TikTok, the massively popular social media platform known for its short-form, engaging videos, has evolved into a lucrative avenue for individuals and businesses to generate income. With its vast and diverse user base, TikTok provides a range of opportunities to monetize your presence on the platform. Below, we will tell you about the top 15 strategies for making money on TikTok:
1. Run TikTok Ads
TikTok boasts a robust advertising platform that allows you to connect with millions of users. This platform offers various ad formats, including:
- In-feed video: These ads appear on users’ “For You” pages, targeting individuals based on your specified parameters.
- Brand takeover: Your ad occupies the entire screen for a few seconds before transitioning into an in-feed video.
- Hashtag challenges: Encourage user-generated content by creating enticing challenges that appear in TikTok’s Discovery section. Note that this option is usually accessible to managed brands working with TikTok sales representatives.
TikTok’s ad formats provide ample room for personalization, enabling you to tailor your campaigns to suit your brand and target audience.
2. Collect Tips or Donations
TikTok has introduced a tipping feature that allows select creators to earn money directly from their fans. This feature enables viewers to send virtual gifts and coins as tokens of appreciation. Creators can later convert these gifts into TikTok’s digital currency, Diamonds, which can then be exchanged for real cash.
Additionally, TikTok creators can link their accounts to external platforms like Tipeee, Ko-fi, or Buy Me a Coffee, functioning as a tip jar for their content.
3. Collaborate with a Creator
Collaborating with popular TikTok creators can significantly enhance your brand’s reach and engagement. This approach aligns with the latest Sprout Social Index™, which reveals that 33% of Gen Z and 28% of Millennials value brand/creator content collaborations.
The key is to partner with creators whose content and audience align with your brand. Creator-made content typically results in 83% higher engagement rates. TikTok’s Creator Marketplace facilitates this collaboration, allowing you to connect with content creators on the platform. Here, you can select creators based on your business objectives, budget, and industry, accessing comprehensive performance and audience metrics for data-driven decision-making.
4. Try Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing programs enable creators and businesses to promote products or services from other companies in exchange for commissions. To succeed in affiliate marketing on TikTok:
- Focus on promoting products that resonate with your target audience.
- Create engaging videos that highlight affiliate products and explain why you recommend them.
- Encourage followers to make purchases through your provided affiliate links or codes.
While TikTok doesn’t permit clickable links within video descriptions for personal accounts, you can instruct followers to manually enter links or codes. Alternatively, you can utilize platforms like Beacons to create webpages containing affiliate links and product details. If you have a TikTok Business account, you can add a link to your bio.
If you’re an in-house marketer, consider establishing an affiliate marketing program with clear guidelines and instructions. Invite TikTok users whose content aligns with your brand and target audience to participate, and implement a tracking system to monitor affiliate performance and commission payments.
5. Grow and Sell TikTok Accounts
Organic growth on TikTok can be a time-consuming process, taking months or more. However, you can expedite this growth by purchasing an established TikTok account with an existing follower base.
To succeed in selling TikTok accounts, creators should focus on niche topics that align with the interests of potential buyers. This ensures that the buyer can maintain engagement by continuing to post similar content.
Brands interested in buying TikTok accounts should exercise due diligence. An account with a high follower count but low engagement might not yield the desired return on investment. Furthermore, ensure that the account caters to your target audience and aligns with your brand’s objectives.
6. Publish Sponsored Posts
Brands can sponsor posts directly on creators’ TikTok profiles, allowing them to organically promote products or services. This approach is similar to creator collaborations but involves compensation for promoting the brand’s offerings. Sponsor individual posts or create a series, and if a post gains traction, consider boosting it to expand its reach even further.
7. Create a Patreon Account
Patreon is a platform that allows creators to generate revenue from fans through memberships, granting exclusive access to content. Promote your Patreon account on TikTok and offer reasonable subscription costs to attract subscribers. Consider rewarding new subscribers with perks like merchandise or exclusive content access.
8. Sell Products and Merchandise
Capitalize on the enduring strategy of selling merchandise. Transform original artwork, quotes, or your brand’s logo into merchandisable items and promote them effectively on TikTok. Showcase your products in tutorials or alongside trending content to capture your audience’s attention.
If you have a personal TikTok account, consider creating an e-commerce website to process sales transactions, and promote it through your TikTok content. Embed your store’s link in your videos and encourage your followers to explore your products. If you operate a TikTok Business account, you can seamlessly connect platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, Square Online, or Ecwid to your account.
9. Set Up a TikTok Shop
TikTok has partnered with Shopify to introduce the TikTok Shopping feature. Brands and creators can become official TikTok merchants, enabling them to sell products directly within the app. Through TikTok Shops, you can display your products in in-feed videos, live streams, and dedicated product showcase tabs. To become a TikTok seller, you can sign up via the TikTok Seller Center (available in select regions), which provides tools for managing inventory, orders, creator partnerships, promotions, and more.
10. Join the TikTok Creator Fund
Users with a creator account on TikTok can monetize their profiles through the TikTok Creator Fund. To qualify and start earning from the platform, creators must meet specific prerequisites. The Creator Fund compensates members based on the level of engagement their content receives.
11. Offer Exclusive Content on TikTok
TikTok introduced a new monetization feature in June 2023 called TikTok Series. This feature enables creators to offer exclusive content accessible only to subscribers who pay for it. To gain access to TikTok Series, creators must meet certain criteria, including: – Being at least 18 years old. – Having an account that is at least 30 days old. – Maintaining a follower count of at least 10,000. – Posting a minimum of three public videos in the last 30 days. – Accumulating at least 1,000 views in the last 30 days.
Creators with fewer than 10,000 followers may still be eligible if they can demonstrate successful premium content sales on other platforms. TikTok Series allows creators to create up to 80 videos, each with a maximum duration of 20 minutes. Creators can set prices for their TikTok Series, ranging from $0.99 to $189.99, providing valuable educational content to their audience for a one-time fee.
12. Provide Virtual Gifts
Another monetization feature on TikTok is the option for viewers to send virtual gifts to creators. These gifts are expressions of appreciation from viewers and can be converted into real money. Creators can enable the virtual gift option, which adds a small gift box icon next to the comment box. Users interested in sending a gift can tap on it to access a selection of coin packages for purchase.
The available coin packages for viewers to buy include various increments, ranging from 20 coins for $0.29 to 16,500 coins for $249.99. These coins can then be used to purchase and send virtual gifts to their favorite creators. Creators can turn on virtual gifts to offer this option to their viewers.
13. Host Live Events or Workshops
TikTok Live presents another promising avenue for income generation. In addition to virtual video gifts, users can send live gifts to creators during their live streams. During a live stream, a gift box icon appears at the bottom of the video, allowing viewers to tap it and purchase different virtual gifts. These gifts have a wide range of costs, with some priced at a single coin and others going up to tens of thousands of coins.
Numerous TikTok creators have shared success stories of making money through live streaming. Some creators earn between $20 and $300 each time they go live, while others have generated substantial income, such as $34,000 in a single month, solely from live streaming. To succeed in this area, it’s essential to ensure that your live videos are entertaining and valuable, encouraging viewers to tune in regularly and send virtual gifts.
14. Offer Personalized Shoutouts
If you have a substantial TikTok following, other TikTokers looking to grow their accounts may be willing to pay for personalized shoutouts from you. You can set a price point for shoutouts, and it might require some trial and error to find the right price. You can deliver these shoutouts during live videos or traditional feed videos. Offering multiple price points, with feed videos costing more, allows users to choose where they’d like to be shouted out.
15. Sell Digital Products
Finally, consider selling digital products on TikTok. You can create a shop within TikTok and link to your digital products from there, simplifying the sales process. Promote your digital products within your videos, and include your shop’s URL in your profile to make it easily accessible to users.
FAQs:
How many followers do you need on TikTok to make money?
The number of followers required for monetization on TikTok varies depending on the specific monetization feature. For instance, to join the TikTok Creator Fund, you must have a minimum of 10,000 followers. However, for receiving tips and gifts during live streams, you need at least 1,000 followers, and some features may require 100,000 followers or more.
How many views do you need on TikTok to make money?
To be eligible for the TikTok Creator Fund, your videos must accumulate a minimum of 100,000 views within a 30-day period. However, for most other monetization strategies, there is no specific requirement for the number of views.
How do you get paid on TikTok?
TikTok payments are processed through the Creator Fund Dashboard. Once you meet the criteria, you should see your earnings within approximately three days after your videos receive views. To access your Creator Fund Dashboard, navigate to your profile, click on the settings (denoted by “…”), go to “Creator tools,” and select “TikTok Creator Fund.” Once you have accrued at least $10, you can withdraw your earnings after a 30-day waiting period. Payment methods usually include options such as PayPal or Zelle.
These strategies offer diverse opportunities to monetize your TikTok presence, catering to various interests and follower levels. By exploring these avenues, you can transform your TikTok content into a valuable source of income.