[Update] Side Hustle Experiment #1: Can You Actually Make Money on X? I Tried. It Fought Back.

Hey buddy,

If you're new here — WELCOME! Every month I pick a side hustle, build it from absolute zero, and document everything. The wins, the embarrassing failures, and all the messy stuff in between. No fluff, no highlight reels. Just the raw truth of what it actually takes to make money online. You get an update every Friday.

This month's experiment was growing and monetizing an X account. I've been sharing weekly updates as it unfolded — you can catch up on the full story here: LINK

For everyone else, here's how it ended.

A few weeks ago I told you I was going all in on X. I was going to grow an account, hit the monetization thresholds, and make money from Creator Revenue Sharing.

You watched me fumble through week one in real time, the follow-for-follow grind, the two account lockouts, the 769 followers with a grand total of zero engagement. It was not pretty.

Well, the experiment is officially over. And I owe you the full ending.

Quick Recap If You Missed Week 1

The strategy was follow-for-follow. Find posts where people are begging for followers, comment, follow them, hope they follow back. Repeat until your thumbs fall off.

It worked — kind of. I got to 769 followers in about 8-10 days. Sounds great until you realize those followers were completely hollow. My posts were getting zero likes, zero comments, zero anything. A 0% engagement rate from nearly 800 people.

X also locked my account twice in that first week alone for "suspicious activity." Fair enough, honestly.

I slowed down after that. No point sprinting toward a permanent ban.

What I Tried in Week 2

After the follow-for-follow disaster, I pivoted to clipping viral MrBeast videos and posting them on X. The idea was simple — ride the coattails of content that already had millions of views and hope some of those impressions rubbed off on my account.

My first MrBeast clip got 240 views. Better than anything the follow-for-follow followers ever gave me, but not exactly life-changing.

I kept at it. I posted more clips, I tried engaging with real accounts, I researched whether I could just sell the account outright and cut my losses (spoiler: a 1K account with garbage engagement isn't worth much).

And then X locked me out again.

At that point I called it. Two weeks of grinding, three lockouts, and the account was basically flagged. There was no path to monetization from where I was standing.

The Final Numbers

• Followers gained: ~1,000

• Money made: $0

• Time spent: ~2 weeks of real daily effort

• Account lockouts: 3

• Engagement rate: Essentially 0%

• Verdict: Full flop

Here are some screenshots from the analytics

What I Actually Learned

The follow-for-follow method gets you a number, not an audience. There's a big difference. A thousand people who followed you out of obligation will never buy anything, click anything, or care about anything you post. They're just a vanity metric.

X's Creator Revenue Sharing program also requires 5 million impressions in 3 months. Five million. With hollow followers and a flagged account, I wasn't going to get there in 3 months or 3 years.

The MrBeast clipping angle was more interesting, honestly. Borrowed content, real impressions. But it's a grind with no guarantee, and the copyright risk is real.

Here's the thing though, I don't want to write X off completely, because that wouldn't be fair. X is actually a genuinely good place to build connections, grow a personal brand, and yes, make real money. But only if you do it the right way. People are landing clients, selling products, and building loyal audiences on there every single day. The difference is they're playing the long game — showing up consistently, posting valuable content in a specific niche, and letting trust build naturally over time.

Cheap hacks get you cheap results. The follow-for-follow route gave me 1,000 ghost followers and a flagged account. Someone who spent those same two weeks posting genuinely useful content in a niche they care about? They'd probably have 200 followers — but those 200 would actually open their emails, click their links, and eventually buy what they're selling.

Bottom line: skip the shortcuts on X. If you're willing to play the long game, it's worth your time. If you need results in 30 days, look elsewhere.

Now — You Pick What I Suffer Through Next Month

Two options on the table. You vote, I do it. Simple as that.

Option A: Build an iOS App I'll try to build and launch a real iOS app using a no-code tool, get it on the App Store, and see if a complete beginner can generate any revenue. We've covered creators making $20K+/month from apps in past issues. Time to find out if that's actually replicable.

Option B: Start an AI Newsletter AI newsletters are everywhere right now and some of them are printing money through sponsorships and affiliates. I'll launch one from scratch and document the whole thing — growth strategy, content, monetization, all of it.

👇 Vote here — I'll do whatever wins:

I'll announce the winner next Friday and get started immediately.

Some experiments flop. That's kind of the whole point — so you know what to skip before wasting your own time on it. X via follow-for-follow? Skip it.

See you next Friday. ✌️

Kris from WiFi Moolah

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