Telegram Monetization: Channels, Bots, and Mini Apps in 2025

Telegram is much more than a messenger. In March 2025, Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, announced that the platform reached a milestone of 1 billion active users worldwide. That’s why it is a goldmine for affiliate marketers to build income streams. Its features – channels, bots and Mini Apps – offer users different ways to promote offers, drive traffic and convert like no other platform can.

What makes Telegram so good for affiliate marketers? Unlike other social platforms, Telegram prioritizes direct engagement and community building. The platform allows you to target highly engaged audiences in real time, and this personalised interaction boosts conversions.

This guide will tell you everything about Telegram ads monetization. Whether you want to optimize your campaigns, scale your traffic or find new ways to advertise your goods and services, we’ll give you the tips to succeed.

Telegram Monetization Options: Which One to Choose

In affiliate marketing, Telegram offers several monetization options to suit your audience and goals. They are channels monetization, bot monetization and Telegram Mini Apps monetization. The key is to choose the right strategy that matches your niche, content and marketing objectives. Let’s go through the Telegram monetization requirements and how to make the most of them.

Telegram Channels

The first thing that you can use to get traffic is your Telegram channel. This method of monetization allows you to place an ad in two different ways: sponsored messages or advertising posts. Fun fact: they can be placed in the Telegram channel at the same time — you can save the sense, but change the text of the ad.

Let’s take a look at Telegram channels monetization methods:

• Sponsored messages

Advertisers, affiliate marketers and publishers usually go for sponsored messages when looking to monetize their Telegram channels. These ads usually appear at the bottom of the channels and are labeled as ‘sponsored’ or ‘ad’.

How it works:

1. Your channel needs at least 1,000 members to qualify;
2. Telegram takes care of ad placement, and you earn up to 50% of the ad revenue.

Note: Telegram Premium users can disable sponsored messages regardless of the channel owner’s preference.

For affiliate marketing, this way has several benefits. For example, once enabled, sponsored messages require no additional effort. Also they don’t disrupt the user experience, making them ideal for maintaining audience trust.

• Advertising Posts

They are the most common and easiest way to monetize Telegram channels. All you need is to reach an agreement with the Telegram channel owner or place the ad in your channel. Note that you should post ads based on the channel owner’s preference.

Why it works for affiliate marketing:

• Targeted Offers: You can promote affiliate products or services that resonate with your audience, leading to higher conversions;
• Creative Freedom: Customize posts to include affiliate links, product details, and call-to-action (CTA) buttons.

Telegram Bots

Telegram bot monetization is another way to make money, especially for advertisers and affiliate marketers who want to automate their promotions. Bots can deliver affiliate links, product recommendations or even sell digital products and premium content.

Why to monetize Telegram bot:

• Offers: Use the bot to share exclusive deals or personalized recommendations;
• Premium features: Offer paid upgrades or access to gated content in the bot.

Why Telegram bots work:

• Automation: Bots do the repetitive work for you;
• 24/7 interaction: Bots can interact with Telegram users 24/7 so no opportunity is missed;
• Personalization: Bots can segment users and deliver personalized offers which is perfect for affiliate campaigns.

Telegram Mini Apps

Telegram mini-applications (TMA) are programs launched via bots. They do not require installation and work via the Telegram Web App interface. The advantage is that users launch the application directly in the chat, without going to third-party sites or downloading additional programs.

Why mini apps are perfect for affiliate marketing:

• High CTR (Click-Through Rate): Native ads in Mini Apps avoid banner blindness, so users engage more;
• Wide Reach: Mini Apps are growing in popularity, especially with interactive formats like games and tools.

Tip: Pair Mini Apps with gamification (e.g. tap-to-earn mechanics) to get users to interact and boost ad engagement.

Types of Ad Formats for TMA

Telegram Mini Apps offer unique in-app advertising opportunities that are easy and effective for affiliate marketers. Here are the ad formats available for Mini Apps, each designed to maximize engagement and conversions:

1. Push-Style Ads

These ads look like push notifications and have an icon, a short title and a description. The whole ad is a clickable button that redirects to a landing page or affiliate offer.

• Why it works: Push-style ads blend in with the app’s interface, so they feel less intrusive and have high CTR (Click-Through Rate);
• Best for: Quick promotions, time-sensitive offers or ad campaigns that require immediate action.

2. Interstitial Banners

Full-screen static image ads that appear between app interactions. These ads have a title, description and CTA button.

• Why it works: Interstitial banners grab attention without disrupting the app’s functionality, so they’re perfect for capturing user attention;
• Best for: High-impact campaigns like product launches and exclusive offers.

3. Interstitial Video Ads

Full-screen video ads with a catchy title, message and customizable CTA button. These ads can be closed after a few seconds so they don’t disrupt the user experience.

• Why it works: Video ads are dynamic and engaging, so they’re great for storytelling and conversions;
• Best for: Campaigns promoting visually appealing products or services like Gaming or eCommerce.

4. Embedded Banners

Single image ads integrated into specific sections of the Mini App interface. These ads match the app’s layout, so they feel native and non-intrusive.

• Why it works: Embedded banners are subtle yet effective, so they feel like part of the app’s design. They’re perfect for maintaining user trust;
• Best for: Long-term campaigns or evergreen products and services that require consistent visibility.

Each format is designed for different campaign goals and user behaviors. By combining these formats, you can increase ad engagement and CTR, avoid “banner blindness” with native and interactive designs, and deliver ads in a seamless and user-friendly way.

How to Make Money on Telegram Stars?

One more method of Telegram channel monetization is Telegram Stars. To put it in simple terms, these are paid emojis through which users can transfer funds, for example, to access exclusive content or to support the author. These are some kind of donations to the content authors.

According to Telegram’s policy, they are used to enable payments for digital goods and services across the platform’s ecosystem. Stars can be acquired through in-app purchases via Apple and Google or PremiumBot, then spent on digital products offered by bots — from e-books and online courses to items in Telegram games.

Here’s how to get started with Stars:

1. Create a private channel or chat: First you need to have a space where you can offer exclusive content. Your audience should have a reason to support you with Stars by getting something valuable in return;
   
2. Enable Telegram stars: Go to your channel or chat settings and find the monetization section. Turn on the option to accept Stars. Telegram may charge a fee for processing payments;
   
3. Create high quality content: Content is key. Consider offering in-depth articles, early access to materials or insider information. The more valuable your content, the more users will want to support you;
   
4. Engage your audience: Motivate your subscribers to support you with Stars by offering bonus content for a certain number of Stars, access to exclusive affiliate chats, direct Support, and so on.

Telegram Stars allows you to get rewards directly from your followers, making the monetization process transparent and easy.

How Much Can You Earn by Monetizing Telegram?

Earnings on Telegram monetization depend on various factors. For example, if you, as a publisher or content creator, place ads in your channel, you will receive as much for this as you agree with the advertiser. You decide which price to set: $50, $100 or $1000 for 1 ad post.

You can also monetize Telegram through advertising networks. For example, RichAds publishers receive a reward for each click on an ad in the app, averaging $0.012 — $0.02. MyBid says that the cost of a thousand impressions starts at $0.5 and can reach up to $3-5 in some niches and regions. Therefore, be ready to prepare $400-500 for testing this platform as a monetization source in future.