There’s a big market for selling pictures of your feet on the internet. When it comes to fetishes, feet are an absolute classic. In fact, over $5 million dollars a year is spent on one of the popular sites for buying and selling feet content. We sat down with Penny*, 26, who makes a full-time living off uploading and selling pictures of her feet – and as we found out, there’s more to the foot game than meets the eye.
LBDO: How did you get started in selling feet content online?
Penny: I just started in lockdown, sort of as something to do. I actually didn’t technically sell anything for a few months - I was pretty naive when I signed up. There’s a whole art to it as it turns out.
LBDO: When you say signed up…
Penny: Yeah, there’s a whole process to getting accepted onto one of the sites. You have to provide ID and a selfie to prove you’re real, and a lot of the sites require a monthly subscription fee as well.
LBDO: You have to pay to find work?
Penny: Yeah, that’s pretty standard. I think it’s just to weed out the people who are taking it seriously from those who aren’t. In saying that, it’s not a big fee - usually about $5 a month.
LBDO: And you say you didn’t earn much when you started out?
Penny: No, not at all. I was just uploading pretty shitty photos of my feet, without much creativity, and expecting people to pay for them. Like I said, I was really naive. It’s really not just a matter of being like - here’s my foot, now pay me. People could just go on Google Images if they just wanted to look at any old foot. It’s a competitive industry, you need to consider a lot of factors if you want to make any money.
LBDO: What sort of factors?
Penny: Grooming, for one. You actually have to make sure your feet are like, hot [laughs]. Like, I always moisturise and get a pedicure before I shoot mine now. I also invested in some small lights, a better camera than my phone, and I always consider the environment. A regular-ass foot on some floorboards won’t really cut it I don’t think.
LBDO: Are there any rules around what you can and can’t post?
Penny: Yeah of course. It’s kind of the same as any images or videos on the internet. Nothing illegal. You can show your face and/or genitals if you want to, but I choose not to. I’m lucky enough to have a few regular subscribers who just really like my feet. And they tip pretty generously if I cater to what they want.
LBDO: And what sorts of things do they want?
Penny: I’ve sort of gone for a beauty angle, so I just work that. Sometimes I’ll also upload ASMR videos of moisturising my feet, they are quite popular as well. There are all sorts of different strokes for different folks though. Some people like really dirty feet, and some creators have made a good living getting really into that. There’s also a whole community of people who like irregular feet, like 6 toes for example. I think the more unique the better - you want to stray away from the norm to get noticed.
LBDO: Would you recommend this line of work?
Penny: Yes and no. At the end of the day, it’s still work. I love that I’m able to make a living off what I do, and it works for me, but I know it’s not for everyone. Some months are better than others, even for me, and it can be really tricky to get started. My best advice for anyone wanting to go into it would be to find a niche, put effort into your content, and market yourself in places other than just the site. Getting noticed is really the hardest part, and it can take time.
