As TikTok continues to soar in popularity, you’ve probably been wondering if it’s worth the effort to get set up and potentially earn some money. Like with most social media, there is a lot of uncertainty around how much people earn on the app, but that shouldn’t dissuade you.
In fact, as more companies turn to the platform to market their products, there is more money to be made than ever before. So if you’re looking for ways to make money on TikTok, look no further. We’ve broken down the ten most popular (and profitable) ways to make money on TikTok.
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Is It Really Possible to Make Money on TikTok?
To find successful TikTokers, you don’t need to look far. While you may never reach Charli D’Amelio’s level of millions of dollars per year, many everyday creators earn several thousand a month through various means, including brand partnerships and promoting their own business.
To be successful on TikTok, you have to constantly work to create new content, grow your following, and engage with viewers regularly. It’s not easy, but if done right, you can leverage your channel to be your sole source of income.
10 Ways to Make Money on TikTok
1. TikTok Creator Fund
The TikTok Creator Fund is a relatively new feature where creators can monetize their videos directly through the app. As a monetary fund, it doesn’t require ad revenue to earn, but is a way for TikTok to reward creators that are creating unique content with high viewer engagement. .
It was initially launched with $200 million USD, but that is increasing to one billion USD over the next three years. Unfortunately, the payout possibilities are a bit vague, as TikTok hasn’t made public how they distribute funds and to whom. However, creators have reported that the general payout is between 2-4 cents per 1000 views.
It’s not much money, but if you’re eligible, there’s no downside to signing up, as any money earned is great. However, there are limitations to signing up including:
- You must live in the US, UK, France, Germany, Spain, or Italy
- You must be at least 18 years old
- You must have at least 10,000 followers
- Your videos must have at least 100,000 views in the last 30 days
2. Promote Sponsored Content
A tried and true way for TikTokers to earn money is through sponsored content. This involves promoting a specific product or service through your content, paid for by the company. They will usually give you the product to try for free and then rave about to your followers in a one-off post.
Sponsored content on TikTok is subject to specific considerations, including ensuring that it is clear to viewers that the content is sponsored. However, these can be lucrative deals of thousands of dollars for the right engagement.
3. Create and Sell Merchandise
As a prominent TikTok creator, you are your own brand. Because of this, you can create and sell merchandise promoting your brand to your most loyal fans. If you’re not sure what merchandise to sell, ask your followers! You can use catchphrases or designs that are unique to your channel that fans would love.
This could be t-shirts, hats, and other general merchandise, or something specific within your niche – such as branded wine glasses for a wine-focused channel or teaching materials for a teacher-focused channel. However, since you can’t sell directly through TikTok, you’ll need to redirect your customers to your personal website to complete the transactions.
With Pay.com, you can receive payments straight from your website. By keeping your business on your own website, you keep financial information secure and don’t have to worry about dishonest servicing fees from third-party sites. If you don’t have your own website, you can use direct Pay Links to accept payments for the merchandise.
4. Market Your Business
For some creators, TikTok is not the moneymaker itself. Instead, it acts as a way to engage with potential customers and drive traffic to their other business endeavors – like an ecommerce store, a blog, or a YouTube channel.
Unlike merchandising, where you create products specifically based on your TikTok brand, marketing through TikTok is most effective when you already have a business elsewhere.
If you have a YouTube channel, you can post short clips of your longer videos to draw viewers in. If you run an ecommerce store, you can use videos to promote and sell your products in a fun, engaging way. TikTok has become a prime marketing tool, especially for targeting 18-24-year-olds.
5. Become a Brand Ambassador
Similar to sponsored content, becoming a brand ambassador means promoting a specific brand through your videos. However, sponsored posts can be one-off deals, usually aimed at a single product, while being a brand ambassador is an ongoing relationship.
TikTok makes it easy for creators to find brand partnerships with its Creator Marketplace. This helps match specific creators with brands that fit their niche, acting as an intermediary between the influencer and the brand. It’s important to only work with brands that fit your niche and style, to maintain the authenticity that drew followers to you in the first place.
Once you develop a great brand partnership, you can use Pay.com to send direct Pay Links for the work you’ve done. You can then track all the transactions in the user-friendly Pay Dashboard.
Don’t wait till the last minute – click here to create your Pay.com account now!
6. Create Member-Exclusive Content
For creators that draw in a big audience – especially in informative or educational niches – creating exclusive content is a great money-making opportunity. Using a site like Patreon or creating a paid subscription through your own website, you can design membership tiers that offer a more in-depth look into your personal brand.
Depending on the type of content you create, this could be as simple as behind the scenes or outtakes, courses, or longer format content. This can be a great way to scale up your brand, as you can keep membership prices low (most start at between $1-3/month), while connecting with your followers on a deeper level.
While Patreon is an option for some, to avoid third party fees, you can set up membership options directly through a personal website, using Pay.com’s integrated checkout features.
7. Live Gifting
If you create a lot of live videos on your channel, an easy way for you to earn money is through Live Gifting. This is when viewers can send their appreciation to creators through live videos. It’s one of the most common ways for TikTok creators to earn money through the platform, but it’s only available for live streams.
To be eligible, you have to have at least 1,000 followers and be at least 18 years old. Viewers can give you “coins” – a type of virtual currency – that can then be redeemed for real money through the app, once enough coins have been earned. Unfortunately, TikTok caps your earning potential to between $2,000-$4,000/month.
8. Collect Tips
Another great way to earn money is through the collection of tips. Similar to Live Gifting, TikTok has an in-app tipping feature for certain, eligible creators. This isn’t limited to live videos, but can be added to any video you produce. There is more transparency here, as 100% of the tip goes to you, without TikTok taking any of the money.
If you’re not eligible for the TikTok tipping feature, you can add a link out to a third-party tipping site or your personal website in your bio (if you’re a verified user with more than 1000 followers). This can be great for smaller channels that haven’t reached the follower threshold yet, or for creators in countries where the tipping feature is unavailable.
9. Affiliate Marketing
Like sponsored content, affiliate marketing is when you promote a company’s products or services through your content. However, unlike sponsored posts, you don’t get paid for the content itself, but based on how many viewers make purchases from that company through your links.
This is a great way for new TikTokers to get started earning money, as it’s easy for companies to take a chance on your channel, since they only pay you for direct sales that you helped make.
It’s also great for you to promote brands and companies you truly like. Many companies offer affiliate programs, and many are willing to create specific ones for the right audience engagement.
10. Crowdfund Projects
While membership programs work great for ongoing content, it might not be right for all creators. If you are looking to fund a larger project, you can use TikTok to crowdfund the investments directly from your followers.
Crowdfunding could be for a film, a video game, a new product, or more. You can use your platform to speak about the benefits, target those most interested, and create fan benefits for donating (early access, thanks in the credits, etc).
Mistakes to Avoid on TikTok
- Overselling, which can actively disengage your audience and even cause you to lose followers – try to balance sponsored posts with regular content.
- Not finding a niche – general content doesn’t do as well for monetization purposes, so find a niche you love.
- Trying too hard or being inauthentic, which can turn followers away – instead, work to build a brand based on transparency and honesty.
- Not following trends or watching other content – this can make it hard to stay relevant on an ever-changing platform.
How Can You Receive Payments Online?
As a TikTok creator with multiple sources of income, it’s important to have a full service provider to process your transactions. Whether you’re selling content through a personal website, collecting payments from brands for sponsored content, or offering memberships to your loyal fans, Pay.com can help.
With a wide range of payment methods available for you to choose from, you can make it easy for your clients and followers to pay you however they prefer.
Pay Links are payment requests links that you can send directly to clients through SMS or email. Pay.com also offers ways to integrate checkout features directly into your website, for merchandise or membership sales.
Click here to get started with Pay.com now!
The Bottom Line
Getting started on TikTok is by no means a way to guarantee success, but there are tons of people making money every day through the platform. If you have a genuine interest in the app and are willing to put the time and effort into continually creating new content, it can be a great way to make money.
There are so many different ways to earn, both through the app itself and from brand partnerships and marketing deals. Having several income streams with TikTok is the best way to ensure you are earning a regular income and getting paid to promote your content.
Pay.com makes it easy to send payment requests to brands or set up a secure checkout page on your website, even if you don’t have any technical experience. Click here to get started now!
