There are plenty of ways to make money online, though not all of them are created equal. With Twitter, however, there are more opportunities than ever to generate some extra income.

In fact, some people have even made careers out of the money they make with Twitter, but you don’t have to be a social media wunderkind in order to mimic their success. All it takes is some creativity and the ambition to carry it out.

1. Crowdsource.

Crowdsourcing is the practice of soliciting ideas and contributions from a large group or community. It’s been a marketing darling for years, especially when it comes to social media.
With Twitter, crowdsourcing is an effective way to bring in contributions from your followers (new and old) in order to fund your business or idea. This is especially useful in tandem with something like Kickstarter.
Crowdsourcing can make you plenty of money, or at least capital, but only if it is done correctly. Read up on plenty of successful case studies before attempting to start your first project.

2. Sell products

This seems like a no-brainer, but some businesses actually forget that people won’t buy anything if they don’t see a call-to-action.
Now, when it comes to *how* you sell products on Twitter, the conversation becomes a little more old school. One of the most effective strategies is to use promotions and discounts to spur spending.
Some businesses have found plenty of success in “daily deals” and other basic marketing practices that fit well with Twitter. Just make sure that you’re not overwhelming your Twitter feed with pushy selling.

3. Produce your own Twitter-related service.

Your audience is on Twitter, which means you already know what they’re using in their free time. Take advantage of this by creating a Twitter product that they will want.
For example, a lot of Twitter users would like to use an app that lets them generate hashtags automatically, based on popularity. Something like this may exist already, but you can develop a better product that your followers will love you for.
Alternatively, you can use websites like Fiverr to charge people for building their Twitter presence. I’ve done this myself by helping other people generate (real) Twitter followers for low prices‒$5 for every 100 followers.

4. Use Sponsored Tweets

Several celebrities have embraced Twitter as a way to make a few extra bucks; by sending out tweets promoting products of sponsors, the Kim Kardashians and Snoop Doggs of the world can generate as much as $10,000 for a single tweet (or about $72 per character).

Most Twitter users won’t be able to command anything near these figures, but there are still opportunities for Average Joes with moderate followings to make a few bucks by sending promotional tweets. Check out a few of the services that will let you turn your followers into cash:

1. Become a TweetPeddler. This site lets you set a price for your tweets; if an advertiser bites, you’ll have an opportunity to make a few quick bucks in 140 characters or less. Check out the home page here for examples of prices some of the “featured” users command (from $2 to $70).
2. Become a MyLikes Social Publisher. This program lets users share campaigns they like with their Twitter followers, and get compensated for quality clicks and views generated by each tweet.
3. Become a PaidPerTweeter. This platform lets Twitter users offer up their services to advertisers at a customized price; if an advertiser likes your follower count and niche, you could be presented with an offer to participate in one of their campaigns.
4. Set Up a SponsoredTweets.com Account. This platform works in a similar manner; users set a suggested charge per tweet, and are then able to participate in a campaign if a qualifying offer comes in.

5. Discover new leads

Thanks to Twitter’s fantastic search engine tool, you can seek out potential customers based on their bios and what they’re Tweeting.
Let’s say you sell skateboards. You can find new leads by searching for terms like “Need a new skateboard” or “Wish I had a skateboard like this.” From there, you can Tweet at the individual and let them know of a promotion you’re doing on skateboards. You could even offer them a coupon code if they’re interested.

6. Hold a Twitter contest

Nothing engages people quite as efficiently as a prize. Try linking up with a local business who wants some publicity. Offer to hold a contest with Twitter and be paid a percentage of the sales that come in.
There are a lot of fun and creative ways to make a contest enticing for followers. You can ask them to be judges, crowdsource them for ideas, or simply ask them to favorite/retweet something.

7. Use YouTube.

If you’re savvy with videos, then consider making Twitter-related tutorials that people are searching for on Twitter. With AdSense, you can monetize your YouTube content and make plenty of money based solely on your Twitter expertise.

8 . Become an Affiliate Marketer

Affiliate marketing involves generating leads for “merchants” who ultimately make a sale to the referral you sent. In exchange for sending them an eventual customer, affiliates get cut in for a percentage of the revenue generated.

Many affiliate marketing programs can be applied to Twitter, but some simply work better on this platform than others given the manner in which tweets are consumed.

5. Join the Tweet Adder Affiliate Program. The affiliate program for this Twitter marketing and management software includes in-depth tutorials and strategy guides for getting started. Affiliates earn 50% commission on direct sales referred.
6. Become an iTunes Affiliate. Apple has an affiliate program that allows affiliate marketers to earn 4% to 5% commission of the sale of songs on iTunes that come from their affiliate links. iTunes has historically accounted for a significant portion of affiliate marketing activity on Twitter, and a number of individuals have had success with this affiliate program across various platforms.
7. Become a Groupon Affiliate. The Groupon affiliate program also lends itself to Twitter, where many users are interested in finding out about timely, local opportunities. Groupon affiliate marketers can earn up to 10% commissions for sales generated. Groupon is arguably one of affiliate marketing’s greatest success stories, and there are some good resources out there for those looking to get started. (Daily deals competitor Living Social also has an affiliate program that can be used through Twitter.)
8. Become an Astrology.com Affiliate. This might seem like a less obvious opportunity, but Astrology.com is one of the largest merchants on Twitter. This merchant pays out a 25% commission on every sale referred to them, as well as commissions on any purchases made by a referring customer for the next six months.

 9. Provide Customer Service

This might not make your company money directly, but there’s a huge opportunity to build goodwill and customer loyalty (and therefore future revenue) by using Twitter as a tool to provide quick customer service. Media Temple is one example of a company that has an active customer support team operating through its Twitter account. 

10. Build Links

 One of the most valuable things you can get from your Twitter activity may be a link to your site(s). There’s obviously no money exchanged with a link, but there are some clear indirect benefits; links to your content will expose new audiences to your site, and may help you move up the search rankings as well. If done correctly, Twitter can be a great tool for highlighting the content you’ve published on the Web–and getting other users to send links to it. That can have a big payoff down the road, as it leads to more visitors and more potential customers.Check out further reading on link building with Twitter.


As Twitter has grown in recent years, so too have the opportunities for smart, opportunistic individuals and business to generate positive ROI from the service. Making money from Twitter requires a lot of hard work, a bit of creativity, and a willingness to consistently put in effort.