TikTok is no longer “just another app” for kids to make dancing videos like how it started out and there are now tons of ways to make money on TikTok and monetize from the social media platform! Over time, the short form video app has charged its way to the forefront of serious marketing conversations. The fact that some TikTok users see viral success literally overnight has caught the attention of brands and Influencers alike.
At Sidewalker Daily, we work with brands on Influencer campaigns and we work with Influencers and Creators to set up sustainable businesses and monetize their content. More and more we get asked questions about how to make money on TikTok and how the social platform can be leveraged by brands and businesses to drive sales. In this article, we’ll go over some of the major ways you can make money on TikTok to get you started!
6 Ways To Make Money On TikTok
If you’re an Influencer or content Creator, learning the ins and outs of all these social media platforms is a lot of work! But prioritizing how you can make money from your content is the name of the game. That’s why we’ve put together this article to address some things you need to know about TikTok to set yourself up for success. While there are so many ways to monetize your TikTok account, we are covering some of the major ways to make money on TikTok to help you get started!
1) How To Make Money With The Creator Fund
One of the most exciting social media updates for Influencers was the introduction of TikTok’s Creator Fund. We at Sidewalker Daily had our suspicions that TikTok would come up with a way for users to monetize their accounts sooner rather than later…and we were right! Following a massive influx of new users (like 115 million, if you were wondering), TikTok announced that they would be starting the Creator Fund.
This initiative was amazing news for Influencers and content Creators hoping to make money on TikTok. If that’s something you’re interested in, then you’re going to want to learn how to make money on TikTok’s Creator Fund and see if it’s a good fit for you.
And if you were wondering whether you do have to be verified to make money on TikTok, the answer is no. Verification doesn’t matter for the Creator Fund. Much like YouTube ad monetization, Creators wanting to join the TikTok Creator Fund must meet certain qualifications in order to access the platform’s monetization tools. These qualifications will likely change from time to time so check TikTok’s official requirements if you’re interested to get started. While some of the requirements have to do with follower count and view count, don’t be bummed if you don’t meet them yet.
Narrowing down your niche and fine tuning your hashtag strategy are all steps you can take to grow on TikTok. Do your research on what type of videos go viral (or at least do really well) on TikTok and push yourself creatively. You got this!
We should note however, that the Creator Fund is not necessarily the “get rich quick” situation it sometimes appears to be. While there is currently no fixed number of Creators that TikTok will let into the Fund, the amount of money that the Fund holds changes literally by the day.
So what does that mean for you? It just means that there is no direct formula that says you will make X amount of money for X amount of views. Many factors are taken into account each day. So yes, you can make money with TikTok views depending on how many you get. But, they also consider the authenticity of the views, how much the content was engaged with, and whether the video meets their guidelines.
What’s even more interesting is that the amount of videos published by the entire TikTok community also impacts how much money the Fund will give out each day. With no cap on the earning potential though, there is money to be made here! We know that every bit counts as an Influencer or Creator, so we definitely recommend joining the Fund when you can.
So, can you make money on TikTok without the Creator Fund? Yes, but not in the same way, directly from the platform itself. Next we’ll look into the other ideas you can try.
2) Using The Creative Marketplace To Make Money On TikTok
Most social media platforms have some level of an Influencer marketing presence, but the deals and collaborations normally occur independent of the actual app. What do we mean by that? Well, brands and Influencers have pitched, negotiated and delivered social collaborations using third party Influencer marketing platforms or direct communication. Instagram as a company, for example, is never a “middle-man” in the collaboration; they don’t make money (or participate in) the facilitation of the partnership (or at least not yet).
So, the first thing to know about when it comes to making money on TikTok is this tool called the Creative Marketplace. TikTok’s Creative Marketplace functions similar to the third party Influencer platforms we just mentioned, with one critical difference. It operates entirely on the TikTok app which is pretty convenient for both Creators and brands! Through this Marketplace, TikTok helps Creators monetize their content by connecting them to brands. Some brands love this system because they can filter TikTok users by the details that matter to them. The audience’s region or country, age of the TikToker, and niche topic, to name a few.
Brands also receive tools to help them successfully navigate an Influencer partnership, including access to accurate and relevant analytics during the collaboration. This makes it easy for everyone involved, which is always a win!
If you’re using TikTok to create, signing up for the Marketplace takes no effort at all. We strongly consider checking it out! All you have to do is submit an application and wait to hear if you’ve been accepted. There are some requirements you have to meet which you can look into before applying. TikTok also extends invitations to Creators asking them to join, so be on the lookout for that too!
3) Transfer Your Following To Other Platforms
Though it’s definitely possible, most Creators don’t put all of their time and energy into just one social media platform. We actually recommend that you don’t do that! Being active on multiple platforms means that you are able to diversify your content, reach more people and ultimately make more money for your business. While we don’t think you should drain yourself by using every single social media platform (this can cause burnout), using your following on one platform to grow another is a smart business move.
Let’s take a look at how to use TikTok to grow your other platforms.
Let Followers Know About Your Other Accounts
If you create really killer content on TikTok that gets a lot of views, you can piggyback off of this success and direct people to your Instagram or YouTube. Make sure you have the accounts linked and any other important links you want people to click in your TikTok profile bio. When your TikTok is getting a lot of hits, people will be able to find you on your other social media platforms and there’s a high chance that they’ll follow you there too!
Repurpose Your Content
Another really great way to leverage your TikTok success to other platforms is by repurposing the content you’ve already created. Some content might need some format adjustments, but others you can transfer right away.
Take Instagram Reels for example, we see it all the time. A TikTok video that saw a lot of success can be downloaded and used on Reels without much extra effort at all. Maybe it will take off there as well!
Followers and likes are great to have, but we really want to drive home the point that engagement is what brands are looking for now. They want to see that you have an engaged and trusted following. Loyal followers are much more likely to interact with and buy the products and services you promote! If you have a trusting and engaged following on TikTok, try to bring that momentum to other social media platforms where you can make money through brand deals and other monetization methods like affiliate marketing.
4) Using All TikTok Has To Offer
A huge part of creating consistent quality content on TikTok to grow your business and start getting paid is using every feature that it has to offer. Like we just talked about, growing a community that trusts and engages with the content you create is the key to having an influence that converts to getting paid. Posting videos gets your account out there and brings in new followers, but there’s more that goes into keeping people engaged.
One of the best ways to show your followers an inside peek at your life is by going Live. Once you reach 1,000 followers on TikTok, the app unlocks the Live feature. Now, you can go Live and give your audience a direct window into a day in your life or a behind the scenes of your business. This can deepen the bond with your audience because it’s less curated! You can be way more transparent with your followers and let them into your life which inevitably will keep them interested and invested in you and your content.
You might be thinking, “ok that’s great but how does that make me money?” Any engagement is indirectly improving your ability to make money using social media…but there is a way to directly make money from TikTok Live as well. While you are going Live on TikTok, you can essentially ask viewers to “donate” to you. And although the exchange rate for this isn’t particularly high, it is a way to monetize from your content. You can also ask them to tip you via third party apps like Koji, Patreon or even some Creators use Venmo.
And of course, we’re all about helping people position themselves as a valuable asset to brands, so don’t forget this really important piece! When you’re pitching to brands, let them know that you’re able to go Live on TikTok and tell them about the engagement you get when you do it. Live is a great place to talk about the products that you love or are endorsing and share anything else that your followers might want to learn about. You can answer their questions right on Live too. If going Live is somewhere you get a lot of engagement, you definitely want to let brands know when you’re pitching and negotiating paid brand deals!
5) Brand Partnerships
If TikTok is the first account you’ve grown or even your most successful account in your Creator journey so far, don’t be afraid to start pitching to brands. Brands are working with Creators at all levels on TikTok so shoot your shot. If you want to learn how to pitch to brands, we have our signature Pitching To Brands Mastercourse that will teach you everything you need to know about landing paid brand deals, how to come up with your rates and even how to design a media kit that will impress brands and companies.
If you’re an Influencer or Creator who is already monetizing through brand partnerships and sponsorships on different platforms, use this to your advantage! You can pitch to the brands you’ve successfully worked with on other platforms, such as Instagram or YouTube, and let them know you now have an engaged following on TikTok too. They already know and trust you, so this could be a really great way to land more deals or increase the amount you’re making from brand partnerships by adding another platform to the mix.
6) Become A TikTok Consultant
You’re an amazing Content Creator, you love making videos, and you’re good at it too! You can use this to help you make money with TikTok too. Brands are being told that there is yet another social media platform that they should be using to grow their business. It wouldn’t be surprising to find out that this comes as a burden to a lot of these brands, especially smaller ones with not as many people on staff to help with this kind of thing. Maybe they don’t even know where to start when it comes to TikTok and haven’t had the time to do all the research on it yet.
That’s where you come in! You can act as a consultant to brands and charge them for your time and knowledge. If you feel really good about the app and can teach others confidently, this is worth looking into as a viable option for making money with TikTok. By developing a consulting style business, you get to work for yourself and charge a rate that you think is fair for your time and expertise. You’ll take that valuable knowledge that you already have and turn it into a way to make more money!
There’s Money To Be Made On TikTok
TikTok is changing the social media game! While it probably sounds less than appealing to add another social media to create content for, it looks like it’s here to stay. Brands and Influencers are leveraging the platform in new and creative ways everyday, so now is the time to get involved! With the Creator Fund and a huge push for brand collaborations on this platform, you can make money on TikTok as an Influencer or Creator. You just need a solid strategy and to incorporate multiple revenue streams to maximize the amount of money you can make on TikTok.
While there are many ways to make money on TikTok, here is a quick recap of the ways to make money on TikTok that we covered in this article:
1. When eligible, apply for the Creator Fund and start monetizing off of your posts.
2. Utilize the Creator Marketplace to build relationships with brands and get partnerships.
3. Transfer your following to other platforms.
4. Use all of TikTok’s tools, including Live videos, which can allow your followers to donate or tip you.
5. Start Pitching To Brands to land paid brand deals.
6. Use your content creation expertise to become a TikTok consultant for brands looking to establish their account or expand their strategy.
If you’re looking for tailored advice on how to successfully monetize your platform, we are here to help! We’ve helped thousands of creators figure out how to monetize and scale their business and can work with you to come up with a tailored gameplan and strategy that’s just for you. You can book a coaching session to speak to one of our professional Creator coaches so they can help you reach your goals.
If you found this article helpful, let us know in the comments. We’d be so happy to hear how TikTok is working for you!
