Twitter has begun its roll-out of Super Followers, a new feature on the social network that lets users who have over 10,000 followers charge other users for subscriber-only content – a feature similar to other platforms like Patreon, and Only Fans.
Creators signed up to the Super Follower programme can set specific tweets to go out to their Super Followers only, and the tweets will appear in the timelines of just those subscribers.
According to The Verge, the feature announced in February is currently only available on Twitter’s iOS app, and as of right now is restricted to a test group for US users who applied to beta test the feature.
iOS users from the US and Canada can now “Super Follow” the accounts of the test creators in the initial group. These Super Followers can be identified by creators through a badge icon that appears beneath the followers’ names when they reply to tweets.
Twitter is currently planning to roll out the feature to more countries in the coming weeks, with Android and web availability hot on the heels of this initial launch, ie. coming soon.
Super Follow Creator Tiers
Creators/Super Follow users can charge their followers for exclusive content via 3 tiers – $2.99, $4.99, or $9.99 a month – with payment processed through 3rd party Stripe, an online payment firm.
Twitter says it will allow creators to earn up to 97% of subscription revenue after third-party fees until they reach a lifetime earnings soft limit of $50,000 across all of the social media’s monetization offerings.
After hitting this soft limit, the company says creators will earn up to 80% of revenue after the third-party fees.
Eligibility for Super Followers
In the future, potential creators wanting to access the Super Follows feature can apply for entry in a waitlist under the monetization tab in the app.
To be eligible as a creator and to have Super Followers, users will need to have at least 10,000 followers, be at least 18 years of age, and have an active Twitter account – ie, have tweeted at least 25 times in the last 30 days.
Right now, location also hinders eligibility as only US users can apply.
Content Policies
Users hoping to apply for the feature must also comply with Twitter’s Super Follows policy, as well as the company’s content monetization standards.
Twitter’s content standards are not the strictest on the internet by a long shot, and mostly ban the proliferation/monetization of content that promotes restricted or illegal products and services like drugs, weapons and gambling.
It also prohibits violent or graphic content, content that exploits disasters or tragedies, content that can be seen as misleading or potentially harmful, and content that other people are already paying to advertise on Twitter via Twitter ads. Notably, sexual content is not specifically mentioned.
Twitter says that a key to its content monetization policy is that the content creators monetize via Super Follows must not “meaningfully deviate” from previous, non-monetized content.
“Your acceptance as a beta participant of Ticketed Spaces and/or Super Follows features is in part based on your previous content on Twitter and your contributions to the public conversation,” the company writes in a statement.
This means that if your subscriber-only content is too different from your non-subscriber content then it would be in breach of the policy. It would be interesting to see how Twitter enforces this specific rule.
For example, if your normal Twitter account is full of skincare advice and product help, etc. and you monetize videos of yourself playing video games, then you will be in breach.
Twitter Keeps Expanding Monetization Strategies
Twitter has continued to explore various ranges of ways to help its content creators make money. This allows the company to keep big creators with huge swathes of followers using their platform and not leaving to other platforms like Facebook and taking their followers with them.
Recently, the company launched or announced the testing of features like Tip Jar, Spaces, a new shopping section and a newsletter subscription button.
More incoming features from Twitter include newsletters, anonymous subscriptions, exclusive Spaces and more Patreon-like sub tiers to its Super Follows.
By Luis Monzon
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