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Last Updated on May 31, 2021 by Daniella
Are you trying to figure out how to make money on TikTok? TikTok is one of the fastest growing social media networks. In fact, TikTok’s monthly user base has grown by 800% since 2018. It’s clear that people are crazy about it and it’s an awesome opportunity to make money.
Charli D’amelio started on the platform just one year ago and now has an estimated net worth of $4 million dollars. Other influencers are following close behind that, which speaks to the income opportunity that lies behind TikTok.
In this article we’re going to talk about 5 ways you can make money on TikTok.
These opportunities are within reach for any TikTok influencer and you might be surprised how easy some of them are, to get started yourself.
Let’s get to it!
Table of Contents
5 Ways How to Make Money on TikTok
These are 5 ways you can make money on TikTok:
- Sponsorships
- Affiliate marketing
- Ecommerce
- Creator fund participation
- Grow and flip TikTok accounts
Sponsorships are one of the most lucrative forms of income and it’s a great way to earn on TikTok.
In a sponsorship, a brand pays an influencer to talk about them.
For example, a pasta sauce brand might pay a food and cooking TikTok influencer to make a TikTok video preparing a dish with their company’s pasta sauce.
This is super valuable for both sides.
The influencer earns money for making a TikTok video, which is something they’d be doing anyway.
And, the brand gets exposure to that influencer’s audience, which drives brand awareness and can result in sales.
Sponsorships exist across many industries, from blogging to fundraising and more.
There are influencers that are making a full-time living from sponsorships alone.
How to get started with TikTok sponsorships?
First, you want to make sure you have your contact details or website with contact details displayed in your TikTok bio. Believe it or not, sometimes half the work in setting up a sponsorship is just getting in contact.
You can wait for brands to contact you.
You can also reach out to brands you’d like to work with.
And, you can join a sponsor network which will show you sponsorship opportunities that you can apply to.
Sometimes there’s an opportunity to become a brand ambassador for the company too.
If you’re interested in earning sponsorship income from being a TikTok influencer, follow the tips shared above and don’t delay!
What to charge for sponsorships?
If you have no idea of where you should start with your pricing when working with brands for TikTok sponsorship, you can use a TikTok money calculator like the one Influencer Marketing Hub provides.
I do recommend to probably charge more than the calculator suggests as it is just an estimation to start with to get an idea for earning potential.
Ideally, you will want to charge for:
- Production costs
- Software costs
- Costs of hiring outside help (like a photographer and a lawyer)
- The time you are putting into it + admin time
- The value you bring with your audience
- Taxes
- Profit you want to make
Many influencers overlook these hidden costs when partnering with brands on sponsored campaigns and they leave thousands of dollars on the table because of it.
2. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is about promoting products to your audience and earning a commission if your referral results in a sale.
For example, you could refer a pair of boots you wore in your last 3 TikTok videos. If your fans click your referral link and buy, you earn a commission.
It’s a straightforward way to make money and tons of influencers on TikTok are taking advantage of it.
How to get started with affiliate marketing?
First, join an affiliate network. You can choose merchants to promote based on the products and companies you like using. You can also pick merchants to promote based on the niche you’re in.
For example,if you create TikTok videos about investing and wealth building, you can choose to join affiliate programs in that niche.
Next, you can start promoting those brands in your TikTok videos.
When your fans or viewers click your referral link and buy, you earn money.
Here are 22 easy affiliate programs to get started with.
3. Ecommerce
You can make money with TikTok through your own ecommerce brand.
Many up and coming, new companies have started their business right on TikTok. The potential exposure you can gain is huge and it’s an awesome way to get free marketing for your brand.
How to Make Money with Ecommerce on TikTok
You’ll post TikTok videos advertising your company. Link to your business in your profile and enjoy sales coming in.
So many ecommerce companies have turned into million-dollar companies solely from posting on TikTok. It’s one of the easiest platforms to go viral and one viral sensation can grow your fanbase by tens of thousands of followers or more, and skyrocket your business.
Here are some video ideas for posting about your business on TikTok:
- Behind the scenes videos of your workspace, office, and warehouse
- Videos packaging orders
- One-on-one videos sharing a sale or announcement
- Sharing a giveaway, contest or event
- Shouting out other businesses to show support for the small business community
- Videos introducing yourself and your staff
- Videos sharing your company’s mission and vision
Once you reach 1,000 fans on TikTok, you can also start hosting TikTok Lives. TikTok Lives let you go live on the platform. You can talk one-on-one with viewers and this is a great way to create engagement and grow your business even further.
I saw this TikTok creator go from a fanbase <5,000 to 30,000+ in just a few short weeks after posting consistently to the platform and hosting regular Lives throughout the week.
Don’t be camera shy, give it a try.
4. TikTok Creator Fund
The creator fund on TikTok was introduced in 2020 and it pays eligible TikTok influencers based on the number of views they receive on their videos.
The more views you receive, the more you can earn from the Creator Fund.
This won’t earn you a full-time income, unless you are a mega influencer with billions of views every month.
What’s great about it though, is that it’s passive income.
You can continue creating TikTok videos like you normally do, while your Creator Fund earnings accumulate on your account.
Once you reach a balance of $50, you can be paid out.
Here are the requirements to join the TikTok Creator Fund:
- Must be 18 years old or older
- Must have a minimum of 10,000 followers
- Must have accrued at least 10,000 video views in the last 30 days
If you have the opportunity to earn from the Creator Fund, don’t pass up this opportunity. It’s easy passive income for continuing to make TikTok videos.
Read more about the Creator Fund.
Related:How to Make Money on Snapchat Spotlight
5. Grow and Flip TikTok Accounts
This last way to make money with TikTok is something you probably never considered.
It’s flipping TikTok accounts.
You may be familiar with flipping. You can do it with houses, cars, websites, andproducts you buy from thrift stores or the Goodwill, among other places.
What is Flipping?
You buy something at a low price and resell it at a high price.
Let’s take the classic example of flipping real estate.
Real estate investors buy houses at a cheap price, like purchasing a house on foreclosure, for example.
Then, they invest in the property, making renovations and improvements and lastly, they flip the home for a profit.
Consider this:
You buy a $50,000 home and invest $10,000 to make improvements, flipping it at a price of $100,000.
$100,000 (sales price) – $10,000 renovation cost – $50,000 (purchase price) = $40,000 profit
You can do this with just about anything, including social media accounts.
How to Flip TikTok Accounts
Social media accounts are valuable. It’s a way to create an audience, gain a following and make money online. Some people want to cut out the time investment it takes in the beginning to build a following so instead, they buy an established social media account.
You can create a free TikTok account and take 3 months to grow it to 1,000 followers or you can buy an established 1,000-followers TikTok account now and save 3 months of time.
It’s a cost-time exchange.
So, to make money flipping TikTok accounts, you will be creating and growing TikTok accounts then reselling them for a profit.
Where to sell TikTok accounts?
There are marketplaces like Fameswap where you can sell social media accounts like TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram. You can also sell on social media, through your personal or business contacts and other places.
How to get started?
Just start. Create a TikTok account and start growing it by posting consistently, interacting with your audience, and more.
When the time is right, sell. Then, you can rinse and repeat the process to make money by flipping TikTok accounts. Simple enough, right?
Can anyone make money on TikTok?
If you are a TikTok creator, you can make money. Whether you have a small or large following, there’s the opportunity to grow your income with TikTok. And, that’s one of the things I love about the platform.
Best Practices for TikTok
With money-making in mind, you always want to remember that you should come from a place of value. You can make more money not actively selling, believe it or not.
Have you heard of attraction marketing?
It’s a way of attracting your audience who want to buy what you’re offering.
Entertain, share, educate, inspirate and your audience will naturally grow. Be authentic and be honest. Have fun and make money in the process.
Final Thoughts on How to Make Money on TikTok
To recap, we just covered how to make money on TikTok in these 5 ways:
- Sponsorships
- Affiliate marketing
- Ecommerce
- Creator fund participation
- Grow and flip TikTok accounts
The takeaway here is that you can make money on TikTok. And, any creator on the platform can do it.
To get the most out of the platform be consistent, provide value, and keep going.
Are you making money on TikTok? Share your advice and experience below in comments!
More ways to make money online:
- How to Become a Social Media Manager
- How To Make Money With Pinterest
- Twitch Review: How to Make Money on Twitch
- Get Paid to Read Books: 12 Ways to Make Money as a Bibliophile
- 9 Ways to Make Money Selling Photos Online
- How to Make Money on YouTube: Step By Step Guide
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Jenn Leach
Jenn Leach is a writer, instructor, entrepreneur, and founder of Millennial Nextdoor where she teaches millennials life hacks for easy millennial living like being money smart, investing in yourself, and automating your life. When she is not working, you can catch her binge-watching baking reality TV shows or listening to her favorite podcasts about business, money, and life.
