Launched in 2016, TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. TikTok now has over 1 billion monthly active users globally, making it one of the fastest growing apps in history (Jan Beames, Demandsage). The app’s signature short-form videos allow creators to express their creativity and build massive audiences. As of 2023, nearly 30% of TikTok’s active users open the app everyday (Hootsuite).
With such a large and engaged user base, many creators are now turning TikTok into a full-time career. The platform offers a variety of monetization options that allow influencers to earn money from their content. This article will provide an overview of the main ways TikTok creators can monetize their audience and turn their account into a business.
TikTok Creator Fund
The TikTok Creator Fund is a program that pays creators for videos published on TikTok. To be eligible, creators must meet certain benchmarks for followers and video views. According to Backstage, creators must have 10,000 followers and 100,000 video views in the last 30 days [1]. The fund pays creators based on the engagement and views their videos receive. As of September 2022, the fund pays around $0.02 to $0.04 per 1,000 video views in the US [2].
The main pros of the TikTok Creator Fund are that it provides an additional revenue stream on top of organic TikTok earnings and brand deals. It also gives creators a way to monetize views directly from TikTok. The downsides are that the pay rate per view is still quite low and creators are required to post a minimum number of videos per month to stay active in the fund.
TikTok LIVE
TikTok LIVE allows creators to broadcast real-time videos to their followers. Viewers can purchase and send virtual gifts during a LIVE video, and creators earn a portion of the proceeds. To start earning money with TikTok LIVE, creators first need to meet eligibility requirements:
- Be 18 years or older
- Have at least 1,000 followers
- Host LIVE videos on a consistent basis
Once qualified, you can enable LIVE gifting in your settings. When going live, enable “Receive Gifts” to allow viewers to send gifts. There are over a dozen different virtual gifts fans can purchase, ranging from flowers and emojis to premium items like cars and yachts. The price of gifts varies between $0.01 to $50, and creators typically earn 50% of the gift’s value.
According to The Leap, TikTok LIVE earnings vary depending on the creator’s following and engagement. For example, an ASMR creator can make $20 to $300 per LIVE session. Engaging with viewers, promoting your LIVE videos, and hosting consistent streams at popular times can help maximize your earning potential.
Brand Partnerships
Getting brand sponsorship deals is one of the most lucrative ways for TikTok creators to monetize their content and earn money. Brand partnerships involve collaborating with companies and promoting their products or services through sponsored content in your videos. According to industry experts, sponsorships can pay anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars per TikTok post depending on your following and engagement levels.
To land brand sponsorships, the first step is reaching out to brands that are a good fit for your niche and content style. Make sure to customize your outreach and explain why featuring their brand would appeal to your audience. Successful TikTok sponsorships are a win-win where the creator gets paid, while the brand gets promoted to a highly targeted audience.
When negotiating brand partnership deals, base your rates on your average views, likes, comments, followers gained per video as well as your overall follower count. The more impressive your TikTok stats and engagement, the higher your sponsorship fees can be. Make sure to agree upon all the deliverables, usage rights, and payment terms in a formal contract before creating any sponsored content. Aim high with your rates but also be flexible – even a lower paying deal can be worth it early on to build your sponsorship portfolio.
Sources:
https://hype.co/blog/industry/tiktok-sponsorship
https://weareindy.com/blog/how-to-get-sponsored-on-tiktok-and-make-money-creating-videos/
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing on TikTok involves creators promoting products or services and earning a commission when sales are made through their affiliate links. According to an in-depth guide, affiliate marketing is one of the top ways for creators to monetize their audience and content on TikTok.
There are many affiliate programs creators can join, including Amazon Associates, Shopify, Clickbank, and more. When choosing a program, it’s important to find ones that align with your niche and audience interests. Look for generous commission rates, reliable payment systems, and a good reputation.
When doing affiliate marketing on TikTok, make sure to clearly disclose affiliate links to your audience. The Federal Trade Commission requires disclosure of paid or sponsored content. Best practices include putting #ad in captions, verbally disclosing in videos, and adding text overlays.
Selling Merchandise
One effective way creators can monetize their TikTok audience is by selling merchandise. TikTok provides a platform to promote custom apparel, accessories, and other products to fans. Services like Printful, Printify, and Teespring allow creators to easily create and fulfill orders without holding inventory.
To sell merchandise on TikTok:
- Design branded apparel, phone cases, mugs, stickers or other creative products.
- Set up a merch store through Printful, Printify, Teespring or a similar service.
- Promote the merch store in TikTok posts, bios, and links.
- Fulfill orders, while the merch company handles printing and shipping.
Successful merchandise campaigns on TikTok leverage creators’ personal brands and inside jokes. For example, comedian Caitlin Reilly sells hoodies referencing her popular “Worm” video.
Other top creators like Charli D’Amelio, Addison Rae, and more partner with Fanjoy to create and sell custom merch. Ultimately, novelty and inside references tend to perform best when selling to a TikTok audience.
Promoting Other Accounts
One way TikTok creators can earn money is by promoting other accounts on their page. Brands or other creators may reach out asking you to create TikTok videos featuring their products or account in exchange for payment.
The rates for these types of promotions can vary greatly depending on the size of your audience and niche. Micro-influencers with under 10,000 followers may charge $20-50 per post. Larger creators with over 500,000 followers can charge several thousand dollars. When negotiating rates, take into account your specific audience demographics and engagement levels per post.
Make sure any paid promotions are clearly disclosed to your followers, either in the caption or preferably in a prominent on-video disclaimer. This maintains transparency and builds trust with your audience. Generic disclosures like “#ad” or “#sponsored” are the minimum requirement, but you may opt for more obvious disclaimers like “Paid partnership with [Brand]”.
Promoting other accounts in a compelling way allows TikTok creators to earn income while introducing their audiences to new products, brands and creators. As long as proper disclosures are made, it can be an effective money-making method on the platform.
Licensing Content
Licensing viral TikTok content to other platforms or companies is an emerging money-making strategy. As TikTok videos go massively viral, many companies want to license the content. There are a few ways creators can make money by licensing their viral videos:
Revenue Sharing: Some services connect creators with companies and facilitate revenue sharing deals. For example, Audiosocket partners with TikTok creators to license their viral videos to media companies and splits the revenue. Services like ViralClip and ClipMine also allow creators to list their videos for licensing and take a cut of the deals.
Upfront Payments: Another licensing model is upfront payments to purchase the rights. News outlets like Buzzfeed, NowThis, Jukin Media and others license viral TikToks and pay creators directly. Rates can vary greatly based on the viral reach.
Overall, licensing can be quite lucrative if a TikTok video gains widespread popularity. With licensing services and inbound requests, creators have options to monetize their viral content through licensing deals and revenue sharing.
Cameos
A popular app that allows users to earn money through paid video shoutouts is Cameo. On Cameo, fans can pay TikTok creators directly for custom videos. According to Engadget, TikTok has been testing a similar feature to connect creators with fans who want personalized videos.
On Cameo, creators set their own rates for videos, usually based on their follower count and level of fame. Top TikTok stars can charge anywhere from $50 to $500+ per video. Best practices for cameo videos include keeping them personal but generic enough to apply to different fans, filming horizontally, using good lighting, audio, and creativity in the videos.
Cameo offers TikTokers another way to earn money from their audience beyond TikTok’s built-in monetization features. Stars can promote their Cameo profiles on TikTok and earn substantial income from dedicated fans willing to pay for custom video greetings and shoutouts.
Conclusion
There are a variety of ways that content creators can earn money directly through TikTok. The TikTok Creator Fund compensates creators based on the engagement and views on their videos. Going live and earning TikTok LIVE gifts is another popular monetization method. Brand partnerships allow creators to get paid for promoting products in their content. Affiliate links give creators a commission for leading their audience to make purchases. Selling merchandise like t-shirts leverages a creator’s brand and engaged following. Promoting other accounts helps smaller creators get discovered while earning a fee. Licensing viral content to media companies generates income from recycled video. Cameos allow fans to pay for personalized video messages from their favorite creators.
The key to maximizing earnings on TikTok is to consistently produce engaging content optimized for the platform. Use relevant hashtags, viral sounds, duets, stitches, and other native features. Collaborate with other popular creators. Engage with your audience in comments and LIVEs. Once you build an audience, pursue brand deals and diversify your monetization strategy. Leverage your TikTok following on other platforms like YouTube or Instagram. With persistence and creativity, TikTok can provide creators diverse monetization opportunities.