Symphony Clarke
- TikTok has created a new generation of digital stars who have built massive audiences on the app.
- But many creators are still experimenting with how to make money.
- Here's how much TikTokers earn from brand deals, song promotions, and its Creator Fund.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
TikTok ushered in a new generation of digital stars. But for many creators, it can be difficult to make money from TikTok alone.
Unlike YouTube or Facebook, which split a percentage of ad revenue with qualifying users, TikTok doesn't share ad dollars with influencers. Instead, it started a Creator Fund to pay users with at least 100,000 followers for their videos.
While Creator Fund payments aren't calculated based on just views, the effective payouts for videos have amounted to a few pennies for every one thousand video plays, some TikTokers told Insider.
Personal finance influencer Preston Seo, who has 1.6 million TikTok followers, earned a total of about $1,664 from the Creator Fund between January 2021 to May 2021, according to documentation he shared with Insider. His TikTok account earns between $9 to $38 a day on average.
Read more about how much TikTokers make from the TikTok Creator Fund:
- TikTok influencers reveal how much money they're getting paid from its $1 billion Creator Fund – and it's pennies per thousand views
- How much money a TikTok star with 1.6 million followers earns
Because Creator Fund payments don't pay the bills on their own, many influencers work on brand deals and song promotions to earn money from TikTok.
Seo said he charges about $600 per sponsored post on TikTok.
Symphony Clarke, an Atlanta-based TikTok creator, told Insider in December that she charged between $350 and $600 for a sponsored post.
Read more about how TikTok creators make money from brand sponsorships:
- A TikTok creator gained over 200,000 followers by making videos about thrift shopping. Here's how much money she charges for brand sponsorships.
- A TikTok influencer with about 260,000 followers also works full-time as a nanny. Here's how much money she makes from brands and how she balances 2 jobs.
- The founders of a TikTok influencer house share the exact 17-page media kit they use to get brand sponsorships
- A TikTok influencer with over 1 million followers explains how he calculates the pay rate he pitches to brands and what a day in his life looks like
- A TikTok star with 1.5 million followers explains how much money she makes from brand sponsorships
- A 59-year-old dad and his sons have gained over 2 million TikTok followers and built a family business. Here's how much money they charge brands for sponsorships.
And one of the most popular ways to earn money as a TikToker is by promoting songs in videos. Music marketers and record labels regularly pay TikTok users to post on the app in an attempt to make a new track go viral.
TikTok creator trio Nicole, Natalie, and Nika Taylor, who have over 8 million followers on the app, told Insider they charge $750 to promote a song in a single video, $1,400 for two videos, and $2,000 for three videos.
For micro influencers with fewer followers, rates are more variable, but can fall anywhere from $20 to $150, said Austin Georgas, a senior account manager focused on music marketing at the Gen-Z media company Flighthouse.
Read more about how TikTok creators make money from song promotions:
- How much TikTok creators get paid to promote songs on the app by music marketers and record labels
- TikTok music marketers are increasingly hiring micro influencers over superstars as the app becomes saturated
- How much TikTok influencers can earn from song promotions, according to 2 music marketers