How to Make Money on TikTok

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When it comes to making a profit, TikTok is a strange kettle of fish. The platform’s ethos is centred around authenticity, since its audience is 60% Gen Zers—a group that notoriously detests ads. 

Thankfully TikTok offers several programs to get you started—and the advantages of the platform are sizable. Here are a few appealing stats for aspiring influencers: 

• TikTok boasts over 1.1 billion active monthly users.
• In 2023, Android users spent an average of 19.6 hours per month on the platform.
• 35.1% of users follow or research brands through TikTok.
• Almost 15% of users struggle to distinguish advertising on the platform from other content.
• In December 2023, TikTok became the first non–mobile gaming app to hit $10 billion in global customer spending.
• 65% of users turn to creator reviews and recommendations when deciding what to buy online.

TikTok further sweetens the deal for creators by offering an easy-to-use upload format and filters to remove any complex barriers to entry for newbies. Handy tools include:

• Analytics
• Creator Portal
• Promote
• Q&A 
• TikTok Creator Next

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To be successful on the platform, it’s important to take a content-first approach while keeping demographics in mind. Your videos should entertain, educate, inform, or inspire. Love what you do, be creative, and stay authentic.  

Here are a few ways to start montesing your TikTok page:

1. TikTok’s Creativity Program

You may already be familiar with TikTok’s erstwhile Creator Fund, which set aside a pool of money to pay creators. The platform’s Creativity Program, which is currently in beta, is picking up where it left off.

To be eligible, you’ll need to be 18 or older, have an account in good standing, and live in an eligible region of the world (which includes the UK and Australia). You’ll also need to have:

• 10,000+ authentic followers (no bots)
• 100,000+ views over the last 30 days
• Videos that are more than a minute long 

According to TikTok, creators can expect to earn 20 times more than they made in the old program. The Creativity Program also includes an updated dashboard that makes it easier to track analytics and estimate revenue. 

How much you’ll make depends on your levels of views and engagements. For example, UK influencer Joe Sbiti had 1.4 billion views in his first month as a member of the Creativity Program, which netted him £600.

2. Collaborations and sponsorships 

According to a 2022 article from Oracle, 37% of consumers trust social media influencers over brands. That means that brands are more than willing to spend big on partnerships with established creators. For most influencers, this is where the real money lies. 

TikTok lends a hand with its Creator Marketplace. Eligible influencers can be invited or apply for access. Once you’re accepted, brands will be able to find your profile based on everything from your engagement metrics to viewer demographics. Online collaboration tools make the process straightforward for both parties, and the marketplace’s Academy for Creators offers opportunities to level up your knowledge. 

Here are a few other ways to seek out partnerships:

• Reach out to brands directly. 
• Use strategic hashtags to help relevant brands find you outside the Creator Marketplace.
• Offer your services as a consultant on how to make branded content go viral.

As a general rule, people don’t like being deceived; so it’s important to label any promotional video you post as Branded Content by using the toggle.  

Next, decide what you want your niche to be. Research which areas are popular on TikTok, both in terms of views and attracting partnerships. Don’t be afraid to get specific. For example, if most petfluencers consider “organic food for older gun dogs” to be too niche, taking advantage of the category might be a good idea for you; you’ll make more in a small pond than a big one.

TikTok influencers charge an average of $2,741 per sponsored post; but some rake in considerably more. Here are a few of the biggest fish in the UK: 

• @itzshauni: Shauni Kibby’s emphasis on body positivity helps her earn £14,827 per post.
• @rhia.official: Thanks to partnerships with the likes of Zuru and Mattel, toy reviewer Rhia makes up to £12,180 per sponsored post.
• @abbyroberts: Focusing on makeup and beauty, Abby Roberts earns up to £14,044 per post.

3. TikTok Gifts and Tips

TikTok creators succeed when they form strong bonds with their audience, and viewers in turn appreciate the opportunity to directly support a creator’s passion project. They can do so via:

• Live Gifts: TikTok users can purchase Coins to buy Live Gifts to donate during livestreams. These can then be converted to real money
• Video Gifts: These follow the same principle, but for short videos rather than livestreams. 
• Tips: TikTok Creator Next offers a Tips function that lets users support creators directly.  

Those rewards can be worth more than you might expect. Pinkydoll, who is immensely popular in the NPC streaming subgenre, reportedly makes upwards of £7,000 per stream through TikTok Gifts.

5. TikTok Shop

TikTok Shop simplifies the process of buying and selling by integrating e-commerce directly into the app. In a nutshell, the feature allows you to tag items that appear in your videos. When viewers tap the item, they can buy it through the app rather than opening a web browser or visiting an unknown e-commerce store. You can also create a TikTok storefront that’s separate from your videos. 

There are heaps of print-on-demand companies you can hire to produce merch, so inventory isn’t an issue. Here are some popular items to include in your shop: 

• Clothing 
• Mugs and water bottles
• Stickers, pins, and patches
• Art prints
• Phone cases and accessories

Small businesses with established products can also see results. Dasha Derkach of Enchanted Scrunch says that using the platform “has significantly boosted our sales. Before TikTok, we got around two orders a week. Then…we started around 100 a week. Now, we also do TikTok Lives nearly every day and get almost 500 orders a week!”

5. TikTok Affiliate Program

The Affiliate Program pairs merchants and brands with influencers. As a creator, you can use the feature to find products to sell or discount codes to promote, then get a nice slice of the pie when sales are made through the affiliate links you provide. How much you make depends on the commission rate set by each seller, so keep an eye on percentages. In other words, the size of the pie depends on how many viewers you convert into buyers. 

Try to organically layer products and brands into your content. Make your choices based on the values of your audience and the genre of your content. If your channel revolves around gaming, for example, followers will likely baulk at being pitched organic dog food. 

Use Rachel Meaders as a role model. Since her TikTok is devoted to promoting funky items she finds on Amazon, she makes a mint from affiliate sales. But she’s choosy about what she recommends. “I love creating content, and I love finding these cool products,” Meaders said. “But also, I feel like so many of these products deserve so much more recognition than they’re given.”

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Mo money, mo problems? That’s a pretty common issue among influencers, since building your TikTok page into a business comes with all the demands that entails. Things can get tough and time-consuming in a hurry, which can lead to everything from missed opportunities to emotional burnout. 

That’s where an agency comes in. A rep will manage the business side of things for you, which will take a lot off your plate and make it more likely that potential brand partners will see you as a trustworthy investment. An agent can offer you:

• Technical support
• Legal and copyright advice 
• Access to a large network of fellow influencers
• Connections with existing TikTok brand partnerships
• Advice on TikTok’s evolving algorithm 
• Strategies to optimise your content 
• Tips on additional ways to monetise your page

See Also: Top Social Media Platforms for Influencers