Did you know that 37% of TikTokers in the US earn over $100,000 a year? It’s no wonder that brands and people alike open new TikTok accounts daily, hoping to reach new audiences and find business opportunities.
In other words, TikTok is no longer just a fun little platform for short-form content consumed by younger generations. Now, it can also be a serious source of income as long as you know how to make the most of it. And if you don’t, don’t worry — our seven suggestions are sure to help!
Get Paid Through TikTok’s Creator Fund
In 2020, TikTok launched its Creator Fund, a partnership program allowing creators to make money directly on the platform. Signing up is pretty easy through the app, and once you pass the verification, you can earn two to four cents per 1,000 views. That may not seem like much, but keep in mind that you can make hundreds of dollars from a single video if it goes viral. Plus, it’s passive income!
Unfortunately, not all TikTok creators are eligible to join the Creator Fund. In fact, if you want to get paid, you need to meet the following criteria:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Have an account with at least 10,000 followers
- Reside in the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, or Spain
- Have 100,000 views in the last 30 days
- Adhere to Community Guidelines
If you don’t pass the verification, you can try again once you grow and upgrade your account. But if you can’t join the Creator Fund due to your place of residence, you will have to try earning money in a different way.
Collect Virtual Gifts in Live Streams
Going live on your TikTok is an excellent way to interact and build a stronger connection with your audience. But did you know that it can also be a source of income? TikTok has introduced a feature that allows viewers to send you virtual gifts, which you can redeem for actual money!
It’s pretty straightforward — you go live, your followers join the stream, and then they start sending you gifts. After the live stream ends, these gifts will convert into a TikTok currency called Diamonds. Each Diamond is worth around five cents, and you can cash them in if you have a connected PayPal or bank account.
But before you can receive virtual gifts from your followers, you need to manually activate this feature. To do that, you have to:
- Be at least 18 years old (or more in countries where the age of majority is different)
- Have 1,000 followers
- Have reached 1,000 views on a single video in the last 30 days
- Be a member of TikTok’s Creator Next program
Unfortunately, the Creator Next program is still unavailable worldwide. So, many content creators across the globe can’t make use of the virtual gifting feature yet.
Make the Most of Your Live Stream
If you reside in one of the eligible countries and want to earn money using virtual gifts, you need to make the most of every live stream. You may think it’s enough to just turn on the camera, but that’s usually not the case unless you’re a hugely popular TikToker. Smaller accounts have to take a few steps to ensure their stream is successful.
For instance, remember to:
- Check when your followers are active in the Analytics tab. That way, you can start a live stream at the perfect time to draw in a large audience.
- Post during the live stream. The users who see your post will also have an easier time finding your broadcast link.
- Don’t cut your lives too short. The longer you stream, the more followers will find and join your broadcast.
- Thank your viewers for the gifts. They are spending their hard-earned money on you, so make sure to show your appreciation. Plus, that’s certain to earn you some bonus points!
- Use hashtags. TikTokers usually search for the content they want to watch using hashtags, so they might stumble upon your live stream if you tag it properly.
If you follow these tips, you’ll surely draw in more viewers and receive more gifts than you usually might!
Sell Merchandise and Other Products
Regardless of the platform, one of the most common ways influencers make money is by selling merchandise or other products they’ve created. And it’s no different for TikTok content creators. If you’ve grown a substantial following, you can start creating and promoting your own merchandise.
Merch can be anything — T-shirts, keychains, phone cases, mugs, or whatever else you come up with. What matters is that it’s somehow related to you and your brand so that your followers can show off their love for you. For instance, if you have a logo or a catchphrase, consider incorporating that into your merch.
On the other hand, you don’t have to promote and sell products that are somehow related to your online persona. If you like to make jewelry, you can use your TikTok account to feature the pieces to your followers, even if it has nothing to do with your content. Any products or services might work as long as you make them appealing to your audience.
And the best part is that you don’t need your website or online shop to sell products to your audience. In 2021, TikTok launched TikTok Shop, an e-commerce platform that allows merchants to sell their goods directly through the app. That makes the whole purchasing process far easier for both sides, so it’s certainly worth a try!
The only issue is that TikTok Shop is still only available in the UK, the US, and seven regions of Asia. Until the feature goes live in other countries, everyone else will have to send their customers to other websites for checkout.
Partner Up With Brands That Suit Your Style
Affiliate marketing is also an excellent way to earn some extra cash while promoting a brand or product you really like. It’s all quite simple — you partner up with a company, endorse its products and provide links and promo codes in your content, and then receive commission when your followers make a purchase. Both parties benefit from the partnership, and everyone is happy!
Again, this method of earning money isn’t new on social media, and you’ve likely seen countless YouTubers and Instagram influencers use it. The difference is just that TikTok has made it much easier for brands and creators to connect through its Creator Marketplace.
Both brands and influencers can sign up for Creator Marketplace and quickly find suitable partners. Through the platform, companies can see which creators are interested in affiliate marketing, as well as preview their content to determine if it fits their image.
In other words, they don’t need to scroll through hundreds of accounts only to send the offer to someone who doesn’t want a partnership. Everyone on Creator Marketplace is there with the same goal.
However, not every TikTok account can join the Creator Marketplace. You are eligible only if you:
- Have over 100,000 followers
- Are 18 years old
- Have posted three videos in the last 28 days
- Have over 100,000 likes on your posts in the last 28 days
Once you join and get messages from brands, make sure to pick those that fit your overall image. That way, you won’t have trouble endorsing their products, and your audience won’t feel you’re being disingenuous, either.
Post Exclusive Content on Patreon
For years, Patreon has been the go-to platform for content creators wishing to earn extra cash. The platform uses a paid membership model, allowing you to charge your followers a small monthly subscription fee to gain access to exclusive content.
Once you grow a loyal base of supporters on TikTok, open a Patreon account and start making additional content. That can be anything you want, but make sure it’s worth the extra few dollars your followers are going to spend. When you finish uploading the content, promote it on TikTok to get the viewers to subscribe.
Of course, you can’t just make a few Patreon-exclusive videos and then abandon the account altogether. Your subscribers will expect to receive regular content — why stay subscribed otherwise? So, while TikTok may remain your main platform for content creation and interaction with fans, you’ll have to put some additional effort into your Patreon too.
What’s more, the key to a successful Patreon is keeping the prices low and growing your fanbase steadily. If you charge a dollar or two for access to exclusive content, most loyal followers will gladly pay to support you. Then, as your TikTok follower count grows, your Patreon will see growth, too, turning those few dollars into possible hundreds.
On the other hand, if you set the prices too high, some of your followers might be unwilling to subscribe. And those that do will expect consistently high-quality content, which you might not be able to provide.
Grow and Sell TikTok Accounts
If you have a knack for growing TikTok accounts but don’t want to be an influencer, you could use your talents to give brands and creators a little boost. Platforms such as Fameswap offer the opportunity to sell already established TikTok accounts to those who find it too difficult to grow them organically.
It’s hard to tell precisely how much money you can make by selling a TikTok account. For the most part, it depends on your follower count. The higher it is, the more you can charge for it. For instance, an account with 10,000 followers will get you around $100. But if you manage to build an audience of over a million people, you can sell it for $30,000 or more!
If you want to try your hand at selling TikTok accounts, make sure that each covers a different niche. That way, you can cast a wide net and see what types of accounts are particularly sought after. What’s more, you’ll likely get offers from brands and would-be influencers even in the less popular niches. And that means more cash for you!
Use In-Feed TikTok Ads
Although TikTok provides many options to grow your following and, in turn, earn money organically, you might still want to give your account an additional boost. In such a case, TikTok Promote can be of great help.
When you sign up for TikTok Promote, you can turn your videos into in-feed ads that show up on other people’s For You page. The marketing campaign is highly customizable, allowing you to choose the specific video you want to promote, determine the audience you want to reach, and decide on the budget.
Once you’re done selecting, your video will make runs on TikTok, reaching and bringing in new audiences. That will help you achieve your goal, whether it’s growing your following, driving traffic to your e-commerce store, or getting more views.
Naturally, you’ll need to spend money for this type of campaign to work. But some investments are necessary if you want to see profit, and TikTok Promote is an excellent step towards it.
Create Content for Living
As is the case with most social media platforms, making money on TikTok requires creativity and dedication, especially in the early stages before your account takes off. Stay persistent until you see results, and don’t expect to achieve success overnight.
Luckily, as difficult as becoming a TikTok influencer can be, the platform itself is working hard to help its creators. As you have seen, it offers many in-app features for growing audiences and making money through partnerships, e-commerce, and Creator Fund. And as TikTok’s popularity and power increase, who knows what else we might expect?
Either way, when in doubt, look at all the creators whose primary source of income is TikTok. If they can do it, why couldn’t you?
