A lot of people assume that they can earn money on TikTok through likes. However, it is not true. The TikTok likes do have a role in getting paid, but – views and followers – play a more significant role.
TikTok pays its creators through the TikTok Creators Fund. You need 1,00,000 views in the last month and more than 10000 followers to get paid on TikTok. You must produce original content and follow all the community guidelines to meet the requirements of the Creator Fund.
TikTok has not yet revealed the payout structure of the TikTok Creator Fund. However, factors like the authenticity of the views, engagement, likes, comments, and engagement play a significant role.
According to market studies, TikTok pays between 2 and 4 cents for every 1000 views. If a creator reaches 1 million views, they will get $20 to $40. As of now, the Creator Fund is only available in the US, France, UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain.
Although, keep in mind that Tiktokers make way more money through other channels if they go viral or if they get a lot of views on a regular basis.
Other Ways In Which TikTokers Monetize
It is necessary to understand your target audience well to monetize your content. TikTok’s Creator Fund is one clear-cut way to monetize your content. However, there are several ways through which you can monetize your content.
I’ve list down ways through which you can monetize your content:
Brand Partnerships
One of the most sure-shot ways to monetize your content is by doing a brand partnership. You can collaborate with a brand and create sponsored content including a sponsored post and a video around their products and services. The TikTok app has a demographic of the younger generation and thus is an ideal social media platform for advertisers.
Creators can do branded hashtag challenges for a brand, they can do product reviews and engage their audiences to buy that particular product/ service.
Once you have a decent following and engagement, brands will reach out to you. We would suggest you always collaborate with brands that have similar values to that of you. Think before partnering with a brand and think about how your target audience relates to their brand’s values.
TikTok’s Creator Marketplace
TikTok’s Creator Marketplace is a platform where brands and creators can collaborate. You need to have more than 100,000 followers to be eligible to apply for this platform. It is a great platform to find brand deals and patnerships.
When you are in Creator’s Marketplace, TikTok will give you support on brand campaigns, and give access to collaboration tools and tips for creating advertiser-friendly content. It also enables brands to view your analytics. If a brand is interested to collaborate with you, it will notify you.
Affiliate Marketing
You can earn money on TikTok through affiliate marketing. You can make a commission every time a user clicks on your link. Sometimes, brands also give a unique promo code that you can mention in your TikTok video.
On TikTok, you can add a link to a product/campaign in your bio. Many TikTokers use LinkTree as a platform to add multiple links. To get started with affiliate marketing, you need to register yourself on platforms like Amazon Associates and ClickBank.
Sell Your Own Products on TikTok
You can sell your own products on Tiktok and make money. Make innovative short videos around your products and sell them to your target audience.Its one of the best ways to do social media marketing for your business/ brand.
TikTok has a demographic of Gen-Z and it has more than 1 billion active users – which makes it an ideal platform to sell merchandise to your community.
A lot of content creators with huge fan following, create merchandise around their personal brand like clothes, mugs, pillowcases, tote bags, notebooks, or any other accessories and sell them to their community.
LIVE gifting
You can monetize your content through a live gifting feature that is available on the TikTok app. A lot of other social media networks like Instagram and Facebook have live streaming options but they do not have the option of monetization.
You can go live and your followers will buy virtual gifts with their real money. Once you have reached a certain amount, you can redeem it in the form of money.
Engaging with your TikTok followers in real-time is a great way of building strong relationships with your community. It not only helps you to earn money but also, in the long run, you will form a loyal and personal community around you.
Crowdfunding and Collecting Donations
If you have a decent following on TikTok and you have built a community around your personal brand – you can make use of crowdfunding — to earn money. There are different ways to collect donations. You can ask for donations if you want funds for starting a new venture or a startup. You can do it by hosting a live fundraising event or rally users by setting up a funding goal.
You can also accept donations for your personal finance. Maybe you want to buy new equipment to shoot your videos, but you are failing to buy it – you can collect donations from your followers to buy it. Make sure you are appealing to them most politely and humbly possible.
The Highest-Earning Creators on TikTok
Creators can earn millions and become famous over a short time. So, now I will be looking at the Forbes 2022 list of mega influencers and their earnings.
Charli D’Amelio
Charli D’Amelio is the most followed TikTok influencer with more than 133 million followers. She started posting dance videos on TikTok in 2019 and soon became viral. Her estimated annual earnings are more than $17.5 million.
She has partnered with Prada to walk their fashion week. She and her sister Dixie have launched their own clothing brand. She collaborates with big fashion brands like Morphe Cosmetics. Recently, she promoted Dunkin Donuts and they named a drink after her.
Dixie D’ Amelio
Undoubtedly, Dixie Amelio is the second-highest-paid TikTok star. She is the older sister of Charli D’Amelio. They post content together and that has uplifted their overall presence on TikTok. Her estimated earnings are more than $ 10 million and more than 57 million followers.
Unlike Charli, Dixie does not focus on dance. She is passionate about music. She released her first single “Be happy” in June 2020. It debuted at the first position in Billboard’s Top Thriller US and became the most trending video on YouTube.
Addison Rae
Addison has more than 86 million followers and earns more than $8.5 million. She has partnered with brands like Daniel Wellington, Reebok, Fashion Nova, and American Eagle, to create sponsored content
She has also started her own makeup line called Item Beauty, it’s a joint venture with startup Madeby Collective. She has even landed a lead role in the Netflix series “He’s All That” and has paved her way into acting. Netflix has made a new deal with her for several other movies but their names have not been disclosed yet.
Bella Poarch
In less than two years, Bella’s presence on TikTok has grown massive. Today, she is the third most followed creator on TikTok with more than 87 million followers. In 2020, she posted a silly lip-sync video and became the most watched and viral TikTok video on the social media app.
She earns more than $5 million per year. She has got sponsors like Google, Prada, and Tinder. Recently, she released her own single, ” Build a Bitch”- which reached the 56th position on Billboard’s pop chart.
Josh Richards
Josh Richards also makes it to the list of highest paying TikTokers. He earns close to $5 million and has more than 26 million followers on TikTok. He is known for his singing, lip sync videos. He has partnered with brands like House party, Reebok, etc. He also started his own energy drink business called Ani Energy.
He has Co-founded a talent management agency, Talent X, and joined Triller, a short-form content app similar to that of TikTok as its Chief Strategy Officer. Lastly, he has also co-founded a venture capital firm, Animal Capital that invests in a wide range of areas from apps to genetic engineering labs.
Strategies To Make Money From TikTok
Find your niche
You need to define your niche to earn money on TikTok. It means you need to decide on a theme for your content. If you are good at dancing, your niche can be making dancing videos. Choosing one single niche will help you to define your target audience. You will face less competition if you have a target audience from one niche. I’ve seen this working for a lot of influencers.
Also, creators who produce content in one niche have high engagement levels with their audiences. Brands will automatically come to you if you have got high engagement levels on your videos.
Interact with your followers
I’ve observed that in the long run, to make money, you need to build a strong and loyal community on TikTok.
Engage with your followers by replying to and liking their comments, and DMs. You can even use the duet feature of TikTok and perform a duet with a follower. These small gestures of appreciation will make your followers more connected and loyal to you.
Post Non-Sponsored Content Regularly
While you may get a lot of brand deals and sponsorships. It is important to post non-sponsored content regularly. I’d suggest, always, think from the perspective of your audience. They will definitely not like it if you only post sponsored content. Maintain a healthy balance between sponsored and non-sponsored content because if you don’t do that, soon your followers will lose interest in your content.
Be Authentic
Lastly, I’d say always be authentic to your audience. If you are creating a fake persona on the internet, it will easily fade away in the long run. Make a TikTok account to showcase your true self and your values. Create content that resonates with yourself and that you feel good about. Do not just make content to please other people. Make use of your creativity, and feel satisfied when you create content. Be authentic and transparent.
Making money on TikTok can be challenging but once you understand the game, you can make a living out of posting content on TikTok. If you are a new creator, we would advise you that don’t give up. At times, brands you reach out to might reject you but in the long run with consistent efforts, you can start earning well. More than likes, views, and followers – creating engaging and creative content will help you to earn more money.
How Much Does TikTok Pay For 1 Million Followers
You can earn more than $2000 to $5000 per brand deal if you have 1 Million followers by collaborating. The amount of money also depends on the engagement of your followers. With 1 million followers, anyone can earn a huge ton of money by doing brand deals, sponsored posts, and affiliate marketing and they can even start selling their own merchandise.
TikTok stars like Dixie D’ Amelio, Josh Richards, Addison Rae, etc are earning millions. They are not just dependent on one stream of income, they earn via brand deals, sponsored posts, and affiliate marketing and some of them have started their own beauty and clothing lines.
How Much Do TikTokers Make With 2 Million Followers?
TikTok Creators with 2 million followers make approximately $3000 – $4800 per post. Now, imagine, if just one post can give them at least $3000, they will make additional money through sources like Creator Fund, virtual gifts, and brand collaborations.
Source: Influencer Marketing Hub
As per a report by Business Insider, Tiffany Chen (@tiffycooks), a food creator with 2.3 million followers has made close to $$481,000 in 9 months from October 2021 and the beginning of June 2022.
Chen said that 35 percent of her income comes from brand deals. She has collaborated with big brands like Sabra and KitchenAid.
The amount earned by the creators depends on many factors: engagement level, niche, the kind of brands they are collaborating with, etc. The more engagement a creator has, the more money they can make.
