Fanvue - Improving Creator Earnings Through Messaging
Messaging was the most important revenue surface on Fanvue. It’s where creators interacted directly with fans, handled requests, and sent paid messages and media. Usage was already high, but when we looked closer at creator behavior, it became clear that Messaging relied heavily on manual effort. As creators gained more subscribers, it became harder to keep up with conversations in a way that was both personal and sustainable. The goal of this work was not to reinvent Messaging, but to strengthen workflows that were already driving revenue, while keeping creators fully in control.
🔎 Research and Validation:
How We Gathered Input
We spoke directly with creators and asked them to walk us through their inboxes, focusing on how they handled new subscribers and repetitive messages. To confirm these patterns beyond individual conversations, we followed up with a short survey completed by additional creators.
What We Took Away
Across interviews and survey responses, the same need kept surfacing: creators wanted to move faster without losing the personal touch in their messages. This led to a clear product goal — reduce repetitive work while keeping messages flexible and personal — which guided the improvements that followed.
🔁 Template Messages
What Changed in the Workflow
Before templates, creators rebuilt the same message setup each time, writing text, adding media, and setting prices and previews manually.
With Template Messages, that repeated setup becomes a single starting action. Applying a template pre-fills the message while keeping content, pricing, and media fully editable. The workflow stays familiar, but the effort is reduced.
Defining the User Journey
We mapped the end-to-end creator journey to clarify how Template Messages should integrate into existing Messaging workflows. The journey distinguishes between unique replies and reusable templates, and defines where optional steps like pricing and media belong without forcing automation.
Shaping the Solution
The goal was not to automate outreach, but to remove repeated setup. Template Messages allowed creators to save message structures they already used and reuse them when needed, while still editing each message before sending.
Templates were integrated directly into the existing Messaging interface, keeping the workflow familiar and easy to adopt.
Template Message - Creation Flow
Template Message - Sending Flow
🗣️ Voice Messages
Introducing a More Expressive Response Option
Before voice messages, text was the default for nearly every interaction. While efficient, it often fell short in situations where fans asked for something more personal, such as shout-outs or custom responses. Voice replies existed conceptually, but without a clear place in the messaging flow.
Voice Messages add an expressive layer to Messaging without changing how conversations start or end. Creators can decide, per message, whether text is sufficient or whether a voice reply better matches the context.
Structuring the Voice Interaction
We mapped the voice interaction to focus on clarity and control. The flow introduces a clear moment where creators choose voice, allows them to record and review before sending, and supports optional pricing when a response requires extra effort.
This structure keeps voice lightweight while still enabling higher-value interactions.
Bringing Voice into the Interface
The final interaction is embedded directly into Messaging. Creators can switch to voice, record a short message, review it, and send it without leaving the conversation. Pricing is applied only when needed, ensuring the interaction remains flexible and situational.
🤝 Validation
Voice Messages were expected to be lower frequency but higher intent. Validation focused on repeated use across multiple days, confirming that creators adopted voice selectively in moments where it added value rather than as a default response.
🏆 Combined Impact on Messaging
Together, Template Messages and Voice Messages improved Messaging without changing how creators fundamentally worked. Templates reduced repeated setup, while voice supported more personal interactions. Both features preserved control, fit existing workflows, and scaled naturally with creator activity.
💡 Key Takeaways
Reducing effort matters most in high-frequency workflows
Personalization should be preserved, not automated away
Optional complexity works better than forced configuration
Sustained use is a stronger signal than first-time adoption
🎬 Closing
By grounding design decisions in real creator behavior and validating them through continued use, this work strengthened Messaging as Fanvue’s core revenue surface. The result was a system that helped creators move faster, stay personal, and remain in control as their audiences grew.
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