.jpeg)
Snapchat is introducing a new Lens Creator Rewards program
to give AR creators and developers the chance to earn money for top-performing
Lenses, the company announced on Tuesday. Creators could be rewarded up to
$7,200 per month if their creation is a top-performing Lens with high
engagement in the United States, India and Mexico.
Although Snapchat is going to initially focus top-performing
metrics in these three countries, any Lens creator from 40 eligible countries
can receive rewards if their Lens performed well in United States, India and
Mexico.
Snap’s director of AR Platform Partnerships and Ecosystem,
Sophia Dominguez, told TechCrunch in an interview that the company wants to
start small and receive feedback from its community before expanding the
rewards program to additional markets.
“We wanted to start with these three markets, but then also
make sure that it was global by default, because our Snapchatter and lens
creator ecosystem is pretty global,” Dominguez said. “So we wanted to start
small and measure the feedback we get from our community on both sides, like
what do Snapchatters think, are they seeing more interesting types of Lenses?
Is this encouraging for Lens creators to create new sorts of Lenses? Is this
inspiring? And, if it’s successful, then we’ll definitely roll it out further.”
Although Snapchat didn’t specify what the requirements are
for the program, Dominguez says the company will look at various metrics,
including views and specific Lens-specific metrics. Snap will also measure how
long users are playing around with Lenses. Dominguez notes that more information
regarding eligibility and requirements will be made public as the program rolls
out.
Once creators receive a reward, they will get an email
informing them that their Lens is qualified to receive a reward, along with
notifications within their creator hub.
Paige Piskin, one of Snapchat’s top creators, told
TechCrunch in an email that she believes the new rewards program will open a
door to new revenue for Lens creators, and that it will inspire more people to
start creating Lenses.
“I’ve been a Lens creator for close to four years now, I started out designing for a hobby/passion and it transitioned into a full time career,” Piskin said. “In the past few years my effects have generated billions of impressions and close to a billion shares across platforms, but I have never been able to monetize that traffic (the way a content creator can with ad revenue). I absolutely love creating, especially fun character and makeup looks, and now with the new rewards program I feel very excited and encouraged to create more lenses, and explore new capabilities and techniques.”
How to pin, unpin a conversation on Snapchat
The company further adds that this new program is designed
to reward the most creative Lenses that help Snapchatters express themselves
and have fun with friends – from imaginative new looks to try on, to AR scenes
they can explore.
How to participate in
the Lens Creator Rewards Program
Every month, a Lens Creator could be awarded up to $7,200 if
they have the top-performing Lens in India, the United States and Mexico. The
program is open to new and current Lens Studio community members from nearly 40
countries including India. To participate, AR creators should build Lenses and
can check more details on eligibility here: Lens Creator Rewards Terms.
In India, Snapchat continues to witness a remarkable
emergence of AR creators from various parts of the country, constantly adding
to the vibrancy of the platform's AR community.
What the company said
"Snapchatters love Lenses built by our global AR
community of more than 300,000 AR creators, developers, and teams around the
world. At Snap, we're committed to rewarding the value that AR creators bring
to the platform as they advance their skills and grow their businesses through
the new Lens Creator Rewards Program" said Joseph Darko, Global Head of AR
Developer Relations at Snap Inc.