How Snapchatter Sarati Earned $1 Million In Three Months On Spotlight

Snapchatter Sarati has earned over one million dollars in the past three months thanks to the popular app’s reward program for those who master their new product, Spotlight. Launched in November 2020, Spotlight features the most entertaining user-generated content on the platform. Because it is moderated, doesn’t support public comments, and keeps profiles private by default, Snap aims to build a safe, personalized experience for its users. In order to drive more content production, Snap is distributing over one million dollars per day to anyone who makes great Spotlights – regardless of whether they’re a celebrity, influencer, public figure or not. 

As of January 2021, Spotlight had 100 million monthly active users. More than 2,000 Snapchatters have earned from a pool of $42 million dollars, with the top performer, Cam Casey, earning over three million dollars. Snapchat itself has 265 million daily active users and reaches 90 percent of all 13- to 24-year-olds in countries like the US, the UK, and France. On average, more than five billion Snaps are created each day.

Sarah Callahan, better known by her handle Sarati, is a social media influencer who has built an online network of over 10 million followers. As a consultant, she provides brands with insights and knowledge as to how to make their social channels engaging in an authentic way. “A lot of people think that I post on social media for fun, but for me it is a seven-figure career that continues to grow,” she says.

Here are Sarati’s top six tips for earning big on Spotlight:

1.   Make sure the first couple of seconds of your video are engaging!

2.   Use the sounds in Spotlight.

3.   Put text on your video or a sticker to get people’s attention.

4.   Post daily.

5.   Make sure the video is formatted to fit the screen.

6.   Stand out! Thinking differently than everyone else will help you have viral videos. Don’t do the same thing everyone else is doing.

After growing up in a small town, Sarati moved to Los Angeles when she was 15. At 17, she began pursuing acting. But after five years of auditioning while also working a minimum wage retail job and nannying at night, she still was making only $15,000 a year. “I was miserable,” she says. “That time in my life was terrible, but it shaped me into who I am today. It taught me the importance of saving money, getting by with very little, and failing incessantly until you succeed.”

She also began struggling with an eating disorder. “I was obsessed with being skinny because I thought it would help me book more acting jobs,” Sarati explains. “This is all important to note because it is why I have such purpose today. I speak openly about my eating disorder and the importance of a healthy lifestyle. I think mental and physical health go hand in hand.”

Eventually, Sarati found TikTok. Within three months, she had amassed one million followers. A year later, she started making money from it. Then in January 2020, she went to Snapchat’s headquarters and met the team. She listened carefully to their advice, and within two weeks she went from 0 to 100,000 subscribers. When Spotlight launched last November, she began posting videos “with no idea of what was to come or how my life would be changed forever,” she says.

The best part of being a social media influencer, according to Sarati, is that she maintains complete control over her career. “When I was acting, I was constantly fighting my agent because he wanted his ten percent. I wanted to hold onto my dignity,” she says. “He would send me on jobs with nudity and I didn’t want to do it. I would get upset and he would try to talk me into it. Now I have the say in what I will and will not do for money. I have morals. I am proud of myself for never losing who I am and what I value because of a paycheck.”

The greatest challenge Sarati faces is being judged constantly by followers. “People think everything I post is me being narcissistic or vapid, but it’s really just the strategy of staying relevant online. I rarely take a day off because my numbers drop when I do. While the feeling of being misunderstood and looked down upon can be frustrating, I would not change my career path for the world. I am beyond grateful for what I do,” she says.

“If you are looking for a new career, find what brings you joy. Then find out if you can make money doing that,” Sarati advises people looking to tap into their life purpose. “Write out your goals. I wrote down the month before I found out I would be a millionaire that I would have $1,000,000 in my savings account. I thought it was pretty crazy when I wrote it, but then it happened. Find out what makes you unique and run with it.”