Summary

After three months of using X Premium, the author finds the service's benefits, such as increased visibility and long-form posting, to be overshadowed by its drawbacks, including a lack of improved reach, poor analytics, and an abundance of bots and ads, leading to the conclusion that the subscription may not be worth the cost.

Abstract

The author, a Blue Tick subscriber to X Premium (formerly Twitter Blue), provides a candid assessment of the service after a three-month trial. Initially hopeful that the premium features would enhance engagement and reach, the author observed a significant decline in key metrics post-subscription. Despite enjoying certain features like long-form posts and formatting options, the overall experience has been marred by the service's failure to deliver on its promise of increased visibility and engagement. The introduction of a new algorithm in September further exacerbated the issue, affecting the reach of content across the platform. With the presence of persistent ads, slow monetization approval, and a notable bot presence, the author remains skeptical about the value of X Premium, especially considering the minimal impact on reach for accounts without a substantial following.

Opinions

The author appreciates the ability to create long-form posts and the convenience of post formatting, which are seen as the best features of X Premium.
There is frustration over the lack of improved reach, which is a key selling point of the premium service, and the fact that non-premium accounts often outperform premium accounts in terms of impressions.
The author criticizes the inability to schedule long-form posts, which is inconvenient for content planning.
Analytics provided by X Premium are deemed inadequate and unsatisfactory for users looking to track their performance.
The slow approval process for monetization features is another point of contention, with the author's application still under review after three months.
The prevalence of ads and bots on the platform detracts from the user experience, despite the expectation that premium membership would reduce ad frequency.
The author is undecided on the usefulness of video content and the 'Top Articles' feature, as they have not utilized them enough to form a solid opinion.
The recent algorithm change is viewed negatively, as it significantly reduced the author's reach and engagement, turning the platform into a "zombie wasteland."
Despite the current disappointments, the author is willing to continue with X Premium for a few more months in hopes of future improvements or successful monetization, which could justify the monthly fee.

I’ve Tried X Premium for 3 Months — Here’s My Honest Assessment

Is the Blue Tick really worth it?

I’ve been a Blue Ticker for just over 3 months now.

In case you don’t know what that means or fear I’ve joined a weird fan cult for a lesser-known comic book character, “Blue Ticker” is my affectionate nickname for those of us who’ve subscribed to X-formerly-Twitter’s paid membership service.

I signed up to Twitter Blue (now known as X Premium) on September 3 and received my little blue check about 24 hours later. Pretty quick turnaround, given it’s taken up to a week for some subscribers.

I’d toyed with trying it for quite some time and finally decided to take the plunge towards the end of summer 2023.

I’ve broken down my reasoning behind that decision in this article:

Why I’ve Decided to Get a Blue Tick on Twitter/X

I finally opened my wallet to Elon.

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I’m not a big numbers guy and haven’t closely tracked my stats on X since switching to paid membership, but I did remember to grab this dodgy photo of my computer screen on the day I joined:

As you can see, my reach and engagement were pretty modest, though my impressions were on the up. I’d hoped joining X Premium would bump them up even further.

Here are my current stats, as of December 5:

Quick disclaimer: I haven’t been posting just as much on X as I was back in late August / early September, and I was probably asking more engagement questions back then (I’ve since seen the light in that regard), but still, those numbers are pretty shocking.

Fewer than half as many impressions, a two-thirds drop in profile visits, huge fall in every other metric apart from engagement rate and link clicks.

If X Premium is supposed to increase your reach, it’s doing the opposite right now.

Pros

It’s not all doom and gloom, though, and the disastrous algorithm update that arrived midway through September had a hugely negative impact across the board (more on that in a minute).

I have enjoyed some of Premium’s features over the last three months and make use of them regularly. These are my favourites:

Long-form posts. The ability to share longer posts is, by far, the best feature of Premium. Trying to squeeze what you want to say into 280 characters was always a pain before (unless you’re asking people what their favourite pizza toppings are, in which case you were probably ok with it). I find threads clunky sometimes, too — longer posts are easier on the eye and, thus, easier to read. I’ve made good use of the longer posts feature and will continue to do so.
Formatting. This one isn’t just as big for me, but it’s convenient. Just as longer posts are better than threads, bold/italicised subheadings help waymark the reader through your content, keeping them engaged longer. You can of course achieve that kind of formatting without paying for X Premium, but it’s handy when you’re short on time.
Visibility. Appearing at the top of replies is an often-touted benefit of Premium membership, and I think it’s genuinely a thing. Although it’s much less effective in a conversation full of fellow Premium members. Still, I have seen plenty of my responses on posts getting more visibility, which is useful when you have something interesting to say.

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Cons

Of course, there are cons to X Premium. More than I’d like if I’m honest.

Doesn’t help with reach. Or at least, it doesn’t help enough. I regularly see non-premium accounts with much smaller followers getting more impressions than me, and it’s frustrating. Improved reach is one of the supposed key benefits of Premium membership and it’s rarely evident.
Can’t schedule long-form posts. This is more of an inconvenience than an out-an-out con, but it’s a common complaint among Premium subscribers. Normal-length posts can be scheduled in advance, but long-form content has to be published then and there. I imagine it’s a tactic to keep you on the platform for longer and thus appease advertisers (if there are any left at this stage).
Analytics are still awful. There isn’t much more to say about that one. Twitter’s analytics dashboard has always been rubbish and X Premium does nothing to improve on that. I’ll never understand why social media platforms don’t invest more in their analytics sections.
Monetisation approval is slow. I applied for the subscriber feature shortly after joining X Premium and my application is still being reviewed. I even reached out to X and was told it just takes time. At least 3 months, it seems.
The Similar Posts feature is pointless.
Ads everywhere. Maybe I misunderstood this aspect of Premium membership, but I’d hoped to see fewer ads on my feed. They’re still there, in abundance, and many of them have Community Notes tacked on below explaining that they’re scams. So, why are they getting approved…?
Bots everywhere. At least ten per cent of my followers must be Elon Musk bots by now. I get a few more every day. None of the sexbots have ever DM’d me, though.

The jury’s still out

Video. I know video content gets pushed out more these days and I’ve seen other users trying to make the most of it. I haven’t tried yet, though, so I’ll reserve judgment on that one. Who knows, maybe it’d make a big difference to my reach. Something for further down the line.
Top Articles. I haven’t used this once. Again though, maybe it’s actually super useful, so no comment for now.

The verdict

After 3 months of paid membership on X, I have to be honest: so far, it’s probably not worth it.

Almost none of the Premium features you pay for make any difference to your reach on the platform unless you have a 6-figure following, perhaps. It doesn’t cost much, but neither do Big Macs and they don’t do me any good either.

The one thing I’d say in X Premium’s defence is that it seemed to be working fine until the new algorithm was introduced in September. After that, everyone’s reach effectively went in the toilet and turned X into a zombie wasteland overnight.

I have no idea what the point of that was, but maybe it’s all part of a larger vision (or Elon Musk just doesn’t have a clue what he’s doing).

For that reason, I’ll stick it out with Premium until at least the 6-month mark before calling it. After all, a new algorithm that restores the platform to some semblance of its former glory could be just around the corner (*crosses fingers*).

Alternatively, I could get approved for monetisation and gain a handful of subscribers, and the monthly fee would be negated. If that happened, I’d happily keep paying for a while longer.

I’ll remain as an X Premium subscriber for now. I’ve always loved Twitter and I’d love to see it get back on its feet.

But if things don’t start changing for the better soon, it’ll become difficult to keep justifying the fee, no matter how small it might be.

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