Golf Personality Paige Spiranac Debuts Subscription Service

Paige Spiranac, golf’s top of the leaderboard influencer, with over 11 million followers across her social media channels, including 3.7 million Instagram followers (600,000 more than Tiger Woods), is debuting a subscription service.

“My followers have been asking me forever to join a subscription site and I really love the idea of ​​a subscription program but I wanted to do it in a way that felt comfortable to me and felt authentic,” Spiranac says.

“It’s been a long journey of figuring out what it was going to look like and make all my followers really happy. This is something they have been asking for, for a long time,” she adds.

The result is Only Paige, the title is the ball striking beauty’s tongue-in-cheek play on Only Fans. It has been in development for the past nine months and debuts today. Spiranac’s PG-13 site serves up golf instruction videos along with Q&A’s, vlogs and exclusive live streams and photoshoot content you won’t find on other platforms. The golf instruction component which runs the gamut from the basics to more compartmentalized and esoteric game improvement tips, is shot with a full camera, sound and lighting crew with a level of production much higher than what is found on her social channels.

“We wanted to make this a little different, feel a little more personal and also have the golf content be elevated,” Spiranac explains, using the same term the PGA Tour adopted to describe their designated events.

“I know people say I don’t have a lot of followers for my golf content, but I really do. Most people who come up to me say ‘you taught me how to hit a flop shot or ‘you taught me how to hit a bunker shot.’ We really tried to make it fun and interesting and I think that will be a big draw for a lot of people—bring them in, start with the basics and keep them coming back for more,” she adds.

The content creator, named Maxim magazine’s ‘Sexiest Woman Alive,’ has amassed a bevy of brand partnerships that currently includes deals with Pointsbet, X-Golf, Club Champion, Shot Scope, Dynamic Brands and Swag Golf among others. Currently there is no direct advertising or sponsored content on the platform from her partners, but that could change as Only Paige matures.

“Eventually, down the road we want to incorporate them in a way that benefits the people who are subscribing,” Spiranac says, explaining that could take the form of giveaways, discounts or exclusive merchandise offerings. But she is keen on maintaining creative control and straying from more commercial content.

“All my other social media platforms are pretty partner-based and I want this to feel less as if it is ‘sponsored’ and more about me and my content. I really have been enjoying creating the subscription site because I’m able to control all my content and do what I want to do. I love all the partner work that I do but there is something special about doing exactly what I want and not having to worry about any restrictions. But my partners are all fantastic and they are really excited about this project,” Spiranac says.

If Spiranac is able to convert just 1% of her IG followers into monthly subscribers, her new platform would gross $4.4 million a year.

“I think that is feasible for sure. I never like to set limits on myself and focus on what I can control. I can control the quality of the content, making sure we are updating it daily and doing lives and always progressing. If I continue to do that then I know it will be a good product that people will want to subscribe to and that’s what I focus on,” Spiranac explains.

‘Influencer’ has become one of the most aspirational vocations for young people. In a poll put out by Higher Visibility, just over 27% of Gen Z in America say they will attempt to become social media influencers after finishing school.

Spiranac thinks a lot of this desire is fueled by the idea that it is an easy and potentially lucrative path to pursue, but that many underestimate the sheer amount of hard work and dedication necessary to succeed in the space.

“It is easy to be an influencer, but in order to grow that into a successful business is another animal that takes a lot of time and energy. I love the fact that people are using technology to create and get their voice out but you have to keep in mind the hours and emotional stress that goes into this job because you need people to like you—and maybe they don’t—and it’s really hard day-in-and-day-out on your mental health to be able to deal with that,” Spiranac explains.

Connection Key

According to Spiranac, making the effort to connect with your audience and gain an understanding of the content they are craving is the key to success in the everchanging and evolving social media arena.

Spiranac cites TikTok star Alex Earle as an example of an influencer with an innate knack for creating a bond with her followers and has blown up by leaning into her relatability.

“She’s able to sell out products within minutes because her fans know her, like her and feel like she is a big sister to them. Having that connection is so vital to the success of your business and also its longevity because they will follow you wherever you go, no matter what you do,” Spiranac explains.

Paige continues to run all her own socials herself to forge firsthand connections with her fans and get an instant read on the type of content that best drives engagement.

Despite her success, when asked whether the former D1 golfer would trade it all in an instant if she could contend as a top ranked player on the LPGA Tour, and fulfill a childhood dream she put plenty of blood, sweat and tears into pursuing, she admits to being torn.

“I always wanted to play on the LPGA Tour. That was a massive dream of mine and I would love that feeling of achieving that goal. Still to this day when I put my head on my pillow at night, I feel like I failed or I gave up and that’s something I have to deal with,” Spiranac explains.

“I know it is such a grind and it is tough for any female who is on that road to being on the LPGA Tour. I am lucky to be able to do what I do. I love what I do and I have so much fun doing this, but I think anyone would trade out what they are doing for their dream in life,” she says.

If they created a LIV Women’s Series and offered Paige a cool $20 million to play, she says she would probably turn it down. It would mean compromising her ability to fully control her content and would be a detriment to her business ventures. An offer from a tour bankrolled by the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund would likely follow the same protocol as the Men’s series, imposing limitations on her freedom of expression with attire and interview restriction provisions.