TikTok has quickly become one of the most popular social media platforms, with users spending an average of 52 minutes per day on the app. But how do TikTokers make money? While some brands have started to run ads on the platform, the vast majority of TikTok users are not making any money from their videos. However, that doesn’t mean that there isn’t money to be made on TikTok. Some users have been able to parlay their popularity on the app into brand deals and sponsorships. Others have used TikTok as a launching pad to pursue other opportunities, such as music or acting. A small number of users have even been able to generate income through donations and tips from fans. So while most TikTokers are not getting rich from the app, there are still ways to make money on TikTok.

On TikTok, live broadcasts are the simplest method to make money. When famous TikTok creators broadcast live, they can be gifted “coins” by their followers. As a TikTok user, you can purchase coins by visiting your profile. The cost of 100 coins is $1.39. You can buy 100 to 10,000 coins and send them to your favourite TikTok creators when they go live, as a way of saying “thank you” for their content. Once a creator accumulates a specific number of coins, they can use PayPal to exchange them for actual money.

It’s important to note that, as a creator, the number of your followers has to be at least 1,000 to be able to go live. Moreover, you need to be active when you’re going live, maintaining engagement with your followers by asking questions to them and calling them by name. Nevertheless, TikTok has a limit on how much a creator can earn from live broadcasts. For instance, it’s estimated that a TikTok creator can earn a maximum of $2,000 to $4,000 on live. You may also message your followers and ask for their donations. In return, you’ll give them a “shoutout” when you go live. If you have a large number of fans and you shout a username out on your account, the person may also gain many followers just due to the shoutout.

Sometimes, brands reach out to famous TikTok creators and ask them to do influencer promotions in exchange for decent money. It’s estimated that top TikTok creators with a huge number of followers earn between $50,000 and $100,000 for a single post by doing influencer promotions. However, to earn this amount of money from a brand partnership, your content has to resemble the brand in some manner. For instance, famous TikTok maker Charlie D’Amelio regularly mentioned Dunkin’ Donuts iced coffee on her account, even regularly doing performances with a cup in her hand. Dunkin’ Donuts signed a brand partnership with her and created a drink called “The Charlie” to honour her.

When it comes to promotions or new product launches, many brands prefer to organize events. They easily capture a great deal of attention by inviting influencers to the events, having them post about an event, or talking about their brand or product in some manner. Brands generally approach famous creators to attend events that serve a particular market, such as Comicon or Beautycon, and pay them a decent amount of money.

The TikTok Creator Program is built to help brands connect with TikTok creators. This is an invitation-only program, and you can only get an invitation from TikTok if you have more than 100,000 followers. Although you can always partner with brands outside of the program, it gives brands an excellent opportunity to figure out whether working with you will benefit them or not. The concept of the program is quite straightforward: the more engagement one of your posts receives, the more your income potential will be. In addition to having 100,000 followers, there are other eligibility criteria also, such as your age needs to be at least 18 years, you need to have at least one authorized digital payment account, adhere to the Community Guidelines Standards, etc.