Before Your First Post

Starting a creator business is a lot easier when you don't have to figure everything out at the same time.

This checklist covers the things you can take care of before we start setting up your business together.

Nothing in Block 1 commits you to working with FanFuse. You can do it on your own, at your own pace, and everything here is useful even if you ultimately decide not to move forward.

The order matters.

Some things are easy to set up correctly on day one and surprisingly annoying to fix later.

Block 1: You can do this now

These are the things you can prepare on your own.

No public accounts. No money. No content needs to be published.

Just getting your foundation right.

01. Get a separate device

If keeping your creator identity separate from your personal life matters to you, start here.

Get a phone dedicated exclusively to your creator business.

It doesn't need to be new or expensive. A basic secondhand phone is completely fine.

What matters is that it is not also your personal phone.

This is the most important step on this entire checklist.

Your personal phone may already be connected to your contacts, photos, Apple or Google account, social accounts, email, location history and dozens of other services.

Starting clean is much easier than trying to separate everything later.

• Dedicated device ready

02. Create a new Apple or Google account

Set up the device using a completely new Apple ID or Google account.

Don't sign in with the account you use on your personal phone, not even “just for setup.”

A new phone connected to your old account doesn't create a clean separation.

While setting it up:

• turn off contact syncing;

• review app permissions;

• don't connect personal accounts unless they're actually necessary.

• ☐ New Apple/Google account created

• ☐ Contact syncing disabled

03. Get a new phone number

Get a separate number for your creator business.

A prepaid SIM or eSIM works.

You'll eventually need it for account verification and other services, so don't use your everyday personal number.

• New number active

04. Create a new email

Create a new email address from the dedicated device using your new number.

This email should be used exclusively for your creator business.

Don't use your real name or an obvious variation of it in the address.

And don't start using this email from your personal phone or computer.

• Creator email created

05. Set up a password manager

Use a password manager such as 1Password, Bitwarden, or another service you trust.

Every account should have its own unique password.

Then enable two-factor authentication wherever it's available, starting with your new email.

This also makes it much easier to work with a team later without sending passwords around in WhatsApp messages.

• Password manager installed
• Two-factor authentication enabled

06. Choose your creator name

This deserves more thought than it seems.

You're going to build an audience around this name, so changing it later can mean rebuilding recognition you've already earned.

A good creator name should be:

• unrelated to your real name;
• easy to spell;
• easy to say;
• easy to remember;
• recognizable when someone hears it once;
• available without random numbers or multiple underscores;
• distinctive enough not to disappear among thousands of similar accounts;
• something you can still imagine liking two years from now.

Be careful with names that:

• only make sense when written;

• depend on a very local joke or reference;

• are extremely long;

• require random numbers or characters because the original is taken;

• are already associated with your personal identity somewhere online.

• ☐ Creator name chosen

07. Check availability before creating anything

Once you have a name you like, check whether it's available across the platforms you may eventually use.

For example:

Instagram · TikTok · X · Reddit · your subscription platform

The goal is consistency.

You don't want to be:

• @YourName on Instagram
• @YourName_Official23 on X
• @YourName847 on TikTok

If your first choice is unavailable everywhere, that's fine.

It's usually better to choose a new name that works consistently than to build five different versions of the same identity.

Check availability first. Don't create the public accounts yet.

That comes later.

• Name availability checked

08. Make sure your ID is ready

You'll eventually need a valid government-issued ID for identity and age verification.

A driver's license, national ID or passport may work depending on the platform and your location.

For now, you don't need to send it to FanFuse.

Just make sure:

• it's valid;
• the information is current;
• you can access it when needed.

If your ID is expired or about to expire, start the renewal process now.

A document issue can delay everything else.

• Valid ID ready

Block 2: What happens next

You don't need to do this part on your own.

We list it here so you know what's coming.

First: Identity and age verification

This is required by the relevant platforms and applicable laws.

We'll walk you through the process.

Second: Your agreement with FanFuse

Before we start working together, you'll receive a written agreement explaining:

• what FanFuse does;
• what you do;
• how revenue sharing works;
• who is responsible for what;
• what happens if either side wants to end the relationship.

Read it.

Ask questions.

Don't sign something you don't understand.

Then we build the business

Once verification and the agreement are complete, we'll work through the setup together.

Depending on your strategy, that can include:

• public social accounts;
• your link-in-bio / landing page;
• your subscription platform;
• payment and banking setup;
• content planning;
• your first content session;
• messaging and account systems;
• your launch strategy.

Your subscription account stays in your name.

Your banking stays in your name.

FanFuse is the partner helping you build and operate the business around it.

A few mistakes worth avoiding

Creating the subscription account first

Don't rush to open the account before your setup is ready.

It's much easier to build the identity, security and strategy first.

Reusing personal photos

A photo that already exists on your personal Instagram can create an obvious connection between two identities.

Keep your creator content separate.

Turning on contact syncing

That little “Allow contacts?” prompt is easy to click through without thinking.

Don't.

Reusing an old username

Even if you think nobody remembers it, an old username can create a bridge back to your personal identity.

Starting with no content prepared

Launching with three posts and then disappearing for two weeks isn't a great way to build momentum.

It's usually better to prepare a content bank first and launch when you're ready to maintain a consistent rhythm.

Your quick-start checklist

Privacy & setup

• Dedicated device ready
• New Apple/Google account created
• Contact syncing disabled
• New phone number active
• New creator email created
• Password manager installed
• Two-factor authentication enabled

Creator identity

• Creator name chosen
• Name checked across major platforms
• Valid government ID ready

Before moving to Block 2

Take your time.

You don't need to finish everything in one afternoon.

But get the foundation right before you start building on top of it.

When you're ready, we'll take it from there.

You create. We build everything around it.