Preparing Your Account for Monetization: Avoid Costly Mistakes

Account readiness is a key phase of the Monetization and Business series.

In the first blog, we explored why Facebook monetization is harder than ever: unclear criteria, AI competition, and the risk of total restriction. Today, we’re going to focus on preparing your account properly—because a single overlooked detail can destroy your eligibility or earnings.

Follow these steps carefully, and you’ll have a solid foundation to grow and monetize safely.

1. Set Your Location Before Monetization

Once your account is monetized, your region is locked. If you plan to move or change your account location, do it before applying. Failing to do so could make you ineligible later.

Action step: Check your Page settings and confirm your location is accurate.

2. Only One Page Admin? Think Again

If your only admin account gets hacked or restricted, your entire page goes down. Always have at least two trusted admins to protect your content.

3. Only One Payout Admin? Risky!

Similarly, don’t rely on a single person for payout access. Add a backup payout admin to ensure you don’t lose your earnings if something happens to one account.

4. Update Your Email

Old or inactive emails are a silent killer. If you lose access, you could lose everything linked to your account.

Pro tip: Use an email you check daily and keep it updated in Facebook settings.

5. Use Your Own Phone Number

Your phone number is your recovery and verification tool. Using someone else’s number risks account recovery issues and potential security breaches.

6. Enable Two-Factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication is basic digital armor. Skip it, and your account is one click away from disaster.

7. Clean Your Profile Before Switching to Professional Mode

Old posts may meet content standards but not monetization standards. Clean your profile of questionable content before turning on Professional Mode.

Tip: Remove posts with adult content, spam links, or offensive language.

8. Avoid Being Admin of Random Groups

If your monetized profile is an admin of unrelated groups, it can trigger violations. Keep your monetized account clean and focused.

9. Revoke Unknown App Access

Apps you don’t recognize can steal data or violate Facebook rules, risking your monetization eligibility. Regularly review and remove them.

10. Choose the Correct Page Category

Facebook uses your page category to understand your content. Pick the wrong one, and your reach or eligibility could be affected.

11. Clean Your Messenger and Comments

Spam, adult chats, or shady links in Messenger can count as violations.

Angry replies or insults in comments can also hurt monetization.

Action step: Delete inappropriate messages and respond calmly to comments.

12. Don’t Let Unpaid Ad Balances Hurt You

Running ads with errors or unpaid balances can damage your credibility. Fix any outstanding bills before monetization.

Structural decisions are discussed in Facebook Page vs Profile.

13. Protect Your Timeline

Turn off open tagging to prevent unwanted posts.

Avoid Facebook games or third-party gaming apps—they can reduce content quality and trigger flags.

The Bottom Line

Preparing your account is non-negotiable. Even a single overlooked detail—from admin access to clean messaging—can block your monetization. Follow these steps carefully:

1. Set location, update emails & phone numbers.

2. Add backup admins for pages and payouts.

3. Clean your profile, Messenger, and comment history.

4. Review apps, page category, and online activity.

5. Protect your account with two-factor authentication.

By doing this groundwork, you’re reducing risk and setting your account up for smooth monetization, so you can focus on creating content without unnecessary setbacks.

Next in this series: Blog 3: Managing Monetized Profiles Safely and Strategically, where we’ll cover advanced account strategies to protect your earnings and keep your profile in good standing.

This article is part of Photographer’s Corner, a growing collection of essays on photography mindset, growth, storytelling, engagement, and sustainable creative business.