TikTok is a mobile application that lets users create short videos and share those with their friends. It was launched in China and became instantly extremely popular in 2017. In 2018, the company announced its plans to expand internationally.
Many people now make money using the TikTok app, and some earn enough to make a living from creating content. If you’re a keen content creator you likely wonder… how? Does TikTok pay content creators? How much does TikTok pay per view? How do content creators get so wealthy?
To understand the process of earning money through the TikTok app, take a look at our ultimate guide below. We cover everything, from TikTok’s creator fund to how to monetize your TikTok, and everything in between! Check it out.
How Much Does TikTok Pay?
The TikTok app itself doesn’t pay much. In fact, until recently, the app didn’t pay its content creators at all. Now, TikTok has a Creator Fund. Using this fund, it is estimated that influencers and content creators can receive up to around 4 cents per 1000Â TikTok views. However, TikTok itself hasn’t confirmed how much it pays its creators.
Whilst this amount will add up to a hefty sum for TikTok’s most famous creators such as Addison Rae, for most creators, this is nowhere near enough to make a living off. So, you’re likely wondering, how do regular content creators use TikTok to earn money?
Below, we’ve listed some common ways that content creators get money using TikTok. Take a look if you want to try your hand at being an influencer… who wouldn’t want a full-time career making videos about things that you love?
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Creator Marketplace
This is a platform made by TikTok that allows brands to meet suitable influencers. Influencers can then discuss partnerships with brands, wherein they might advertise their products on TikTok for money. They might also become a brand ambassador.
Tips
Fans can now send tips to their favorite creators. Whilst TikTok charges a small processing fee for the sender, it doesn’t take any commission from the creator. This is a great way of supporting content creators who don’t earn very much from the app already. If you’re hoping to monetize your small account, directing your followers to the tip button might be a good idea.
Brand Collaborations and Sponsorships
If you already have a large audience, brands might connect with you to promote their products. They will pay you depending on your TikTok reach. Some TikTok stars earn tens of thousands of pounds just by posting one advert for a specific brand. This is the main source of income for most influencers.
Affiliate Marketing
Through videos and live streams, you can promote products and services. When you do this, you will receive a commission from the brand that you are promoting. The aim is to get as many of your followers as possible to purchase the brand’s products because you get paid for each purchase.
Selling Merch
Content creators may also make and sell their own products. They may do this on TikTok using their e-commerce platform Teespring. They could also use other platforms such as Shopify, and link to these platforms through their TikTok. This merchandise usually comes in the form of clothing, but can really be anything.
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How Much Do TikTokers Make?
Popular TikTok stars can earn a huge amount of money through the methods described above. In fact, it seems as though many TikTokers went from being regular people on a normal wage to millionaires overnight. Below, we’ve listed the highest-paid TikTok stars, their estimated annual earnings, and how they got to where they are today.
Charli D-Amelio
Charli D’Amelio is the highest-paid TikTok influencer. It is estimated that she earns $17.5 million. She has roughly 135 million followers and began posting dance videos in 2019. According to the Wall Street Journal, Charli D’Amelio is a bigger earner than CEOs of huge companies such as Starbucks.
Dixie D’Amelio
Dixie is Charli D’Amelio’s sister. She is thought to earn around $10 million a year. She has 57 million followers and regularly posts content with her sister. Recently, she has decided to branch out into music. Her most recent music video became the number one trending video on YouTube.
Addison Rae
According to Forbes, Addison Rae made $5 million from TikTok in 2020 alone. She is now thought to earn $8.5 million. She has 86 million followers and quickly rose to fame around a year after joining the platform.
Bella Poarch
Bella rose to fame through a viral lip-syncing video. She is one of the newest stars on this list. Her estimated earnings are $5 million and she has 87 million followers. She quickly became a TikTok superstar and her viral video was the most viewed video on TikTok in 2020.
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Can You Make TikTok a Career?
The honest answer to this question is it really depends on how much you’re willing to work for it. Whilst a lot of people get very lucky with viral videos, for most content creators, earning using TikTok requires a whole lot of effort and patience.
It is definitely possible to have a successful career on TikTok, but you will need to put a lot of effort into creating popular and valuable content that your viewers and other users love watching. In fact, less than 1% of TikTokers go viral with just luck.
The only surefire way to earn money using TikTok is to first gain a lot of followers. To do this, you need to ensure that you are posting high-quality content that aligns with current trends consistently. This can be tricky if you work or attend school, but it is worth the extra effort if you’re determined to make it.
To give yourself the best chance of becoming a TikTok earner, you need to really understand your target audience and enjoy making videos within a specific niche. If you love fashion, stick to fashion content. If you love to dance, stick to dance content.
Once you have identified your niche, you need to be present on your platform. We recommend networking with similar content creators, encouraging your followers to comment and engage with your content, and sharing the work of other content creators regularly.
Once your platform has shown significant growth and potentially become verified, it is likely that brands will begin to contact you, and opportunities to earn more money will arise. It is important that you are patient because this can take a long time to come to fruition.
Conclusion
While there are many ways to earn money on TikTok, we highly recommend starting off by gaining a large following before trying to monetize your account. Once you’ve gained enough followers, then you can start to think about monetizing your account.
In fact, once you’ve gained a large following, opportunities will pop up all over the place! We hope that this article has given you the inspiration necessary to start trying to make a living off TikTok!
You can read additional TikTok articles here.
