Twitter Verified Creators Now Earn a Share of Ad Revenue

Twitter has introduced a new policy where verified Creators can earn a share of ad revenue from ads shown in response to their posts. To qualify, users must subscribe to Twitter Blue and have more than 5 million tweet impressions per month for the past three months. The first round of payouts, totaling $5 million, will be cumulative from February onwards and delivered through Stripe.

Prominent creators have shared their substantial earnings from these payouts. Writer Brian Krassenstein, with about 750,000 followers, received $24,305. Another creator, SK, earned $2,236 with around 230,000 followers. Political commentator Benny Johnson, boasting 1.7 million followers, reported earning $9,546.

Payouts are based on tweet impressions. Babylon Bee writer Ashley St. Clair, with 710,000 followers, earned $7,153. Her estimated 840 million impressions from February to July result in a rate of $0.0085 CPM or $8.52 per million impressions. It's unclear if individual rates vary.

Twitter monetizes ads in tweet replies, as distinguishing ads in the main feed for compensation is challenging. Creators will aim to encourage replies, ideally sparking conversations, though emotional content drives engagement, as seen on Facebook.

According to Farzad Mesbahi, "The more haters you have in your replies, the more money you'll make on Twitter." Elon Musk replied, "Poetic justice."

Certain types of creators can't monetize content as per Twitter's guidelines. Sexual content cannot be monetized, affecting Twitter's adult content community. Monetization is also prohibited for pyramid schemes, violence, gambling, drugs, and alcohol. Attempting to monetize copyrighted content without ownership is a violation.

While $5 million is allocated to creators, Twitter faces a lawsuit over $500 million in unpaid severance checks for laid-off employees during Musk's takeover. Rent for office spaces remains unpaid, compounding financial challenges.