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If you’re on Twitter, you don’t have to be funny for free. Twitter’s newest feature Twitter Super Follows helps creators monetize their content by depending on fans and followers instead of brands.
What is Twitter Super Follows?
Twitter Super Follows is a new feature that allows users to monetize their content through a monthly subscription service. Similar to Patreon, subscribers have access to exclusive content to their favorite accounts and will be able to interact more personally with them.
Twitter announced this new feature in February. Super Follows is still only available to a small number of accounts who agreed to join the test group. However, anyone in the US and Canada can purchase a Super Follow for a creator in the test group.
Who can use it?
Twitter stated that the Super Follow feature is perfect for accounts who bring “their unique perspectives and personalities to Twitter to drive the public conversation, including activists, journalists, musicians, content curators, writers, gamers, astrology enthusiasts, skincare and beauty experts, comedians, fantasy sports experts, and more.” Sound like you?
*whispers* what if we’ve been in the metaverse this whole time
— Sarah Cooper (@sarahcpr) October 29, 2021
The great thing about the internet is that there are very low barriers to entry. So, if you have dreams of being the next hit influencer, go for it. There has never been an easier time to monetize your content, and it is most likely just going to get easier.
Creators wishing to utilize the Twitter Super Follow feature will be able to select between a $2.99, $4.99, and $9.99 monthly subscription for their exclusive content. Currently, there are only a few requirements to use this feature.
- You have a minimum of 10,000 followers,
- You are 18 years or older
- You have tweeted at least 25 times in the past 30 days.
If you meet these criteria and want to use this feature, you can apply to the waitlist by swiping open the sidebar on your Home timeline, tapping on Monetization, then selecting Super Follows.
How much can you expect to make?
According to Twitter, users can earn up to 97% of their subscription revenue up until they reach a total of $50,000. After that, they will get up to 80% of the subscription revenue.
The amount of subscriptions you need to reach $50,000 yearly revenue depends on the price that you select. If you choose $2.99, you will need to have 1,437 monthly subscriptions for 12 months. A $4.99 subscription will require 861 monthly subscribers. With the highest priced tier, you will only need a monthly subscriber list of 430 to reach $50,000 yearly revenue.
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How do you use it?
To subscribe to an account, click on the desired profile and press the purple Super Follow button to see what the subscription offers and costs. Creators are able to know which of their fans subscribed by the Super Follower badge that will appear on the user’s profile. Creators who have opted into this feature will be able to tweet directly to their exclusive fanbase and provide extra content that regular followers will not be able to see.
What does this mean for the creator economy?
What is the creator economy?
Before the rise of the internet and social media, most content was owned by big companies. Throughout the past two decades, this has changed. Individual creators now own their content, birthing a new economy of creators.
Throughout the world, anyone with a smartphone and internet access can make content and post to social media outlets. If you are successful and build a fanbase, you can use your content to make money. The COVID-19 pandemic drastically affected many industries, but only made the creator economy stronger.
@tracy.ojI forgot about this one! WE ABOUT TO HIT 7MILLION???!!! LETS GOOOOOO! ##fyp♬ Need To Know (pitched down dance) – xxtristanxo
How big is the creator economy?
The creator economy is attractive to many because it allows people to work whenever they like and shape their brand however they see fit. In 2021, the creator economy is worth $13.8 billion, but NeoReach predicts this market will grow up to $104.2 billion.
For more information on the market size of the creator economy, check out this article.
How does Twitter Super Follows affect creators?
Twitter Super Follows is certainly another step in the right direction to properly pay content creators for their work, which is a problem that many social media companies have been trying to solve.
Tiktok launched a $200 million initiative to reward its top creators in August of 2021 called the Creator Fund. While Facebook announced their own $1 billion Creator Fund in July to support both Facebook and Instagram users. For a more in-depth look at creator funds, check out this article.
Before these funds, the only way for creators to monetize their content on Twitter or Facebook was through sponsored posts. Nobody likes sponsored posts because they disrupt your viewing experience. With continued initiatives and features like Twitter Super Follows, creators will be able to provide more authentic content and receive proper compensation for their work.
Twitter Super Follows and the various creator funds place more power in the hands of the influencers. Instead of being forced to make sponsored posts to make a living, creators can monetize their original content and be paid appropriately.
Will Twitter Super Follows be successful?
No one can say for sure whether or not this new feature will be a hit, but it certainly seems like fans like personalized content from their favorite creators.
The Rise of Cameo
Cameo is a platform that allows fans to purchase personalized shoutouts from celebrities. In 2020, Came sold 4.5 times more cameos than in 2019 and increased their average order size by roughly 25%. This shows that fans want to feel a more personal connection with their favorite influencers.
For more info on how influencers are using Cameo to connect with fans and build revenue, check out this article.
How well has it done so far?
Based on data from Sensor Tower, Twitter Super Follows has contributed only $6,000 IOS revenue during its first two weeks in the US. This is no doubt an awful start for the new feature, but remember that we are still in the testing stage.
Like many things, it may take time for the Twitter community to accept this new feature. Remember back in 2016 when Instagram launched its Stories feature? Many were outraged and claimed that directly copying Snapchat wouldn’t work. Fast Forward a few years later and Instagram Stories is one of their key features and stores are seen by more than 400 million users. It took time, but the data proves the original skeptics wrong.
Twitter has also been trying out other monetization features to pay their creators, such as a tip jar feature, ticketed spaces, a shopping section, and a newsletter subscription feature.
