I start from three points: the incentive mechanism, creator business orders, and the creator task board on the Square.
Introduce the different kinds of rewards the Square offers to creators—not just one.
Some are allocated by the platform according to the rules: you post content, readers make purchases, viewers during livestreams tip—then the system records what’s supposed to be yours.
Some projects offer prizes in exchange for content, and the task board lays out the activities, points, and rankings.
And there’s another kind that isn’t on the menu: once your account is seen, someone will contact you to collaborate on an article. All three things can turn into income. You can also turn the account into a billboard.
My use is simple: first figure out where each piece of money comes from, then decide whether to take it. Platform incentives can be claimed conveniently along the way. On the task board, choose tasks that you can explain clearly to yourself. For business orders, only take the ones that won’t make readers feel like you’ve turned into a different person.
Platform incentive mechanism: when you do things on the plaza, the platform returns a portion of the value to you
The most reliable understanding here isn’t posting for pay—it’s when your content generates on-site revenue and the platform splits some of it back to you.
The most common is content mining. In eligible content, include the coin/ticker tag or a transaction entry point. When readers click in and complete the transaction, you get a split from that net trading fee. Everyone is initially credited at a basic ratio. If you rank high enough that week, the ratio gets higher. What it rewards is “people really finish reading and then take action,” not how many times you update.
After you reach a certain follower count, features like live gifting/stream tips and Q&A红包 will unlock. If someone is willing to give you gifts in the live room, that money is immediate and more personal. The audience wants something useful from this session, and that this person is worth it—not an automatic system airdrop.
There are also periodic creator incentives: official tips for good content, limited-time boosts, and leaderboard events. They come fast and go fast. You can treat them like lottery tickets, but not like a monthly salary.
The good thing about platform incentives is the low threshold: pass KYC and you can start. The downside is also obvious: your income follows content quality, reader structure, and competition that week. What’s stable is the mechanism; what’s unstable is the amount.
I treat it as a side effect. The content should be written anyway; if the entry point is right, the split is just along for the ride. Rewriting for the split the other way around will make the account dirty first.
Creator paid gigs: once your account has recognition, people will come to find you
A paid gig isn’t just a button inside the creator center. More commonly, it’s that the project, brand, or event organizer values your readers and how you express yourself—asking you to write an introduction post, do a live stream, or create joint content. What’s discussed is the fee, timeline, and whether you can include their tag(s).
The plaza’s official side doesn’t guarantee that work will come knocking. The conditions for someone coming to you are almost always the same: they can clearly explain who you are and also clearly explain who your readers are. That’s why paid gigs come late—and they also are the most selective.
With too few followers, vague positioning, and content that anyone could write, the other party has no reason to pay you. With many followers but readers who are only there to claim a one-time reward, even if they pay, the effect won’t stick.
I only look at three questions for paid gigs: Can I explain this clearly, or can I only repeat the press release.
After you take the gig, will the next piece of content still sound like how you usually write? Have you clearly disclosed what needs to be disclosed? Don’t let readers think this is your own research conclusion.
A gig you can handle means the collaboration partner is simply an added one within the direction you already know how to write. A gig you can’t handle means you give up your homepage for a week in exchange for a fee. The former makes the fastest money, and also loses trust the fastest.
Promoting paid consultations on the plaza, taking people away and charging them is also easy to trip over the rules. Paid gigs should follow the route that is public, verifiable, and doesn’t trick readers into going off-site.
Creator task board: the project side provides the prize pool—you use your content and tasks to exchange for points
The task board is the part of the plaza that most resembles an “event center.” Go into the creator center and you can see the current projects.
Common actions are basically a few categories: focus on the project account, post related content with the specified tags and an @ mention, and make an on-site transaction that meets the threshold. After completion, you earn points; points that place on the leaderboard. When the activity ends, token vouchers are distributed according to rank and completion status.
People who rank near the top take the lion’s share. Those who complete all tasks but don’t squeeze into the leaderboard sometimes can still get an average share for that tier. The specifics differ each period—follow the activity page.
Points are generally based on content, effective interactions, and effective transactions, updated the next day or according to the activity instructions. If you’re caught trying to warm the audience artificially or inflate numbers, your eligibility will be canceled right away.
The task board is friendly because it’s not only big accounts that can join. If the event is live, the rules are public and clearly written—specific, relevant, and ongoing—small accounts also have a chance to place on the leaderboard.
The unfriendly part is also here—projects come in waves, and it’s easy to write “praise whoever gives rewards this week.” When I participate, I have a hard standard: if this piece doesn’t get rewards, would I still write it? If I can, it means I truly can talk about this; tags and @ are just compliance actions.
If you can’t write it, just skip it. No matter how big the prize pool is, it only means your timeline gets another post that doesn’t look like you. It’s best to separate task board content from your daily content. Posts you take to the task board often can’t keep mining with the same set of content. Don’t count one draft twice—otherwise, in the end, neither side looks clear.
Three chunks of money—don’t put them into the same basket.
Understanding platform incentives comes down to whether your content generates transactions or tips within the platform.
The task board checks whether you complete the required actions according to the project rules, and whether your content is good enough to place on the leaderboard. Paid gigs check whether people are willing to pay for your influence and expression. Your first payment depends on consistency. Your second depends on selection. Your third depends on whether you’re remembered.
What creators can get is far more than just these three. There are also the people who actually read carefully, readers who are willing to stay, and the trust that will be useful later. Money is the most obvious part, not the only part. Train your account to be task-capable—when the tasks stop, updates stop too.
Train your account to be one that tells stories. Incentives, tasks, and paid gigs are all just add-ons. You can take the add-ons, but you can’t let your main job slip. Official rules, prize pools, and distribution methods may change—check the page for that specific period before participating.
What can stay long-term isn’t how many coupons you got in a single period, but whether you still know what you’re writing.