Twitter will earn $139.5 million in global ad revenues this year, up 210 percent from $45 million in 2010, according to a new forecast from eMarketer. By 2013, eMarketer estimates worldwide ad revenues at Twitter will reach nearly $400 million. That will matter for most end users who like Twitter but don't want to pay a subscription fee. Advertising likely remains the most logical revenue model for many mass market applications and services, though the "freemium" model that builds on subscription revenue or commerce revenue seems to run a close second in start-up thinking.
“Since their debut in April 2010, Twitter’s 'Promoted' products have proven successful in the US,” said eMarketer principal analyst Debra Aho Williamson. “Marketers have shown solid engagement rates with Twitter advertising—in some cases better than those on Facebook—despite Twitter’s relatively smaller audience.”
Twitter Ad Revenues to Near $400 Million by 2013
