From funny animal videos and viral dances to creative visual tricks and mimes to popular songs, there’s something for everyone on TikTok.
Like YouTube and Instagram, TikTok is being used by people to generate an income and build a career as an influencer. But where do you begin?
Read our detailed guide on how to get paid on TikTok, including how to get more video views and how to make money from sponsored posts.
How to make money on TikTok
TikTok has grown rapidly in recent years. It has approximately 17 million monthly active users in the UK, rising from around six million in 2020. Meanwhile, the TikTok app has an estimated 1.5 billion global users.
So, how can you make money from TikTok and its fast growing
audience?
Wondering how to make money on TikTok? You’re not alone. Just about everyone born before 2004 is asking the same question
TikTokers with over
100,000 followers tended to make $200 to $1,000 per month through TikTok’s Creator Fund, while
those with over a million followers earn $1,000 to $5,000 (or more) per
month. And a select few
individuals make upwards of $100,000 to $250,000 per single
post when working
with big-name brands (yes, you read that correctly—a single post).
However, since the
introduction of TikTok’s new Creativity Program Beta in early 2023, creators
have found the new program to be more lucrative, and TikTok says creators can
make up to 10x more. That’s mostly because the new program incentivizes
creators to create videos longer than one minute.
How do people make
money on TikTok? Well, through a few ways—we’re going to cover 14 of them.
Many of these tactics
can be executed by a business, but others require you to make TikTok your
business. For example, any brand can use TikTok ads to drive traffic to their
ecommerce store, but you’ll need to invest more dedicated TikTok time into
making money through TikTok’s Creativity Program Beta or by becoming a brand
ambassador.
You either have a
business you promote through TikTok—or you are the TikTok business.
Without further ado,
let’s look at how to make money on TikTok in 2024.
How to Make Money on
TikTok in 2024
Many of these tactics
can be executed by a business, but others require you to make TikTok your
business. For example, any brand can use TikTok ads to drive traffic to their
ecommerce store, but you’ll need to invest more dedicated TikTok time into
making money through TikTok’s Creator Fund or by becoming a brand ambassador.
You either have a
business you promote through TikTok—or you are the TikTok
business.
Without further ado,
let’s look at how to make money on TikTok in 2024.
Don’t Skip: How
to Get More Views on TikTok with Expert Talia Datt
1. Sell Products
Through TikTok Shopping
TikTok introduced
TikTok Shopping in 2021 to empower businesses to sell products directly on the
platform—no more sending followers elsewhere to buy your goods. TikTok Shopping
adds a shopping tab to your profile, letting users see products from your
Shopify catalogs. You can also tag your products in organic content you publish
to send viewers over to your store.
Don’t be shy. Mention
your products to your audience. Try not to go overboard and be over
promotional, but also remember to give your TikTok store a shoutout every now
and then.
2. Drive Sales with
TikTok Ads
Use TikTok ads to
drive traffic back to your website, ecommerce store, or even your TikTok
Shopping tab. You could run in-feed image ads promoting your products or get
creative with TopView ads (fullscreen takeovers) to boost your TikTok
following—both can help you make money on the platform.
You can also use
TikTok as a top-of-funnel resource to get users to sign up to your email list
or SMS campaigns. This technique can help keep your TikTok account appear less
salesy while still being an influential revenue driver.
Want to learn more
about TikTok ads? Watch our
free masterclass to get up and running on the platform.
3. Participate in
Affiliate Programs
You don’t need your
own products and services to make money on TikTok. Instead, use affiliate
marketing to link out to other goods and make a percentage of every sale when a
user clicks through and makes a purchase. Here’s how:
· Place an affiliate link in your profile—then
direct traffic from your organic views to click the link.
· Redirect traffic to your Facebook, Twitter, or
Pinterest account where you can more generously place affiliate links.
· Paste coupons codes and URLs in your video
descriptions. Users will have to copy/paste the link into their browser.
Read more: The Ultimate Guide to Affiliate
Marketing for Beginners
4. Promote Songs
Get paid to add songs
to your videos. Nearly every video on TikTok has an accompanying background
song for creators to lip-sync and dance to—and artists recognize this value. If
you have a large enough following and engagement, musicians will pay to have you
promote their music in your songs.
They know if your
video goes viral, their song goes viral—and that means more downloads, concert
tickets, and merch.
If you’re a musician
(or aspiring musician), you can use TikTok to promote your own music. TikTok is
a place to sing and dance, so it only makes sense to publish your own beats on
the platform.
5. Join TikTok’s
Creativity Program Beta
The TikTok
Creativity Program Beta (formerly known as the Creator Fund) is
TikTok’s program that pays users for creating engaging content. The more
engagement your videos get, the more TikTok pays you. TikTok wants users to
stick around (to make advertising money), and they’ll pay creators who help in
that mission.
You need at least 100K
video views in the last 30 days to join the Creativity Program Beta. It’s still
a relatively new idea for TikTok, so expect to see the program evolve and
change over the coming months and years. TikTok says that the “Creativity
Program Beta gives you the potential to earn up to 20 times the amount
previously offered by the Creator Fund.”
6. Publish Sponsored
Posts
Brands will pay you to
feature their products and services—this is called sponsored content. You don’t
need to be a monolithic influencer to get in on the action. Smaller brands will
still pay good money to work with microinfluencers who have a robust and
engaged community—even if it’s not very big (yet).
You can approach
brands proactively or wait for them to reach out to you. If you have over
100,000 followers and 100,000 video likes in the last 28 days, you can apply to
join the TikTok Creator Marketplace, a platform that connects high-paying
brands with influential creators.
7. Become a Brand
Ambassador
Brand ambassadors
function similarly to sponsored content, but they help in more of a long-term
capacity rather than a one-off post. As a brand ambassador, you’ll likely
receive compensation and free product in exchange for a fixed number of videos
every week or month. The better your content performs, the sweeter your brand
ambassador deal becomes.
Look for brands you
love. Ideally, you can find a brand that helps you expand your network, receive
gear (you actually like), make money, and have fun. Most businesses have
exclusive ambassador application pages on their website, so poke around your
favorite brands to see if they have any enticing programs.
8. Start a Patreon
Offer free content
through your TikTok account, but entice your followers to support you on
Patreon to unlock premium content. This might be:
· Behind-the-scenes peeks
· Exclusive content
· SWAG
· Personal time with you
· Live chats and hangouts
· Community access
· Public shoutouts
Get creative. When you
build a loyal following, they’ll want everything you can get. However, just
ensure you put in the time to make your Patreon content valuable and
worthwhile—you don’t want anyone to regret their purchase after signing up.
9. Find New Clients
TikTok can be an
excellent platform to build your freelancing or consulting business.
Publish engaging content to build your audience, and then promote your
services. A follower might need your help, or word of mouth might lead you to
another client.
If you build websites
for a living, feature some of your projects on TikTok. If you’re an email
marketing consultant, publish some of the cool campaigns you’ve created.
With enough
creativity, you can make any business (from plumbing to accounting to software)
exciting on TikTok. You just need to let your personality loose and have some
fun—that’s what TikTok is all about.
10. Build and Sell
TikTok Accounts
Have a knack for
building audiences quickly? Do it for a living.
There are plenty of
creators and businesses who’d love a headstart on TikTok. If you can
rapidly build TikTok followings, you’ll have a list of
potential buyers.
Think about potential
industries that might want to purchase a lucrative TikTok account. You might
struggle to sell an account focused on cat GIFs (or maybe not)—however, an
unboxing profile or account focused on cars would likely sell much faster.
Steer away from making
any of these accounts personal. You don’t want followers becoming attached to
your face or name. Instead, focus your content on the subject material. This
can sometimes make it challenging to grow an account, but that doesn’t stop
people like 23-year-old Ramy Halloun from making
$120,000 executing the same technique on Instagram.
11. Work with
Influencers and Fellow Creators
You don’t need a
massive following to make money on TikTok—you can just leverage the creative
minds who’ve done the hard work of building loyal audiences. Partner with
influencers to promote your TikTok account or sponsor your products.
A simple shoutout from
the right person could make or break your business. Remember when Elon Musk
skyrocketed Dogecoin’s value by 600% in a single week? That’s an
example of accidental influencer marketing.
Imagine if you did it
on purpose.
12. Receive Donations Through
Live Gifting
When you live stream
on TikTok, your followers can send you coin donations (which can be traded for
cash). Create amazing live streams, attract a big audience, and watch the coins
start pouring in.
However, be aware that
actively soliciting gifts is a big no-no per TikTok’s community
guidelines. The exchange needs to be natural and organic.
You need 1,000+
followers (and must be at least 16) to go live on TikTok, and you need to be 18
or older to earn gift points.
13. Raise Money
Through Crowdfunding
People love to
participate in crowdfunding campaigns—whether that’s financially backing your
project on Kickstarter or supporting a cause on GoFundMe. Crowdfunding is
projected to grow to $43.48 billion worldwide by 2028
And the success rate
isn’t bad, either. The average success rate of crowdfunding campaigns is
a whopping 22.4%, which isn’t bad when you consider that
just 10% of startups succeed.
We recommend (when
possible) launching a crowdfunding campaign related to your TikTok account’s
content. It’s strange when a horse-loving profile tries to raise money for a
revolutionary new board game on Kickstarter. However, just about any brand can
raise money for those in need. For example, nobody will fault your brand for
trying to raise funds for an orphanage, even if your account is focused on
country music lip-syncing.
14. Collect Tips
If you don’t have
projects or products in mind, consider asking for tips. It’s an excellent way
for your audience to support your account and keep the content flowing.
Collecting tips on
TikTok is similar to opening up your guitar case while you perform on the side
of the street—or how Wikipedia asks you to donate every time you visit the
website.
A few tipping
platforms make the process quick and easy:
· Venmo: Just use someone’s Venmo link, username, or QR code to visit
their profile and make a donation.
· Buy Me a Coffee: Buy Me a Coffee is a simple, fun way for
your audience to say thanks. You can use the platform for one-time donations or
ongoing memberships.
· Tipeee: Tipeee wins for being the most user-friendly and also offers a
fair amount of features. You can create a page to showcase your profile, update
tippers, display rewards, and let the community engage.
·
15. Consult for a
Brand
In 2024, more and more brands are investing in
TikTok as the next great social channel to market their products and campaigns.
Why not spend their budget with you?
If you set yourself as a TikTok expert, you
can consult businesses on everything from how to create content that will go
viral to which types of influencers to partner with.
Growth and reach are going to be the primary
outcomes for consulting clients dipping their toes in
the TikTok world. Be their guide, so they don’t make silly mistakes and speak
the right language for the platform’s audience.
16. Invest in TikTok
Spark Ads
TikTok Spark Ads are a native ad format that allows
advertisers to use organic TikTok posts for advertising. You can use your own
posts or others’ posts (with their authorization) for these ads. The
interactions gained during the promotion are credited to the original organic
posts, which can enhance brand image and engagement rates.
Users can interact with Spark Ads by clicking
on CTA buttons, ad captions, profile photos, nicknames, and more, driving them
to various landing pages or profiles, which can potentially lead to
monetization through increased visibility, followers, and engagement.
TikTok Money-Making
FAQs
We’ve seen quite a few questions floating
around our community and the internet about making money on TikTok. Below,
we’ll cover a few you likely have.
How many followers do
you need to have on TikTok to make money?
Technically, zero. You could have absolutely
no followers and still drive traffic to your ecommerce store through influencer
marketing and TikTok ads. However, if you want to be paid directly by TikTok
through their Creativity Program Beta, you need at least 10,000 followers and
100,000 video views in the last 30 days.
How many views do you
need on TikTok to make money?
Another good question. Again, you don't need
any to make money on the platform, but you do need a specified number of views
to participate in some of TikTok's programs and access unique features. For
example, you need at least 100,000 video views in the last 30 days to join
Creativity Program Beta.
How are TikTok Creator
Program earnings calculated?
TikTok says in its guidelines that there are
no hard and fast rules for calculating the funds you earn through their
Creativity Program. Instead, they hint at the importance of the number of
views, their authenticity, and the level of engagement of the content. That
means your content needs to stop a viewer's scroll and motivate them to want to
like or share the video.
Grow Your Business with TikTok Ads
Right now, TikTok is growing brands and
businesses faster than anything else we’ve seen. But it’s not too late to jump
on the bandwagon. Cut through the noise and competition with TikTok
ads. Not familiar? Don’t worry we have a free masterclass to get you up
and running.
Gerardo Perez founder of “Marketing&” a
TikTok digital agency, will show you how to create your first high-converting
ad from start to finish, even if you’re a total beginner. Plus, you’ll see why
reposting winning Facebook & Instagram ads on TikTok doesn’t work and what
Gerardo recommends you should do instead.
The sky is the limit.
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