A comprehensive guide to TikTok monetization: From creator fund to brand deals

With more than 2 billion active users, TikTok has become the 5th most popular social media platform. It has revolutionized the entire social media landscape by transforming the way users create and engage with social media content. Whether it's comedy sketches, viral dance moves, or educational tutorials, TikTok hosts a diverse bunch of content creators catering to every interest. The platform provides the stage for emerging talents to showcase their skills and a medium for individuals to express themselves and connect with like-minded people worldwide. 

TikTok was launched by the Chinese-based company ByteDance in 2016. The short video format was an instant hit, and the platform grew multifold over the years. Despite restrictions imposed by some countries due to its unregulated nature and uncontrolled virality, the platform soared in countries such as Indonesia, the U.S., and Brazil. Notably, more than 55% of Indonesia's population are on TikTok—a staggering one in two people in the country are on the platform.

Fun fact: Despite being launched by a Chinese company, TikTok isn't available in China. They use an exclusive Chinese version of the app called Douyin  which is subject to censorship from the Chinese Communist Party.  

Why is TikTok so popular?

Unlike other social media platforms, TikTok's algorithm is unique and engagement-driven. The algorithm deeply analyzes the profiles followed, likes, comments, clicks, time spent on videos, and many other parameters to create a very defined user persona. This deep understanding of a user gives TikTok's algorithm the ability to curate a personalized and engaging media feed. That's the main reason why people find TikTok to be appealing compared to other social media platforms.

Another main reason for TikTok's growth is the regional connect. The algorithm is very region-specific and trend-driven. This helps build a strong peer connection with similar tastes and ideas. Because the platform is hashtag-driven, you can find TikTokers leveraging hashtags to amplify their content reach, which further multiplies with more people following them.  

The platform's young user demographic is another contributing factor to TikTok's growth. According to one study, 1 in 4 TikTok users are under 20 years old and the platform has more GenZ users than Instagram.

How much do 1,000 views earn you on TikTok?

In 2021, TikTok launched the creator fund of $300 million to support content creators with high engagement. This creator fund was later renamed as the TikTok Creator Rewards Program with minor changes to improve creators' earnings. Based on the feedback from top TikTok influencers, the creators are paid through the creators fund and earn between $0.02 to $0.04 for every 1000 views. So, basically, if your TikTok videos get a million views, you could earn between $20 and $40 dollars. The earnings may increase as your content performs better.

Fun fact: TikTok started incentivizing long-form videos that are more than a minute in length. The TikTok community now spends 50% of their time watching the long-form content.   

What are the eligibility criteria for the TikTok creator rewards program?

• The program is only available for creators in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, France, and Brazil.
• Only personal creator accounts are eligible, the program isn't open to business accounts.
• The creator must be at least 18 years old.
• The creator must have more than 10,000 followers and amassed more than 100,000 views in the last 30 days.
• The creator must not violate any community guideline strikes and adhere to the terms and conditions of TikTok.
• Only high-quality original content that's more than a minute long is eligible for earning revenue.

How can you maximize your content earnings on TikTok?

Content earnings are dependent mainly on the quality of the content. Original long-form content has the highest revenue per thousand impressions (RPMs), so focus on creating highly engaging content. Also, only views with a watch time of more than 5 seconds are considered valid views. The views with dislikes aren't considered views. Multiple views from the same account/device aren't considered; only unique views are considered. The views generated from sponsored ads are eligible for earnings.  

What is the TikTok Creator Marketplace?

The TikTok Creator Marketplace is another initiative to help creators maximize their earnings. With the rise of influencer marketing, TikTok launched the Creator Marketplace as a forum for brands to identify the top creators on TikTok and collaborate for specific campaigns. Here are a few eligibility criteria that must be met to be listed in the TikTok Creator Marketplace.  

1. The creator must be at least 18 years old.
2. The creator must have more than 10,000 followers.
3. The creator must have posted a minimum of three videos in the last 28 days and should have garnered 100,000 likes.

If the creators satisfy all of these criteria, they can apply for the program in the marketplace portal. The applications will be reviewed, and if the criteria is met, they'll be approved. In the case of denial, the creator can apply again after 30 days.  

How do you receive and cash TikTok LIVE virtual gifts?

Receiving virtual gifts during live streams is another revenue stream that creators can tap into. The creator can enable the live gifting option and receive virtual gifts in the form of digital coins when hosting live streams. The followers will be able to buy and donate gifts of a certain coin value to creators during live streams. The creator must have a minimum of 1,000 followers to enable the live gifting option. Here's the list of gifts and the equivalent coin value.

• Panda: 5 coins
• Italian Hand: 5 coins
• Love Bang: 25 coins
• Sun Cream: 50 coins
• Rainbow Puke: 100 coins
• Concert: 500 coins
• I'm Very Rich: 1,000 coins
• Drama Queen: 5,000 coins

Using the accumulated coins, the creator can buy an equivalent amount of TikTok Diamonds, which is valued at 50% of the coins. For example, if a follower donates a "I'm Very Rich" gift worth 1,000 coins, the creator can earn 500 TikTok Diamonds. Each TikTok Diamond is worth $0.05, so when the creator cashes 500 Diamonds, the payout will be $25. The minimum withdrawal amount is $100, so the creator has to accumulate their earnings before cashing out.

Other ways to monetize your fame on TikTok

Though TikTok platform revenue is a major revenue source, the long-term earning potential of a TikTok creator lies in the opportunities it offers beyond the platform. Creating quality content over time, the creators can build a loyal following and establish themselves as experts in a particular field. This influence can then be leveraged to generate additional income streams.

Getting brand sponsorships

Collaborating and promoting a brand is one of the most lucrative monetization models for TikTok creators. As the ability to influence their followers' purchase decisions has grown, there's a huge influx of brands actively working with influencers that align with their target audience. Brands usually consider factors such as demographics, engagement rate, authenticity, and content quality when working with a TikToker. So, it's crucial for influencers to work in a particular niche and build their reputation, which can be leveraged for brand collaborations.   

Fun facts: According to a report, 24% of the marketers feel that TikTok has the highest ROI compared to other social media platforms. And 56% of marketers using TikTok say they'll increase their investment in 2025.  

Becoming an affiliate partner and earning referral commissions

Affiliate promotions is one of the popular monetization strategies preferred by TikTok influencers. By promoting products or services through unique referral links, influencers earn sales commissions generated from their audiences. 

For example, let's say an influencer promotes a product in their video and refers their audience to buy it using the referral link. Now, for every purchase made, the influencer will receive a percentage of the sale value.  

With the recent launch of social commerce features, TikTok is expected to be a primary product purchase platform for GenZ. Creators can easily insert the promoted products in their videos and live streams, prompting the audience to click on the shop and be redirected to the creator's virtual shop to make the purchase. This performance-based promotional model minimizes the risk and provides a win-win scenario for both the influencer and the brand.

Selling digital products for sustainable growth

The number of TikTok content creators who are selling digital products like online courses, e-books, templates, and mentorship is on the rise. Once TikTokers gain popularity and build a reputation in a particular niche, the next rational thing to do to scale their brand is to build a tangible product for their followers. The main advantage of selling digital products is that they're easily scalable and the creator has complete control of their offerings. They're not dependent on any aggregator and can run their digital product business on their own terms. 

Online courses are the most preferred mode of digital products sold by TikTok creators. If you're a content creator with expertise in a particular field and have a passion to teach, you should definitely look into creating courses and leverage your fame to market the courses. It's a minimal investment, easily scalable, and runs on autopilot once you set it up. You can easily look for online course platforms like TrainerCentral that offer all of the tools you'll need to create, sell, and manage your entire online course business in one unified platform.

Wrapping up

The lines between social media and e-commerce platforms have blurred over the years, and TikTok especially has become a leading platform for driving sales and brand awareness for many businesses. To succeed on TikTok, creators should deeply understand the nuances of it and position themselves at the forefront with a strategic approach.