Thread by @CharlotteOU812

THREAD

Spamming sex workers.
Why it’s NEVER a good idea
Nope...not ever. Nope not even then. Nope. No. NO!

Once again, I open my emails to see a bunch of photographers and video makers wanting to take my photograph because I’m so (ahem) beautiful.
Even worse, many of these emails have been sent through adverting contact pages.
So basically I’m paying to be spammed.
Great.....

I speak for all sex workers everywhere when I say if you have a business and you think you want to target it to sex workers. Great.
But please, please, please, please don’t send as unsolicited emails, direct messages or texts.
Don’t. No DON’T!

Oh I hear your little argument there.
You don’t have a lot of advertising dollars
You want to directly hit your target audience
Everyone gets spam, you get spam. Why should it bug sex workers so much?
Everyone advertisers like that...

Well we don’t. For one

Sc workers cannot use spam to market their product
Imagine of you got a mass text or email from a sex worker you’d never met or intearracted with announcing her product and encouraging you to book!
Likely you’d be mortified, or turned off.
It’s just not appropriate right?

Plus it’s solicitation. Illegal in most parts of Australia. We can advertise but we cannot directly entice. We cannot approach you.
Yes it’s stupid.

So yeah. There are businesses who cannot spam. And we are one. So don’t use it as a defence that everyone does it.
Secondly.
A sex workers entire business is the phone and email.
That’s how our clients contact us.

When we answer our work phone, when we open our work email account we are expecting to see 2 things.
Emails from our clients.
Bills regarding our escort business
That’s it.

It’s hard for someone who isn’t a sex worker to understand this. But a sex worker puts on a face, a character, an armour, a personae, whatever you want to call it when he/she/they work. It’s an exterior that protects our private lives and helps us be the fantasy we project.

When I open my emails, or I check my work phone I AM Charlotte. And it’s in that head space that I’m expecting to read emails and texts and make appointments. Some workers are broke right now. SESTA/FOSTA has impacted many workers horribly.

And so when they open emails and texts it’s with the very strong hope that finally they have a booking and they can pay their bills, take their dog to the vet, purchase those textbooks, feed their kids and then......nope. It’s your SPAM!

Your bloody spam. Your stupid, inane, pointless spam. And even if they need photographs. Even if they really need a video. Even if they need new advertising
It’s not going to be from you spammer.
Not. Ever.

So let’s be clear. What I’m really saying is this

DONT SPAM A SEX WORKER.

EVER

Look. I want your business to work. Of course I do. I’m a small business owner too. All sex workers are. If you’re a great photographer, videographer, advertiser then wonderful! I’m sure you’ll find lots of great clients.
But not through spam.

Word of mouth is one of the most powerful forms of sex worker communication.
Seriously.
Get one worker REALLY HAPPY with your work, and I guarantee that’s better than 1000 unsolicited emails.

You can advertise your services on Scarlet Blue and Crockor. Lots of us look there when trying to find a service. And it’s an excellent place to start from.

Build a reputation of being professional and respectful. Have a happy sex worker client, ask her how to grow your business. As her to write you a review. Perhaps pay a well known sex worker to endorse your product. To tweet your product.

Sponsor sex worker events, follow sex worker activists, and look to other successful photographers/ videographers/ advertisers to learn what works with marketing to sex workers

Most importantly. Don’t assume sex workers are rolling In money. It’s a common assumption and an incorrect one. If you’re targeting sex workers because you think you can charge a bomb for a service and we won’t notice, that’s a poor marketing strategy.

SW’s have seen many businesses come and go, mostly they haven’t lasted because they tried to charge too much, tell us what we wanted rather than listened and supported or compounded stigma. If you don’t assume we are stupid then we should get along famously.

So good luck with that business, I really hope it works out for you.
I know you feel challenged marketing it, but if you follow my suggestions it should go swimmingly.
I look forward to hopefully working with you in the future.
Charlotte x

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