How to Set Up Paid Content and Start Earning on Dreem

Dreem gives you control over where the free experience ends and paid content begins. The key is finding the right balance: give your audience enough time to discover what makes your creation interesting, then introduce paid content at a point where they are ready to keep going.

In this guide, we will walk through the difference between Moments and Stories, how paid content works, and how to choose a paywall point that fits your experience.

Moment or Story?

Before setting up paid content, start by deciding what kind of experience you are creating.

A Moment is a character focused experience. It can feature one or multiple Characters and capture an interaction, conversation, special scene, or any experience built around spending time with them. The Character is the center of the experience, so audiences are primarily continuing because they want to see, hear, or experience more of that Character.

A Story, on the other hand, is built around a narrative. It can be linear, following one continuous path from beginning to end, or branching, allowing the audience to make choices and explore different paths. Audiences continue because they want to discover where the Story goes next.

The easiest way to remember the difference is simple: Moments feature Characters. Stories tell stories. Both can be monetized on Dreem.

How Paid Content Works

When your Moment or Story is ready, you can choose where the paid portion of the experience begins. In Creator Studio, select the content you want to monetize, enable paid access, and choose the point where viewers will be asked to unlock the rest of the experience.

Before publishing, preview your content from the audience perspective. The transition into paid content should feel intentional and natural within the experience rather than appearing before viewers have had enough time to understand what they are watching.

Once you are happy with the experience and your paywall placement, you are ready to publish.

The 30 Second Minimum

For both Moments and Stories, paid content can begin no earlier than 30 seconds into the experience. This ensures that every viewer has an opportunity to experience your creation before deciding whether they want to unlock more.

Thirty seconds is the minimum rather than a recommendation for every piece of content. A short Moment may work well with a paywall relatively early in the experience, while a longer Story will usually benefit from giving viewers more time before asking them to unlock the rest.

The right timing depends on the experience you are creating.

Setting Up a Paid Moment

Because Moments are centered around Characters, the free portion should give viewers enough time to experience the Character and understand what makes the Moment worth continuing.

For shorter Moments, this may only require a relatively brief introduction. For longer Moments, you may want to give the interaction more time to develop before introducing paid access. In either case, look for a natural point where the audience has already experienced something meaningful and has a reason to want more.

You can place the paywall from the 30 second mark onward, giving you flexibility to choose the timing that best fits your Moment.

Setting Up a Paid Linear Story

Stories generally need more time to establish audience interest, so for a linear Story, we recommend keeping approximately the first three minutes free whenever the length of the experience allows it.

This gives viewers time to enter the Story, understand the experience, and become interested in continuing. The free section should feel like a meaningful beginning to the Story rather than simply a preview of what comes later.

Once the audience has had enough time to experience what your Story has to offer, you can introduce the paywall at a natural point and invite them to unlock the next part of the journey.

The three minute recommendation is a guideline rather than a requirement. Every Story has a different pace, so you should choose a paywall point that makes sense for your content while keeping the 30 second minimum in mind.

Setting Up a Paid Branching Story

Branching Stories give audiences more freedom to explore, so paywall placement can work differently across different paths.

For a branching Story, we recommend giving viewers at least one path that they can experience for approximately three minutes for free. This gives them enough time to understand the experience, make choices, and see how their decisions can shape the Story before deciding whether they want to unlock more.

Different paths can have different paywall points depending on how your Story is designed. You do not need to make every route identical. As long as paid content begins after the 30 second minimum, you can structure each path around the experience you want to create.

Choosing the Right Paywall Point

There is no single paywall position that works for every Moment or Story. Instead of treating the paywall as a fixed timestamp, think about it as part of the overall audience experience.

Your free content should give viewers enough time to understand what they are experiencing and become interested in continuing. Once that interest has been established, the paywall can become a natural invitation to unlock more.

For a Moment, that may happen relatively quickly because the audience already has a clear Character to connect with. For a Story, especially a longer or branching experience, viewers may need more time to explore before making that decision.

The goal is not simply to reach the paywall as quickly as possible. It is to give viewers a reason to want what comes after it.

Free Content Is Part of Your Monetization Strategy

Free content and paid content do not need to compete with each other. The free experience is what allows audiences to discover your work, connect with your Characters, and decide whether they want to continue.

A strong free section can make the paid experience more compelling because viewers already understand the value of what they are unlocking. This is why choosing the right paywall point matters just as much as choosing what content sits behind it.

As you publish more on Dreem, you can experiment with different approaches and learn what works best for your content and your audience.

Start Earning on Dreem

From there, the exact structure is up to you. Choose the format that fits your idea, give your audience a meaningful introduction to the experience, and place your paywall where continuing feels natural.

Whether you are creating a Moment around a Character your audience loves or building a Story they want to keep exploring, paid content gives you a way to turn that engagement into earnings on Dreem!

Cash Out Coming Soon

You can start creating paid content and earning on Dreem today. Cash out is coming soon. Any earnings you make in the meantime will remain in your Dreem account and will be available for cash out once the feature launches.