From hobbyists to influencers, TikTok now offers creators multiple ways to make money. Chances are, if you’ve landed here, you’re wondering about those options and their earning potential.
Most of today’s creators utilize TikTok as part of their income strategy, which makes sense. It’s the 5th most used social platform globally, with over 1.5 billion users.
TikTok’s growth shows no signs of slowing down, as estimates of monthly active users reach 1 billion this year. Plus, looking at worldwide downloads and consumer spending in 2023, the platform surpassed Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Disney+. That’s a pretty big deal. As TikTok’s revenue grows, so does the monetization pool available to creators.
From selling physical products to affiliate marketing and sponsorships, we’ll discuss the most popular ways to make money with TikTok below.
How Much Money Can You Make on TikTok?
The answer to this question depends on many variables. As mentioned, creators can profit from TikTok in multiple ways. Before we continue, though, a few things are worth considering - if your goal is to make money overnight, expect to invest more time and effort than that.
Several factors will influence your earning potential, including your number of followers, the type of content you create, your audience size, how engaged your audience is, and which methods of monetization you choose to incorporate into your strategy.
For example, when it comes to sponsorships, a creator with 10k and 50k followers can make roughly $25 to $125 per post, while a creator with 50k to 500k followers can make closer to $1,000 per post.
Let’s examine some of the top ways to make money on TikTok, and the potential earnings from each.
Making Money With TikTok Shop
The first is TikTok’s in-app shopping function. Launched in September 2023 after the massive rise of #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, TikTok Shop allows creators and businesses to sell products directly in-app, similar to Instagram.
To use TikTok Shop, you must reside in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States, or Vietnam. Then, you can sign up under one of four categories: Seller, Creator, Partner, or Affiliate.
Sellers
If you’re promoting your own products, you can sign up for TikTok Shop as a seller. Sellers must be able to verify their identity, TikTok account, phone number, and email. If you meet the requirements, you should receive an application outcome in roughly a week.
You can link your TikTok account to your storefront and access features like ads, live shopping, a product showcase, and a shopping tab.
One caveat is that you can only sell physical products through TikTok Shop. Don’t worry, though. You can still indirectly sell digital products with the help of TikTok and an external platform, like Whop.
Creators
Creators can also earn commissions through TikTok Shop. By linking to products in your videos and lives and on a dedicated shop page, you could turn a commission for every sale your audience makes from your storefront.
To be eligible, you’ll have to meet some criteria. Your account must be in good standing, adhere to TikTok’s Community Guidelines, and have a following of over 5,000. Creators also must be 18+ to use TikTok Shop. If you meet these criteria, you can apply to join the TikTok Shop Creator Program.
Partners
Partners on TikTok are service-based businesses that assist creators to help them thrive on the platform.
Two primary types of partner businesses exist: Creator Agency Partners (CAPs) and TikTok Shop Partners (TSPs).
- CAPs specialize in supporting creators, providing services such as talent acquisition, management, live stream and video creation, and comprehensive collaboration solutions.
- TSPs focus on merchant development by offering services such as video production, supply chain and logistics support, and overall ecommerce strategy.
Affiliates
Finally, you can sign up as an affiliate. Becoming a TikTok Shop affiliate involves partnering with brands to promote their products in exchange for a commission on sales. This mutually beneficial arrangement allows creators to monetize content and improve reach while providing brands access to targeted audiences and increased sales.
As of September 2023, over 100,000 creators had signed up to use TikTok Shop’s affiliate program. However, you don’t need to join the program to use the app for affiliate marketing. More on that below.
How much can you earn from TikTok Shop?
There is no definitive answer, but the earning potential is vast. Sales will depend on your reach as a creator, the value of the products you’re selling or promoting, and the percentage of those profits you receive as a seller or promoter. Simply saying there’s good money to be made on TikTok Shop is an understatement. This year, 33.3 million US-based social buyers and $20 billion in merchandise sales are projected.
Using TikTok Live to Make Money
You can make money as a creator just by going live – as long as your audience is willing to pay. If they are, they can send you digital gifts during your live streams, which you can eventually cash out electronically.
How does it work? Your fans purchase gifts with TikTok’s in-app currency. Once they donate, the value of your accumulated gifts is banked and converted into TikTok's digital currency. You can cash this out as it reaches specific amounts.
There are other ways to make money on TikTok live sessions, too. You can use your live streams to promote affiliate products, sell subscriptions, strike up sponsorship deals, and even promote your merch or products. Be creative with it!
How much can you earn from TikTok lives?
Earning potential on TikTok live is directly tied to engagement. To hit a payday, creators must accumulate 200 diamonds (equivalent to 400 coins) for each dollar. Remember, TikTok takes 50% of your earnings (ouch), and withdrawal minimums are $100.
While TikTok lives can be a lucrative side hustle, the cuts taken from your hard-earned cash can be eye-watering. Consider moving your fans from TikTok to another platform like Whop, where you can sell access to private communities (and still host live streams).
Brand Partnerships and Sponsored-Post Payments
If you have at least 10,000 followers and meet the TikTok guidelines, you can make money by posting content to promote a brand, product, or service.
Brands are constantly looking for new creators to work with, and there are more perks than the cash. TikTok’s Ad Manager allows brands to sponsor a creator’s published posts, boosting their exposure. Brands can also contact creators through TikTok’s marketplace to strike up brand deals – so posting organic content highlighting the brands and products you genuinely love will help you get noticed.
Creators must turn on the Content Disclosure setting when posting promotional content on TikTok. This ensures transparency about the content you're posting and helps build and maintain trust between TikTok users and advertisers. It can also tell audiences when you and a brand have a commercial relationship, and some countries legally require this of content creators.
You can access the TikTok Creator Marketplace to find the right companies to collaborate with. Beyond that, it’s worth proactively contacting the brands you love and letting them know you’re looking for collaborations. The early bird gets the worm, so they say.
How much can you earn from brand sponsorships?
Earnings vary depending on audience size and engagement. Creators with 10k to 50k followers can earn roughly $25 to $125 per post, while a creator with 50k to 500k followers can earn closer to $1,000 per post. This could grow in the future, as 40% of SMBs in 2023 said TikTok was essential to their existence.
Earning Money With TikTok’s Creator Rewards Program
TikTok offers a native compensation scheme for creators. Replacing the former TikTok Creator Fund, the revamped TikTok Creator Rewards Program is more competitive but offers creators higher payouts.
Once again, to be eligible, you’ve got to meet specific requirements. First things first, your TikTok account must be registered and based in one of the supported countries: the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, South Korea, France, and Brazil. Your account must be in good standing, which is a fancy way of saying it must adhere to TikTok's guidelines and terms of service. Only personal accounts are eligible to join the program. Lastly, you must be at least 18 years old (19 in South Korea), have a following of 10,000 or more, and have 100,000 video views in the past 30 days.
Remember, TikTok emphasizes original content, and the program is designed to reward that. Last year, 26% of creators said they earned the most money on TikTok. So, any attempts to manipulate the platform or inflate your metrics could get you banned.
To enroll in the program, go to your profile, tap the menu button, and hit creator tools. Usually, outcomes are notified within three days of applying.
How much can you earn from the TikTok Creator Rewards Program?
TikTok tries to avoid releasing specific earning figures. However, after analyzing information from several creators, we know that the new and improved Creator Rewards Program can pay between $4 and $8 per 1000 views, a significant increase from the previous Creator Fund, which paid between $0.50 and $1 for every 1,000 views.
Affiliate Marketing
We mentioned signing up for TikTok Shop’s affiliate program earlier, but it isn’t the only way to become an affiliate marketer on the platform.
While some companies are exclusive about who they work with and require you to apply privately, many companies offer affiliate links to their customers. This allows you to start marketing products you already know and love with little to no leg work – simply place the affiliate code in your TikTok bio to earn a commission on every sale.
With affiliate marketing, you can take it at your own pace. Plus, you can work with multiple companies simultaneously, which isn’t always possible with brand partnerships (due to conflict of interest).
An independent approach will give you freedom, but officially partnering with a brand can really boost your earnings. You gain cross-exposure from the brand by creating user-generated content for them to share, and they can offer exclusive discounts and promo codes for your audience to boost your commissions.
How much can you earn from affiliate marketing on TikTok?
It all depends on how well you can convince your audience to buy. Most affiliate programs have earning tiers and rankings, which differ from business to business. Commissions will also vary depending on whether your affiliate work comes through a third party or you negotiate yourself.
P.S. At Whop, we have options for our users to become affiliates for products sold on our marketplace and for the platform itself.
Typical TikTok Earnings
Last year, the top creator on TikTok was Charli D’Amelio, who had a net worth of $20 million and estimated earnings of over $105,000 per post. This is far from typical, though.
It’s estimated that yearly, most TikTok creators earn somewhere between $15,000 and $25,000.
Just under one-third of influencers are making a full-time salary. The key to making good money on TikTok is putting your eggs in multiple baskets. Focus on two or more monetization strategies to boost your income potential and room for growth. With so many options, you’ll be able to find multiple strategies that work for you and your audience.
Can Anyone Make Money on TikTok?
The good news is yes. The current creator economy means you can monetize what you post online, turning your hobbies and passions into a lucrative side hustle (or career).
If you’ve got a knack for content and community building then there’s no reason you can’t find ways to make money on TikTok.
Brands are constantly looking for new creators to work with, and having a smaller audience isn’t necessarily a negative, either. Household names like Sperry, ASOS, and La Croix have worked with micro-influencers over the last year, so don’t let audience size deter you. As long as you meet the requirements and keep showing up consistently, there’s no other reason you can’t make money with TikTok.
How to Maximize Your TikTok Earning Potential
Take control and make more money by using TikTok to feed your audience through a pipeline to another platform, like Whop. While every native earning capability on TikTok takes a generous chunk of your earnings, we don’t. Whop keeps things simple with a transparent 3% fee so that you can keep 97% of your income.
You can use your account to build private and paid communities, sell digital products and services, and offer courses and tutorials. Grow your audience on TikTok, put your whop (your online hub) link in your bio, and communicate with your fans, sell digital products, and paywall your content all from one central space.
With Whop, you can remove the middleman and allow your audience to support you directly. Plus, we have no platform membership fees or restrictions on how many viewers, followers, or members you must have to start monetizing. Get started today.
