How To Make Money On TikTok – A Throughout Guide

There is no denying that for a newly developed and released social media platform, TikTok is growing exponentially. 

Ever since its conception, this app has taken over the world with more than 1.5 billion downloads. With this kind of popularity, “how to make money on TikTok” has become a hot topic.

Having a similar nature to platforms like Instagram and YouTube, TikTok is a huge money-making machine on the rise. Due to how new this platform is compared to other video and image sharing platforms, there are way fewer competitors.

For this reason, some people go viral overnight. However, it will not be easy to monetize their TikTok fame, as there still are some key differences between YouTube content creators and TikTokers. So, how do people make money on Tiktok? 

This article will give you the answer. Read it!

How To Make Money On TikTok Step by Step

Here are the things that you should do to answer the pressing question “How do you make money on TikTok?”

Become TikTok Influencer

The first thing you need to do to start to make money on the platform is becoming an influencer. After all, influencer marketing has always been among the most successful types of marketing.

Many think of the word “influencer” as someone already TikTok famous, but that’s not true. Yes, this number does matter, but you will be surprised at how little importance lots of brand place on it. Instead, they focus much more on how many engaged followers there are.

Let’s say that you are a TikTok influencer with “only” 20,000 followers competing against one with 100,000. There is still a not-so-small chance that your followers are much more engaged than theirs. All you need to do is make sure that your channel is as engaging as possible.

Select The Right Niche

One good piece of advice we can give you on this part is to pick a niche that can captivate you. 

As with YouTube, TikTok videos require high-quality and relevant content to earn money properly. There is no chance for you to create good videos if you do not enjoy the topic.

Never underestimate your viewers; they can easily sniff out a not wholehearted effort.

Set Up The Profile

There is no specific detail you need to follow while setting up your profile. All you need to keep in mind is to make sure that both the biography and profile pic are as eye-catching as possible. After all, that’s what viewers will first see of you.

Understand The Audience

All TikTok creators must understand that only user content related to their niche can attract viewers. Sure, a funny video that has nothing to do with the niche can go viral, but people will quickly lose interest and forget about it.

First, you must analyze which type of user content is receiving the highest engagement rate. Only by doing this can you know what a person is looking for after joining TikTok. Then, you can start to make money on the platform.

Be Consistent

Consistency is not something you should make light of, especially on a cutthroat social network like TikTok. Since the start of TikTok, there have been numerous cases of a person shooting into stardom overnight. Nonetheless, most of them return to obscurity.

The main reason for this phenomenon is the lack of relevant content. We humans generally have a short attention span, so viewers will leave if they cannot constantly stream videos. That is why it is vital to pick a specific schedule for creating content and stick to it.

Engage With The Audience

Getting a person to notice you is among the easiest things to do, but retaining their interests is much harder. 

The most efficient way to keep people invested in your TikTok account is by interacting with them. If you manage to build a connection with your follower base, you will have and remain huge traffics.

Declare Your Interest In Collaborating With Brands

The primary path that a TikTok user takes to make money on TikTok is through brand collaboration. This method brings in the big bucks, so you must make use of it properly.

Firstly, you can signal the brands about your interest in collaboration through your bio or influencer campaigns. 

By influencer campaigns, we mean either joining some influencer marketing agencies or starting an outreach campaign yourself. Either way, let the brands know. So, aside from this, how do people make money on TikTok?

Growing and selling TikTok account

Aside from brand collaboration, growing and then selling your top TikTok accounts for the highest bidder is another option. This method is quite popular on Instagram

If you are an avid Instagram user, you must have heard of it. As they are the same at the core, nothing can limit you from replicating the method on TikTok.

Start by finding a niche, as we always do, then begin to create user content. Of course, remember to get niches that have a sizable market. If you do things properly, you will get more followers on TikTok in no time.

Then, all is left to do is reach out to brands in that niche and gauge their interest and price accordingly. Afterward, you can start the process again, shortening the time thanks to experience.

We do want to remind you not to personalize the TikTok accounts too much. Instead, you can make it into a themed account, as they are much easier for the new owners to replicate. 

At the end of the day, this type of account’s followers engage purely due to the theme. There is a slight chance they can notice the change in ownership if the new owners are careful. Thus, you will never have to worry about limited buyers if you have a themed TikTok account.

Let’s take an example, say you create a TikTok account about adventuring to popular travel locations. There is no business in the travel services industry not interested in this account unless they already have one. This fact is also true for industries like beauty, fitness, food, fashion, etc.

The main job now is to focus purely on user content, and if you have quality user content, you will get contracts.

Run A TikTok Influencer Agency

If you have the budget and an unlimited imagination, why don’t you go big? While others are racking their brains for a video idea, you can make money on TikTok through managing influencer campaigns. 

Running an influencer team is not a new idea, as there are already tons of Instagram influencer agencies currently in operation. What’s stopping you from doing the same for TikTok but fear of failure?

A TikTok influencer agency’s main jobs are not that different from those of an Instagram agency. Specifically, you will help brands develop strategies, execute said strategies, and manage TikTok influencer campaigns. 

In other words, you will be the middle-man introducing the brands to a TikTok influencer suitable for them. You will analyze the influencer’s content and create a social marketing strategy capable of attaining the brand’s goal.

To do so, you first need to identify which TikTok influencer has a respectable track record. They do not need to be the top TikTok stars, but they must deliver what is promised. 

Next, it’s important to develop a relationship with said TikTok creators. As a rule of thumb, a personal connection will eliminate lots of unnecessary hardships in convincing the influencer. 

As for the brands, you need to prove that you are indeed well-versed in running media campaigns. Strategizing a successful social network campaign is undoubtedly easier said than done. Therefore, it makes senses when the brands will need some proof.

The main competitor if you decide to go with this method is none other than TikTok itself. There is already an internal influencer recommendation program built within TikTok. Nevertheless, this program is quite costly.

As a result, if you can keep the cost to an acceptable level, smaller brands will come to you.

Become A Consultant

You must have seen how much work one needs to put in to become TikTok famous. Sometimes, just hard work alone isn’t enough for success in this world, as other people are working just as hard. 

Thus, if you understand exactly how TikTok operates, people will pay for your advice. If you can help a person create efficient TikTok videos and get more views, you can get paid handsomely.

One prime example of this career path is Sean Young, who got relatively big on TikTok. Instead of putting all eggs in one basket, he decided to open his horizon by starting a consulting agency. 

Now, he advises celebrities and brands about what to do and not to do as a TikTok user. For instance, he will look at a brand’s goal and let them know which type of user content is not relevant to that goal. 

He does not even have to meet them in person and still earns $10,000 a month.

Sell Merchandise

After acquiring a sizable follower count, you can try your hand with selling your merchandise through TikTok. This method’s best advantage is that you do not need to get too famous to start selling.

If you manage to regularly engage with your viewers, you can start selling, even with only 100 followers. The key is to make content that smoothly leads to sales. For example, you can make a short makeup tutorial, casually add a link to the skincare product, and upload.

From our experience, there is a high chance that at least one person out of a hundred will try to get that product. If you grow your channel and post promotional videos correctly, there will be no income shortage. 

How Much Money Can You Make On TikTok?

TikTok stars that have managed to accrue about 100,000 followers can earn anywhere between $500 and $2,000 for each sponsored post. You must be wondering about the huge difference in earning capability.

The answer is the engagement rate. As we have mentioned above, the engagement rate is incredibly vital for money-making on TikTok. This case is especially true when talking about brand collaboration.

Essentially, no brand in this world would not take a look at this figure before making a decision. Due to how easy it has become to buy followers on TikTok, brands have changed their focus to this measurement. 

You can consult this formula to calculate your account’s engagement rate:

TikTok engagement rate = [(No. of hearts + No. of comments)/No. of follower] x100

How Many Followers On TikTok To Make Money?

From what we could gather, no magically set number can automatically qualify you for earnings. However, if you manage to accrue more than 1,500 followers, there is a high chance of brands getting interested.

Remember, this number must be based on the engagement rate, as it is organic and dependable. You shouldn’t underestimate brands when it comes to this stuff.

On the other hand, if you achieve 1,500 followers alongside a respectable engagement rate, the brands will fight for you. Ultimately, they want you to spread awareness of their products. In other words, they need viewers to remember what they are watching.

This case rarely happens with TikTok stars who don’t have engaged followers. Therefore, we want to remind you again that there is nothing more vital to making money on TikTok than the engaged follower count.

If you enchant your followers enough that they take note of your content, you will make money. The average amount is $0.01 to $0.02 for each view on a sponsored video.

Aside from these methods, there is also the TikTok live stream program that we mentioned above. After the streamer has converted gifts into diamonds, they can withdraw them as monetary compensation. 

There is a catch, though, as there certainly is a qualifying process for the platform. To pass this process, you must have at least 1,000 followers.

How Much Does TikTok Pay Creators?

The biggest TikTok stars like Josh Richards, Michael Lee, Charli D’Amelio made at least $1 million in 2020. Nevertheless, most of their income does not originate from TikTok. Instead, they make money through merchandise and sponsored content.

As we have stated above, it was only recently that TikTok decided to start sharing its ad revenue. The long-awaited Creators’ Fund was a fresh change for the TikTor creators, but it is severely underfunded.

Recent reports from TikTok influencers using this feature indicate that the rate is $0.02 to $0.04 for 1,000 views. In other words, a relatively successful TikTok video that has 500,000 views can only net you $20.

If you compare this number to the amount TikTok stars can make with a 100,000 views video, it’s disappointing. 

Sure, TikTok top earners can easily rake in $100,000 to $200,000 each year. However, the vast majority of TikTok creators are not those guys, so it is almost impossible to earn enough money.

The TikTok Live Stream Platform does let you convert gifts into money, but they will take half of that money. As a result, you will be left with a meager amount if you do not have an engaged community.

Now You Have Known “How Do You Make Money On Tiktok”

After reading this article, we hope you are now aware of the proper way to make money on TikTok. The one thing that we want you always to remember is focus on quality content. There are countless chances for you to monetize this social media platform properly if you do so.