- TikTok has created a new generation of digital stars who have a huge audience on the app.
- However, many creators are still finding ways to make money using TikTok.
- Here's how much TikTokers make from brand deals, song promotions, live streams, and their creativity programs.
TikTok has ushered in a new wave of digital stars. However, for many creators, making money from TikTok alone can be difficult.
Unlike YouTube, which has an established advertising program that splits a portion of ad revenue on long-form videos with eligible creators, TikTok is just beginning to experiment with splitting ad costs with some influencers.
Beyond ad revenue sharing, TikTok also has several built-in monetization tools, including virtual “gifts” and a creativity program fund that rewards creators for posting longer content. It also launched a $6 million fund for augmented reality effects creators in mid-2023.
Click here for details How much money do 7 TikTok influencers make? From the creativity program
The company previously operated a Creator Fund for users who met certain follower count and view count criteria, but it discontinued the program in December in all countries except Italy and Spain.
Despite early testing of ad revenue sharing and various payment programs, many TikTok creators still rely on brand deals for the bulk of their revenue.
Alex Ojeda, a waterpark creator with about 8.4 million followers on TikTok, told Business Insider in 2022 that a single sponsored video on the app cost $20,000.
Read more about how to use Ojeda make money with TikTok Build a career in the water park industry
How much do TikTokers make from the ad revenue sharing program 'Pulse'?
TikTok shares a portion of ad revenue with creators through a contextual advertising program called Pulse.
The company announced in May 2022 that brands will be able to buy ads alongside the “top 4%” of content in a variety of categories, including food, beauty, and fashion. The company announced that it will share 50% of the revenue with creators whose videos appear before in-feed ads. Only creators with more than 100,000 followers are eligible to participate in the program.
Early payments from TikTok Pulse were disappointing, creators told BI in 2022.
Eight influencers who shared their monthly payments, views, and earnings per thousand video views (RPM) from Pulse earned anywhere from a few pennies to $17 for their first two monthly payments. I did. Creators had followers ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions. Some create gaming-related content, while others shoot lifestyle videos.
Read more about how much TikTokers are making from Pulse as the app starts sharing ad revenue
TikTok is testing new funding to pay feature-length works and AR creators
The company introduced two other fund-based programs in 2023 designed to encourage specific types of content creation.
The first creativity program aims to reward creators who post videos longer than one minute, have at least 10,000 followers, and have achieved 100,000 video views in the past 30 days. restricted to users who have.
Unlike the defunct Creator Fund and Pulse, early participants in the creativity program have been reaping generous rewards since its inception, with some earning five-figure returns in a single month.
Lifestyle creator Hunter Caudle said: “The money we made was life-changing and we really hope it stays that way.”
Read more about how creativity programs are helping some creators earn tens of thousands of dollars
TikTok's Effects Creator Rewards Program, announced in May, will offer payments to augmented reality creators for effects that appear in at least 500,000 videos. At the time of launch, the $6 million fund was only available to users over the age of 18 based in the US, UK, France, Italy, Spain, and Germany. The company later expanded the program in October, lowering payment standards for effects that appear in at least 200,000 videos and making them available to more regions and a broader group of creators.
Click here for details TikTok’s Augmented Reality Creator Fund
TikTok Shop Affiliate Program
As part of its e-commerce platform Shop, TikTok offers an affiliate program that allows creators to earn commissions when they help promote sales by tagging products in their videos and livestreams. Influencers can also package products from different sellers into a dedicated catalog on their profile for their followers to view.
Creators told BI that TikTok Shop fees contribute significantly to their revenue.
Geneen Satou, who posts beauty and shopping videos to about 751,000 TikTok fans, has generated about $40,000 in product sales and will be in sales by April 2023, according to talent manager Sean Jacobson. He said he earned a commission of just under $6,000. BI viewed her documents to verify her income.
Read more about how much creators are making with TikTok Shop's affiliate program
Other built-in TikTok monetization features
Some TikTokers earn money by accepting virtual “gifts” during livestreams or other parts of the app and converting them into cash. For example, ASMR content creator Lucy Davis told BI that she earns anywhere from $20 to $300 every time she goes live.
Jakie Boehm, an Australian creator who livestreams on TikTok while he sleeps, made $34,000 in one month from TikTok Live.
“This is really life-changing money,” he told BI. “I made about $5,000 the first week, and I thought, 'This is amazing. We can do some really crazy things here.'”
To learn more about how creators are making money with TikTok's built-in monetization features, check out these articles:
How TikTok creators make money from brand sponsorships
TikTok's built-in monetization features don't always cover creators' bills, so many influencers rely on brand deals to monetize their TikTok content. The cost of sponsored posts varies widely depending on the creator's number of followers and the niche of the content.
Colin Rocker, a TikToker who posts videos offering career advice, told BI in 2023 that he charges between $400 and $600 for each sponsored post.
Other TikTok influencers earn money by creating content that businesses can use on their own TikTok accounts. For example, Fitness Girl creator Salha Aziz charges hundreds of dollars to create UGC content that brands use in their marketing campaigns.
Here's how much creators earn from brand deals:
- Paulina Perez (approximately 89,000 followers) charges $1,250 to $1,750 for sponsored posts on TikTok
- Colin Rocker (114,000 followers) shares his monthly income from sponsored TikTok videos and brand deals
- Medical resident Sally Choi (205,000 followers) charges $1,500 for TikTok approval
- College football player John Seaton (1.8 million followers) shares how much he made in 18 months from brand deals
- Naomi Melanie Lineage (approximately 513,000 followers) shares lowest rates and earnings for sponsored content
- Software engineer and creator Matt Upham (approximately 515,000 followers) talks about the revenue he makes from brand deals.
- Basketball creators Brandon (approximately 1.3 million followers) and Jayden Beloti (1.3 million followers) share their monthly income from creator funds and brand deals
- Comedy creator Pooja Tripathi (approximately 58,000 followers) shares her income from sponsored posts.
- Lillian Zhang (~72,000 followers) lists fees for sponsored posts
- Personal finance influencer Erin Confortini (approximately 284,000 followers) lists her income from brand deals, UGC, and affiliates.
- Jalyn Baiden (approximately 25,000 followers) is a TikTok nano-influencer who charges approximately $1,000 for sponsored posts
- Tejas Hullur (approximately 587,000 followers) said sponsored TikTok posts start at $3,000.
- Salha Aziz (approximately 22,000 followers) charges brands $160 for one video
- Deanna Giulietti (approximately 1.8 million followers) earned over $500,000 from brand partnerships on TikTok and Instagram in 2021
- College influencer Harry Raftus (approximately 1.3 million followers) explains how much he makes from song promotions and alcohol-related brand deals
- Symphony Clark (approximately 207,000 followers), who makes videos about thrift shopping, shares her brand sponsorship rates
- Fashion creator Carolina Freixa (approximately 766,000 followers) talks about how much money she makes from brand campaigns.
- Skincare influencer Young Yuh (approximately 1.7 million followers) shares how she calculates her salary
- Dana Hasson, who posts recipes and lifestyle videos (approximately 2.9 million followers), explains how much she makes from doing business with brands.
- The McFarlands of the TikTok family (approximately 4.1 million followers) talk about how much they make from brand deals
Another common way to make money as a TikToker is by promoting songs with videos. Music marketers and record labels regularly pay TikTok users to post on the app to help spread the word about new songs.
TikTok creator trio Nicole, Natalie, and Nica Taylor (who have about 12.8 million followers on the app) told BI in 2021 that promoting a song with one video costs $750, and two He said he would charge $1,400 for a video and $2,000 for three videos.
Click here for details How much do TikTok creators get paid to promote their songs? on the app
Music producers can make money on TikTok by creating sped-up, slowed-down, or remixed versions of tracks for artists and record labels.
Learn more about how creators get paid for promoting new music on TikTok.
