When AJ and Grey met for the first time, the then-13- and 14-year-old content creators ran toward each other from opposite ends of New York’s Times Square into a hug.
It was like something out of a movie, they said, and it looked like some of the online world agreed. A TikTok video of their meeting went viral, with almost 4 million views.
“We get so many messages from people, some of whom live in homophobic households, or towns or countries, who tell us they’re so inspired by our love story,” Grey told Insider. AJ and Grey asked to be referred to by their first names to protect their privacy.
AJ, who’s now 21, and Grey, who’s 22, first met in 2014 through the online reading platform Wattpad. They started messaging back and forth on the app and began dating a few months later.
They have separate Instagram accounts and a joint TikTok with around 980,000 followers where they post relationship and lifestyle content.
Yet, they said Snapchat is their favorite platform to make content and earn money on because they’re able to showcase their lives without a filter and earn lucrative amounts while doing so.
The couple have been creating content for Snapchat since September 2021, when their manager set up a meeting with the platform’s head of creator development, Brooke Berry. The Snapchat executive verified AJ and Grey as Snap Stars, a designation for public figures and top creators, and encouraged them to start posting immediately.
“I hadn’t used Snapchat since middle school, but we fell in love with Brooke’s energy so we decided to give it another shot,” AJ said.
Today, AJ has 348,000 followers on the platform while Grey has 175,000 followers. They earn most of their money from the platform through its ad-revenue-sharing program. Since January 2023, AJ has made around $84,000 from ad-revenue sharing while Grey has made almost $21,000, according to documentation of their earnings viewed by Insider.
“As a Snap Star, you have the benefit of just showing up on people’s Discover feed without people even following or subscribing to you, and when they click on your story you’re immediately earning money,” Grey said.
From the minute they wake up to the minute they go to bed, the two creators are posting to their Snap stories, and say that consistent routine is how they’ve integrated themselves into their audiences’ lives.
Leaving brand partnerships behind to play around on Snap paid off
Before AJ and Grey began posting on Snapchat, they weren’t earning much from content creation.
The couple was bringing in around $500 every few months through paid partnerships with brands. AJ was making a living as a teacher and Grey had several jobs, including working at a skate shop and an eyeglass store.
“We just kept getting lowballed by brands who wanted to work with us, and I think it’s because we weren’t advocating for our worth in the way we should have,” Grey said.
That changed when they shifted to Snapchat. They started uploading stories about living together in New York, like going to the deli and taking care of their cat, as well as navigating their relationship as a lesbian couple.
When AJ hit 50,000 subscribers in June 2022, she was able to opt-in for ads in her videos through a toggle feature on the home screen. A few months later, Grey was eligible for the revenue-share program. It allows Snap Stars to make money through the ads their followers are shown in between Snap stories.
The couple said the income earned from this program used to be dependent on how many Snaps you posted, but it’s now based on the watch time; in other words, how long and how many people are watching your Snap stories.
Creators are paid in Snap crystals, which are a way of tracking payment-eligible activities on the platform, that can then be cashed in for money. One dollar is equal to 10 crystals, per Snap. The couple uses Snapchat’s direct-payment portal, called Hyper Wallet, to transfer the money into their accounts.
Posting like it’s second nature is the key to success on Snapchat
AJ revealed that she posts on Snapchat around 200 to 250 times a day, similar to some other Snap creators, which helps her earn more money on the platform.
She said posting so consistently means her content is completely unfiltered.
“People on Snapchat don’t like seeing scripted content, it’s where people go to see the messy side of others’ lives,” AJ said. “I feel like my followers really know who I am, and that’s what really drives engagement.”
Representation is also a key part of why they think their Snapchat accounts have been so popular. The couple has been together for eight years and has built a dedicated audience who look to them for inspiration.
“There are a lot of trans and gender-nonconforming people that see themselves in me because I don’t follow any of the rules,” Grey said. “I like to show them that it’s fine to be yourself and show who you are unapologetically.”
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