The TikTok landscape is a bit of a wild west in the influencer marketing industry. Bursting into popularity in 2018/2019, TikTok now competes with the largest social media platforms in the world. When once it was a budding music app, the app and its creators have grown to a point where influencers like Charlie D’Amelio have over 148M followers.
Given its popularity, brands have taken notice and seen opportunities to connect with new audiences. The app has become a line item for any marketing strategy, but some in the industry still have questions about TikTok creators and how they make money. This blog will explore just how much TikTok creators make and how they monetize their content.
How much does TikTok pay?
On average per 1000 views, TikTok pays creators 2 – 4 cents. But why does TikTok pay per 1000 views? 1000 views are the increment of measurement to determine the virality of a post. As TikTok wants high-quality content, it wants to reward creators for posting content that contributes positively to the TikTok ecosystem. While it seems easy to get views on TikTok the amount of views required to make a substantial income is significant. You may ask, where does this money come from? That’s where the TikTok Creator Fund comes in.
Tiktok Creator Fund: How does it work?
Thanks to the $300M investment in the Creator Fund, TikTok is able to provide its influencers with compensation for using and contributing content to the platform.
The TikTok Creator Fund was made to entice influencers to use and stay on the platform. The influencer marketing industry is competitive in the context of what social media platforms influencers use, so TikTok wants to make sure creators have a reason to stay.
However, views aren’t the only measurement creators are paid on. The authenticity of views, levels of engagement, and amount of content being published will also contribute to TikTok influencers’ payouts.
How to apply to the TikTok Creator Fund?
If you are a creator looking to apply to the creator fund, there a few prerequisites you’ll need to do so.
- You must be 18 years or older
- Be a legal resident of the US, District of Columbia, US territories, UK, Germany, Italy, France, or Spain.
- Have 10k authentic followers
- Have accrued 100k views on content in the last 30 days
- Post original content
Becoming a part of the creator fund is not necessarily easy, but for those invested in becoming content creators on TikTok, it is a worthwhile endeavor.
How much money can a viral TikTok video make?
Many people dream about having their content go viral. Unfortunately, a single piece of viral content may not have a significant impact on your wallet. With an estimate of 2 – 4 cents every 1000 views, if you had a video get 1 million views, you could expect a payout of $20 – $40. This example highlights just how much work goes into content creation as a profession.
To make a living as a creator, you need consistent viral content that is getting well over a million views. With so many seemingly wealthy influencers, how do they make money with these rates on views? In truth, most influencers’ income does not come from the Creator Fund but rather from alternative means.
How do TikTokers make money?
Luckily, the TikTok Creator Fund isn’t the only way TikTok influencers make money. In fact, most influencers would say it is less impactful than the following means of monetizing content. Here are the other ways TikTok influencers make their money:
Live Streaming
Live streaming is one of the most effective ways for creators to connect with their audience and make money while doing so. Followers get authentic access to the creator during live streams and can engage with them in ways that aren’t possible through traditional content viewing. This entices followers to join live streams for a unique experience with the influencers they love. During live streams, creators can answer live questions and receive gifts from those viewing the live stream.
These gifts like “roses” are small increments of money that can be attributed to creators earning TikTok Diamonds. Each TikTok Diamond is worth 5 cents and can be redeemed if you are a creator. However, TikTok keeps 50% of what influencers earn on live streams, so if you cashed in 2,500 diamonds TikTok will pay you $62.50. The limits on live streams for creators are a minimum of $100 is needed to withdraw and a maximum of $1000 can be withdrawn a day.
Influencer Marketing and Brand Deals
Influencer marketing and brand deals on TikTok are the most significant ways that creators monetize their content. By collaborating with influencers, brands can connect with new and existing audiences and drive brand awareness or conversions for their product or services. For influencers, brand partnerships come most often with compensation in the form of cash, but can also be free products or discounts. For most creators, brand partnerships are the reason content creation as a career is possible and the industry has been built around this concept.
Compensation and incentives are contentious topics in the influencer marketing landscape, even outside of TikTok. Each influencer has a different rate depending on the size of their following, the content requested, and the brand they partner with. Marketers often spend a significant amount of time negotiating rates with influencers as brands have a budget to adhere to but still want to provide fair compensation.
For influencer programs activating at scale, the potential of hundreds or thousands of negotiations presents a difficult and time-consuming problem. If your brand is facing similar problems, the Mavrck platform can help. Our platform was built to help influencer teams manage and grow their programs by automating activities like negotiations and providing critical information like The 2022 Creator Compensation Report to provide context in your conversations.
The TikTok Creator Marketplace
Given that influencer marketing and brand partnerships are one of the best ways TikTokers make their money, TikTok wanted to make that partnership process easy for both brands and creators. The TikTok Creator Marketplace (TCM) is a tool offered by TikTok for creators to be discovered for potential brand partnerships.
One of the more challenging aspects of influencer marketing for influencer teams is finding the right creators to partner with. Influencer and brand relationships work best when the creator matches the voice, tone, and values of the brand and the TCM makes that process simple. Brands can feel comfortable knowing that these creators have met requirements to prove their legitimacy and creators are given a greater opportunity to be discovered.
For more mature enterprise programs, the TCM may not have as robust search and workflow capabilities compared to an influencer platform, but will certainly be valuable for teams looking for a good place to start. The best of both worlds is to find an influencer platform that has partnered with TikTok, like Mavrck.
Attending sponsored events
TikTok creators can provide value in more ways than just content. Creators are often compensated for their participation in sponsored events. These could be forums, panels, conferences, or webinars where influencers provide their input and perspective around topics within the industry. The topics could be related to the themes of their content like fitness, finance, parenting, etc., or influencer marketing-specific themes like content creation, navigating brand partnerships, or general industry perspectives.
Selling merchandise
TikTok creators have become more than the content they share. Influencers build followings based on their content, but also on the person behind that content. Audiences look for authenticity in more ways than just entertainment. In a way, influencers become brands themselves and therefore TikTok creators often sell merchandise like apparel, swag, or even full cosmetic lines. This gives audiences a new way to support their favorite creators in a more significant way. Merch is a great way for influencers to grow their brand and connect with their followers on a deeper level.
How much do TikTok creators make?
TikTok creators with around 100,000 followers could be making between $200 – $1000 a month, while those with 1 million or more followers could be making $5,000+ a month. Unfortunately, there is no exact number that shows how much TikTok creators make. This number depends on many of the aforementioned factors like content performance and brand deals. That being said, rough estimates can be made with an understanding of these factors.
Every creator is different and in many cases, those with under 1 million followers may not be making any money. This number is difficult to quantify because of the intricacies involved in brand deals. Creators like Charlie D’Amelio could make $1M+ per post, but for lesser-known creators, brand deals occur behind closed doors.
Some other factors that influence TikToker’s income are where they live and where their followers live. As mentioned above, in order to qualify for the TikTok Creator Fund, influencers must be a legal resident of the US or its territories. If a creator is outside of these parameters, they would not qualify for the fund. Additionally, if many of their followers are international, this could affect their gifting rates given TikToks ability to handle international currencies.
This article was created to help you understand how TikTok creators make their money. The most prominent answer is that their money comes from a variety of sources, the most significant being brand partnerships and the TikTok Creator Fund. To make a substantial income on TikTok, creators must diversify their sources of income and form long-term meaningful brand partnerships that best align with their content and audience.
If you’re looking for more information regarding TikTok and how Mavrck can help your brand achieve your goals, schedule a demo or use these articles as valuable resources:
Mavrck Named Official TikTok Marketing Partner
How to Grow your TikTok Brand Presence from Scratch
The Ultimate Guide to Influencer Marketing on TikTok
How much do TikTokers make FAQ
How do brands pay influencers?
The most common and requested form of payment from influencers is cash. Brands can also pay influencers via product, gift card, or discount code, but in recent years influencers have preferred cash as payment.
How much do small TikTok creators make?
Smaller creators often rely on brand deals for income. There is no exact number that smaller creators make, but according to Mavrck’s 2022 Creator Compensation Report the following picture is a breakdown of the typical compensation TikTok creators have received in 2022 and how that compares to pay per post in 2021.
Who are the highest-paid TikTokers in 2022?
The top 5 highest paid TikTok influencers are as follows:
- Charli D’Amelio – $17.5 Million
- Dixie D’Amelio – $10 Million
- Addison Rae – $8.5 Million
- Bella Poarch – $5 Million
- Josh Richards – $5 Million
