Can You Actually Make Money on TikTok?

For every person that’s made money on TikTok, there are 1000 that haven’t, so the question begs itself: can you actually make money, and why do so many fail? One of the easiest ways to guarantee failure is by not having a goal. Without setting a goal properly, it can be tempting - and detrimental - to hire a hungry influencer who’s psyched about making money the easy way. 

To be successful on TikTok, you need to make sure you’re doing the right things in the right order. Your efforts become more of a guess and a way to lose funds without a specific goal in mind. 

Armed with the right strategies, you’ll find this young social medium is practically swimming in money. This money can be yours if you use the app well. It is a platform with immense reach, and affiliate links are just one way to make money. What’s more, you don’t have to make funny videos or dance to gain a loyal following on the platform.

Focus on engagement 

A lot of likes or followers on TikTok can help, but they don’t guarantee a payout. It’s usually a better bet to focus on engagement and connect with people who are excited about your content. As with YouTube, Instagram, and other social media platforms, you can make money on TikTok in one of three ways:

Sponsorships and paid partnerships: Engaging content attracts the attention of brands, who will consider partnering with or sponsoring the creator.

Monetization through the app: TikTok will pay you for your content through its creator fund. Unlike other social media, TikTok does not give creators funds from ad revenue. 

Taking followers off the platform: You can use the app to reach new people, then take them off it to buy a product via an affiliate link or to visit your website.

What makes TikTok unique? 

TikTok recently became the most popular website in the world, a recognition previously held by Google. Even if you’re just beginning, it’s easy to get thousands of views on the platform. The secret is being aware of what types of content TikTok prioritizes. You can’t go wrong with native content, generally. 

Create videos that people can enjoy on the app, and you’ll be successful. It rewards creators who adopt an entertainment-first approach. Users want to stay on the app. A creator can make a profit through paid partnerships, but influencers on other platforms are more successful when they try to drive traffic to e-commerce sites or landing pages.

Partner with influencers 

Partnering with influencers can improve your prospects. To find someone on TikTok and follow them, sync your phone contacts to your account. Find friends from your contacts by going to Profile at the bottom of the TikTok app, then pressing the Find friends button. Tap Find next to Contacts and allow the app to access your contact list. It will direct you to your device settings. You can find influencers and follow them here. 

Get paid by advertisers 

If your videos can attract a lot of views, you’ll find brands rushing to pay you to advertise their products or services. Sponsors and partners are well-aware of TikTok’s impressive reach. Your most crucial deliverables will be awareness and good storytelling.

Paid content that drives awareness and focuses on entertainment and storytelling is more likely to gain traction. Smaller-scale influencers can only land brand deals if they are genuinely willing to represent a product and able to do so effectively.

Invite users off TikTok

TikTok clickthrough rates are relatively low, but this may have more to do with the app’s unusually high reach and the fact that it’s still new. Valuable content is the essential aspect. You can only have one hyperlink on your TikTok profile, but a few free services can turn it into many. 

Get paid by the app itself 

In 2020 ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company announced a $200 million creator fund, but the payouts aren’t that impressive. On average, the app pays three cents per 1,000 views. TikTok is growing exponentially, and competition is getting tougher. Combine this strategy with another approach to broaden your efforts.

Do you have a propensity for making viral videos? Take your skill to a platform that offers more significant rewards for it, like YouTube or Instagram.