How to make money on TikTok: 6 proven ways

Content Marketer and Writer
Updated 05 December, 2023
Julia Moore
Content Marketer and Writer
Okay, let's say you've already got your audience on TikTok. You shoot videos for your followers, the number of which is growing day by day. But at one point you wonder: what if you could use your popularity to make money on TikTok? Is it possible to monetize your account? Or maybe the platform even pays users? You can find answers to all these questions below.
Reading time — 9 minutes

Whatever way to make money on TikTok you choose, it supposes that you have gained your audience. If you're a newcomer, then read how to become popular on this platform before you monetize your account.

1. TikTok Creator Fund 

TikTok pays popular creators to support them. If you succeeded to gain your audience you can join this Creator Fund program to monetize your TikTok account.

TikTok pays for views. Creators who have joined the Creator Fund program can earn 2–4 cents for every 1,000 views. If your video becomes viral, you can make a wealth. If your videos are not viral, they still bring you a steady income. So why won't try?

You have to meet the Creator Fund requirements to make money on TikTok this way. Apply for the Creator Fund program if you:

Once you are approved for joining the program, you are on the way to earning money with TikTok videos!

2. Sponsored TikTok videos

Sponsored or branded content is popular for monetizing your account on any social network. So why won't use it to make money on TikTok? The app has the feature to mark the content that you post to earn money.

Here is how you can earn money on TikTok sponsored videos. You make an agreement with a brand. You post a video advertising its product. The brand pays you. It may pay you for posting a video in your profile, or it may pay you according to the number of clients you bring and the number of views. These are the terms you have to decide ahead. 

We recommend that you advertise only products that you really like and use to earn money on TikTok. This guarantees users trust you and follow your recommendations in the future.

Also, the sponsored product should be related to your account topic. Then your followers will be interested in it. If you shoot makeup tutorials, you can post branded videos about cosmetics to make money on TikTok. They the followers remain subscribed and buy the product.

You have to mark your video as sponsored content when you promote a brand's product in it. Switch the Branded content toggle for this when posting. In some countries, for example in the US, you are also obliged to discloser that you make money on a TikTok video in its caption.

You may wonder where to look for brands who want to pay for advertising their products. There are a lot of options. You can be the initiator and offer brands to collaborate. You will need a social media kit for this. Or you can search for sponsors on influencer platforms. Since you want to make money on TikTok, try TikTok Creator Marketplace.

TikTok Creator Marketplace helps brands and creators find each other. You can be sure everything will go smoothly because the platform regulates both sides to meet the terms. Be aware, you need to apply to your TikTok account monetization on Creator Marketplace. You can earn money only after you are approved.

3. Affiliate marketing

No worry if brands do not offer sponsorship yet, you can promote affiliate products to make money on TikTok. Choose products from your niche, get links to them, post an advertising video. That's it! Users buy the products and you get your commission.

There are various options on where to find affiliate products to monetize your TikTok account. The best option is to search the TikTok affiliate platform for creators. But you need to have TikTok Shop and Livestream permission for this. If you don't have them, you can choose affiliate programs outside TikTok. Try Shopee or Amazon affiliate products, for example.

Make sure users can easily follow your affiliate links. Then, more of them will do this and buy the products. It means you will make more money on TikTok. You can't add links in video captions, unfortunately. So invite users to follow the link in your bio.

Read how to edit TikTok video captions so that you can add an invitation to follow the link under your recent videos.

Promote various products when you make money on TikTok with an affiliate program. But remember that you should stick to one niche. All your affiliate links can be placed on your link in bio page. Add the page link to your TikTok bio. Users will choose what they are interested in most.

4. Promote your product 

You don't need brands to make money on TikTok. Promote your own product! Everyone can do this, either you sell a virtual product or a tangible product crafted with your hands. You can as well sell your merch or the delicious cookies your granny bakes, unless she has her own TikTok account.

Post videos relevant to your product industry. Entertain users with funny videos, educate with tutorials, advertise your product. Add a link to your TikTok bio that leads to the page where users can buy your product. Thus, you get clients and make money on TikTok.

5. Live Gifts and donations

If you like to live stream, there is one more way to make money on TikTok for you. Get donations while live-streaming on TikTok. The app has a feature for this way of an account monetization.

You can receive donations while live streaming on TikTok. If you have 1,000 or more followers, you can go live in the app. And you can receive gifts from users while streaming. These gifts can be exchanged for diamonds. And the diamonds can be changed for real money.

One diamond equals about $0.05. Live Gifts differ in diamonds value.

Without 1,000 followers, you can make money on live streaming for your TikTok audience too. But it takes a bit more effort. Choose an external streaming platform and invite your TikTok audience there. Announce your live stream in videos. Add live stream information to your link in bio page so that users can find you on the platform and be on time. Add a donation button on this page too so that to earn money on live streaming.

Once you've got a hundred followers, you should set up Live gifts to make money on TikTok live streaming. Let's see how you can set up this account monetization.

How to set up TikTok Live Gifts

If you want to make money by hosting TikTok live videos, you need to allow the gifts in your account first:

  1. On your TikTok profile page, tap the three lines.
  2. Tap Creator tools.
  3. Then go to Gifts.
  4. Tap the button next to Video gifts to make it active. 
  5. Approve the action by tapping Turn on video gifts.

How to withdraw money from TikTok

Make the donations you've earned on TikTok into real money. You can do this after you've got at least $100 on your balance. Also, be aware that you can withdraw only up to $1,000 per day.

The money you make on TikTok can be transferred to your PayPal account. Here is how you can do this:

  1. On your TikTok profile page, tap the three lines.
  2. Tap Settings and privacy.
  3. Go to Balance.
  4. Tap Live Gifts.
  5. Select Withdraw if you see that there is money on your balance.

Then, you should open the PayPal website or app. You will see the money has been transferred to your account.

6. Tips from TikTok users

You can get donations from users not only when live streaming. Add the Tips button to your profile page and you can make money on TikTok whatever content you create. Users will be able to send you money at any time. 

There are restrictions of course for monetizing your TikTok account with Tips. You have to be over 18 years old, have 10,000 followers, and be a part of Creator Next. Then, you are eligible for the tips. You also need a Stripe account to receive the money users send to you.

We know you may not have 10,000 followers but do want to receive tips and make money on TikTok. Well, a link in bio page is a good use here too. Add payment buttons to it, then, your loyal followers can donate no matter how big your account is. Just say in your videos that they can do this.

How to apply for Tips

Let's say you've got 10,000 followers and a Stripe account, and you have joined Creator Next. Now you can make money on TikTok by receiving tips from users. Here is how to add the tips button to your profile page:

  1. Go to your profile and hit the three lines in the upper-right corner to open the settings.
  2. Tap Creator tools.
  3. Then go to Tips.
  4. Hit Apply.

Then, follow the on-screen instructions. 

How to make more money on TikTok

A link in bio tool is what multiplies the money you earn on TikTok. Whether you advertise a product or receive donations it can increase your revenue.

The tool gives you a page, you place links, photos, videos, opt-in forms, and what other things marketers use to monetize TikTok accounts. Then, you add this page to your TikTok bio and tell users about it.

Let's look at some examples of the pages that help to make money on TikTok. They are good for all niches and industries. 

Product advertising

You can advertise a brand or your product to make money on TikTok. In any case, make sure you designed an offer on your link in bio page. This is a compelling text-and-media presentation that makes users buy.

If you don't quite a marketer or designer, or the TikTok feed leaves no spare time, then use templates. For example, Taplink provides templates that are designed specifically to increase your sales. Below you can see page examples. 

Donations on TikTok

Donations include Live Gifts and tips. Whatever you use to make money on TikTok, you will earn more if you use a link in bio page. 

  • Live video donations. Place information about your TikTok live stream videos on your link in bio page. If you haven't got 1,000 followers, and so you host a live video for your TikTok audience on another platform, write where and when it takes place on the page. Then, users won't miss it.
  • Tips from users. You don't need to apply for Creator Next and gain 10,000 to get tips if you use a link in bio page. Just add donation buttons to the page and make money on TikTok easily.

Here are page examples for your TikTok live streams and tips:

Sign up on Taplink to create your page for making money on TikTok. As a signed-up user, you can create a page with your custom design, or you can use one of the templates to create a page quickly. For example, here are templates of the Amazon coffee shop and Twitch live stream pages that you saw above.

Let’s recap

Now you know how to make money on TikTok. And you can choose one or even several ways that are good for you. You can advertise your or other brands, or receive donations. Besides, the platform can pay you for views. Consider your talents and income expectations. Be realistic, though. 

How much money you can earn on TikTok depends mainly on your popularity on social media. The bigger your follower count is, the more money you can make. If you want to earn more, you should have a sound TikTok marketing strategy. For instance, add your TikTok profile link to your Instagram bio to increase the numbers. 

If you also have an Instagram account where you post regularly, you can monetize it too. Read how to make money on this social network.