Creators and users on the app formerly known as Twitter can now earn money thanks to a new program rollout.
X’s new ad revenue-sharing feature is the latest change to come to the platform after the social media site was acquired by Elon Musk and rebranded as X.
To access the program, users must subscribe to X Premium, previously known as Twitter Blue. So, is X‘s take on creator pay worth paying for X Premium? How much are creators earning with the new ad revenue-sharing program?
Let’s dive in.
What is X’s Ad Revenue-Sharing program?
What do creators think of X’s Ad Revenue Sharing Program?
Should creators subscribe to X Premium?
What is X’s Ad Revenue-Sharing program?
X‘s ad revenue-sharing feature allows users to share in the earnings generated by ads displayed in the replies of the user’s content.
For instance, if I post content on X and there is an ad in the replies of my post, I can get a cut of the money earned through the organic impressions of that ad placement so long as I’m a subscriber.
“The ad money will otherwise be kept by X if you are not an X Premium (Blue) subscriber,” he said.
X’s Help Center says users can also opt to purchase a subscription to Verified Organizations to be eligible.
Users must also have at least 5 million organic impressions on their cumulative posts within the last three months, and they need at least 500 followers.
Once eligible, users must open an account with Stripe, the site’s payment processor, to receive their payouts.
What do creators think of X’s Ad Revenue Sharing Program?
Payouts for X content creators started rolling out in August, and reactions I saw from creators ranged from pleasantly surprised to optimistic.
Robert Freund is a lawyer with over 8,300 followers on X and received about $291 as his first payout from the platform.
Freund joked, “They say making your first $291.8136984 is the hardest.”
In a message to Mashable, Freund said the payout was a pleasant surprise considering the size of his audience, though it won’t “meaningfully supplement” his income.
Freund also doesn’t expect to receive as large a payout in the future since he believes most of the earnings are from a “uniquely viral” tweet that received 19 million impressions in July.
Ben, a gaming news content creator, received his payout of £129 (equal to $152.55).
“Wild payout from Twitter/X!” Ben said in a post. “I’m extremely thankful to everyone who allows me to pursue this job in the Rockstar community. I’ve learned so much over the last four years. This first payout is incredible.”
Content creator Okami Games says his first X payout is “nothing to write home about but definitely a nice surprise.”
“Glad they’re finally letting creators earn directly on the platform now,” he said. “Thank you all for the support!”
Roberto Blake is a YouTuber who received a little over $307 as his first X payout. Blake says he easily sees his earnings surpassing $ 1,000 monthly on the platform with some experimentation.
When asked by another user about subscribing to X and his payout, Blake responded, “$8 [per month] to make $370 is a fantastic ROI for something I do anyway.”
However, some creators disagree.
Content creator Chris Dillon says, “You shouldn’t have to pay to get paid.”
Dillon also says the ad revenue-sharing program hurts the creator landscape on the platform.
“Now, everyone doesn’t post for the sake of posting for creativity, but they do it for engagement,” he explains. “So, they try to farm engagement to earn money on X, which kills the creative side of being a creator.”
According to Dillon, the program‘s design doesn’t always benefit creators. In other words, only some on the platform identify as content creators but can get paid by simply subscribing to X Premium and meeting other requirements.
“Anybody can post, but not everyone is a creator — and that’s the issue,” he says. “People are getting paid, but those people aren’t always creators. And we need to put money in creators’ pockets.”
Should creators subscribe to X Premium?
In addition to paid opportunities, X Premium also offers subscribers the following perks:
- The ability to edit posts
- Prioritized rankings in conversations and search results
- The ability to write longer posts
- Two-factor authentication
- The ability to hide their blue checkmark
- And much more
But, with all these features and a chance to get paid, is it worth subscribing to premium as a creator?
Goofywise, a content creator and streamer, says it depends on the creative.
“It honestly depends on your goals as a content creator,” he explains. “I have seen creators who made X a huge priority over the years not get Premium and still have great numbers … I don’t think it is mandatory.”
As many of the creators I mentioned above stated, the payouts from X may not be enough to live off of; however, it can be a simple and effective way to generate another stream of revenue.
So, if having multiple income streams is important to you as a content creator, I see no reason to avoid Premium. But it’s not a must-have for every creator or influencer.
For instance, I am a podcaster, blogger, and YouTuber in my spare time, and my choice not to pay for X has not hindered my content creation journey.
My content lives off the app in the form of YouTube videos, my blog posts on WordPress, and my podcast on platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcast.
In my experience, so long as I keep creating content consistently, I will always gain subscribers on those platforms, which matters to me.
I use X to connect with my followers and keep up with trending topics, things I can always do on that app for free.
