Turn Blog into Goldmine: $70K+ with X traffic and HilltopAds Direct Link

Even though X is only the 14th most popular social media platform, many users still find X a profitable place to monetize traffic. One of them is HilltopAds’ publisher, Tuan Lee—the hero of this case study and the one who creates tweets about Movies and Video hostings. But let’s take it step by step, and in the end, you will also have all the cards to turn X into a money-making machine!

Publisher name: Tuan Lee

TOP GEO: Vietnamese

Ad format: HilltopAds Direct Link

Website category: Mainstream (online streaming sites and torrents)

Total earnings: $72,533

Last month earnings: $16,789

Next, we asked Tuan a series of questions about how he became a movie blogger, the monetization strategies he used, why he chose HilltopAds, and the results he achieved with us. Let’s dive in!

Remember times when Twitter was a major platform not only for political discussion but for any other topic, too? I remember it well because that’s when my monetization journey started. I ran a movie blog where I reviewed the films I watched, posted related memes, and shared links to the streaming services I used. But for a long time, it wasn’t about the money. Only a year later, I realized that with impressions and engagements that my blog received consistently, I could also make decent money!

We’ll step away from the publisher’s story a little to understand what made his blog on Twitter so successful. To answer this question, we need to examine the data describing X’s (Twitter) audience more closely.

So, what do statistics tell us about the X?

• Gender Distribution: 60.9% male and 39.1% female.
• Age Demographics: the largest segments are 25-34 years (36.6%) and 18-24 years (34.2%).
• Top GEOs: US (106.2MM users), JP (69.3MM), IN (25.5MM), ID (24.9MM), UK (23.4MM).

Note: Vietnam isn’t in the TOP-5 regions with the number of active users, but it has a lot of them as well: 8.1MM

What else you have to know about X’s users:

• The average daily time spent by users is 30.9 mins.
• 54% of users are willing to purchase after engaging in the content on the platform.

Note: we have a full breakdown of the average daily time spent by different target audiences in the image below:

As you can see, the demographic of X’s audience is well aligned with the target audience of Tuan’s blog. They are also ready to take action if they see that it’s worth it. This explains why Tuan’s content about movies and streaming platforms was met so warmly. Now, let’s continue with his monetization experience.

As any other beginner in my place would do, I started with the official Twitter monetization program. And the first time, it was okay. But when the platform changed its name, made a premium subscription a must-have requirement, and switched its growth path to a different vector, I knew that it was time for me to find another way to monetize twitter.

That led me to Reddit, where I found many other influencers with the same issues as mine: “Paid subscription on X, low CPM.” Happily, there was also an answer! One user recommended a high-paying alternative for social traffic monetization called HilltopAds (yes, that’s us).

For those who don’t know much about X’s program, let’s break it down for you quickly:

Doesn’t sound very optimistic, does it? If I were you, I wouldn’t rely on Musk’s monetization program (unless you want to be paid less than you actually can). Luckily, there is another way that will not only help you avoid such challenges but also allow you to earn more with social traffic—meet HilltopAds!

Watch our new YouTube video about social traffic monetization!

Turn Blog into Goldmine: $70K+ with X traffic and HilltopAds Direct Link

As I mentioned above, X’s monetization program is not for everyone. But HilltopAds ad network is. First, I contacted a personal manager, Den, who was assigned to me as I signed up for the platform. After explaining my situation to him, Den provided me with personalized expert tips that helped me conquer the X with movie-related content and HilltopAds Direct Link ad format!

Direct Link is an ad format that allows influencers to easily monetize social traffic. It contains a popunder ad format inside. Here is how it works:

1. You log into HilltopAds personal account and go to the “Manage Site & Zones” panel.
2. Next, choose the “DirectLinks” tab and press “Add Direct Link”.
3. Then, select the category that fits the type of offer you will promote, and click “Add Direct Link.”
4. Put the Direct Link inside the social media post or to the pre-landing page.
5. Ask your manager to connect the chosen type of offer with your direct Link.

Now, you’re ready to go and make thousands of dollars on social media!

Note: we have a comprehensive guide about HilltopAds Direct Link ad format in our Help Center! Make sure you read it before starting to leverage its potential!

What I learned about direct links is that sometimes you have to be cautious with them. If you promote offers that potentially violate social platform rules, then the promotion can be banned, and all your efforts will be for nothing. For controversial types of offers, I create a pre-landing page and attach the Direct Link to it.

As magicians never reveal their secrets, I can only share a few ideas about what might lead to high engagement and big profits.

Start by building an ad funnel. The simplest one looks as follows:

Engaging content + HilltopAds Direct Link inside the post → Landing Page with the offer

Additionally, I posted tweets with memes and opened questions to raise discussions between passionate users. It helped me to increase overall account engagements, showing the X that the audience is highly interested in my blog.

Note: Below, we left a few content references, similar to what our publisher used to promote offers with Direct Link and boost account engagements!

Movie Marathon Tweet

Attention drivers:

• The grid of popular movie covers instantly triggers curiosity: “Is there a movie I am interested in?”
• “Free, no ads” addresses two most popular pain points: cost and interruptions while watching a movie.
• “Lưu trang web này phòng trường hợp tweet này bị xóa” leverages the FOMO—users feel the need to watch the movie before it vanishes.
• Hundreds of likes, retweets, and replies act as trust anchors, indicating that other users have already engaged and that everything is fine.
• Short and seamless path: The shortened links fit perfectly within the tweet format and lead directly to the movie library.

A collection of websites to watch new movies online for free

Engagement triggers:

• Saving for later: such posts usually have a lot of likes and retweets, as users want to keep the list for the time, they will be ready to watch a movie.
• The wide range of sites in the collection increases the assurance that users will find the one that works for them.
• The attached image shows that the site even has new popular movies.

“Comment, like, repost and get the link” tweets

Engagement triggers:

• Eye-catching creative from the cinema with a screen showing a poster of a just released movie instantly catches attention.
• Post starts as the honest user review, gaining extra trust credits.
• Clear CTA and benefit: like, repost, comment, and you will get the movie link in return.

Participating in relevant discussions

Why it might work:

• Low resistance ask. This tweet reads like a genuine, everyday question — not a promotional post. That authenticity is key on X, where users are highly sensitive to overt advertising. It makes the post feel trustworthy and encourages real engagement.
• Curiosity hook. Viewers are enticed to click into the thread to “find out” what others suggested.

Engagement triggers:

• A funny meme that taps into audience pain points and relatable situations always receives a lot of impressions and retweets, as users are sharing them with their friends.

To say the least, I’ve been with HilltopAds since December 2024, and I receive $15K-$20K monthly from traffic my tweets generate and with the HilltopAds Direct Link ad format.

• Last month’s profit: $16,789
• Whole period profit (4 months): $72,533!

Note: want to learn more about X’s monetization? Read our previous case study where the publisher made $100K+ with Twitter in one year. As well as in our detailed guide: How to Monetize Ex-Twitter in 2025.

While Elon Musk transforms X into a better place for live events commenting, and discussions, you can leverage platform’s potential with the right strategy! Here is your short how-to-start guide monetizing content on X:

1. Set KPIs you want to achieve first, then evaluate how many impressions you need to get and what CPM you need to accomplish these goals. Based on this, choose the most suitable monetization option, and create a content plan. Take into account that X’s monetization program will cost you extra expenses.
2. Test different types of content (movie marathons, streaming top picks, movie memes, questions triggering discussions) and various ad funnel setups (with or without pre-landing page) to find what attracts and converts the best in your case.
3. Follow trending topics and content formats on X. Real-time content often receives higher engagement, and, therefore, it can boost your profits.

Want to maximize your monetization revenue? Sign up to HilltopAds via this link and maybe our next case study will be about your success!