Twitter opened its Subscriptions program Thursday, which could allow you to monetize the content you create for the platform.
CEO Elon Musk tweeted about the program, saying Twitter won’t keep any of the money earned by creators for the next 12 months. “Our goal is to maximize creator prosperity,” Musk said. “At any point, you can leave our platform and take your work with you. Easy in, easy out.”
To sign up for Subscriptions, you can access the application through the Settings section in your Twitter account. To qualify for the program, you must be 18 years or older, have more than 10,000 followers and have tweeted at least 25 times in the past 30 days. The application process will need you to verify your details, secure your account with two-factor authentication, have a complete profile with your info and not have a history of violating Twitter’s user agreement.
So far, Subscriptions is limited to users in the US.
If you get approved, you’ll be able to set a price for your monthly subscription at $2.99, $4.99 or $9.99. The chosen amount will be charged by Twitter and, after it deducts processing fees, a percentage of the amount will go to you — which according to Twitter would be 70% for iOS and Android app sign-ups and 92% for those who sign up on Twitter’s website.
The lower percentage for iOS and Android is meant to offset the cut Apple and Google take on transactions made through those platforms. In a tweet, Musk said both companies charge 30%, but Google reached out to CNET on Thursday to note that back in 2021 it reduced its fee for subscriptions processed via Android apps from 30% to 15%.
For the next 12 months, Twitter will keep none of the money.
You will receive whatever money we receive, so that’s 70% for subscriptions on iOS & Android (they charge 30%) and ~92% on web (could be better, depending on payment processor).
After first year, iOS & Android fees…— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 13, 2023
As for the content, Twitter is leaving that up to creators. It can be in a variety of forms, such as long-form written content, videos or extra tweets. Subscribers will be the only ones who can see this content and replies from the creator to the content. Twitter says users of its app on iOS and Android can see the Subscriptions tweets, while access to the content will roll out to other platforms in the future.
Twitter’s first attempt to monetize tweets came in 2021 with Subscriptions’ predecessor, Super Follows. That program was limited to a certain number of users and didn’t expand much after it was rolled out.
