TikTok is a social media platform that has taken the world by storm. In fact, TikTok has even topped Google and Facebook as the world’s most popular web domain. It has soared in popularity among all generations — from boomers to millennials and generations X and Z. Everyone from their mom to their brother to their cousin-twice-removed is using TikTok to create content in the form of short videos, share stories, and advertise products and services. It’s no surprise that there are many ways to monetize your TikTok page and start bringing in money.
TikTok is notorious for eating up our time. Whether we’re using the bathroom, riding on public transport, in-between classes, taking a break at work, or just sitting at home, TikTok is there to keep us company. If you’re one of the many people who have taken to uploading content on TikTok, you should consider monetizing your content.
Monetizing your content allows you to make money from it, oftentimes in the form of passive income. There are two ways that this happens: You’ll either be paid by your audience or use a third party to bring in money by advertising products through your content.
TikTok reached more than a billion users last year, so making money using this platform should be easier than ever before, even if you don’t have a million followers. Still, it takes more than just a 15-second or 30-second clip to bring in cash. You need to first have an understanding of how TikTok monetization works and strategies to move you forward.
In this guide, you’ll learn four easy steps to help you cash in on TikTok and the best digital marketing tools and techniques. Let’s dive in!
1. Determine if TikTok Is Right for You
You may be wondering if TikTok is right for you and if you can actually make money using this platform. In short, the answer is yes. Anyone with a following can make money using TikTok, regardless of how big or small their audience is.
Even if you start out small, there’s always a chance that you'll continue growing your following and making even more money down the road. TikTok even offers a program called Creator Next that's specifically designed to help creators monetize their content while growing their audience. Once you’ve joined this program, TikTok sets you up with tools to help you increase your following, including a Creator Fund, Creator Marketplace, and Tips.
2. Stand Out From the Crowd
In a platform with many content creators already making and monetizing their content, standing out from the crowd may seem intimidating, but it may not be as hard or overwhelming as you think.
The most important step you can take is to find your niche. While you could make content covering several different topics, such as beauty, true crime, or comedy, it’s best to focus your skills on just one. It’s important to pick a niche that is close to your heart — one that you love and have deep knowledge of.
When you have a niche, you can focus on creating unique content that sets you apart from other creators. You’ll also have more time to figure out how to promote and market your content. While it’s important to choose a niche that you love, it’s also important to ensure that the niche is not already oversaturated with other content creators and, if it is, that your content has a unique spin or twist on it that other content lacks. Also, your niche should be one that is interesting and valuable to others — the bigger the potential audience, the more monetization you can bring in.
As a final tip, you may want to consider sprucing up your TikTok bio with a link in bio like one from Norby that links to your landing pages to help with landing page marketing, lead captures, socials, and more.
3. Decide on a Monetization Option
There are several ways to monetize your content on TikTok. Some, like the Creator Next program, we’ve discussed already, but there are many other options you can choose from to build your creator economy. These include:
- Finding a brand to partner with: If you’ve decided on a niche, now is the time to reach out to some similar brands that are in the same industry as you are. Whether you’re creating content or selling products or services, partnering and being sponsored by a brand is a great way to monetize your TikTok.
- Promoting your business: TikTok is a great place to post advertisements promoting any services or products that you offer. Whether the products you sell are physical or digital, advertising them via TikTok ads can help drive sales.
- Affiliate marketing: Affiliate marketing has been around long before TikTok — but TikTok makes it easier than ever to use this marketing strategy and is one of the best marketing tools for affiliates.
These are only a few methods to monetize your content, but they are certainly some of the most popular.
As a final tip, you may want to consider investing in a platform like Norby, which provides new and experienced content creators with the best digital marketing tools, such as landing pages, SMS, newsletters, and events.
4. Track and Reinvest
Tracking your performance and audience is essential to growing your TikTok following and monetizing your content. Once you understand what works for you and your business, you can reinvest in that and help your content evolve.
To do this, you’ll need to understand your audience’s journey — how they found you, what convinced them to transition from passive followers to paid subscribers or customers, and similar factors. Consider engaging with your audience, reviewing data and analytics, and conducting surveys.
Another good way to track customer relationships is through customer relationship management (CRM). To find out more about CRM marketing, check out Norby.
It’s also a good idea to learn about current trends on TikTok and add them into your content strategy.
Conclusion
If you’re a content creator or an entrepreneur who wants to grow your audience and customer base through TikTok, it’s important that you understand the steps to monetization. Remember, no matter the size of your current TikTok following, you can still monetize your content.
If you’re still unsure how to succeed in monetizing your content, consider joining Norby. Engaging with your community has never been easier. Norby will provide you with all the tools and digital marketing techniques you need to help you build relationships with your followers and analyze audience data to track where your audience is coming from.
