Twitter has been trying to expand its revenue sources, announcing new features and making acquisitions that made it clear what the company’s game plan was. Now, the popular micro-blogging site is finally taking action and has announced that it is opening a limited number of applications for users in the US who wanted to test its upcoming features – Super Follows on iOS and Ticketed Spaces on both iOS and Android. Users from the US can apply separately for each program through Twitter’s mobile app.
As the latest part of Twitter’s monetization drive to attract more influential content creators by letting them earn money from fan followings and competing with other social media platforms, Super Follows will let users sell exclusive content to paying subscribers, while “Ticketed Spaces” will charge for entry into audio chat rooms they host on the platform.
If you are interested, you need to have at least 10,000 followers on Twitter to be eligible to apply for Super Follows, and if you wish to apply for early access to Ticketed Spaces, you need at least 1,000 followers to apply for first access to Ticketed Spaces. While Super Follows will let users charge $2.99, $4.99, or $9.99 per month for access to exclusive content, Ticketed Spaces will let them charge any amount between $1 and $999 to enter one of Twitter’s audio rooms.
You can see if you are eligible to apply by checking a new “Monetization” option in the mobile app sidebar.
“At Twitter, we want to help people make money, and give them tools they can use to be rewarded for their work and feel supported by their audience. We’re looking for a small group of people to be the first to try Ticketed Spaces and Super Follows with their audiences and share feedback. Help us test and improve these experiences before they launch more broadly in the coming months,” Twitter said.
According to Esther Crawford, senior product manager at Twitter, the company aimed to select “a diverse set of voices” from the applications.
“Ticketed Spaces helps you create unique and exclusive live audio experiences in Twitter Spaces, ones your audience is willing to pay for,” Ellen Havlicek and Esther Crawford said in a post. “Super Follows gives you a direct relationship with your most engaged followers that can generate monthly revenue.”
Both features have been in the works for quite some time, and with audio apps gaining a front seat (with the unprecedented success of Clubhouse and companies like Facebook rising to meet the challenge), Twitter will have an advantage in the race. Its Spaces has been successful, and Ticketed Spaces is the next step, giving users access to a range of additional content and engagement features like newsletters, exclusive live streams, and product discounts.
This will increase Twitter’s revenue as well, as it will take no more than a cut of 3% till you have exceeded $50,000 in lifetime earnings on both products. After this point, Twitter’s share increases to up to 20% of future earnings.”
Esther Crawford tweeted that they wanted to ensure that emerging voices were able to earn money, which is why they would be eligible to earn a larger share starting out. Earning more than $50, 000 from Super Follows and Ticketed Spaces showed that creators were getting value from these features and that they were helping the creator make real. For now, not only individuals but also brands, publishers, and non-profit organizations which have built an audience on Twitter will be considered to apply for early access.
