How to Make Money with TikTok

Dave Johnson July 14, 2023

If you want to figure out which social platform is the best for monetization, TikTok’s userbase numbers alone should tell you everything you need to know. With over a billion monthly users, TikTok has smashed into the top of the social platform leaderboards and continued to set itself apart as the “in” social media app, particularly if you want to make money while creating content.

So, if you’ve been looking for a way to make money on TikTok, you’ve come to the right place. Here’s some advice on earning money through TikTok.

How to Make Money on TikTok

Technically, there are several ways you can make money on TikTok. However, they all hinge on the same basic principles:

Viewership
User retention
Interactivity
Quality content

If your social media brand embraces these principles, you’re on the right trajectory for success.

Once you become popular (which will be further discussed in a separate topic), you can leverage your content views to earn money. Here’s how.

TikTok Creator Fund and Creativity Program

If you live in the U.S., Germany, Italy, France, the UK, or Spain, the easiest way to get some passive income from views is through TikTok’s Creator Fund. The Fund is supplied directly by TikTok, but the details about how the money is distributed between participants is proprietary. TikTok has released statements that the algorithm changes rapidly and takes all aspects of viewership and retention under consideration. The Creator Fund started in 2021 with a commitment of £231 million over three years.

The requirements for the Creator Fund include users being over 18 years old who have 10,000 followers and 100,000 monthly views. Here’s how you can get in:

Launch TikTok.
Tap on the Hamburger icon for the main menu.
Select “Creator tools.”
Go to “Creator Fund.”
Hit the “Apply” button.

TikTok processes new applications to the Fund relatively quickly. If you don’t get accepted, you might lack one of the prerequisites.

However, due to the program’s age and wider spread, the earnings from the Fund might be a bit lackluster. That’s why TikTok has upgraded their offer with the Creativity Program.

Launched in May 2023, this program aims to motivate creators to continue churning out higher-quality for the platform. This helps to ensure that their followers stay engaged and any advertisements running on the platform receive significant traffic. In exchange, the creators are well remunerated by TikTok for the work done.

The Creator Program differs from the Fund in one key aspect: the videos need to be more than one minute long. In light of TikTok’s videos getting longer (with the limit being pushed from three to 10 minutes), the new metric aims to inspire users to create content that audiences better resonate with.

Launch the TikTok app and go to your profile.
Go to Settings.
Select “Creator tools.”
Select “Creativity Program Beta.”
Use the “Apply” button.

TikTok automatically runs its verification process when you’re making your application to the program. If you aren’t eligible, the Apply button won’t be accessible to you. The list below points out the requirements for eligibility:

You should have grown a notable audience of at least 10,000 followers.
Your Tiktok account should’ve registered at least 100,000 views in the last 30 days.
You should be at least 18 years old.
There should be no reports on your Tiktok account, and all posts on your account should follow community guidelines. An overall good standing of your Tiktok account is what you should aim for.

Brand Partnerships and Sponsorships

The Creator Marketplace is a place to effectively “sell yourself” to brands and score affiliate marketing deals. The Creator Marketplace borrows the influencer agency model, except it does most of the legwork for you.

A lot of brands are beginning to take note of the value of influencer marketing, and this can only mean more money for you. But, even though the income is attractive, it is recommended that you align yourself with companies with which you share the same brand value and align with.

Create a Press Kit for Your TikTok Account

This will help you sell yourself as a brand. You should include your contact information, testimonials, brands you have worked with, achievements, and photos in the press kit. Follow the steps below to create the Kit:

Carry out extensive research on the creative market.
Collect accurate data that can adequately display your drive and project engagements.
Create a detailed outline for your press kit.
Find a template to use in creating your press kit.

Create Non-Sponsored Content and Market Small Businesses

This will help showcase your drive and influence on the market space. Eventually, bigger brands will notice you and want to partner with you.

Build Trust and Carve a Niche

With viewership metrics growing each day, brands have realized that the top earners might not be the best fit to promote their offer. Micro-influencers (users with 10,000 to 50,000 followers) offer the best blend of user retention and value to a brand, with up to 60% higher conversion rates than regular digital marketing. If you can build rapport with your user base as a micro-influencer, you position yourself as a niche influencer and might rake in sponsorship offers.

Apply the Branded Content Toggle

This TikTok feature helps to encourage transparency for businesses, brands, and creators. Your audience should know whether the post is sponsored or not. This is why you should only align with brands you truly love and not just have money as your end goal. Here’s how you can enable the Branded Content toggle on Tiktok:

While making a post, go to “More options.”
Select “Branded content.”
Turn on the toggle.

You don’t have to go through all these steps if you are on the Creator Marketplace, as that automatically applies the mark if you have set up a sponsorship. Be aware that TikTok might flag and take down your post if you’re creating sponsored content and not using the branded content toggle.

Go Live

You can profit from streaming whenever users donate while on your stream. Follow the steps below to share your live stream on Tiktok:

Open your profile.
Go to settings and tap “Live.”
Tap on “Live Event” under the “Your LIVE Events” page.
Hit the Share Icon represented by the arrow button located on the top right of your screen.
Copy the link to your live event and share it on your preferred platforms to generate views.

As long as you have relatable and interactive content, donations should follow. However, don’t solicit donations from people because it may get you banned from the platform.

For Businesses: Use TikTok Ads Manager

On the other side of the coin, if you’re running a business, you can leverage the user base and get better traffic from ads. TikTok ads will help promote your products and services to a wider reach. You do have to spend money to make money, and this is one way to do it. Here’s how you can set up TikTok ads:

Set up an account on “TikTok Ad Manager.”
Set up a “Web Event” to create a Pixel for your account.
Click on the “Campaign” tab.
Choose “Create” under the campaign Window.
Create the Ad.

TikTok in-feed ads are more profitable compared to running ads on other platforms because your target audience is organically generated. You can also link the ads to the e-commerce platform where you sell your products to easily track performance. Keep in mind that having a TikTok account requires that you set up a business account.

Hit That Jackpot With TikTok

The creator economy is booming, and there is no better time to take advantage of TikTok than now. Boasting a wide reach of over one billion daily active users, it holds great marketing and influencing potential for businesses looking to increase their revenue. TikTok has become a full-time job for many users. But like everything else, it requires consistency and dedication.

So, have you ever created content on TikTok? Would you recommend this social media platform to others? Let us know in the comments section below.