# Sell locked photos in your DMs

When a fan asks for a photo you've already taken, send it locked and set the price - $20 in our example. They pay to unlock it inside the conversation, and Stripe pays you. No separate shop, no second app.

## How it works

1. **Share one link** - Bio, story, newsletter.
2. **They pay to write** - $5 to $20 per message.
3. **You reply** - One inbox. Reply on your own time.
4. **You get paid** - Through Stripe, to your bank.

> "Those heels from Sunday's story - please say you took a proper photo."
>
> To a fashion creator - from Marco - $20 to unlock

## What it costs to run

If 5 unlocks a week come in at $20, that's $400 a month. What each plan costs you that month, before Stripe's card fees:

- **Self-host:** ~$430 - Server and developer time, plus ~$600 to set up
- **Hosted:** ~$86 - $5.99/mo + 20% of $400
- **Hosted Plus:** ~$50 (cheapest) - $9.99/mo + 10% of $400

## Questions

**How much should I charge to unlock a photo?**
Start near $20 and adjust. You set the price for each photo you send.

**Where do I share my link?**
Anywhere people already find you: your bio, your stories, your newsletter. One link does it.

**What does Hotly take?**
Hosted: $5.99/mo + 20% commission, or $9.99/mo + 10% commission on Hosted Plus - servers, updates and backups included. Self-hosting the free code has 0% commission but costs about $430/mo in servers and developer time, plus ~$600 to set up.

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**Start:** https://www.hotly.com/hosted?ref=hosted