Snapchat is overhauling how influencers earn money on the platform

“I’m sorry WHO is using snapchat in the big year of 2024,” one X user asked. Turns out, a lot of people, and for some it’s proving lucrative.

Influencer Julieanna Goddard, better known as YesJulz, recently posted her impressive Snapchat earnings to social media in response to the question. The 34-year-old revealed that she brings in thousands of dollars by posting on Snapchat just 10 to 15 days a month.

Now, Snapchat is rolling out an expanded creator monetization program, launching just days after TikTok may find itself banned in the U.S. On February 1, 2025, Snapchat will officially launch a unified monetization program, expanding opportunities for creators to earn revenue across both Stories and Spotlight.

While Stories are meant to be shared with friends and followers, the Spotlight tab features TikTok-like videos. Previously, monetization for these formats operated separately, but now, eligible creators can earn revenue for ads placed within eligible Stories and Spotlight posts.

Since launching in 2020, Spotlight has become a powerful tool in Snapchat’s arsenal, competing with TikTok, Meta’s Reels, and YouTube Shorts. According to Snapchat, Spotlight viewership is up 25% year-over-year, with over 500 million monthly active users. The number of creators posting publicly has also tripled in the past year.

To qualify for the monetization program, creators must meet a set of stringent benchmarks: 50,000 followers, either 10 million Snap views, one million Spotlight views, or 12,000 hours of watch time in the last 28 days, plus consistent posting at least 25 times a month, including activity on at least 10 of the last 28 days. These requirements are significantly higher than before, when creators only needed 1,000 followers and 10,000 views to monetize Spotlight videos. Plus, Spotlight videos now need to be longer than one minute to be eligible for revenue, whereas that was not a requirement in the past.

Similar changes have been seen across the creator economy, with TikTok recently revamping its monetization model to require videos to be longer than a minute, while YouTube Shorts now shares ad revenue with creators.

With TikTok facing a potential U.S. ban on January 19, Snapchat’s timing is strategic. As for who is using Snapchat in the big year of 2025—maybe soon we all will be.