Snapchat Rolls Out New Ways for Creators to Make Money

Snapchat has announced new ways it plans to reward its community for creativity and content creation called Spotlight Challenges which promise cash payouts of $25,000 or more.

Snap says that Snapchat Spotlight Challenges will offer users the chance to win cash prizes for creating top-performing Spotlight Snaps using specific Lenses, Sounds, or topics. The program is in addition to the “millions per month” the company says it pays out to creators globally for top-performing Spotlight Snaps.

Spotlight Challenges will be rolling out next month to Snapchatters aged 16 or older in the United States, with more markets promised to come in the following months.

Spotlight Snaps are similar to TikTok videos and launched in November of 2020. In its debut month, the company said it paid out more than $1 million per day to top-performing videos. Variety reports that Snapchat reduced that amount last June because the program was generating too much copycat content.

Official rules for Snapchat Challenges are available on Snap’s website. The company says that Snapchatters can win a share of the total prize amount available for each Spotlight Challenge, which will typically range from $1k to $25k, although the minimum prize amount the company will offer is $250. There are times where the company plans to “occasionally” make a larger sum available for a particular Challenge, however, though it did not specify further.

Snap says that for each Challenge, the top 50 eligible, relevant, and highest viewed submissions will be judged on the following criteria: Creativity and Originality, Innovative use of Snap Creative Tools, Unique POV, and Entertainment Value.

The company says that typically, each Challenge will feature an average of three to five winners, although it stipulates that it reserves the right to select more or fewer on occassion.

Those who want to participate can do so by visiting Snapchat’s Trending Page, which can be accessed from the trending symbol on the top right corner of Spotlight within the app. After that, users can select the Challenge they want to participate in to see that specific Challenge page, which will feature the Challenge description and entries submitted by the community. Details on each challenge can be found via the “Challenge Details” link therein and will list available prizes and the submission deadline.