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Wattpad has claimed writers could earn up to $1,000 (£758) a month through its new advertising programme.
Last month the writing platform launched Wattpad Futures, billed as a “simple way for writers to increase their earning potential”.
The company, which has tested a beta version of the scheme, places adverts between chapters in stories, with writers earning money each time a chapter is read. Ashleigh Gardner, head of partnerships at the Wattpad Studio division, said a number of the beta testers were earning up to $1,000 (£758) a month. She would not reveal how much the programme pays per advert view, but said it gives writers—who keep “most” of the revenues—a “simple way to improve their earning potential”.
“The programme is invite-only for now, but during the beta phase the writers [sampled] had different levels of followers. We chose them on the basis of their popularity and audience,” she said. “We focused on writers who have large followings in North America—although they don’t have to be based in North America—because those are the people who have the highest value for advertisers.“
The content of the adverts will vary, but many will be promoting mobile products such as gaming apps, given that 90% of Wattpad’s users access the service via mobile phone, Gardner added.
The programme will not be obligatory and Gardner acknowledged that many of Wattpad’s 45 million users may not want adverts to appear in stories, although she added that Wattpad was proving a lucrative tool for many writers.
The company also runs Wattpad Stars, offering its most successful writers deals such as brand partnerships; and Wattpad Studios, which sells stories to other entertainment businesses. The two programmes paid writers more than $1m (£760,000) last year, she claimed. “Some writers get TV and film options,” she said. “We do a lot of native advertising as well, where brands get writers to write a story for them—for example, the campaign we did for [confectionery brand] Sour Patch Kids. Writers post to their audience but the stories are always marked [as ‘sponsored’]. It works for writers, because they are being paid to do what they love.”
The site can be a hunting ground for publishers and, according to Gardner, three of this year’s New York Times bestsellers were written by authors who started out on Wattpad, including UK YA writer Taran Matharu.
“Publishers should definitely pay attention to us. Some publishers are using Wattpad to look at writers and see which of their chapters are more popular than others,” she said. “We also envisage traditionally published writers using Wattpad to post drafts of their stories and make money from them.”