Written by: MAD Vincent
Compiled by: Chopper, Foresight News
I did exactly what they said: frantically spammed comments, closely followed top accounts to ride on their traffic, jumped on every trending topic, and chased impressions like chips in a bull market.
After 29 million impressions, the X platform paid me $71.49.
This is a warning. As of 2025, those still chasing impressions on the X platform are neither seizing the initiative nor working hard—they are just the bag holders of bot traffic.
The Lie Everyone Believes
At some point, the cryptocurrency community (CT) reached a consensus: "The higher the impressions, the more money you make." This was half-true in the past. But by 2025, it has become a complete fallacy.
Today, impressions are just a flashy vanity metric: they look glamorous and addictive but are utterly useless for actual earnings. They can make your data panel as beautiful as a bull market chart, but the corresponding bank deposit is pitifully small, akin to an abandoned small wallet.
I learned this lesson the hard way.
My Personal Experiment (A.K.A. How I Got Rekt)
In mid-December 2025, I launched this aggressive traffic experiment: posting over 200 comments daily, specifically targeting top accounts' posts to蹭热度 (ride on their popularity), without limiting myself to any vertical—a full-scale "indiscriminate bombardment."
Movies, gaming, politics, cryptocurrency, memes, sports... as long as it was a hot topic, I jumped in to comment.
Soon, my actions echoed on the platform: "Bro, I see you everywhere," "The algorithm must love you," "This data is explosive growth."
Now, let's look at the specific results: 28.9 million impressions, 267.7k engagements, 119.5k likes, 11.8k comments, 3.1k bookmarks, 20k profile visits, 37.5k followers, with verified users accounting for about 41%.
I only posted an average of 4 original pieces of content per day, with the rest of the traffic全靠 "comment section蹭热度" (relying entirely on comment section popularity chasing). Looking solely at the data panel, it was a crushing advantage. But when payday came, the deposit was only $71.49.
That's when it hit me: Impressions don't make money; high-quality paid user engagement is king.
The monetization logic of the X platform has long changed. It no longer rewards exposure but rather who engages with you.
If your engagement data doesn't come from paid verified users, it's no different from having no engagement at all.
The Real Monetization Rules of the X Platform in 2025
There's no mystery behind this; many just refuse to accept reality. The real monetization rules are as follows.
Only engagement types from paid verified users count towards monetization: comments, reposts, bookmarks, likes, and the engagement must occur within monetizable reply posts.
Some engagement types are无效 for monetization (ineffective for monetization): free user engagement, bot traffic, skyrocketing impressions without paid user participation, "fake viral hits" without paid user engagement.
One comment from a paid verified user might be worth far more than 100 bot likes.
Furthermore, engagement has varying weights; not all are equal. Comments and reposts carry the highest weight, followed by bookmarks, with likes being the lowest.
So, if your engagement data shows these characteristics: many likes, few comments, low percentage of verified users—then your account looks hot but has zero monetization value.
The Unmentioned Bot Traffic Trap
Chasing热度 (popularity) in the comment sections of top accounts seems like a shortcut to gaining followers, but it's actually a distribution engine for bot traffic.
Here's the real situation: Your comment gets pushed to a bot network → Impressions skyrocket → Engagement data looks healthy → Platform filters out all invalid traffic during settlement.
This is why the absurd result of "29 million impressions, only $71 earned" occurs. This isn't a system glitch; it's the precise execution of platform rules.
This Playstyle Is Ruining Your Account
This is not only an extremely low ROI practice but also causes irreversible damage to your account.
Bot Follower Pollution
In just a few days, my account gained over 2500 bot followers. These bots lower:
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The percentage of verified users in your account
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The platform's trust rating for you
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Future settlement amounts
Audience Dilution
Your followers are no longer a targeted audience but become worthless "noise." The platform understands this, advertisers understand this, and ultimately, your earnings will reflect it directly.
Algorithmic Downgrade Penalty
Posting 200+ comments daily → Easily triggers rate limits. Content lacks vertical focus → Unable to send clear account labels to the algorithm. Eventually, your account gets flagged by the algorithm as a "suspected spam account."
Creator Burnout
You think you're dominating the platform's hot lists, but the bank deposit notification punches you in the gut. This is the moment most creators give up.
What I Did
I completely overturned my previous strategy: cleaned up 2500 bot followers, removed 5000 zombie followers, stopped the comment section热度 chasing operation, focused on building a genuine community of followers.
In the short term, account metrics did decline, but the long-term health of the account is recovering.
In the next settlement cycle, my account data showed new characteristics: lower impressions, higher quality engagement (check the engagement rate percentage), more precise follower growth, and significantly reduced creative pressure.
The Core Metrics Actually Worth Focusing On
If you want to make money on the X platform, aim for these targets:
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3%-5% engagement rate
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High-engagement posts dominated by comments
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45%-50% verified user ratio
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Consistent output of original content
It's okay to have fewer impressions; the key is high quality of engaging users. Achieve these, and you'll go from "Why are my earnings so terrible?" to "So this is how you achieve stable monetization."
The Final Truth
Impressions are like the song of the Sirens: they make you think you've seized the initiative, make you feel like you're the platform's focus, and give you an illusion of "importance."
But they don't bring a single cent of profit. What monetizes is the engagement from high-quality paid users. In 2025, the X platform will not reward "traffic speculators"; it will only reward "content builders."
