How one creator turned his X (Twitter) accounts into a $51,133 passive-income stream. With guidance from Nik, Senior Publisher Manager at HilltopAds.
Hi there, Nik is here. I’m a Senior Publisher Manager at HilltopAds and work with publishers who want to get more value from their traffic. One of the most straightforward success stories I’ve seen comes from Weng Ding, a 27-year-old user from Southeast Asia. He wasn’t an entrepreneur, didn’t have a website, and didn’t sell any product – like many of us he just wanted to make some money online and earn some passive income using the audience he already had on X (formerly Twitter).
Like many social media users, he had built an engaged following on X over the years, but he never monetized it. His goal was modest: make a consistent daily income without managing a website or negotiating with brands for paid integrations.
Start monetizing your social media traffic with HilltopAds DirectLink
Discovering a Simple Way to Monetize X Traffic
When we first spoke, Weng Ding told me he assumed only website owners could earn through ad networks. I explained that HilltopAds accepts social traffic, and in many cases, it performs even better than website traffic, especially when the audience is active and engaged.
After comparing several networks, he chose HilltopAds DirectLink because we offered:
- Acceptance of social-media traffic
- High CPMs for his top GEOs (ID, US, TH, JP)
- No need for a website or complicated setup
- Weekly payouts
- Personal manager support
And just to be transparent: Weng Ding still works with a couple of other ad networks. I always encourage publishers to test everything; it’s the only way to know what really performs.
But (and I’m trying not to sound too proud here)… HilltopAds usually ends up at the top of his list! Which allows me to say with confidence and without sounding unfounded that HilltopAds is one of the best ad networks for publishers who want strong CPMs and real support.
Also, check out our latest article on the best mobile ad networks:
How We Built Weng Ding’s Setup on X
Because he didn’t have a website, everything depended on choosing the right placements on his X profile. Here is how we structured Weng Ding’s approach:
Simple onboarding
He created a HilltopAds account and generated a DirectLink in a few minutes.
Testing placements on X
He initially tried putting the link in his bio, under high-engagement posts, and occasionally in comments.
However, after some testing, we found the best-performing option: placing the link within his video content. This became the main traffic driver on his account.
Monitoring audience GEOs
His entertainment content attracted traffic from multiple countries. He monitored which GEOs performed best and focused on those with higher CPMs. The strongest performance delivered ID, US, TH, JP.
Scaling the format that worked
Once he saw which type of posts brought the most traffic, he increased consistency while keeping his content style unchanged.
After identifying strong countries and traffic patterns, he increased posting frequency and doubled down on successful formats.
He initially ran DirectLink tests across several ad networks, but over time, HilltopAds consistently delivered the highest performance, so he switched fully to HilltopAds.
Results: $51,133 Earned in Less Than a Year
Below is a snapshot from one of his typical 30-day periods:
| Metric | Value |
| Total Profit | $6,600 |
| Average Daily Earnings | $200–$220/day |
| CTR | 1.7% |
| Top GEOs | ID, US, TH, JP |
| Period | 30 days |
Cumulatively, he earned $51,133, turning his X profile into a consistent passive-income source without needing a website or physical products to sell.
Check out our recent article on optimizing In-Page Push Ad campaigns:
And Now the Sweet Part: Nik’s Tips for DirectLink Success
Here it is! My personal recommendations for anyone working with social media traffic from X and wanting to get the most out of it. These are simple, practical points I repeat to every publisher I work with:
Test different video thumbnails
This helps you better understand audience behavior and scale your reach. Sometimes even a small thumbnail change can significantly boost engagement.
Pay attention to choosing strong keywords for Twitter’s internal SEO
Organic traffic from relevant keywords often delivers the most stable and high-quality monetization results.
Stay in regular contact with your personal manager
They can launch individual optimization for your traffic and monitor performance to ensure you get the most accurate and fastest results possible.
Want to Monetize Your Social Traffic Too?
Whether you have a website or only social media traffic, HilltopAds DirectLink can help you monetize instantly.