Twitter to allow users to charge subscribers to view premium posts

Twitter is breaking away from advertising to find more ways to make money – both for itself and for its most prolific users, be they businesses, celebrities, or ordinary people.

In a presentation to investors on Thursday, the social media company announced a new feature called “Super Follows,” which will allow users to charge for additional and exclusive material not shown to their regular followers. This may include newsletters, videos, offers, and subscriber-only discounts. Users would pay a monthly subscription to access additional content.

Twitter users – and the company’s investors – have long asked it to launch a subscription-based model. This given that a growing number of internet creators and influencers are using tools like Patreon, Substack, and OnlyFans to make money from their popularity online.

Subscriptions will also allow Twitter to tap into a wider range of revenue streams in a world where online advertising is dominated by a Facebook-Google duopoly. Twitter did not specify what percentage of revenue it would share with celebrities and others who sign up for paid followers.

“Exploring audience funding opportunities like Super Follows will allow creators and publishers to be directly supported by their audiences and inspire them to continue creating content their audiences love,” the company said in a statement.

Super Follows is not yet available, but Twitter says it will have “more to share” in the coming months. Another upcoming product, “Revue”, will allow Internet users to publish paid or free newsletters to their audience. There is also “Twitter Spaces”, a Clubhouse Competitor that allows users to participate in audio chats. It is currently in private beta testing, which means it is not yet available to the general public on Twitter.

The San Francisco-based company also said its 2023 revenue target was more than $ 7.5 billion, more than double its 2020 revenue of $ 3.7 billion.