Snapchat is adding a new way for creators to make money in the app, with creator subscriptions, which will enable Snap stars to generate direct revenue from their fans in-stream.
Snapchat’s subscriptions for creators will give popular Snapchat users the opportunity to monetize their content through exclusive offerings, while also experimenting with other forms of subscription offerings to maximize interest.
As per Snap: “Creator Subscriptions introduce a premium layer of connection directly into how Snapchatters already engage with creators across Stories, Chat, and replies.”
As displayed in the image above, creators taking part in the new monetization initiative will be able to offer
- Subscriber exclusive content – Including subscriber-only Snaps and Stories
- Priority replies to a creator’s public Stories – To increase your chances of response
- An ad-free experience within that creator’s Stories – Uninterrupted viewing of the creators’ content
Snap says that the program will give creators a range of options to drive subscription take-up. In turn, creators taking part in the program will also be able to set their own monthly pricing “within Snap-recommended tiers,” which will give them more flexibility to maximize their intake.
The program will be open to Snap Stars, meaning public figures or creators with a large and engaged audience in the app Snap Stars are essentially creators who have been verified either because of their on-platform content or their off-platform celebrity status, with the specific thresholds for qualification being fairly opaque, giving Snapchat more leeway to allocate such as its team sees fit.
That means creators won’t know the specifics of what they need to do to qualify for this new program, but essentially, it will only be open to very large, recognized creators at this stage.
It’s Snap’s latest effort to keep creators posting to the app, as opposed to shifting to other platforms where they can make more money from their content.
Snapchat already has its revenue share program for creators, which enables eligible Snap users to generate income from their content via mid-roll ads that are inserted between Snapchat Stories and Spotlight clips. Though the barriers for entry to this program are also pretty steep, with creators needing more than 50,000 followers, as well as 25 million views, or 15,000 hours of cumulative view time per month.
Though that’s also kind of the point. The group’s exclusivity should help to keep Snapchat content high quality, by incentivizing only the most popular creators with its monetization offerings.
Either way, it’s another consideration that could help to keep Snap Stars posting to the app.
Snapchat says that Alpha testing for creator subscriptions will launch on February 23 with a select group of U.S.-based Snap Creators. Snap plans to extend this to creators in Canada, the U.K., and France “in the weeks ahead.”
