Are you looking to monetize your TikTok account and turn your passion for creating short videos into a profitable venture? TikTok, the wildly popular social media platform, offers numerous opportunities for content creators to generate revenue. From joining the TikTok Creativity Program to running ads and selling merchandise, there are various strategies you can employ to make money on TikTok. In this comprehensive guide, we will explore the top 15 strategies to help you succeed on TikTok and maximize your earning potential.
Table of Contents
Join the TikTok Creativity Program/ Creator Fund
Run TikTok Ads
Collect Tips or Donations
Collaborate with a Creator
Try Affiliate Marketing
Grow and Sell TikTok Accounts
Publish Sponsored Posts
Create a Patreon Account
Sell Your Products and Merchandise
Set up a TikTok Shop
Offer Exclusive Content on TikTok
Provide Virtual Gifts
Host Live Events or Workshops
Offer Personalized Shoutouts
Sell Digital Products
Now, let’s dive deeper into each of these strategies and explore how you can make money on TikTok.
- Join the TikTok Creativity Program/ Creator Fund
One of the most direct ways to monetize your TikTok content is by joining the TikTok Creativity Program or Creator Fund. This program allows popular creators to earn money for their video uploads. However, it’s important to note that the program undergoes changes based on location.
As of November 2023, TikTok has announced the transition from the Creator Fund to the Creativity Program in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and France. To be eligible for the Creativity Program, you need to have at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 views in the last 30 days. Your earnings will be based on the number of views and other engagement metrics your TikTok content receives.
If you are located in Italy or Spain, you can still monetize your TikTok profile through the TikTok Creator Fund. To join the program, creators need to meet specific prerequisites and earn money based on the engagement their content generates.
- Run TikTok Ads
With a significant portion of Gen Z and Millennials actively using TikTok, running ads on the platform can be an effective way to reach your target audience and promote your products or services. TikTok offers different ad formats that allow you to personalize your targeting based on factors like age, location, and interests.
The most popular types of TikTok ads include:
In-Feed Video: These ads appear on the “For You” page of TikTok users who meet your targeting parameters.
Brand Takeover: This ad format expands to the width of the entire screen for a few seconds before transitioning into an in-feed video ad.
Hashtag Challenges: By creating appealing challenges that encourage user-generated content, you can increase brand engagement. Hashtag challenges appear in the Discovery section on TikTok. However, this option is only available to managed brands working in collaboration with TikTok sales representatives.
While these are the commonly used ad formats, TikTok also offers several other types that you can experiment with. Keep in mind that certain ad formats may be limited to specific types of accounts.
- Collect Tips or Donations
TikTok has introduced a tipping feature that enables select creators to earn money from tips and donations. This feature allows fans to show their appreciation to the creators they love by sending them virtual gifts and coins. Creators can then redeem these gifts for real cash.
In addition to the in-app tipping feature, creators can also use external tipping platforms like Tipeee, Ko-fi, and Buy Me a Coffee. By connecting these platforms to their TikTok accounts, creators can create a virtual tip jar and receive monetary support from their audience.
- Collaborate with a Creator
Collaborating with influential creators on TikTok can significantly boost your brand’s visibility and engagement. TikTok’s thriving community of content creators provides an excellent opportunity for brands to collaborate with individuals who have highly engaged followings.
When selecting creators to collaborate with, it’s crucial to find those who can authentically represent your brand to their audience. Creator-made branded content tends to have higher engagement rates, so it’s essential to choose creators whose values align with your brand.
TikTok’s Creator Marketplace is a platform where you can connect with content creators on the network. Using this platform, you can locate influencers based on your business goals, budget, and industry. It also provides comprehensive performance and audience metrics, allowing for data-driven decision-making when selecting creators for your collaborations.
- Try Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a popular strategy that allows creators and businesses to promote products or services from other companies and earn a commission for every sale generated through their referral. To be successful in affiliate marketing, it’s crucial to focus on promoting products that align with your target audience’s interests.
On TikTok, personal accounts do not have the option to place clickable links within video descriptions. However, you can ask your followers to copy and paste links into their browsers or enter special codes at checkout. You can also use platforms like Beacons to create a free webpage containing affiliate links and product details.
If you are an in-house marketer, consider creating an affiliate marketing program with clear guidelines and instructions for TikTokers who align with your brand values and target audience. Encourage affiliates to promote products or services that align with your goals and shared audience. Implement a tracking system to monitor affiliate performance and commission payments.
- Grow and Sell TikTok Accounts
If you’re looking for a more unconventional way to make money on TikTok, consider growing and selling TikTok accounts. While organic growth can take time, purchasing an established account can provide an instant boost in followers.
To successfully sell TikTok accounts, creators should focus on niche topics that can be sustained by the buyer. This ensures that the buyer can continue posting similar content and maintain follower engagement. When considering buying an established account, perform due diligence to ensure that the account has a genuine and engaged following relevant to your brand.
Platforms like 123accs, Accfarm, and Fameswap provide opportunities for brands to purchase TikTok accounts with active followers.
- Publish Sponsored Posts
Another way to monetize your TikTok account is by publishing sponsored posts. Brands can sponsor posts that live directly on creators’ profiles, allowing them to pay content creators to promote their products in organic posts.
Sponsored posts can be single posts or part of a series. If a sponsored post gains traction and starts trending, you can boost its reach further by investing in advertising to expand its visibility.
When engaging in sponsored posts, it’s essential to ensure that the content aligns with your brand and resonates with your target audience.
- Create a Patreon Account
Patreon offers creators the opportunity to generate revenue from their fans through memberships that provide exclusive access to content. You can leverage TikTok to promote membership sign-ups on your Patreon account.
To attract subscribers, consider keeping your subscription costs low and rewarding new subscribers with exclusive content or merchandise. Promote your Patreon page by including the link in your videos or adding it to your bio, making it easy for your followers to subscribe when they are ready.
- Sell Your Products and Merchandise
One of the tried-and-true strategies for making money on TikTok is selling products and merchandise. You can turn your original artwork, quotes, or your brand’s logo into merchandise and promote it on TikTok.
Listen to your audience to determine what products they may be interested in purchasing. Conduct polls or directly ask them for feedback to understand their preferences. If you have a personal account, create an e-commerce website to process sales transactions and promote it on your TikTok account. Add your store’s link to your videos and encourage your followers to check out your products.
If you have a TikTok Business account, you can integrate platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, Square Online, or Ecwid store with your account to streamline the selling process.
- Set up a TikTok Shop
TikTok has partnered with Shopify to launch the TikTok Shopping feature, allowing brands and creators to become official TikTok merchants and sell directly within the app.
By creating a TikTok Shop, you can showcase your products on in-feed videos, live streams, and product showcase tabs. To become a seller, eligible creators can sign up on the TikTok Seller Center, where they can manage inventory, orders, promotions, and more. It’s worth noting that the Seller Center is currently available only in select regions.
- Offer Exclusive Content on TikTok
TikTok introduced a new monetization feature in June 2023 called TikTok Series. This feature allows creators to create exclusive content that lives behind a paywall.
To access this feature, creators must meet specific criteria, including being at least 18 years old, having an account that is at least 30 days old, and meeting follower and engagement thresholds. Creators with less than 10,000 followers may still be eligible if they can provide a link to premium content they have successfully sold on other platforms.
TikTok Series allows creators to provide valuable educational content to their audience for a one-time fee. Creators can set the price for each TikTok Series they create, with payment options ranging from $0.99 to $189.99.
- Provide Virtual Gifts
Another monetization feature on TikTok is virtual gifts. Users who enjoy your content can send you virtual gifts as a token of their appreciation, which can be converted into actual money.
To enable virtual gifts, turn on the gift option, which will display a small gift box icon next to the comment box. Users can tap the icon to access a variety of coin packages that they can purchase. These coins can then be used to buy and send virtual gifts to their favorite creators.
- Host Live Events or Workshops
TikTok Live is a feature that allows creators to host live video events, which can be another lucrative way to make money on TikTok. Similar to virtual gifts, users can send live gifts during live streams, providing additional revenue opportunities.
Live streaming can be an effective way to engage with your audience and generate income. Ensure that your live videos are entertaining and valuable to keep viewers engaged and encourage them to send virtual gifts. The more consistent viewership you attract, the more likely they are to support you through virtual gifts.
- Offer Personalized Shoutouts
If you have a large following on TikTok, you can monetize your account by offering personalized shoutouts to TikTokers who want to grow their own accounts. You can set a price point for shoutouts and sell them as a way to make money.
During live videos or feed videos, you can give shoutouts to individuals who have purchased personalized shoutouts. Consider offering different price points for different types of shoutouts, such as feed videos costing more than shoutouts during live videos. Experiment with pricing and adjust based on the demand you receive.
- Sell Digital Products
Finally, consider selling digital products on TikTok. You can create a shop on TikTok and link your digital products for sale, making it easy for your followers to make a purchase. Promote your digital products within your videos and include the link to your shop in your profile for easy access.
Digital products can include e-books, digital artwork, online courses, or any other type of digital content that aligns with your brand and appeals to your audience’s interests.
In this guide, we have explored the top 15 strategies for making money on TikTok. From joining the TikTok Creativity Program to running ads, collaborating with creators, and selling merchandise, there are numerous avenues to monetize your TikTok account. Experiment with different strategies and find what works best for your brand and audience. With dedication and creativity, you can turn your TikTok content into a profitable venture. Good luck!