In this post we’re going to go over 6 genius ways to make money using TikTok. TikTok is one of this year’s most popular platforms. Anyone and everyone can use it with relative ease and it’s a fun way to make new friends and waste time. But can you make money on it?
As it turns out, you can! Today, we’re going to cover 5 of the best ways that you can make money using TikTok.
6 Genius Ways to Make Money Using TikTok
1. Become an Influencer
Since TikTok is similar to other social media platforms, it makes sense that one of the most obvious ways to make money is by becoming an influencer.
It’s true that becoming an influencer is no easy task, however, if you manage to reach influencer status, the benefits are well worth the effort. Various reports from Forbes claim that the platform’s most popular stars earned millions of dollars within the past year.
Addison Rae (who has 54 million followers) was rated the highest-earning star. She generated a total income of nearly $5 million within a year-long period. On the other hand, the well-known Charli D’Amelio, with 77 million followers, ranked 2nd in terms of earnings, raking in just over $4 million. D’Amelio’s sister came in third with $2.9 million.
To become an influencer, follower count does matter to some degree – but probably not the degree you’d expect. Most brands who work with TikTok influencers choose their partners based on follower engagement and not simply follower count. This essentially means that an influencer with 20,000 followers who are engaged and in-touch with their content might have a better chance of working with brands than an influencer with 100,000 followers who are less engaged.
Another pretty interesting fact is that, as it seems, most brands actually prefer to work with smaller-scale influencers, also known as “micro-influencers”. These influencers typically have a few hundred to less than 20,000 followers. The benefit of working with micro-influencers is that they are much more affordable to work with.
One more interesting fact is that most brands prefer to work with micro-influencers (influencers with a few hundred to 20,000 followers). While influencers with millions of followers can reach a larger number of people, they can be very expensive.
In summary, all you need to become an influencer is a few thousand engaged followers.
How to Become an Influencer
Choose a niche.
To be successful on TikTok, you need to choose a niche. Choose one that you’re interested in and that will make it easy for you to consistently churn out quality content.
Figure out what you love and create content around it.
Use a TikTok Pro Account
For creators and businesses, TikTok offers premium accounts, which are called “Pro” accounts. The Creators pro account is ideal for influencers, artists, and public figures.
Complete Your Profile
When you set up your profile, the two things you want to focus on are your bio and profile picture. These are the first things that users see when they’re making the decision of whether they want to follow you.
Together, these two factors should paint a good picture of you. If you feel like your photo is too bland, consider replacing it with a short video, which will add a bit extra personality to your page.
Understand Your Audience
Before you start creating videos, take some time to gain an understanding of your audience. To become a successful influencer, it’s important that the content you create is something that your audience will appreciate.
Take note of which content garners the highest amount of engagement – this will give you a vague idea of the kind of videos that you should create. You could also choose to mirror the already-successful strategies of other influencers that make content within your niche.
Create Your Content
Next, it’s time to create your content. Quality TikTok content sees a lot of user engagement. The more entertaining and creative your videos are, the more likely they are to go viral. Going viral is a huge popularity boost for content
Maintain Consistency
To increase your visibility on the platform, make sure that you stay consistent with posting. If you’re serious about becoming an influencer, you’ll need to upload quality content on a regular basis. You can choose the frequency of your posts but it’s always good to note that the most popular influencers tend to post 1 to 2 times a day.
Engage with Your Audience
Once you have a following building up, you need engage with them. Interact with your audience and show them that you’re more than a face on their TikTok feed – you’re a real person.
You can engage with them by replying to their comments or asking questions through the captions on your videos.
Show Interest in Brand Collaborations
Finally, let brands know that you’re open and interested in collaborating. You can state this in your bio or start an outreach campaign.
2. Livestreaming
Another simple way to make money on TikTok is by going live. This means that you can film a video of yourself in real time and have your followers watch it. They’re able to interact with you through this livestream.
However, to be able to go live you need to have a minimum of 1,000 followers.
Once you do, though, you can start making money. How? Well, it basically comes down to your followers.
See, once you’ve livestreaming, it’s up to your followers to earn you money. They can do this by using their own money to purchase virtual coins; then, they can send you these coins as “gifts” via TikTok. Once you reach a threshold of $10 in coins, you’re able to withdraw your funds.
Although this method won’t make you rich, it’s a great way for those who enjoy livestreaming to make a bit of extra cash on their platform.
3. Joining the TikTok Creator Fund
Much like YouTube, TikTok has launched a program to pay its content creators. This program is called the Creator Fund and the point behind it is to incentive users to use the platform regularly – and it seems to work.
The Creator Fund pays creators for their content but it’s unclear exactly how much creators make through the fund. What we do know, though, is that to be eligible for the fund, you must have original, engaging videos that adhere to TikTok guidelines. Delving further into the specifics of your videos, eligible users are required to have had 10,000 views on their videos within the previous 30-day period in order to qualify.
They also need to have a certain number of followers -10,000 to be exact– and be at least 18 years old. Payouts are received daily and creators, as according to TikTok’s rules regarding the program, are not allowed to disclose exactly how much they make.
The funds that are distributed through the program are decided based upon a few factors. Of course, views are one of the main factors that are looked at but in addition to views things like view authenticity, user engagement, and the adherence to the aforementioned TikTok rules are also factors.
In addition, the amount an individual is paid each day depends on how many videos are posted and by how many eligible users.
4. Flipping TikTok Accounts
If you’re interested in business, flipping TikTok accounts could be the next big venture for you. The idea of “flipping”, that is, creating and building up an account before selling it to someone else for a profit, is already popular on Instagram. Before that, though, it was popular within the world of homes, with tons of great shows surrounding the real-life experiences of home flippers.
To get started with this venture, you need to find a niche and create content around it. Then, grow the following and engagement. Once the account has reached a large enough following, reach out to brands within the industry and pitch the idea of selling your account to them.
Generally, the easiest accounts to sell are those with themes. It’s harder to sell personal accounts because the account will be changing hands and there’s no guarantee that the new owner will be able to keep up with what the old user was doing.
5. Affiliate Marketing
If you’ve ever watched a YouTube video in which the creator mentions a product that they love and then proceeds to link the product in their video description with the claim that when you purchase using their link, they receive a small commission, you’ve witnessed affiliate marketing firsthand.
Affiliate marketing can be used on many more platforms than just YouTube – in fact, the practice is gaining popularity on TikTok, too.
To take advantage of affiliate marketing, you’ll need to get in contact with companies who offer products that you use and love. The words “use” and “love” are the keys to being successful in this endeavor.
Your audience will be able to tell if you’re attempting to promote products that you don’t use or authentically enjoy – especially if they’re out of character for the way you’ve branded yourself.
6. Selling Merchandise
You can also make money on TikTok by selling personalized merchandise. The best part? The fact that you don’t need thousands of followers to make money using this tactic. You can start this business venture any time you see fit.
You can use TikTok to promote your business or online store, where you’ll see merchandise relating to your content. A lot of creators who use this tactic design items with designs or quotes that relate to the brand they’ve created on their platform. For example, someone who focuses on paranormal content might create notebooks with cute little UFOs on them or necklaces with ghost-shaped pendants. Someone with a true crime platform might opt to create t-shirts with information about various cases or the numbers for investigation tip hotlines on them.
You don’t have to be blunt about your promotion, either. You can go about your videos and photo posts as you normally would, simply adding a 3 or 4 second clip at the end where you showcase your products, add links to your e-store, or give viewers the website address at which they can find your merch.
So, Exactly How Much Money Can Be Made on TikTok?
That’s a good question – and, unfortunately, it doesn’t have a definitive answer. Everyone who uses TikTok as a money-making platform will earn at a different rate and take home a different amount at the end of the day.
As it stands, influencers with 100K followers can make anywhere from $500 and $2,000 within a month. This value depends on your brand, product, number of followers, rate of engagement, and how hard you work.
When you have a high engagement rate, you earn more than you would if you had a low engagement rate. This means that your focus should be on engagement and not necessarily on how many followers you have.
In addition, how much you make as an individual also depends on how many avenues of TikTok’s potential you use to earn money. For example, you’ll likely earn more money buy selling your merchandise, livestreaming, and joining the Creator Fund than you would if you were only selling merchandise.
In Conclusion
Like every other social media platform that has taken the world by storm, TikTok has endless opportunities for users to make money. From selling merchandise to becoming and influencer and working directly with brands, there’s almost certainly an opportunity that will suit you.
This quick guide should help you decide which avenue you want to start with and where you’d like to go from there. Just remember that hard work and consistency are the keys to capturing TikTok popularity and harnessing success on the platform.
