TikTok has exploded in popularity over the past few years, becoming one of the top social media platforms globally. With its massive audience and high engagement levels, many creators are now leveraging TikTok as a way to make money.
There are several options for monetizing your content and brand on TikTok. In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll explore the six main methods TikTok creators are using to get paid.
1. Become an Influencer
Building a large, loyal following on TikTok can open up various money-making opportunities. Brands will pay popular TikTok creators to promote their products or services through sponsored posts.
According to a 2021 study, the average cost of a TikTok sponsorship is $292 per post for creators with 100k to 500k followers. For mega influencers with over 1 million followers, the average rate increases to $971 per post [1].
Here are some tips for maximizing your earning potential as a TikTok influencer:
- Create unique, engaging content consistently to gain followers
- Once you hit at least 10k followers, enroll in the TikTok Creator Fund
- Partner with relevant brands in your niche to create sponsored content
- Diversify to other platforms like Instagram and YouTube to increase your reach
The highest-paid TikTok influencers make well into the six figures from these types of brand partnership deals.
2. Sell Merchandise
Many popular TikTok creators earn income by selling custom merchandise like t-shirts, phone cases, and other products featuring their brand.
You can sell merchandise directly through platforms like TeeSpring without needing to carry inventory or deal with shipping hassles. Simply promote your products to your TikTok following to generate sales.
Other tips for success include:
- Creating merch people will be proud to wear, featuring catchphrases or inside jokes from your videos
- Offering limited edition merchandise or special holiday collections to create urgency
- Collaborating on custom merch with other TikTokers in your niche
Across various platforms, top YouTuber MrBeast makes over $1 million per month just from his merchandise sales [2]. While results will vary, selling merch can clearly be quite a lucrative endeavor.
3. Do Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing allows you to earn a sales commission by promoting other company‘s products or services.
As a TikTok influencer, you can choose affiliate offers that are relevant to your audience and niche. Then create posts showcasing the products and highlight why you recommend them.
For example, a fashion influencer might promote popular clothing brands and include affiliate links to featured outfits allowing viewers to easily purchase. They would then earn a percentage of any completed sales.
Follow these tips to maximize affiliate revenue:
- Only promote brands you genuinely trust and recommend
- Disclose affiliate relationships transparently
- Experiment with different types of affiliate content from reviews to recommendations and tutorials
- Track your affiliate links to determine which are performing best
Top affiliate marketers can make over $500k per year by optimizing their referral strategies [3]. So affiliate programs can become quite profitable when done at scale.
4. Create Sponsored Content
Similar to influencer marketing, you can collaborate with brands to create sponsored content on your TikTok channel in exchange for payment.
This involves showcasing a brand or their products in your videos in an organic way that resonates with your audience. Negotiate pricing based on your audience size and expected engagement rates.
Follow these best practices when seeking out and fulfilling sponsorships:
- Set fair rates based on your follower count and engagement metrics
- Vet potential sponsors to ensure their brand aligns with yours
- Collaborate with brands to integrate products naturally into your content ideas
- Clearly disclose paid partnerships using TikTok’s “Branded Content” feature
With strong brand relationships and properly disclosed sponsorships, sponsored content can be quite lucrative. Top TikTok creators charge anywhere from $10,000 to $100,000+ for high-performing branded videos [4].
5. Teach a Course
Many TikTok creators leverage their knowledge and expertise around a topic to create premium courses or coaching services.
You can teach a course directly on TikTok using the platform‘s TikTok LIVE feature which allows real-time engagement with students.
However, most creators build their course offerings through a dedicated platform like:
- Teachable
- Podia
- Thinkific
- LearnWorlds
Then drive course enrollments through promotional videos and ads on TikTok.
Follow these best practices to successfully monetize your expertise:
- Identify high demand topics you specialize in like fashion, photography, cooking etc.
- Outline your course curriculum to demonstrate the immense value students will gain
- Price your course fairly based on the scope of content and access level
- Promote enrollment links across your social channels
By providing tons of value around a niche topic, TikTok creators are earning anywhere from $97 to $997+ per course purchase [5]. The key is picking a topic people are actively seeking to learn more about on TikTok.
6. Promote Your Music
Aspiring musicians are leveraging TikTok to promote their music and gain listeners.
Songs featured in popular TikTok dances often explode in streams and downloads after going viral. This allows artists to earn significant royalty payments.
According to analytics firm Soundcharts, a song being used in 1 million TikTok videos can generate up to $60,000 in mechanical royalty payments [6].
Tips for musicians seeking greater exposure:
- Feature clip previews of your songs in TikTok posts
- Encourage dances or challenges featuring your music
- Cross-promote by linking to full songs on streaming platforms
- Once a song trends organically, work with influencers to further boost
The key is catching fire on algorithmically-fed platforms like TikTok to gain mass awareness. Several up and coming artists like Lil Nas X have risen from obscurity to fame using social media virality.
Wrapping Up
As you can see, TikTok offers plenty of monetization potential for savvy creators. By developing a loyal following and high-quality content, you can leverage your influence across advertisements, affiliates, merchandise, music, courses and more.
Start brainstorming creative ideas that resonate with the TikTok audience today. Consistently post engaging videos to begin building your subscriber base. With persistence and optimization, you can ultimately transform TikTok into a full-time income source doing what you love!