How to make money on TikTok

Short answer: under 1,000 followers, earn from brand deals and your own offers, because TikTok's programs are not open to you yet. Between 1,000 and 10,000, add a bio link that sells something and start LIVE if you enjoy it. Past 10,000 followers and 100,000 views a month, apply for Creator Rewards and keep the other income going, because program payouts move with the algorithm.

The short answer

Most people search this hoping for one switch to flip. TikTok has a few, but each comes with a gate: an age, a follower count, a view count, a country or a type of account. The ways that pay the most per fan are the ones you run yourself, because a viewer who buys a $15 guide or tips $5 is worth far more to you than the same viewer watching a video. The plan in this guide uses both: TikTok's programs for reach and your own offers for income you control.

Seven ways to make money on TikTok, compared

The first three are TikTok programs, so TikTok sets the rules and can change them. The last four are yours: you set the price and keep the relationship with the buyer, and you pay your payment platform's fee instead of a share to TikTok.

Creator Rewards: the real rules

Creator Rewards replaced the old Creator Fund and pays for longer videos. TikTok's US terms list what you need:

• You are at least 18, or the age of majority where you live.
• At least 10,000 authentic followers.
• At least 100,000 authentic video views in the last 30 days.
• A personal account. Business, organization, government and political accounts are excluded.
• An account in good standing that follows TikTok's policies.
• You live in a country where the program is open. TikTok's Creator Academy keeps the list.

Only videos of at least one minute count. The terms say views and other signals that are "paid or incentivized", or artificially produced, are excluded, and videos with unauthorized music can be muted, removed or disqualified. Rewards are worked out the month after you earn them and paid on the 15th, once your balance reaches $50.

Three traps that quietly cost people the program

• Switching to a business account for the link. It helps your bio link and removes you from Creator Rewards in the US. Decide which one matters more to you before switching.
• Buying views or followers. The terms count only authentic followers and views. Bought numbers can disqualify the account, not just the video.
• Posting 50-second videos. They can do well and still earn nothing from the program. If Creator Rewards is the goal, plan videos that hold attention past a minute.

LIVE gifts

During a LIVE, viewers can buy virtual gifts and send them to you. TikTok's support pages say you must be 18 or older (19 in South Korea), able to go LIVE, in good standing, and somewhere gifts are offered. TikTok says going LIVE takes 1,000 followers in most regions. Gifts turn into Diamonds, which you cash out in the app.

LIVE suits creators who enjoy talking with viewers in real time: answering questions, working on art or a build, or reacting to requests. It is tiring to do every day. Pick two or three set times a week, say them in your bio, and treat every LIVE as a way to point people to the thing you sell, not only as a gift stream.

TikTok Shop affiliate

As a TikTok Shop affiliate you tag products in your videos or LIVEs and earn a commission when people buy. TikTok Shop's US creator policy says you must be 18 or older, based in the United States, and pass an ID check with a government ID. Accounts under 5,000 followers start in a pilot with limits, such as up to three shoppable product videos a day, and graduate after reaching 5,000 followers and 30 days in the program.

This fits creators who already review, unbox or use products on camera. It fits poorly if your audience follows you for art, comedy or opinions and would feel sold to. Only tag products you would recommend without the commission, and say clearly that you earn from the link.

Brand deals

Brands pay creators to feature a product, usually per video or for a package of videos. There is no follower minimum: a small account with a clear niche and comments full of real questions can be worth more to the right brand than a large general one. To get started:

• Write down who watches you, in one sentence a brand can repeat.
• Build a one-page media kit with your audience, three example videos and your rates. Our guide on what to include in a media kit has a checklist.
• Price from your time, the usage rights and any exclusivity, not a follower formula. See how much to charge for a brand deal.
• Pitch ten brands you already use, by email or the contact on their website.

Every paid or gifted post needs a clear disclosure. The FTC says to put it in the video itself, not only in the caption, in plain words such as "ad" or "sponsored". Turn on TikTok's paid partnership label too, but do not rely on it alone.

Tips, memberships and products through your bio link

Your own offers are the most reliable money on TikTok, because they do not depend on a program or a monthly view count. All you need is one link in your bio. TikTok's help center says you can add a website link once you have 1,000 followers, or earlier with a verified business account.

Tips

A tip button lets viewers say thank you after a video helped them. It works best when you ask at the right moment: after a tutorial that saved someone time, or a LIVE that answered their question. Say it once, plainly: "If this helped, there's a tip button in my bio."

Memberships

A membership is a monthly payment for something ongoing: extra videos, early access, a private community or a monthly Q&A. Only promise what you can deliver in a bad month. Our guide on how much to charge for a membership walks through pricing.

Digital products and custom work

Look at your comments and DMs for the question you answer most. That question is your first product: the full recipe list, the editing preset, the workout plan, the template, the custom portrait. If you are not sure what to start with, what a creator should sell first has a scoring sheet.

Where to put it

A Loresta Page is one option. It is a link-in-bio Page that takes tips, memberships, digital products, custom requests and paid questions in one place (payments are open to US creators for now). On the Free plan Loresta keeps 8% of each Page payment, plus Stripe's processing fee, so a $5.00 tip leaves you about $4.13. The Page also answers common questions from visitors in your words, and paid plans add help with replies to Instagram, Facebook and X messages and TikTok comments. Whatever you use, check what you keep from a small payment, not only the headline fee.

A 30-day plan by follower count

Under 1,000 followers

• Week 1: pick the one question people ask you most and post three videos answering it.
• Week 2: turn that answer into a small paid thing, such as a guide or a custom service, and write down its price and what the buyer gets.
• Week 3: pitch five brands you already use, with a one-page media kit.
• Week 4: when you reach 1,000 followers, add your bio link the same day.

1,000 to 10,000 followers

• Add a bio link with tips and your first product, and mention it at the end of your most useful videos.
• Try two LIVEs a week at fixed times and note which ones bring sales, not just gifts.
• Start posting some videos longer than a minute, so you are ready for Creator Rewards.

Over 10,000 followers

• Check the Creator Rewards rules above and apply from the app if you meet them.
• Add a membership for your most loyal viewers once you know what you can deliver monthly.
• Raise your brand-deal rates and add usage-rights pricing.

Mistakes that cost TikTok creators money

• Waiting for 10,000 followers. The program has the highest bar. Your own offers and brand deals can start at any size.
• Relying on one program. Creator Rewards and LIVE depend on TikTok's rules and the algorithm. One change can halve a month. Keep at least one income you control.
• A bio link that goes nowhere useful. If the link opens a list of ten things, most people leave. Put the thing you want them to do first. Our guide on what to put in your link in bio shows the order.
• Hiding the paid part. Undisclosed ads break FTC rules and TikTok's policies, and viewers notice. Say "ad" in the video.
• Leaving DMs unanswered. "How much?" and "Do you do customs?" are buyers. Answer them quickly or let your bio link answer for you.