Twitter has launched a new program that pays creators for a share of the ad revenue generated from ads served in replies to their posts. This initiative is aimed at rewarding influential users and encouraging engagement on the platform.
To be eligible for the program, users must subscribe to Twitter Blue and have garnered over 5 million tweet impressions monthly for the past three months.
According to Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, the initial round of payouts will amount to $5 million and will be cumulative from February onwards. The payouts will be facilitated through Stripe, a popular payment platform.
Early reports from prominent creators indicate that these payouts can be substantial. Writer Brian Krassenstein, with approximately 750,000 followers, claims to have received $24,305 from Twitter.
Similarly, SK, a creator boasting 230,000 followers, asserts earning $2,236, while political commentator Benny Johnson, with 1.7 million followers, states a payout of $9,546.
Twitter determines payouts based on tweet impressions. Ashley St. Clair, a writer for Babylon Bee, shares that her earnings totaled $7,153, and estimates her impressions from February to July to be around 840 million.
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This translates to a rate of approximately $0.0085 per impression, or $8.52 per million impressions. It remains uncertain whether individual rates vary among users.
To monetize ads served in tweet replies, Twitter aims to overcome the challenge of attributing revenue to specific creators.
This incentivizes creators to stimulate replies, potentially fostering meaningful conversations, although the platform’s history suggests that emotionally charged interactions tend to drive more engagement.
While the program presents opportunities for creators, it imposes restrictions on certain content types. Twitter’s content monetization standards prohibit the monetization of sexual content, which affects the platform’s sex worker community.
Additionally, content related to pyramid schemes, violence, criminal behavior, gambling, drugs, alcohol, or copyright infringement cannot be monetized.
Despite Twitter’s efforts to support creators, the company has faced legal challenges recently. It is currently being sued for $500 million in unpaid severance checks to laid-off employees following Musk’s takeover. Moreover, Twitter has struggled to meet its rent obligations for office spaces.
