Horizontal vs. Vertical Scaling: Which Agency Should You Build?

OnlyFans management is a very young and rapidly evolving industry with very few “hard rules”. OF has only existed since 2016, and while there is very little information available given the clandestine nature of the management/agency business, the general consensus among “OG” agency owners is that the first management agencies didn’t begin popping up until late 2019.

While all agencies perform the same essential function of driving traffic to a models’ pages and extracting value from subscribers, they have radically different approaches to how they scale their operation. This essay is meant to provide a broad-strokes overview of the two basic ways OFMs choose to scale- horizontal and vertical. It’s important that you select the scaling method that best suits your personality, skillset and temperament, because these two scaling models may as well be entirely different businesses altogether. If you choose one that doesn’t suit you it will negatively impact both you and your clients in the long run. 

The difference between horizontal and vertical scaling agencies is extremely simple, and it has to do with a given model’s Potential To Earn, or PTE.

Horizontally scaling agencies promote their creators by creating an easily replicable content “template” that their clients can reproduce without much effort or thought. You’ve likely seen dozens, if not hundreds of TikToks and Instagram reels of OF models doing TikTok dances, or short, simple videos of models making a seductive expression or shaking their jiggly bits with a simple caption and trending audio. Once this template is created, horizontally scaling agencies have one objective: sign as many models as they can take on and have them replicate that template, perhaps with a few specific tweaks based on the personality or physical attributes of the model. Combined with automation tools, application-specific software and paid ads and shoutouts on social media and adult media websites, these agencies can turn virtually any regular girl next door into a mini money printer that turns over $10-25k a month with no more than a 10-20 hours a month of work on the part of the model. While $10-25k a month is low PTE relative to what the top creators on OF bring in monthly, with the correct processes in place and the staff to support it, horizontally scaling agencies can manage dozens or even hundreds of models and rake in millions of dollars a month in revenue due to the sheer volume of models they manage.

Vertically scaling agencies, like Milki, take the opposite approach. Vertical scalers focus all of their efforts on a small number of creators with very high or even uncapped PTE- creators capable of bringing in 6 or even 7 figures a month on their own. Rather than creating a template for creators to share, a good vertically scaling agency’s goal should be to make each of their clients a microcelebrity by creating a distinct, carefully crafted and curated personal brand that utilizes their client’s unique talents, skills and physical appearance. Clients of vertically scaling agencies are often capable of being successful influencers outside of OnlyFans- they might best be thought of as influencers who use OnlyFans as a monetization tool, rather than purely “OnlyFans creators”. Since they can’t just copy and paste strategies from creator to creator, vertically scaling agencies typically rely much more on creative media and organic traffic than their horizontal counterparts.

You might already have some idea which camp you fall into, but there’s a bit more to it than those basic differences. I’m going to explain some of the pros and cons of horizontal and vertical scaling agencies, and some of the key personality traits that the owners of both types often have to help you figure out which is best for you. 

Horizontal Scaling Pros:

In short, horizontal scaling is all about volume and efficiency, and is best described as more of a mechanical or engineering-oriented approach to OFM.

LOW CREATIVE REQUIREMENTS: Horizontally scaling agencies require very little creative thought- your job is just to create or copy existing trends to build a template any new model can follow. The only limitation on how big your business can be is how good you are at finding and implementing automation tools or hiring cheap labor to perform repetitive tasks like video editing, posting and commenting.

AUTOMATION: Horizontally scaling agencies, when done right, require very few humans in the loop besides management and essential personnel like chatters. Forward-thinking and technical owners have integrated powerful AI tools into their tech stack to such a degree that they can scale virtually infinitely, with the only limit on their growth being how many models they’re able to sign. 

EASIER FOR CLIENTS: Since a majority of the content you churn out is what OFM’s call “agency-dependent”, your clients don’t have to do much work- maybe 5-10 hours a month in exchange for thousands of dollars. All the content they’re making is generic and more or less just requires them to smile, dance and look pretty for the camera. In many ways, the model becomes a blank canvas which the agency can paint over and present to the audience however they choose.

SALARY MODELS: Since the individual models don’t have to show much personality- often, not even having to speak- horizontal scaling also enables you to sign non-English speaking clients. A model in South America or Eastern Europe will happily accept a much smaller revenue share or even a nominal salary due to how much farther dollars go in their countries of residence. This is huge win-win for both the agency and the client- the agency gets larger margins by having more favorable contracts, and the models get access to US dollars, which are often in extremely high demand, hard to come by and more stable than local currencies. While a US-based model wouldn’t be able to live on $1000 a month, a Colombian model could easily rent a luxury apartment in a city center for that price with plenty of money to spare.

Horizontal Scaling Cons:

YOU NEED A LOT OF MODELS TO ACHIEVE LIFTOFF: The most obvious con is that in order to effectively scale, you need to sign many more models than a vertical scaling agency would to achieve similar results. It might be easier to find “regular” OnlyFans girls with a PTE of $5-10k a month, but a vertically scaling agency will be making 10 to 100 times that amount from a single model. This means that you must have either strong cold outreach skills and a solid recruiting process or rely on model marketplaces to grow your roster.

STEEP TECHNICAL LEARNING CURVE: You will need to develop a deep technical understanding of the mechanics of various social media platforms, basic black-hat skills like proxy management, and learn how to use software platforms that are completely unique and designed specifically for OFM. If you’re a solo operator and not particularly tech-savvy, this is going to be a serious challenge.

OVERSATURATED AND UNDIFFERENTIATED: Most OF agencies are horizontally scaling. Your clients are competing with thousands of other models for attention from prospective subscribers, and while in the short to medium term there is still plenty of money to be made, the general consensus among top agency owners is that the gravy train may be leaving the station sooner rather than later. As a result, it’s much harder than it was just a couple of years ago to get a more “average” model- especially non-English speaking salary models- to a revenue threshold that makes them worth keeping on board. 

LOW SKILL/KNOWLEDGE TRANSFERENCE: While this isn’t necessarily a con in the context of the industry, it’s important to consider. Since most of the software, tools, content strategies and techniques horizontal scaling agencies apply are unique to OnlyFans, you will only be building skills and knowledge that apply to OFM. The future of this industry is very uncertain, and while it’s an incredible opportunity to make lots of money in the short term, the tradeoff is that there may not be very much skill crossover between OFM and whatever you might do in the future.

Horizontal Scaling Operator Profile:

If you aren’t a creative type and prefer a more static, structured approach to life and business, horizontal scaling is the way to go. There are clearly defined rules and best practices, although you still have to be flexible and stay ahead of the curve. The cold email/outreach process also tends to be a little more impersonal, so if you aren’t big on interpersonal relationships horizontal may be the way to go.

The best horizontally scaling operators I know are very technology-oriented. People with an interest or background in software engineering and IT who prefer to operate from behind the scenes typically perform best. However, even if you don’t have a technical background, as long as you’re interested in learning there are experienced OFM operators like Shane Carroll Francis who have created detailed guides describing the software, procedures and hiring decisions you’ll need to make it as a horizontally scaling agency.

Vertical Scaling Pros:

Vertical scaling is about developing tailored organic strategies to build each client on your roster to their absolute highest earning potential. If horizontal scaling is an industrial approach to OFM, vertical scaling is more craftsmanlike- more like sculpting than engineering.

LOW STARTUP COSTS: Since vertical scaling is all about organic traffic strategies, there are very few costs associated with starting up. While I would not recommend it unless you’re really just testing the waters, the most primitive form of a vertical scaling agency can be done with no paid tools whatsoever- just good old fashioned posting and commenting on the social media platforms of your choice.

OPPORTUNITIES OUTSIDE OF ONLYFANS: A good vertical agency finds their clients opportunities to monetize outside of OnlyFans- advertising partnerships, paid media- really, the only limit is your model’s talent and your agency’s creativity. While OF will almost always be your largest revenue stream, you can and should leverage the brand you build for your creators to create additional revenue streams- just make sure that your contract stipulates that you get a cut of ALL revenue generated by your agency’s work and not just OF!

SKILL TRANSFER: Since a majority of your job is organic social media promotion, over time you’re going to develop skills and purchase equipment such as cameras, microphones and lighting that are highly desirable and transferable to non-OF industries. Every contemporary business wants effective social media marketing, and surprisingly few people are any good at it. If you ever decide to pivot out of the OF industry, you’ll still take with you everything you learned about marketing, screenwriting, cinematography, and customer psychology and apply those skills to whatever you do next.

Vertical Scaling Cons:

SLOWER GROWTH TRAJECTORY: Initial costs might be low, but initial effort is not. When you’re starting from zero, organic social growth is often slow and grindy. While there are some foundational skills that apply to influencer account growth, because every client is different you will mostly be learning through trial and error, and if you don’t set expectations for your clients appropriately, you are quite likely to lose them before you get any momentum.

DIFFERENT EVERY TIME: A blueprint that produces amazing results for one model might produce terrible results for another. You have to take into account much more than just the model’s appearance when deciding which content verticals to pursue- their personality, skills, temperament and work ethic all play a huge role in what strategies might be best. This requires you to have a much greater breadth of knowledge. For example, writing and filming scripted comedy is a completely different basket of skills than writing and shooting ASMR or cooking videos. As an operator, it’s your responsibility to learn about as many content verticals as possible so you can guide your client to success.

ALL YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET: If a horizontally scaling agency loses a model- for instance, if they decide they no longer want to make OF content- it doesn’t impact their business significantly because their models are typically interchangeable. If you only have 1 model and that model quits, your business implodes overnight. As a result, vertical scaling agencies have to focus significantly more on client retention and being absolutely irreplaceable to their clients, and you should have a rigorous vetting process to determine if a new prospective model is worth investing time and money into. If you decide to go vertical, it’s wise to find other OF-adjacent revenue streams so that you aren’t put in a bad position by a model quitting.

MODEL-DEPENDENT: Not every model is capable of or willing to reach the top. Some creators are content to work 5-10 hours a week pumping out thirst traps and OF content- they don’t WANT to be superstars. Furthermore, not every model is even capable of achieving the  you’re a vertically scaling agency, your models need work ethic, talent AND looks, and that is not an easy combination of traits to come by. Because of the effort we put into our clients, Milki only works with creators who are willing to do content creation as a full time job and who have the skills, appearance and work ethic to make at least a few million dollars per year- otherwise it really isn’t worth the effort.

CREATIVELY DEMANDING: I can’t stress enough how important ideas and creative direction are to vertical scaling. If you are not constantly testing new ideas and pushing the envelope, your creator will never reach their maximum earning potential. While eventually you’ll find skilled staff to take over some elements of the production process, in the beginning you might find yourself being the scriptwriter, cameraman, video editor, graphic designer, and so on- which is a lot of responsibility. If you have an especially talented creator who is willing to put the work in, you might be putting out 5 to 10 unique pieces of short form content a day, plus long form content, streaming, OF content. It’s a ton of work and it’s easy to burn out- if you aren’t a creative type or a craftsman, you’ll need a business partner who is, and in either case you’ll need to establish standard operating procedures to streamline every step of the production process.

Vertical Scaling Operator Profile:

If you’re more creative, people-oriented, and prefer a dynamic business environment where you are constantly learning new skills and testing new ideas and strategies, vertical scaling might be the way to go. While automating and streamlining processes will always be net good for reducing workload and expanding margins, vertical scaling does not demand anywhere near the degree of technical expertise that horizontal scaling does, so it may be the better option for those just starting out. However, this requires that you have a very special model from the start, which, if you’re starting from zero, likely involves a bit of luck or some really exceptional sales skills.

To succeed as a vertical agency, you must be willing to truly understand your clients- not just what they can do for you, but what motivates them, their goals and desires, and how you can help them achieve those goals. Deep trust is required on both sides- your clients have to be able to trust your guidance and expertise that you are guiding them down the right path and providing all the tools they need to be successful, and you must trust your clients to stick with you for the long run and not jump ship when they’ve made their first million. If you have a hard time developing and maintaining interpersonal relationships, this is definitely not the path for you and your agency.

Wrap-Up

Hopefully this essay has helped you decide which direction you’d like to take your agency. 

Ultimately, your choice depends on your skill set, personality, and business goals. Both strategies have proven to be lucrative, but the right one for you hinges on whether you prefer repetition and automation or creativity and relationship-building.

Book a Consultation

If you’re ready to take your agency to the next level, visit our FOR AGENCY page and book a free consultation with our team. We specialize in vertical scaling and offer a variety of services to help you build the most efficient, profitable and sustainable version of your agency.