Celebrities can finally stop giving it away for free — their Twitter feeds, that is.
When celebs such as Kim Kardashian show up at a fashion show, nightclub opening or corporate event, they are paid a huge fee so publicists can add their name to press releases and the paparazzi can photograph them in attendance.
Lindsay Lohan was reportedly paid a cool $70,000 to attend her own birthday party at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this summer.
But when Lohan tweets to her 150,000 followers on Twitter, she doesn’t see a dime. Kardashian has more than 2.5 million followers, yet hasn’t seen the slightest bit of financial remuneration for tweets about Halloween costumes or her exercise routine.
Enter Ad.ly, a new advertising scheme that sells Kim’s Twitter followers to the highest bidder.
Launched recently by 23-year-old entrepreneur Sean Rad, the service has already managed to sign up the likes of Nicole Richie, Samantha Ronson (who is donating her fee to charity) and Dr. Drew of “Celebrity Rehab.”
“This is the future of advertising,” says Rad.
“The most effective ads are the ones promoted by a celebrity or personality. It’s like getting a thumbs-up from someone you respect and follow.”
Ads from Ad.ly are clearly marked on the celebrity’s Twitter feed, and the celeb (or whoever is tweeting for them) has to approve each ad before it goes out.
“It’s the equivalent of a celebrity appearance, but without the contractual headaches,” he says.
Celebs can make upward of four figures for each ad that goes out, with Rad’s company taking a percentage. Twitter itself gets no money, a characteristic of the company that has raised questions about its potential for profitability.
Twitter did not respond to e-mail requests for a comment on Ad.ly.
One celeb new to Twitter is Tracy Morgan of “30 Rock.”
Morgan signed up last month after a successful viral campaign by the Web site omgicu.com.
“The most effective marketing campaign is also a grass-roots movement,” says Hugh Dornbush, omgicu.com’s president.
“It’s a valuable thing for a celebrity to have a Twitter feed, but I’ve always shied away from sending out messages that are just ads. To me, it’s obnoxious. It will be interesting to see how much people on Twitter stomach that kind of communication.”
Rad says that with Ad.ly tweets sent out to 6 million people, he has yet to receive a single complaint. He also points out that you don’t have to be a celebrity to sign up to host ads, and users with just a few hundred followers can make money through the site.
So don’t be disheartened by Lohan’s $70,000 payday. You may yet get paid to make your own celebrity appearances — if only through your Twitter feed.
jsilverman@nypost.com