How to Make Money on TikTok in 2024: 7 Ways to Get Paid - NerdWallet (2024)

How do TikTokers make money? Do you want to go from viewer to creator? Here’s what you need to know:

How to get paid on TikTok

1. Market your business and attract new clients

“It’s an incredible way to drive traffic to other channels — to your website, to your email list or to your YouTube channel,” says Keira Jones (@thekeirajones), a Phoenix-based TikToker who also manages and advises brands on the platform.

This is exactly how Orlando-based TikToker Connie Rietdyk (@conniegooglequeen) makes most of her cash. She worked as a consultant on website design and search engine optimization as a side hustle for several years, earning “just enough to cover an extra bill.”

Rietdyk started giving small businesses tips on those topics in TikTok posts. Starting with about 200 followers in May 2021, she now has more than 21,000 — and several followers have become paying clients.

2. Score sponsorships

You may find it interesting that 70% of TikTok users report that using e-commerce on the social media platform is easy, according to a 2022 TikTok Marketing Science Global Shopping Ad Products Study. And in the same report, 57% of Gen Z weekly TikTok users said ads on the platform lead them to discover new products and brands. People are ready to spend money on TikTok, and brands are often ready to pay content creators who can connect them to those customers.

Let’s say most of your TikTok posts are about one particular subject, like caring for dogs. Dog food and toy brands may want to tap in to your pup-loving audience.

The process could work in a few ways. For example, a company might send you a free product, and in exchange for the product, the company could ask you to mention it in one of your videos. You may agree, or you may ask the company to throw in some cash on top of the freebie. You could also score sponsorships by reaching out to companies proactively, particularly if you’re already using and mentioning their products.

TikTok is making it easier forcontent creators to connect with brands through the Creator Marketplace, a collaboration hub for striking paid and rewards-based deals. Not sure how to orchestrate a deal? The Creator Marketplace offers how-to videos and showcases successful creators who have forged relationships with brands.

Sponsorships are how Jones makes most of her money on her personal TikTok account, where she shares marketing tips.Brands started reaching out to Jones when she hit around 15,000 followers.

Note that creators must flag branded content by turning on the content disclosure setting.

3. Tap TikTok’s Creator Rewards Program

TikTok offers a monetization tool called Creator Rewards Program, which allows users to collect rewards for publishing longer videos (one minute or more) featuring high-quality content. It replaces an earlier monetization program called Creativity Program Beta.

You can join this program if you have at least 10,000 followers, received at least 100,000 video views in the last 30 days, and met a few other qualifications such as being 18 or older.

Videos start earning rewards once they hit 1,000 qualified views, and the content also must adhere to requirements about originality, content and more. It’s worth spending some time understanding the rules on what counts as qualified views and rules on content types.

How much money can you expect to make? The answer is a little hazy. TikTok's support website says: “The rewards formula for the Creator Rewards Program has been reformulated and offers a higher average gross revenue for qualified video views, giving creators the potential to collect higher rewards.” The page gives information on minimum payout ($10) and how you can check on and receive rewards payments.

4. Use gifting

Content creators using the TikTok Live feature can receive “gifts” from viewers who are 18 or older. Viewers pay to give gifts, which show up in a creator's live session as stickers and animations.

Gifts sent from viewers are one part of TikTok's formula for rewarding creators with “diamonds.” According to TikTok, “Once you collect Diamonds, you may obtain a reward payment from us, such as money or virtual items."

Not doing livestreams? No worries. TikTok also awards diamonds for short videos. Viewers can leave gifts in the comment section.

More diamonds equals more cash, but only if you redeem them. You can track your diamond earnings and see their potential monetary value in your TikTok account balance.

5. Sell with TikTok Shop

TikTok Shop, launched in September 2023, helps creators and businesses directly sell to viewers via livestreams, shoppable videos, and by displaying products in an in-app shop or on central marketplaces within TikTok.

You’ll have to sign up and fill out an application at the Seller Center on TikTok’s site, then link your account once approved. TikTok says it takes a percentage of sales as a commission, but doesn't disclose how much. It says the rate is being refined during the current “early testing stage in the U.S.”

6. Monetize using the Series feature

If you’re using a personal or business TikTok account, you can charge viewers for premium content by putting a video collection, or Series, behind a paywall and charging viewers for access. Political and private accounts cannot use this feature.

Your Series can have up to 80 videos of 20 minutes each, and you can price the Series anywhere from $0.99 to $189.99. What type of content might go in a series? Ideas from TikTok include showing your fitness or beauty routine or walking viewers through your favorite recipe.

7. Collect tips from viewers

If your personal account has at least 100,000 followers, viewers can show their appreciation and support through the Tips feature.

You need to opt in to receiving tips and will have to set up a Stripe payment provider account if you don’t have one. Note that business accounts cannot use the tipping function.

Additional tips for making money on TikTok

Find your niche

Making money on TikTok will likely be easier if you stick to a defined topic, rather than posting a broad array of content. So start by “determining the niche you want to grow in,” Jones says. “The more niched-down you are, the more likely it is you’ll be reached out to.”

By contrast, she says, a general lifestyle influencer's audience may have broad, hard-to-define interests, making them less appealing to sponsors.

When it comes to sponsorships, the number of followers you have may be as important as having a well-defined topic. Research your niche and engage with the community to build momentum.

Say you create jewelry, and you want to use TikTok to send viewers to your Etsy page. Search for and follow TikTokers who are interested in jewelry, and engage with their posts. TikTok will likely feed you more content from similar accounts. Then, when you start posting, your content likely will be seen by the exact audience you want: people who like jewelry.

Rietdyk stresses the importance of engaging, building a community and posting relevant content before trying to sell your stuff. So maybe you post how-to videos or advice first. “You don’t want to promote to a cold audience,” she says. “Give a lot of value for free before you even start asking for anybody’s money.”

Be authentic

“Don’t be fake,” Rietdyk says, adding that “TikTokers can tell if you’re doing something just for a ‘like.’”

As for sponsored content, only promote products “you genuinely use and love,” Jones says. She says she turns down partnerships for products that don’t check those boxes.

Jones adds that if you promote too many products, “your audience will get annoyed and feel like they’re being used.”

Serve your audience and set small goals

“If your only intent for starting TikTok is to make money, then you’re probably not going to succeed,” Jones says. Serving your audience should be your No. 1 priority. “That’s when people will be attracted and want to follow you,” she says.

Rietdyk recommends setting small, achievable goals — a certain number of sales or amount of income, for example. Then, she adds, “celebrate the wins.”

Use multiple strategies

No single tactic is likely to launch you into record earnings. But with practice using multiple tools — from getting sponsorships to selling with TikTok Shop — you can carve out a potentially profitable platform for yourself.

Aim for a consistent experience with your content, including the look and how often you post. "Ultimately, explore, experiment, stay true to yourself and remember to keep your audience in mind,” TikTok recommends.

Other ways to earn money

If making money on TikTok isn’t for you, consider these alternative routes: