful people (except you, go take a bath dude)

In March of this year, Sole Mates Footography celebrated its eighth year in existence. It's been a long, rough road and progress has been slow, but it appears we've finally - finally - hit our stride. As a business, although margins are slim, we've been profitable for the last few years running and 2021 has been one of our best years overall, seeing not only the influx of some great models - and, surprisingly enough, the return of a few classics - but also being accepted into PornHub's verified amateurs program, as well as having three of our best months sales-wise this past summer. I believe, in fact, that July was one of our fourth best-selling months ever (I'd have to check), and one of our most recent models, Mari, turned a profit in under a year. For us, that's pretty damn good. And of course, our latest model, Ariana, is currently burning up the charts with her first three videos sitting pretty in our top five best sellers, according to Clips4Sale. Sole Mates is also regularly in the top 2000 stores on Clips4Sale overall and bounces in and out of the top 50 studios in the Foot Tickling category. One of our videos feet-uring Jennifer even managed to make it into the Top 25 Foot Tickling clips for a time, so yeah. I'm pretty happy with the way things are going these days. We've also got two glowing reviews in the Product Reviews section regarding our custom videos, which I couldn't be happier about.

So with all of that said, in the fine spirit of Reddit, I thought it might be fun to do an AMA - aka "Ask Me Anything". And I do mean anything. Want to know about the industry? One of our models? The price of tea in China? Who really shot JFK? Why I thought this was a good idea? Lemme hear it. You'll get an answer, and odds are pretty good it'll be serious.

And unlike Reddit, I won't close this after an hour. So let's go TMF, AMA.

Arch

Thanks for putting out such good content over the years!

I have a couple of questions 1) what is your average cost for making a ten minute clip? average pay for a model for a clip (I assume it's by the hour). 2) average return for that same clip Thanks!

Thanks for putting out such good content over the years!

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Thanks for enjoying it! Honestly, positive feedback is what keeps me going.

1) what is your average cost for making a ten minute clip? average pay for a model for a clip (I assume it's by the hour).

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Unfortunately, It Depends(tm). Models can vary wildly in price, but you're correct that the vast majority of them charge by the hour. Aside from the people I knew personally who were willing to donate their time, I've compensated models as cheaply as $40/hr and as expensively as $300/hr. My rule of thumb is, if she's an amateur (never did tickling videos before, rando girl off the street, aspiring model who's only doing TFP, etc.) I offer them a base of $60/hr., which is about average for a freelance fashion model here in the Bay Area. If they're an established model or fetish worker, I pay them their usual rates. I don't shortchange professionals out of respect.

So I guess the "average" I've been paying over the last two years or so, having had the opportunity to work with some more established people has been around $200/hr. - and that's not counting miscellaneous expenses like motel rooms or pedicures. It's hard to break that down to a per-clip basis because models require different amounts of recuperation between segments (I often tickle them until they safeword). Ariana has been gold in this regard; she literally takes like two minutes to catch her breath and then dives right back in. I got 45 minutes of usable footage out of her shoot, which is about 15 minutes more than I usually get.

2) average return for that same clip

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This is a more complex question, as it's basically not possible for my studio to earn back a model's shoot fee on the basis of a single clip. When I go into a shoot, I have to look at it from the perspective of, "will this model's content - all of it - sell enough to break even?", and the answer is very often, "no". This means that I've had to adopt the model that the music industry currently uses, whereby the profits from a best-seller are used to offset the costs of new talent. For example, the aggregate sales I brought in this summer was enough for me to hire Ariana. I have to look at each shoot as a long-term investment. So as I said earlier, sometimes a model may take two years to break even.

It also depends on the clip. My clip pricing is roughly the standard for Clips4Sale: $1 per minute, +$1 for HD, +$1-$4 depending on the model. Obviously I charge more for models who were either more expensive or are in higher demand. More expensive clips often sell fewer copies, but obviously bring in more money. Oddly enough the community is far more loathe to drop $2 on a short clip than $20 on a long clip, so over the years I've stopped making really short clips. Very often people will ask me if I have longer versions of them.

I guess if I had to pin a number on it I'd say if a clip sells at all, it can be expected to make me (after Clips4Sale's cut) anywhere from $15 to $20, unless it really takes off in which case it may make $50-$100 over the course of a few months, then taper off for a while. What's been interesting is that due to all of the extra traffic (I presume) I'm getting from PornHub, a lot of my older clips are selling again. I'm often astounded at how far back into my catalog people will dig; Eko, who I worked with in 2014(!), was my first sale of October.

Thanks for the quick response I am really surprised at the low amount of clips you seem to sell though, I really wish people would invest in clips instead of just freeloading. That leads me to another question, how many clips do you sell in a good month on clips4sale? Thanks!

Bocatickler said:

I am really surprised at the low amount of clips you seem to sell though...

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Yep, I get that a lot. Sole Mates is profitable in the sense that my profits exceed my expenses so I end the year in the black, but I'm not going to be making a living out of this anytime soon. I don't know if my situation is the same as most other producers - there seems to be a handful that do very well and then the rest... don't. But whenever I make this observation I get told that it's just because I suck, so I don't compare myself to the rest of the industry and simply focus on my successes.

That leads me to another question, how many clips do you sell in a good month on clips4sale? Thanks!

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I usually make payout (IE, sell enough clips for Clips4Sale to actually send me my money) roughly 75% of the time, which means there's usually two or three months where my earnings roll over. So on average, I make between $40-$70 a month (payout is $50). That was before the upswing. This year I've been averaging $75-$100 a month and my last three months were about $150, $200, and $150, respectively. The best month I've ever had in the entire time I've been in business was $250, except for that one time I landed a $400 custom.

What's interesting is that even with those numbers, I still manage to land in the top 50 studios month after month. I remember the first time that happened - I about shit myself. At one point my studio was ranked like #1400 out of the entire site. I have no idea how the math shakes out but that's crazy.

Are my numbers indicative of the average studio? I have no idea. You're right, though - I think people in general think we make way more money than we do.

SoleMates said:

Are my numbers indicative of the average studio? I have no idea. You're right, though - I think people in general think we make way more money than we do.

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That part right there I agree with 100%

Congrats on your 8 years. I didn’t know you were in the Bay Area. I just moved from California (SoCal) to Vegas area a few months ago.

Do you or did you see a down fall in models due to Craigslist and other social medias cracking down on ads and listings pertaining to adult work? Do you go by word of mouth mainly or what avenues of recruitment have been successful for you?


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AbsolutelyTkld said:

I didn’t know you were in the Bay Area. I just moved from California (SoCal) to Vegas area a few months ago.

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San Diego is one of my favorite cities in SoCal. If I were to move down there that's definitely where I'd go.

Do you or did you see a down fall in models due to Craigslist and other social medias cracking down on ads and listings pertaining to adult work? Do you go by word of mouth mainly or what avenues of recruitment have been successful for you?

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When I first started out, I got nearly all of my models from Craigslist, with a few exceptions; I'd already had pre-existing relationships with Ash, Teri, and Kiki so I was able to get them to come in and shoot the initial clips I needed to get my store off the ground (in those days, C4S required you to have ten unique clips before you could start accepting credit card payments, and I thought it would be wise to have a variety of models up front). Teri referred Catherine, and that was basically how I got started.

I continued to use Craigslist almost exclusively, except for the occasional referral (models would have so much fun shooting with me they'd pass their friends along, especially if said friend was someone who fit a particular niche I was trying to fill) for years, until someone somewhere got a bug up their ass and started reporting my posts. Eventually my account was suspended (and this was before the big crackdown) so I had to find other avenues of recruitment.

For a while I simply worked off of referrals or took a hiatus from time to time and worked off of my backlog. I'd say the most unique way I met a model during this time was when a Facebook friend posted that a friend of hers had had her clothes stolen and was selling nudes to raise money to replace them. I contacted her and offered a shoot, and that's how I met Sora Morbid.

Nowadays I mainly get my models from Instagram; Ariana is far from the first in this regard. I've also worked with Mari of Mari's Exotic Wishes, Angelic Toes, Heavenly Arches, and Goddess Marcy. Sometimes I cold approach them (Ariana), sometimes other producers work with them and then refer them to me (Angel, Mari), and sometimes the model will refer another model (Angel sent me Heaven, Heaven sent me Marcy). Sometimes models approach me directly - although they're often very passive-aggressive about it; they simply follow me and hope I notice that they make content, but that rarely works out because I don't buy others' content and very, very few of them are in the Bay Area.

So I guess the short answer is that I've had absolutely zero shortage of models in spite of all the weirdness and crackdowns going on here, because not only are there endless legions of closeted kinky chicks in the Bay, but I'm plugged in to enough networks now that it's very easy to find them. It's yet another reason I occasionally get frustrated with some of the narratives parroted here on the TMF; yes, some of the studios based in other parts of the country have to kind of throw a tarp over the exact nature of the content they're making to pull in "normal" girls, but out here? They line up for the opportunity purely because it sounds fun, especially now that everyone and their sister already has an OnlyFans. I mean, I literally found Penny because she saw my business card in her sister's wallet (her sister is one of my besties) and said "I must meet this man."

SoleMates said:

San Diego is one of my favorite cities in SoCal. If I were to move down there that's definitely where I'd go.



When I first started out, I got nearly all of my models from Craigslist, with a few exceptions; I'd already had pre-existing relationships with Ash, Teri, and Kiki so I was able to get them to come in and shoot the initial clips I needed to get my store off the ground (in those days, C4S required you to have ten unique clips before you could start accepting credit card payments, and I thought it would be wise to have a variety of models up front). Teri referred Catherine, and that was basically how I got started.

I continued to use Craigslist almost exclusively, except for the occasional referral (models would have so much fun shooting with me they'd pass their friends along, especially if said friend was someone who fit a particular niche I was trying to fill) for years, until someone somewhere got a bug up their ass and started reporting my posts. Eventually my account was suspended (and this was before the big crackdown) so I had to find other avenues of recruitment.

For a while I simply worked off of referrals or took a hiatus from time to time and worked off of my backlog. I'd say the most unique way I met a model during this time was when a Facebook friend posted that a friend of hers had had her clothes stolen and was selling nudes to raise money to replace them. I contacted her and offered a shoot, and that's how I met Sora Morbid.

Nowadays I mainly get my models from Instagram; Ariana is far from the first in this regard. I've also worked with Mari of Mari's Exotic Wishes, Angelic Toes, Heavenly Arches, and Goddess Marcy. Sometimes I cold approach them (Ariana), sometimes other producers work with them and then refer them to me (Angel, Mari), and sometimes the model will refer another model (Angel sent me Heaven, Heaven sent me Marcy). Sometimes models approach me directly - although they're often very passive-aggressive about it; they simply follow me and hope I notice that they make content, but that rarely works out because I don't buy others' content and very, very few of them are in the Bay Area.

So I guess the short answer is that I've had absolutely zero shortage of models in spite of all the weirdness and crackdowns going on here, because not only are there endless legions of closeted kinky chicks in the Bay, but I'm plugged in to enough networks now that it's very easy to find them. It's yet another reason I occasionally get frustrated with some of the narratives parroted here on the TMF; yes, some of the studios based in other parts of the country have to kind of throw a tarp over the exact nature of the content they're making to pull in "normal" girls, but out here? They line up for the opportunity purely because it sounds fun, especially now that everyone and their sister already has an OnlyFans.

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San Diego is where I’m from actually. I haven’t tapped into the Instagram or onlyfans market yet. I was exclusively word of mouth for years. Now that I’m in a new state it’s getting rather interesting trying to get my footing again. But I was curious because I get asked that a lot as well. Congrats again and thanks for answering my questions. Cheers!


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Congrats on the anniversary! Huge fan of your work!

1. Who's been the most difficult model you've worked with thus far?
2. Who's your personal favorite?
3. What elements would you take from all the model's you've worked with to make the perfect model?

BBAC said:

Congrats on the anniversary! Huge fan of your work!

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1. Who's been the most difficult model you've worked with thus far?

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I'm having a hard time thinking of one. For the most part they've all been lovely, even if occasionally someone flakes or otherwise gets crabby or mercenary. It is a business, after all.

I guess the best answer would be Selena. You've never heard of Selena, you say? That's because she signed all the paperwork and then never actually did a shoot. She keeps telling me that we need to get together and make some content, and then never actually follows through. Which is hilarious because Selena is a good friend of mine, we hang out pretty much constantly, and yet she has been saying "we should make some content" for like a flippin' year now. Shit or get off the pot, Selena.

The other one would be Teri. We were friends for close to ten years but unfortunately her personal demons got the better of her, I think. She would periodically approach me about working together again, but never actually follow through... and unlike Selena, she would make arrangements and then simply break them with no warning. Eventually she got too demanding and unreliable and pissed me off to the point where I stopped talking to her, and I feel really bad about it.

2. Who's your personal favorite?

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That's easy. Lolly Gagger. That woman is so fucking funny and talented. Hands-down one of the most charming and engaging people I've ever met. And that cackle that she does when you get her good spots has to be heard to be believed. She made some of the most bizarre noises I've ever heard out of a person being tickled, and I've heard a few, lemme tell ya.

3. What elements would you take from all the model's you've worked with to make the perfect model?

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I really can't answer this question as I feel like it would be seriously disrespectful to any of these wonderful women, but I think the best thing I could do was to say that all of them should have been as ticklish as Kim. We like to throw around the words "tickle torture" pretty flippantly but I truly believe that if anyone with cruel intentions ever strapped her down and ignored her well-being they could probably have her legitimately traumatized and begging for death in under an hour. And yet, not only did she work with me like eight times, but the last two were without a safeword. One of the most ego-boosting things you can hear, oddly enough, is when a woman who's that ticklish, who you've pushed to tears numerous times, says "I feel safe with you." All the feels. Right there.

I do have one more question...who do you think is the most underrated model?

Thanks for doing this, more producers should do stuff like this

BBAC said:

I do have one more question...who do you think is the most underrated model?

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From my own catalog? If by underrated you mean "I thought they were amazing but they didn't sell squat", that's easy. Lolly Gagger, again, and Sora Morbid. I'm honestly baffled by them both performing as poorly as they did, but you truly can't ever tell who's going to be a hit and who isn't. I once hung out with "Bad Ass" Becky Berardi of the Bad-Ass Becky Show and we talked shop a bit. She told me it's impossible to tell if a model will move product. "We hired girls I thought would absolutely clean up and they didn't sell a single video." I mean, if she can't do it, I sure as hell can't either. lol

Congrats on 8 years Solemates

Well, hey! Time flies. Sole Mates turned 10 last month. It's kind of insane to think that some of the cute young things I worked with during my debut are in their thirties now. Oh well, they'll always be cute young things to me.

ANYWAY. Sole Mates has been steadily expanding over the last few years. Sales are up, golf scores are down. I recently shot a pair of lovely bikini baristas from the local "coffee hooters" that fans have been going ga ga over, and the Sole Mates Patreon page has also just launched. We're up to six subscribers already, including one absolute mad lad who's reaping the benefits of being a top-tier patron. Go him! Also, tomorrow marks the long-awaited return of Katya Day. It's gonna be a hoot an' a hollar.

So, in honor of all of these things, I thought I'd bickety-bump this thread and see if there's anyone else what wants to Ask Me Anything. We had a good round of talking points last time, so... HIT MEH.

Arch

Thanks for the bump!

My question is:

Assuming you have the fetish… did making a living at it and making it become “work” ruin it for you?

I'm going to be pendantic for a moment.

Assuming you have the fetish…

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I know it's all trendy and such to paint producers as money-grubbing assholes who don't actually care about the material they shoot, but this niche pays so little that you basically can't go into it without having some kind of personal interest. Dealing with all of the downsides to interacting with this community can be such a drain that anyone who doesn't have the fetish who is purely in it for the "money" isn't going to last a week, because the handful of dollars you pull at the end of the month isn't going to offset that.

did making a living at it and making it become “work” ruin it for you?

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I am not making a living at this. I'm going to be charitable and assume you meant "making a living" as "doing it for pay", because as I stated earlier in the thread, I am absolutely not pulling in enough money to even buy two weeks' worth of groceries every month let alone enough to cover all my bills and pay my rent. Very, very few producers in this niche are "making a living" at this and if they are, I want to move where they're living because the cost of living is so low I could probably buy a mansion on the income from a paper route.

That said, no. I enjoy what I do, but it's not for the reasons you might think. A lot of people hear "tickling producers" and go "wow, that guy actually gets to... touch women! And get paid for it!". And... the novelty of that only exists for people who don't get to interact with/touch women enough in their own lives. The novelty of tickling attractive women wears off pretty quickly. It's still fun, I still enjoy doing the shoots themselves, and I love interacting with the models... but the bulk of my enjoyment actually comes from making the product.

I like editing video, coming up with interesting scenarios, making sure all of the technical aspects are correct... I see a lot of poorly-shot garbage passing for content out there and, if nothing else, I want to be better than that. I want to be happy with the content I make, and I hold myself to a high standard as a result of it. Don't get me wrong, though, working with the Sole Mates themselves is very much a high point of the job, but it's because of the energy on set and the fact that the people you work with are often very charming and outgoing, which makes it a pleasant experience. I enjoy tickling people, always will, but if that was all I wanted to do I wouldn't have gone this route to do it.