We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Juniper Vixen. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Juniper below.
Juniper, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s talk about social media – do you manage your own or do you have someone or a company that handles it for you? Why did you make the choice you did?
I manage my own social media. However if creating wasn’t my fulltime there would be no way I could do it myself. I use hashtag generators to reach new and active audiences and interact with fifteen posts using each hashtag to drive traffic back to my page. In addition, I tag everything in the image from the creative team to the nail polish on my fingers. I post on TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Model Mayhem, and Pinterest. I just recently started using a social media planner but can only schedule a week at a time (which takes me about 3 hours to upload and write). Which lets me plan based on my engagement the previous week and what posts performed well. Responding to messages across all platforms (there’s more than the above, but those don’t require posts actively) takes me about 2 hours, twice a day. It’s pretty insane, when you think about it.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
So if you don’t know me, hello and welcome. I’m Juniper Vixen. I’m a full time travel model and more based in Atlanta. At 19 I’ve had the opportunity to work with over 100 photographers, 25 producers, and 10 small businesses. My work has been published on over 200 pages, featured on several podcasts and been created in over 20 states.
I am nonbinary and use my platform to speak on social issues. My time is spent curating social media posts, scheduling photoshoots, and mentoring other models. I also write and produce my own music, dabble in makeup artistry and just published my first book (A Complete Introduction to Modeling). When I take time off you’d find me playing video games or rewatching popular shows and relaxing with my partner (our two cats).
So how did all this start? Well I attended Jackson School of Arts (Class of 2021) focusing on music, dance and film. Thanks to COVID my junior and senior year were almost entirely remote which allowed me to build my small business and work three jobs. My first photoshoot was in early February of 2021 for a zodiac calendar. The photographer simply couldn’t find someone available to shoot Aquarius before the season was over so she invited me to jump in. What a rabbit hole, looking back. When those pictures were shared, I got invited to another shoot which I used to get prom pictures (needed done anyhow, y’know?). Those would be my first publication. Then the original photographer asked me back to model a new set she had created. That was my first front cover. I then got invited to a group shoot event in May where I met over 40 photographers and models. I was asked for my rates and people were insistent that I start charging for shoots. I walked my first runway in June and was fulltime by the end of that month. I moved out of my family home in September and just kept growing.
I love bringing creative visions to life. Be it my own or the photographers, reviewing work and just being in awe of something that I created is an amazing feeling. It never gets old and sharing that creativity with others is one of the most validating experiences. I have become an advocate for body and sex positivity, as well as having a voice in the BLM movement, protested the overturn of Roe v Wade and fought for the LGBTQ+ community. Finding tasteful ways to artistically express the modern day issues is very important to me.
I’m most proud of my book, for sure. As it will open up the possibility for so many others to get involved in this community. When I realized how much fun I had at shoots I was so excited to do more and more of it. But I had absolutely no idea where to start and the internet recommends agency auditions right away. That wasn’t something that really interested me so I had to pave my own way like so many others. And when I started wanting to take it seriously, figuring out monetizing my work was another huge challenge. What are the milestones and how do you achieve them? What platforms are best to connect with others? How do I set rates? A brand reached out to me, what happens now? No more of that. 35 concise pages of what you need to know. No fluff, no BS, just what you need to know. I lay out so much information and provide templates to track your own journey. From a social media content planner to 200 brand emails with an outreach template to a milestone poster for you to track your own achievements and so much more. If you’re looking for your next side hustle, an alternative creative career path, a confidence building hobby or looking to develop what you already have– I’ve got you.
If you have multiple revenue streams in your business, would you mind opening up about what those streams are and how they fit together?
So the beauty of the modeling industry is how diverse you can create your income to be. So the most obvious forms of income would be photoshoots and OnlyFans. Let’s say I book 20 hours of shooting in a month. For my rate that’s $2K. My OnlyFans charges $25/mo ($20/mo after OF takes their cut) and let’s say I have 30 subscribers– that’s $600. What else is there? Repurpose your content to other sites like ManyVids or Clips4Sale– my average video price there is $7. Let’s say I sell 10 videos between those two sites ($70). Alright, now I have an e-book out to help other people get started which is offered before I book mentorship calls. Each copy of my book is $20 and let’s say I sell 10 copies that month ($200). Now as I’m getting more popular I have people reaching out for mentorship, that’s $60 per session and let’s say I book 5 clients. $300.
These are just the basics. I’ve also done custom videos, ran an independent magazine and merch. But just from the essential services, most of which are passive once you set them up, that’s $2970. Not bad.
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
Reviews! From brands. From photographers. From subscribers. From anyone who I have ever worked with. If there’s a makeup artist, ask for a review. If you just finished working with someone? Send them a link to give a review. It’s insane how much people value others opinions of a person. But that’s certainly the first step.
And the next seems trivial but it’s incredibly helpful: social media following and engagement. Seeing that you have a community built that consistently and actively engages with your content is huge.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.linktr.ee/junipermaevevixen
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/junipermaevevixen
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Juniper-Vixen-106967265296973/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juniper-vixen-5a78ba249/
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/junipermvixen
- Other: E-Book https://payhip.com/JuniperVixen
Image Credits
Reed Crawford, Mx Gay Photography, BJ Photography, In My Camera View, Jason Furda, Gagandeep Bedi, Alyssa Petrella, Lex Dropp