29 million exposures, only $71 credited: how to make money from traffic on X platform?

Written by: MAD Vincent

Translated by: Chopper, Foresight News

I did exactly as they said: frantically flooding comments, focusing on top accounts to ride the traffic wave, jumping into trending topics everywhere, treating exposure as chips in a bull market and chasing it wildly.

After 29 million exposures, the X platform paid me $71.49.

This is a warning. Today in 2025, those still trying to boost exposure on X are neither seizing the opportunity nor working hard; they are just the bagholders of robot traffic.

The Lie Everyone Believes

I don’t know when it started, but the crypto community (CT) reached a consensus: “The higher the exposure, the more money you make.” In the past, that was half-true. But by 2025, it has become a complete fallacy.

Today’s exposure is merely a flashy, superficial vanity metric: it looks glamorous and addictive but is useless for actual gains. It can make your data dashboard look like a bullish chart, but the corresponding bank deposit is pitifully small, like a neglected small wallet.

I only realized this after paying a painful price.

My Personal Experiment (aka: How I Got Rugged)

In mid-December 2025, I launched this aggressive traffic experiment: posting over 200 comments daily, targeting top accounts’ posts to ride the heat, not limited to a specific niche, but a comprehensive “indiscriminate bombardment.”

Movies, games, politics, crypto, memes, sports… as long as it’s trending, I comment.

Soon, my actions resonated on the platform: “Bro, I see you everywhere,” “The algorithm really loves you,” “This data is exploding.”

Now, look at the specific results: 28.9 million exposures, 267,700 interactions, 119,500 likes, 11,800 comments, 3,100 saves, 20,000 profile visits, 37,500 followers, with about 41% verified users.

And I was only posting 4 original pieces per day; the rest of the traffic came from “riding the heat in the comment section.” On paper, it was a crushing advantage. But when settlement day came, I only earned $71.49.

That moment, I finally understood: exposure doesn’t make money; high-quality paid user interactions are the real key.

The monetization logic of X platform has long changed. It no longer rewards exposure but looks at who is interacting with you.

If your interaction data doesn’t come from paid verified users, it’s no different from having no interaction at all.

The True Rules of Monetization on X in 2025

There’s no mystery here; many just refuse to face reality. The real monetization rules are as follows:

Effective monetization interactions only include actions from paid verified users: comments, shares, saves, likes, and these interactions must occur within monetizable reply posts.

Some interaction types are ineffective for monetization: free user interactions, bot traffic, exposure spikes without paid user participation, “pseudo-viral” posts without paid user engagement.

A single comment from a paid verified user can be worth far more than 100 bot likes.

Additionally, interaction weights vary; not all are equal. Comments and shares carry the highest weight, followed by saves, with likes being the lowest.

So, if your interaction data shows: many likes, few comments, low verified user ratio, your account may look popular but has no actual monetization value.

The Hidden Robot Traffic Trap

Riding the heat in top accounts’ comment sections seems like a shortcut to gaining followers, but it’s actually the engine behind robot traffic distribution.

The real scenario is: your comments are pushed to robot networks → exposure skyrockets → interaction data appears healthy → but during settlement, the platform filters out all invalid traffic.

That’s why you get the absurd result of “29 million exposures, only $71 earned.” It’s not a system bug but a precise execution of platform rules.

This approach is destroying your account

It’s not just a low ROI; it can cause irreversible damage to your account.

Robot followers pollution

In just a few days, my account gained over 2,500 robot followers. These bots lower:

• The percentage of verified users on your account

• The platform’s trust rating of you

• Future settlement amounts

• The quality of your follower base

Your followers are no longer targeted audiences but become worthless “noise.” Both the platform and advertisers see through this, and ultimately, your earnings will reflect this reality.

Algorithm Demotion Penalties

Posting over 200 comments daily → easily triggers content limits and removes vertical niche focus → makes it impossible for the algorithm to understand your account’s true nature → your account may be flagged as a “suspected spam account.”

Creator Burnout

You think you’re dominating the platform’s trending list, but the bank SMS hits you with a reality check. Most creators give up at this moment.

My Approach

I completely reversed my previous tactics: cleaned up over 2,500 robot followers, removed 5,000 zombie followers, stopped riding the heat in comment sections, and focused on building a genuine fan community.

In the short term, my account data declined, but its long-term health improved.

In the next settlement cycle, my account shows new characteristics: lower exposure, higher interaction quality (check the engagement rate percentage), more precise follower growth, and significantly reduced creative pressure.

The Core Metrics That Truly Matter

If you want to make money on X, aim for these targets:

• 3%-5% engagement rate

• High-retention posts mainly through comments

• 45%-50% verified user ratio

• Consistently produce original content

Less exposure is okay; the key is high-quality engaged users. Achieving this will turn “Why are my earnings so miserable?” into “So this is how stable monetization really works.”

The Final Truth

Exposure is like the siren’s song; it makes you think you’ve seized the opportunity, that you’ve become the platform’s focus, and creates an illusion of being “indispensable.”

But it doesn’t bring a single cent of revenue. What can be monetized is high-quality paid user interactions. In 2025, X platform will no longer reward “traffic speculators” but will favor “content builders.”