How to make money on TikTok in 13 ways
While the classic influencer route is a no-brainer, there are other ways you can profit via TikTok. Grab your TikTok account, get ready to create engaging videos, and let’s dive right in!
1. Join the TikTok Creator Rewards Program
Building on the success of the Creativity Program Beta, the Creator Rewards Program rewards high-quality, long-form content that ensures your videos reach their fullest earning potential.
To qualify, you’ll need to be 18+, have a personal account in good standing (you adhere to Community Guidelines and Terms of Service), 10K followers, and 100K views in the past 30 days. The program uses a refined formula that considers content originality, play duration, search value, and audience engagement.
Whether you’re producing premium content or exploring creator collaborations, the Creator Rewards Program empowers you to maximize your impact and increase your income.
Source: TikTok
2. Host live streams to collect tips
TikTok’s live stream feature allows creators to connect with their audience and monetize their content. A notable example is The Weeknd’s virtual concert, which attracted 2M unique views and raised $350K for the Equal Justice Initiative through merchandise sales.
Streaming live content allows creators to make money. The platform has a monetization model where you can earn money through virtual gifts: your fans can buy virtual coins with actual money via the app and then use these coins to send you a tip if they like the live video.
Keep in mind that TikTok will take 50% of the coin value.
Source: Tech Junkie
To make the most of your live streams, stay engaged with your audience. Popular TikTokers use live streams to do Q&As, share interesting stories, perform, or promote their brand partnerships.
3. Connect with brands on Creator Marketplace
TikTok’s Creator Marketplace is a game-changer for content creators looking to monetize their presence. It provides a streamlined way to connect with brands eager to pay for sponsored collaborations. With just a few steps—search, invite, and collaborate—you can establish partnerships that align with your industry, budget, and content goals.
Joining the Creator Marketplace gives users exclusive access to insights and collaboration tools. Brands can effortlessly discover and connect with creators whose content resonates with their target audience, making it a win-win for everyone involved.
Check out successful campaigns from @milliet24 and @mama_mila_ to get inspired and see how these partnerships can drive engagement and revenue.
Source: TikTok
4. Become a brand ambassador
Want something more stable than one-off partnerships? Becoming a brand ambassador could be for you. Unlike typical influencers, ambassadors engage in long-term collaborations, promoting a brand consistently over time.
Pick brands you genuinely love to maintain authenticity, leading to better engagement. Remember “Tube Girl”? Soon after sweeping fans off their feet, she was offered brand deals by MAC Cosmetics, Boss, and Bentley Cars. Just her 2 posts for MAC Cosmetics drove the beauty company around $100K in earned media value.
Source: TikTok
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5. Sell merch on TikTok Shop
TikTok Shop’s 2023 launch opened new doors for selling directly on the platform, with Printful leading as their first print-on-demand supplier. This integration simplifies selling merchandise like custom t-shirts and custom hoodies to your target audience on TikTok.
With print-on-demand, you don’t need to manage inventory or make risky investments. Create and showcase your designs in TikTok videos, and let Printful handle the rest.
This method is perfect for engaging your followers with unique products, from custom apparel to diverse items like mugs and backpacks. Use TikTok Shops to manage your sales easily and turn your TikTok clout into profit.
Loren Gray, for example, sells her own branded merch with sweatshirts, joggers, and crop tops with funny messages:
Source: Influencer Marketing Hub
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Use Quick Stores to sell
Create a storefront using Quick Stores in less than 10 minutes, customize products with your designs, and publish them—that’s it! When it’s done, share your store with your customers to start selling. The Quick Stores tool is a solid base if you’re just getting started with ecommerce.
Using Printful’s Quick Stores tool to create your store is a great way to jumpstart your online selling journey. It’s quick, easy, free, and totally beginner-friendly. Take a look at how to launch a store with Quick Stores.
6. Offer subscriptions for exclusive content
TikTok’s expanded Subscription feature is a game-changer for creators looking to deepen connections with their audience and boost their revenue. Now available in select regions, Subscriptions lets you offer your most dedicated followers exclusive perks and unique experiences for a monthly fee.
To get started, creators must meet specific criteria: age 18 or older, an account in good standing, at least 10K followers, and 100K video views in the past 30 days. Subscribers gain access to private communication channels, exclusive content, and custom perks like stickers and badges that highlight their place in your community.
For even more flexibility, consider using off-platform subscription services like Patreon, where you can offer exclusive content, behind-the-scenes access, and special rewards to your most loyal fans.
7. Make premium content with TikTok Series
Another fantastic way to monetize your content is through TikTok Series. This feature allows creators to put together collections of up to 80 videos, each up to 20 minutes long, behind a paywall. TikTok Series is perfect for offering premium content such as in-depth tutorials, fitness challenges, or serialized storytelling.
TikTok has many videos from other creators educating on creating series.
Source: TikTok
8. Create in-feed ads
TikTok ads are a potent tool for brands aiming to connect with a younger audience. A remarkable example is Supergoop, a skincare brand specializing in sunscreen. Their TikTok campaigns involved collaboration with various influencers to promote products and highlight the importance of sunscreen, significantly boosting their follower count to over 1.8M.
Source: TikTok
When advertising on TikTok, you can:
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Reach large audiences directly where they consume content
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Increase brand recognition
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Improve audience engagement
Obviously, advertising on TikTok will cost you money at first. But it’s an important tactic to increase your brand’s presence on the platform and drive sales in the long term.
Read also: Advertising on TikTok: Why Brands Should Care About It
How do you start advertising on TikTok?
The platform has an ad offering very similar to Facebook Ads. Here are the key steps:
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Create a TikTok Ads Account
To qualify, you need a TikTok Business Account.
Source: TikTok
While creating your TikTok Ads Manager Account, you must set up your Advertising Objective.
Source: TikTok
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Create your ad campaign
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Set up your ad group
Here, you can choose to limit your ads to TikTok or target-related applications, like India’s Vigo Video, BuzzVideo in Japan, TopBuzz in the US, and BR and News Republic worldwide. If you choose the automatic placement option, TikTok will calculate where you can get the best results with your ad and place it there.
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Set up your campaign details
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Design your ads
How much does it cost to advertise on TikTok? Although TikTok doesn’t disclose brand campaign rates, you need to put a minimum budget of $500 for self-service ads. For ad groups, the minimum is $20.
TikTok Ads formats
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Brand Takeover: This large-format ad appears when users open the app. It can only show a single advertiser per day.
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Hashtag Challenge: Here, you can create content trends by uploading a video with a challenge and encouraging your audience to participate. Promote your brand by creating a unique hashtag for the challenge.
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Branded Effects: This ad type allows you to create custom augmented reality filters to incorporate into your content.
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Influencer package: When you choose this format, TikTok will set your brand up with a TikTok influencer related to your brand’s target audience, who will create sponsored content.
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In-feed ads: These ads look like regular TikTok videos and appear organically on the users’ For You page (FYP). They can be 5–60 seconds long (TikTok recommends up to 34 seconds) and include a CTA button to link to an external website.
9. Gather donations for yourself or others
Use TikTok’s donation stickers to link directly to a nonprofit or set up crowdfunding campaigns for specific projects. Establishing a funding goal and hosting live fundraising events can rally your audience and create a sense of community and urgency around your cause. Adding a unique hashtag to your campaign encourages your followers to share and amplify your message.
Here are some examples of successful campaigns:
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Young Scot: a youth organization with millions of followers. Their TikTok videos are used for fundraising campaigns and reward programs.
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British Red Cross: they use TikTok to provide information from how to perform first aid procedures to public health concerns.
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Malala Fund: their viral videos raise awareness about the importance of girls’ education.
Due to their viral potential, nonprofits related to animal protection, social causes, and equality movements often perform well on TikTok. So, whether you’re raising money for charity or seeking funds for a creative project, TikTok’s features can help you mobilize and engage your audience effectively.
10. Become a TikTok consultant
If you’re an expert on TikTok, why not cash in on your knowledge? Since this social platform is still relatively new, you can earn money helping people and brands create their TikTok strategies and grow their following.
Once you grow your account to a steady follower base and spend some time on the platform, you’ll learn a lot about what content performs well and how the TikTok algorithm works. Then, you can offer your services as a TikTok consultant. You can do this right from your account by announcing it in a video or series of videos and putting a link to your webpage in your bio.
Source: TikTok
You can help your clients by explaining how to make money on TikTok and offer related services such as:
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Writing a captivating bio and video descriptions
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Growing their follower base and engagement rate
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Getting brand collaboration and sponsored posts
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Creating engaging content
11. Sell TikTok Shoutouts
This feature allows fans to pay influencers for custom videos. Creators and influencers can charge a fee in return for custom videos like birthday greetings, private songs, and so on. Fans can pay with coins that can be converted into diamonds.
Source: BuzzFeed
How does it work? If you’re an influencer, you can add the request button and set your own rate for custom videos. As this feature is only available in select markets, the app prevents users in non-applicable regions from requesting videos.
The user requests the video and pays the creator in coins, which they can later transform into diamonds to withdraw cash. The creator will send a confirmation email to accept the task in up to three days. Then, the user gets the custom video in a week via TikTok direct messaging.
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12. Grow and sell TikTok accounts
If you have a talent for building engaging TikTok profiles and understanding what drives audience growth, you can transform that skill into a profitable business by growing and selling TikTok accounts. This approach is perfect for those who enjoy creating content and know how to attract and engage followers.
Start by choosing a trending or niche topic where you can create consistent, high-quality content. As your TikTok account gains followers and engagement, you can sell it to businesses or influencers who want to kickstart their presence on TikTok. Some of the most popular platforms where you can list your accounts are Flippa, Fameswap, and PlayerUp.
When listing your account, make sure to highlight metrics like follower count, engagement rate, and details that demonstrate the quality and authenticity of your audience.
Source: Flippa
13. Join the TikTok Rewards program and refer friends
The TikTok Rewards Program allows TikTok users to earn points by referring new users to the platform. Here’s how the program works and how you can benefit from it:
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Joining the program: To participate, open the TikTok app, go to your profile, and click on the TikTok Rewards banner to find your unique referral link and code.
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Earning rewards: You’ll start earning points when your referred friends download TikTok and enter your referral code. These points can be accumulated and redeemed for money and other rewards. Over time, there will be various tasks and challenges that you and your friends can complete in exchange for rewards.
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Converting points to money: Your earned points can be exchanged for actual money, coupons, or mobile top-ups in certain countries. The rewards are converted to cash at a fixed rate, which varies depending on your country.
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Withdrawing cash: To withdraw money from your points, link your e-payment channels like PayPal or your bank account to TikTok, and you can then withdraw the amount you desire.
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Regional thresholds and limitations: Different regions have distinct limits for withdrawing cash. This doesn’t mean the money will be lost, but there’s a set minimum and maximum to how much you can withdraw at once.
By joining the TikTok Rewards Program, you can make money on TikTok simply by expanding your network and encouraging more users to join the platform. There isn’t a minimum follower count like with many influencer marketing programs, but a large following on other social media platforms can help.
Ready for a TikTok challenge?
Whether you’re selling merchandise or exploring other monetization methods, TikTok offers many opportunities to make money.
If you want to make money on TikTok by selling your products, Printful is here for your printing needs. We arrange printing, production, and distribution to keep your fans happy with your products.
Learn how you can partner with Printful to generate income from TikTok and start selling TikTok merch today!
