After more than a decade in the industry, Sophie Dee has starred in 700-plus scenes for top studios, racking up a massive following on social media that exceeds 11 million. All the while, she has earned numerous accolades in her award-winning career, from being named a Vixen Angel to reigning as the 2021 XBIZ Premium Social Media Star of the Year.
Ambitious as ever, Dee is deeply-attuned to the shifting landscape of adult, drawing upon a wealth of experience to launch a multitude of entrepreneurial ventures aimed at enhancing the livelihoods of other stars.
“I’d say the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that in an age where there is so much free content everywhere, fans have shown that they will still pay for it,” she illuminated. “I think the key word to all of it is ‘fan.’ Yes, we know a lot of people buy impulsively, but most users get comfortable and loyal with certain adult performers. They watch some of their content, establish a connection or attraction that sticks and then keep coming back.”
And it is these true fans, whose loyalty is wrought from a desire for authenticity and intimacy, to whom Dee caters with her every move.
“So now all of my content is created with the intent of establishing a connection,” she explained. “I talk in all of my videos (or do my cute little chuckle) and I really let my fans see my personality. Not to mention, outside of the videos, the most important part is interacting with fans on the premium channels and on social media.”
That mastery of the subscription-based feed style of content consumption, which has taken the industry by storm lately as stars harness their adoring fandom with a blend of photos, videos, DMs and live-streaming, is key to Dee’s success.
“Pricing strategy is also a major component,” she shared. “I would say, don’t sell yourselves short. Loyal fans will pay and the value of the content you shoot is determined by you and the price. It’s good to mix up pricing, both low and high. Cheaply-priced content will be bought by the majority and making various items really expensive will give it the appeal that it is something super sexy and exclusive, which will give fans FOMO.”
Given her hard-won wisdom and the undeniable levels of fan engagement she has, Dee is now poised to deliver a variety of marketing and merchandising services to other performers from her Shoutout Express cross-promotional platform connecting advertisers and talent, to her up-and-coming SophieDeeSecrets site.
As she lights the way for fans and stars, the reigning queen of Premium Social Media sat down with XBIZ to discuss her hopes, dreams and professional strategies, in this exclusive Clip Star of the Month interview.
XBIZ: When did you begin focusing more on the indie side of the market and your various other entrepreneurial ventures?
DEE: I guess I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit deep down, but it wasn’t until I stopped shooting content about six years ago that it allowed me to take a step back and start thinking about my own brand and career. Shooting in the adult world, it’s easy to just let others tell you what to do. I imagine it is very similar in the music industry. The money is good, but ultimately you do as your told and feel deep down that you would be nothing without it.
When I did ultimately stop shooting, I then realized I had to focus on taking my brand into my own hands. Companies I launch are typically based off of something that I would use and could really benefit from. Then I just figure out how to build it. To be honest, we all get ideas, it’s just a matter of acting on them. It’s easy to get complacent with making good, consistent money, but we are still at the mercy of whichever platform we are on.
I got kind of sick of these companies taking advantage of us, or even shunning us for being in the adult world. I just said screw it, I’ll do my own stuff where I have full control. Since there’s constant change now with things on the internet, it means there are so many opportunities that are opening up for anyone to capitalize on.
XBIZ: Share your overarching strategy for how you cultivated such a massive 10-million follower fan base on Twitter, Instagram, etc.
DEE: A very big driver behind this was definitely just all of the adult content I have shot over the years. I’ve built up a substantial, loyal fan base, and when you do this, fans will find you on all your channels. Then, because I stopped shooting adult six years ago, I focused on rebranding myself as more of just an Instagram model.
Posting predominantly professional content and refraining from overly provocative content I think labeled me in Instagram’s eyes as more of a model rather than adult star. Once you get labeled as adult, IG will not put you on explore, will hide you in hashtags, etc. It’s a major crutch.
And finally, posting consistently has been huge for me. Every single day, I do one feed post in the morning (professional photo) and try to mix in more personal IG stories throughout the day. I also jump on whatever new features they roll out. For instance, when Reels was launched, they prioritized it on their algorithms because they wanted more people to adapt to it, so posting more Reels got me a lot more engagement.
XBIZ: How do you stay fit and healthy, as far as your exercise routine, diet and dedication to wellness?
DEE: I’ll be the first to admit that when it comes to staying fit, this stuff does not come natural to me. I’m envious of the people that are self-motivated and have no problem crawling out of bed and running five miles while drinking a protein shake.
For my diet, I have been using this new app called Noom, which has been such a lifesaver. It helps me easily manage my diet and indicates to me each day how well I am doing. As far as working out, my boyfriend and I hold each other accountable for making sure we are going to the gym. It’s usually one of us that is feeling lazy or tired (or hungover) and it takes the other saying, “We can’t just take the day off.” I really feel so much better about myself after getting a full workout in, so usually it’s just overcoming the initial excuses I come up with.
XBIZ: Discuss your approach to balancing a busy professional schedule with a personal life.
DEE: I’ve structured my role in my businesses to fit more of my strengths. They say you should always focus on what you are good at, and a lot of the business stuff that I’m not good at like finance and customer support, I pass off to others that know what they are doing. I’m better at managing the social media, working with other models and speaking with new prospective clients. I make sure that all my roles are not things that I need to work my schedule around, but rather I can work on when I choose to. If I want to take the day off, the businesses continue to function without any hiccups.
XBIZ: Describe your workflow dynamic with Tyler Thompson and how you elevate each other to greater success.
DEE: Tyler is my boyfriend and business partner on most of my ventures. He’s the guy whispering answers to me when I’m speaking on Clubhouse and have no idea what the hell to say. I feel like sometimes in business, the first step to doing anything is first establishing the right partner. If you choose incorrectly, you are in for a world of hell that is very hard to get out of. And choosing the right partner is extremely hard, especially when you have an established name, because people will bullshit you until you say yes and then it’s all downhill.
With Tyler, we have complete trust of each other and never step on each other’s toes. We both know what each other is good at and allow them to do what they feel is most important for the business.
Tyler and I come from completely different worlds. He’s a college grad with a very privileged upbringing and work experience in the corporate world. I had to fend for myself at a very young age and figure out how to make money to survive. Tyler really pushes me to do the stuff I don’t want to do. He harps on me that by avoiding situations that make me feel uncomfortable (like telling someone “no”), I’ll never learn to overcome them and they will forever hinder me.
He’s big on self-development (I think his corporate background at Target brainwashed him). For me, I help him with his anxiety and worrying about everything. He can also be a bit harsh and blunt, so I show him how to better treat people. Together, I like to think we make up the perfect human. Separate, we would both probably be pretty lost.
XBIZ: What inspired you to launch Shoutout Express and how have you recruited a growing network of stars and clients?
DEE: As mentioned before, I do things that I feel like I could benefit from myself. With Shoutout Express, I kept getting overwhelmed with all of the DM inquiries to buy shoutouts. It was such a time-consuming process going back and forth and the conversations would always get lost in my DMs.
I just knew if I had a page that had all my insights, my pricing and different shoutout offers that I could just send directly to a potential advertiser, it would make my life so much easier. Not to mention, I had been burned several times doing shoutout deals, where either I wouldn’t get paid or where accounts with fake followers had minimal engagement.
Early on, most of the recruitment was me reaching out to influencers online. But since then, it has really grown organically. I guess the best form of marketing with any business venture is the product. If it truly provides value to the user and becomes something they can’t live without, they will become advocates for the platform and help spread via word of mouth.
XBIZ: What’s next for Shoutout in terms of new features, business initiatives and marketing campaigns?
DEE: The next step is an app we are building that will drastically improve the user experience. Our new systems will better match up advertisers and influencers, helping advertisers to create more effective ads targeted at the right audience while helping influencers to earn more money. It will provide tools for creating better ads that stand out and attract a wider audience. There will be a review and pricing system built in to encourage influencers to deliver on the best product.
We are building out an ecosystem around supporting influencers to take control of their brands and build long-term wealth. Shoutout Express will be a piece of this ecosystem, but we have a lot of other new projects in store. The one I am most excited about is an official guide on running/ scaling a premium channel. I really get into the nitty gritty and take real-world examples from my pages and share everything.
XBIZ: What was it like winning the first-ever XBIZ Premium Social Media Star of the Year trophy in January? How are you taking things to the next level?
DEE: It was such an honor to earn this award. When my boyfriend and I discussed things the next day, we both agreed that it was sort of my responsibility now to do something with it. I guess it gives me a little more credibility that I may know what I am talking about. Isn’t that one of the major issues in the adult landscape today? People are afraid to trust others because they have all been burned or used in some way in the past. I’ve seen it happen to way too many people, and I feel like it’s my responsibility to provide some guidance to all of those girls that are looking to build their career.
You don’t need anyone to manage your stuff, there are plenty of resources available online nowadays to help steer you in the right direction. So how am I taking things to the next level? My “guide” is how! I’ve launched a guide on growing your premium accounts as well as a community where girls/guys in the industry have a place to go and can ask whatever questions they have, find others for collaboration and speak directly with more experienced people in the industry such as myself, at SophieDeeSecrets.com.
XBIZ: Any major goals for 2021 and beyond as you expand your businesses?
DEE: To be honest, I’m always stressing out about whether or not I’ll have money to survive when I’m older. This year for me is all about taking my businesses to a point where I can feel fully confident with my future finances. I am trying to limit the partying and supplement it with working hard and building something I can truly be proud of one day!
