Telegram plans to include ads in public channels starting next year. The information was confirmed by founder Pavel Durov on Wednesday (23). The messenger is approaching 500 million users and needs “a few hundred million dollars” to remain active.
According to Durov, he personally financed the platform, which is seven years old, and is now looking for ways to monetize it. The first idea is to display ads on public channels.
The Russian entrepreneur says he is looking for a “user-friendly telegram blast solution that respects users’ privacy” and allows him to cover server and traffic costs. Public channels are those that can be found in the app’s search and have a username.
Telegram has a social media dimension. Our huge public channels can have millions of subscribers each and are more like Twitter feeds. In many markets, the owners of such channels run ads to make money, sometimes using third-party ad platforms. The ads they post look like normal messages and are often intrusive. We are going to fix this by introducing our own ad platform for public channels.
Telegram may charge for stickers
Another way to generate revenue would be to launch premium stickers with additional features. The (free) stickers are currently one of the app’s biggest attractions and, how to run mass email campaigns that actually work according to Durov, creators could also share in the profits by developing paid stickers.
Existing features will remain free
To honor its critical stance over the past few years, the service will keep existing features free. Durov also pledges not to introduce ads in private chats and groups.
The entrepreneur also states that he will not sell the messenger, bw lists as “the world needs Telegram to remain independent as a place where users are respected and a high-quality service is guaranteed” – a dig at WhatsApp, its main rival.
