Do You Make Money on TikTok? We Interviewed 30 TikTokers

TikTok stands apart from other social media platforms due to its large audience seeking short content tailored to their interests. But the question that might have caused you to land on this page is, how do TikTokers make money on the platform? This is what you’re about to learn.

Affiliate marketing, brand collaborations, subscriptions, and info products are among the most effective and highest-paying ways for TikTokers to earn money. TikTok content creators also utilize the platform to generate income through participating in the TikTok Creator Fund, hosting live streams, promoting their own businesses or services, and a lot more.

As a digital marketer, I understand the significance of social media platforms like TikTok and how they can be utilized for maximum business benefits and potential financial earnings.

My lovely contributors and I have backed up our research by interviewing 30 of the most successful TikTokers and asking them how they leverage the platform to make more money.

Drawing from my experience and the results of their surveys, I would be delighted to share our thoughts on the various ways you can leverage TikTok to make more money online.

Make sure to read this post all the way through and if you find it inspiring and useful, share it with your friends, please! (Virtual high fives and hugs to all my sharers out there!)

We at eComDimes are on a simple mission; help our readers provide well for their families by starting and growing online businesses. Some of the links in this post may be from our partners. Here’s how we make money.

How to Make Money on TikTok? (The Best 20 Methods)

Although specific opportunities may vary based on their follower count, content quality, and engagement, TikTokers make money on the platform through various avenues, primarily by leveraging their content, engaging with their audience, and partnering with brands or utilizing monetization features offered by TikTok.

In sum, TikTokers can generate income on the platform through diverse methods, some of which include:

1. Livestreaming Virtual Gifting and Donations

TikTokers can go live on the platform and receive donations from their viewers during the live sessions in the form of virtual gifts. For that, TikTokers must have at least 1,000 followers to start a live stream.

During live streams, viewers who show up on the stream and in the chat can send virtual gifts to creators as a form of appreciation. Creators can convert these gifts into diamonds, which can then be exchanged for real tangible funds, providing an additional source of income for content creators.

While some TikTokers earn a few gifts and donations from streaming to their audiences, some creators like the recent NPC streamers are able to incentivise a much higher rate of gifts.

On the other hand, there are creators who solely focus on TikTok streaming to grow their following base and earn much from donations.

2. TikTok Creator Fund

Back in 2020, TikTok introduced the Creator Fund which allows eligible creators to earn a share of the revenue generated on the platform based on their video views. Creators must meet specific criteria to join the fund, and the earnings are calculated based on the number of views their videos receive.

Put simply, TikTok’s creator fund is the original form of direct payment-per-view monetization that allows popular creators to generate income based on video views.

Depending on many factors such as video views, engagement, and content quality, TikTokers who enroll in the fund can receive regular payments just from their views only. So participating creators receive regular payments based on their performance.

A great rule of thumb is the more views you get, the more money you’ll be making out of your content. However, with a set amount of funds divided amongst a growing number of creators, the shrinking income stream was never a long-term solution.

Even towards the beginning, it was still paltry. A friend of mine barely made $10,000 for over 200,000,000 views. Most people left this fund for the Creator Fund 2.0.

3. Creator Fund 2.0 (AKA Creativity Program Beta)

This fund has the same flaws as the creator fund as it’s doomed to shrink the more creators join
the fund. The difference is that the threshold for earning money in this fund is much higher.

The videos that qualify for the fund are above 1 minute in length and even among those, tons are disqualified for various reasons. Most TikTok creators struggle to get views on videos above a minute because it takes a lot of skill to retain viewers that long on a platform known for rapid hits of dopamine.

The attention span of viewers on TikTok is much lower on average than that on YouTube. To put the cherry on top, many of the views on a single video that does manage to fit all the criteria to be eligible for the fund may just not count for an undisclosed reason.

Pryor only gets paid for about 70% of the views on his videos that qualify for the fund. All this considered, there are many creators making a lot of money from this fund (5-6 figures). If I get another video with 29,000,000 views, considering all the factors, I’d estimate I could make anywhere from $15,000-$25,000. To summarize, Creator Fund 2.0 is the same deal as the original Creator Fund but it’s much harder to get a slice. But if you do get a slice, the slice is much bigger.

4. Brand Collaborations and Influencer Marketing

As TikTokers gain a substantial following, they may receive offers for long-term brand partnerships and sponsorships. These partnerships can include regular content creation, appearances in advertising campaigns, or exclusive deals with certain brands.

In fact, brands pay TikTokers to become ambassadors and create videos featuring their products and services, which helps increase brand visibility and reach a broader audience. Popular TikTok users with a large fan base and engaged viewers can join forces with companies to promote their offerings.

By partnering with suitable brands and creating sponsored content, you can generate income through brand deals and influencer marketing campaigns, and most of the time, that income outpasses any revenue that you might generate from the Tiktok Creator Fund.

TikTokers who have developed a significant following can get paid in exchange for that influence on their audiences, and most of the time, the brands will reach out to the creators by themselves through email or the direct message feature.

So, once you have a nice follower base, find brands that you love and trust and become an ambassador for their products and services. To find and get connected with potential sponsors and brands relevant to your content, you can join the TikTok Creator Marketplace, (if you’re among the several approved countries) which contains over 8 million active creators from across the globe.

5. Merchandise Sales

Successful TikTokers can monetize their fame by selling merchandise related to their brand or content. Apparel, accessories, or other products could be included. ‍This allows them to extend their brand beyond the app and generate income from external sales.

Most TikTokers who tend to leverage this method use 3rd party services that supply them with the actual white-labeled products, and also print, pack, and ship on behalf of them! Some great examples of those companies are Printful and Printify.

Finally, for setting up the online storefront, Shopify tends to be the leading eCommerce platform that offers a beginner-friendly drag-and-drop website builder that requires zero technical skills and development knowledge.

Shopify is now home to over 4 million stores across the globe and it has everything you need to start selling online, anywhere. The platform also offers a 14-day free trial that allows you to dip your toes in the water and experience selling online without triggering your credit card yet.

6. Bio Rentals and Placements

Apart from brand collaborations and influence marketing, some TikTokers may be approached by companies to feature their websites and products in the form of a link in the bio.

Similar to Instagram or any other social media platform, you’re allowed to add a link in the bio, which you can rent out daily, weekly, or monthly for a certain fee that varies depending on your follower base and the duration of the shoutout.

7. Cross-platform Promotion

TikTokers can leverage their TikTok following in order to increase their visibility on platforms including YouTube, Instagram, or Twitch, which presents avenues for earning money via advertising deals, sponsorship arrangements, and alternative income streams.

You can simply incentivize people to go check your other social profiles and follow you there by offering exclusive content or running giveaways. Mastering the art of curiosity will allow you to take your followers anywhere you go.

8. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a performance marketing technique in which content creators are compensated for driving traffic and customers to brands and companies.

Nowadays, almost all companies and brands have their own affiliate program, including the giant retailer; Amazon! By the way, there are many alternatives to the Amazon affiliate program that have better terms and compensation.

Being said, as a TikToker, you can monetize your content by promoting affiliate products or services that are relevant to your niche and audience. By sharing unique referral codes or links, you can earn a commission when your followers make purchases using those links, passively, at no additional cost to them!

Generally speaking, affiliate marketing is a great business model that has the potential to make you 6-figure in passive online earnings. My friend Anthony has made millions of dollars through affiliate marketing and he’s offering people the opportunity to partner with him and join his 8-figure ecosystem.

9. Build and Sell TikTok Accounts

Building a following on TikTok won’t happen overnight, and since it takes time, some brands are willing to pay to purchase an established account with an existing engagement.

So, if you have the ability to organically grow a TikTok following, this could be a lucrative stream of income for you. To do this successfully, you should focus on a specific niche market that you can easily hand off to a buyer.

One of the many great marketplaces for buying and selling social media accounts is called Fameswap. Fameswap is a leading marketplace to buy and sell established Instagram accounts, Youtube channels, and Tiktok accounts. You can simply create a free account and start offering your accounts to the masses.

10. Sponsored Challenges and Hashtag Campaigns

In many cases, brands initiate hashtag campaigns and challenges to create hype behind their products and services. TikTokers can participate in sponsored hashtag challenges by creating engaging content around these campaigns. The fee that creators can charge may vary depending on their follower base.

11. Direct Sales

TikTok is a great platform that can connect you with your target audience across the world and if you have an already established business, TikTok can play a vital role in marketing your business and potentially bringing in new clients or customers.

Whether you’re a woodworker, mechanic, web developer, chiropractor, or fitness expert, posting short videos to promote your expertise and services can help to expand your reach tremendously.

So, if you build your content around your product, this is probably the most profitable of these options. I’ve had success selling digital products and I’ve been able to reinvest the money into my content. My content was essentially about me creating the product so the plug at the end fits extremely well.

The issue with direct sales is that you first have to develop a product which is very difficult. A digital product is the easiest to do because once you make it, you can infinitely distribute it. Most creators don’t have the knowledge, expertise, and funding to develop their own products so this isn’t a widespread method for monetization.

12. TikTok Ads

Chances are, you or your friends might have bought a product because you saw it on TikTok. In fact, TikTok reports that 1 in 3 users bought a product online because they saw a short video for it on TikTok.

Of course, the majority of successful TikTokers were able to obtain their huge audiences completely for free as the platform offers a ton of great organic marketing opportunities. However, as a content creator, you have the chance to expand the reach of your content through paid in-feed ads and can pay to get featured on the for you page.

With paid ads on TikTok, you allow the platform’s algorithm to stop guessing who your ideal audience is and only target audiences that are most interested in what you offer. This is huge and can save you a lot of time and trial and error.

Most importantly, the TikTok ads manager offers a lot of done-for-you video templates and allows you to measure the performance of your ads so you can get the most out of your advertising budget.

13. Monthly, Anually, and Lifetime Subscriptions

Does the idea of having a more regular passive income stream seem interesting to you? Subscription-based models of income can work out great for you as a content creator because it allows you to expect the minimum monthly earning amount and build your plans accordingly.

However, if you’re considering offering subscription services for monetizing your TikTok account, there are some things that you need to keep in mind, some of which include continuously uploading new content, adding real value, keeping the subscription fee low, and promoting your service in your videos.

There are a lot of subscription-based platforms that allow you to sell memberships and earn money from your most loyal fans. Some great examples are Ko-Fi and Patreon. The latter is the first large platform built to let creators and influencers monetize their content through paid subscriptions.

On Patreon, your fans can enjoy exclusive materials from you, get the chance to personally meet you, chat with you, and if you’re smart enough, you can get them to spend more with you by upselling them more relevant services or products. This will allow you to have lower costs and higher customer lifetime value.

Now, what can be offered in a subscription service? You may ask. Simply, anything that you’re good at that people might be interested in buying. Stuff to charge for on Patreon includes behind-the-scenes videos, branded merch (of your brand, of course), live chats, Discord server access, bespoke videos, and a lot more!

Alternatively, you can set up a self-hosted subscription-based store on Shopify and have full control over your value proposition, leads, and data. You can also have everything that you offer online under one well-looking roof.

14. TikTok Consulting Services

In my recently published money-making eBook, I talked about this lucrative side hustle and how it’s one of the trendiest ways to make money online now. TikTok experts who have at least 5 years of experience in this domain typically charge between $75-$125 an hour.

Generally speaking, brands will contact you for brainstorming video ideas, developing engaging bios, and more. Best of all, you can use AI tools like Copy.ai, Jasper, and Writesonic to brainstorm those ideas.

You can also use an AI-powered tool called Ocoya to create, schedule, write, or analyze your client’s social media accounts on various platforms. Even better? You can resell other people’s services online, and that’s what’s called drop servicing.

It’s the perfect money-making opportunity for digital nomads—you can run the entire business from your smartphone. Compared to Instagram, TikTok is relatively new and untapped, so helping brands establish a solid presence on the app can potentially make you a fortune.

However, you need to have a few talents before you begin offering TikTok consultancy to businesses. The most important is knowing how to create viral videos that get people to engage with brands.

If you don’t have the expertise to drive sales through this platform, you can still learn how to attract customers by taking TikTok courses on platforms like Udemy and Skillshare.

15. eBooks and Information Products

Information just makes the world go around. It doesn’t matter what niche you’re in, there are always people who are seeking information and have concerns that they aim to get addressed!

Here’s where content creators can come into play and offer that information in the form of digital products. This can be PDFs, cheatsheets, eBooks, calendars, calculators, courses, lists, reports and analyses, or any other digital product that allows you to trade your knowledge for money!

16. Online Consultations and Mentorships

What most people don’t know is that TikTok is not just a naive app where teenagers play around and bombard each other with silly challenges. The platform is currently the core marketing tool for a lot of businesses and very successful entrepreneurs!

So, if you’re good at something that can be shared and taught, you can leverage the ever-growing TikTok platform to grow an audience using short video content. Growing and monetizing TikTok with consultations and mentorships can be a fruitful approach that can yield huge earnings online!

17. Online Courses and Training

Are you a course creator who’s looking to expand your reach and get in front of new potential buyers across the globe? TikTok can help you reach more audiences and drive more sales to your online course, regardless of what your niche is!

In fact, in 2021, consumer spending on TikTok rose by a whopping 77%, and that number has just kept increasing throughout 2023. So, why not take advantage of the platform’s versatility and ease of use if other businesses are already recording massive sales through it?

You can host your online course on platforms like Udemy, but if you’re looking to have more control over your content, course, data, marketing, and students, you should consider starting your very own self-hosted course site. Here are some of the tools that you might need to do so:

Namecheap – A popular domain registrar for finding domain names of all extensions

Shopify – A leading eCommerce drag-and-drop website builder that requires no coding

Bluehost – A popular website hosting that offers affordable plans and reliable services

18. Trading Signals

Successful forex and crypto trading experts usually leverage TikTok to expand their reach and increase their potential earnings. This can help them further optimize their risk management plan, take higher risks, and potentially earn more money along the way.

Some of the best ways trading content creators leverage the TikTok platform to earn more money include selling trading signals, giving access to private Telegram groups, Discord servers, and a lot more!

19. Recipes and Food Plans

Health and fitness is among the highest-paying niches that TikTokers, YouTubers, social media influencers, and even bloggers tend to choose when starting their online venture.

So, if you’re a TikTok content creator who produces content about food, health, and fitness, you can actually sell your healthy food plans and recipes by leveraging short video content that attracts a lot of eyeballs within this niche.

20. Make Money With AI

As the hype on artificial intelligence continues to grow, many creators are popping up on a daily basis and jumping on the trend of growing faceless social media accounts using various AI technologies and tools.

What’s unique about this method is that all content production cycles can be completed using AI tools without the need to show up on a camera or even record any videos! What’s even better is that these social media accounts can be monetized faster than you may think.

Some AI tools you may need to start a TikTok or any other income-generating social media account are:

Copy.ai: A popular AI-powered copywriting generator and assistant
Jasper: A popular AI-powered content generator and writing assistant
Writesonic: A popular AI-powered writing assistant and content generator
InVideo: A popular all-in-one video generation and editing software
Canva: An all-in-one graphic designing toolkit for creating all sorts of data visualizations

TikTok Frequently Asked Questions

Here are your most TikTok frequently asked questions answered:

How Many Followers Do You Need to Make Money on TikTok?

If you are planning to make money live streaming on the platform, you would need 1,000 followers. On the other hand, to earn money directly from TikTok through TikTok’s Creator Fund, you need to have a minimum of 10,000 authentic followers. However, other monetization avenues such as affiliate marketing allow you to make money on the platform with no minimum follower count requirement.

How Much Money Do TikTokers Make Per 1,000 Views?

There is no limit on the amount that you can be making on TikTok per 1,000 views and earning on the platform depends on various factors that include your content quality and niche.

As a general rule of thumb, you can earn between 2 and 4 cents for every 1,000 views through the TikTok Creator Fund. However, this amount can definitely be higher by utilizing other monetization avenues such as affiliate marketing, selling your own products, offering subscriptions, hosting sponsorships, and more.

How Much Money Do You Get on TikTok For 1 Million Views?

TikTokers roughly make up to $40 per 1 million views through the TikTok Creator Fund. Other monetization possibilities, on the other hand, such as offering products, subscriptions, and paid partnerships, have higher financial opportunities and revenue per mile (RPM) rates for a million views.

In other words, the amount of money that you can be making out of 1 million views on TikTok is highly dependable on many factors, including your business niche, content quality, and monetization plan!

Do You Have to Be Verified to Make Money on TikTok?

No, you don’t need to be verified to make money on TikTok and the company doesn’t even have followers or likes requirements for account verification! Although the blue tick has nothing to do with the amount of money that you can be making on TikTok, being verified can add much to your credibility.

How to Make Money on TikTok Without Showing My Face?

One of the best ways that folks who are just starting out leverage to build a massive following fast on TikTok is by using other people’s content, removing the TikTok watermark, re-uploading the content, and giving proper credits to the original creator. Alternatively, you can leverage various AI technologies and tools to create your own faceless TikTok content and build your account without even showing your face.

Related: Here’s how to make money on TikTok, YouTube, or other social media platforms, anonymously.

Conclusion

Leveraging TikTok is an intelligent approach to access larger audiences, generate leads, and ultimately earn money. In conclusion, some of the best ways to make money on TikTok are through brand partnerships, the TikTok Creator Fund, live streaming, virtual gifting, merchandise sales, affiliate marketing, and sponsored challenges.

These avenues offer diverse opportunities for content creators to monetize their presence on TikTok. However, it’s vital to note that earning money on TikTok necessitates a substantial and engaged following, in addition to crafting content that connects with your followers and lures corporate attention.

Lastly, TikTok can make you a lot of money, but it may take a while to build a loyal follower base and monetization possibilities may differ affected by a creator’s reach, engagement level, and specific niche within the platform.

Do want to learn how you can earn 6 figures in online passive income? Attend a totally FREE 2-hour webinar by my friend John who turned from a fired employee to building a 22-million online empire.

Thanks for going this far and reading my article all the way through! If you found this post inspiring and useful, share it with your friends, please! (Virtual high fives and hugs to all my sharers out there!)

Cheers,
Odeh Ahwal

Special Thanks To Our Contributors

Sally Johnson – CEO & Founder of Greenlightbooking

Ray David – Owner of Poggers

Jason Wise – Chief Editor at EarthWeb

Eric Jones – CEO of Couture Candy

Isaiah Pryor – A TikToker with a following base of 2.2m followers