Ways to earn an income on TikTok

TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular social media platforms in the world. This popularity also means there are income opportunities for influencers and creators. If you’ve been thinking of trying to earn an income on TikTok, there are some things you need to know.

In this guide, we’ll give you some tips for starting your income stream on TikTok and how to maximize the money you bring in.

Can you earn extra cash on social media?

You definitely can earn money on social media, but it does take more hard work than many people assume. It’s more than just posting pictures or videos of trending dances. You need to make an effort to set yourself apart in a saturated market, you need to create good content that can stand up with the quality of top creators, and you need to produce content often. It can be a full-time job! But it gives you a lot of freedom and allows you to be creative, so if you can make money doing something you love, why not give it a try?

6 ways to make money on TikTok

If you’re looking to make money on social media, it’s best to diversify your income streams on every platform. There are multiple ways to make money on TikTok, so if you want to increase your opportunities, you should use two or more of these methods. 

With that in mind, here are some of the best ways to make money on TikTok.

1. Partner with brands

Partnering with brands is one of the most common ways a TikTok creator can make money. This is known as sponsored content, and it involves you marketing a product or service for a brand on your TikTok account. You and the brand will discuss the terms of the agreement, meaning it could be ongoing or a one-off deal. You could make a lot of money from it or just a decent paycheck. It all depends on the size of the brand and your level of reach.

These are some quick tips for partnering with brands:

Reach out to brands you actually like or that fit with your online persona: You don’t want to turn your loyal followers off by sponsoring a bad product or one that doesn’t align with your audience’s interests or beliefs. A brand collaboration should feel natural for both you and the brand.

Get a brand’s attention by making videos featuring their product: If you’re still working your way up, you can make some quality posts featuring a brand you like. They may take notice and reach out to you.

Let your followers know it’s a sponsored post: There’s a branded content toggle on TikTok that marks a post as sponsored. Make sure to use it so your followers know it’s an ad that you’re getting paid for.

2. Advertise your products and services

If you already have your own products and services, make sure you’re using your TikTok platform to get the word out. You can also include calls to action in your videos and captions encouraging your followers to visit your online shop.

Even if you don’t have your own merch yet, you may work your way up to that level. Always keep that in the back of your mind if you want to diversify your income streams further. Once you have a real following and loyal fans, they’ll be willing to buy products and services from you. Having an established TikTok will make it easier for you to market those products and services.

3. Partner with an influencer

Let’s say you have a business, but you’re not looking to make money from creating TikTok videos; you just want to use the platform for a marketing campaign. In that case, you’re going to want to reach out to an influencer or creator who aligns with your brand audience and collaborate with them.

Influencer marketing campaigns can be highly effective. These creators appeal to very specific niche audiences. If they have the same audience as your brand or an audience that would be interested in what you’re selling, you can instantly drive awareness by having a TikTok creator post a video that features your product or service.

A good way to find influencers to collaborate with is the TikTok Creator Marketplace. It allows any brand in the US to join, and it makes it easy to connect with reputable creators who might be a good fit for you. You can also scroll the app and search hashtags to find potential connections. Depending on the size of your brand and your budget, you’ll want to target influencers with a small to medium-sized following. They will have a more focused audience, so you can tailor your campaign to make a bigger impact.

Remember, you want to make sure the collaboration is a good fit. If you just choose an account randomly, you’re not going to get the maximum return on investment for your marketing dollars.

4. Apply to TikTok’s Creator Fund

Once you have a decent following, you can apply to TikTok’s Creator Fund and get paid by the platform directly. This fund rewards you for your views and for creating quality videos that get engagement. Of course, there are some stipulations if you want to be eligible for the TikTok Creator Fund. 

Before you apply, make sure you meet the following criteria:

• You must be a resident of the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, or Spain.
• You must be at least 18 years of age. 
• You must have at least 10,000 authentic followers.
• You need to have at least 100,000 views in the past 30 days.
• You must adhere to TikTok community guidelines and terms of service.

Also, to apply for the Creator Fund, you’ll need to upgrade to a Pro account.

5. Accept virtual gifts

Of course, your fans can also support you through donations and gifts. Followers can purchase gifts and coins and send them to TikTok creators; these can then be exchanged for real money.

To get virtual gifts, you’ll need to hold a TikTok Live. TikTok Live is a livestream feature that allows creators to stream in real-time for up to 60 minutes at a time. During this stream, you can engage with your followers, show off your talents, or do anything else you think might get people interested in watching your stream (within TikTok’s community guidelines, of course). If your fans are enjoying the stream, they can send virtual gifts. It’s a good idea to plan out some streams, so you can potentially earn money from your fans and connect with them on a deeper level.

6. Use affiliate links

Finally, you can use affiliate link programs to earn some extra money. When someone clicks on your affiliate links, they’re sent to a product page from your unique URL. When they purchase that product, you get some compensation for referring them.

The best place to put affiliate links is in your captions or in your bio. You can even mention the links in your videos so people know to go to your bio or your description to click on them.

How much can you make?

The amount of money you can make on TikTok can vary wildly from person to person. It all depends on your following and the income streams you’re using. Followers and views are the most important metrics on TikTok, so the more you get the better. Some people make a few hundred dollars per month on TikTok, while the biggest creators can make millions per year. If you want to maximize your TikTok income, you’ll have to be consistent, put in the work, and have a good strategy. Let’s jump into some quick tips for helping you get paid.

Tips for getting paid as a creator

Now you have an idea of where your money will be coming from, but how do you get a big enough following and a sufficient number of views to start making a decent income? We’ve got some tips to get you started.

• Be consistent: If you’re looking at the top creators for inspiration, you’ll notice one thing they all have in common. They post a lot. You need to upload engaging content consistently to keep followers interested. The more quality content you post, the more likely one or more of your videos will take off and increase your reach. Don’t be afraid to include some calls to action in your description asking your audience to follow you, share, and like your videos.
• Grow your following: Again, the key to TikTok success is getting a huge number of followers. The more followers you have, the more money you’ll be able to make. Being consistent and creating quality content will help with this, but you also need to market yourself and collaborate with other influencers and brands that can help boost you to the next level.
• Be true to yourself: People want their creators to be authentic and genuine. It might be something you don’t see a lot on social media, and that’s what makes it so much more refreshing when you do see it. If you can find a dedicated audience and carve out your niche, you’ll be able to open up a lot of opportunities for monetization.
• Engage with your audience: If you have a dedicated following, don’t let that go to waste. Make sure you’re engaging with your fans in multiple ways. Respond to their comments, talk to them in livestreams, and shout them out on occasion. If they’re asking for specific content, see if you can accommodate those requests. Fans love it when the creators they follow pay attention.
• Be upfront with your audience: Your audience wants to see you succeed, so make sure you’re being transparent with them. When you’re doing a sponsored post, switch the branded content toggle on to let them know. You don’t need to hide the fact that you’re collaborating with brands. It comes with the success you’re gaining.
• Participate in trends if they make sense: There are tons of TikTok trends that come and go. It’s a good idea to jump on a trend if it makes sense for your online persona, but don’t think you have to take part in every single trend that comes along. That could quickly backfire and will come across as inauthentic. Besides, if you only follow the trends everyone else is already doing, it doesn’t really set your profile apart much.
• Go for multiple income streams: As we mentioned before, the more income streams you have the better. If you can do brand collaborations, be on TikTok’s Creator Fund, and sell merch, you’re going to make a lot more money than just doing one of those things. More is better on TikTok.
• Use other social media platforms: Most TikTok creators have other channels that they can cross-promote and that can get them more followers. Make sure to let followers on all of your platforms know about your TikTok, your Instagram, your Twitch, etc.

Keep in mind that these are just some general guidelines for increasing your followers, views, and income. These strategies won’t work for everyone, but if you are able to find a way to create content people are interested in, they can work for you.

Grow with Beacons today!

If you’re looking to monetize your TikTok presence and grow your audience, Beacons can help. Beacons is a free link in bio tool that can help you consolidate your audience and connect all of your accounts. With Beacons, your followers can find all of your profiles and content in one place. And Beacons has an easy website builder, which allows you to build a custom website in minutes. You can even set up your eCommerce and merch store on the Beacons platform.

Beacons is free to use, and millions of creators are already signed up. If you want to take control of your online presence, then sign up for Beacons today.