4 Ways to Make Money on TikTok

It seems like the masses are just now catching on to TikTok, the social platform built on short-form videos. But despite its newness—and the lack of advertising revenue available on platforms like Youtube—some early adopters and viral creators on the platform are still finding ways to monetize.

According to a recent article on Business Insider, there are currently four main ways for people to make money on the platform: Sponsorships, live streams, merchandise and affiliate marketing.

This method of money-making is pretty straightforward: An influencer gets paid to feature a product or service in their post. Some might even get money to participate in a company's amplified hashtag, like Chipotle's "Lid Flip Challenge."

Creators who go "Live" on TikTok can collect donations straight from their fans in the form of digital "gifts" that can be converted back into cold, hard cash. You must have 1,000 followers to qualify for this feature, so keep posting content to get your count up.

If a creator has a big—or just devoted—following, they might want to get into the merch game. Tees, hoodies, socks and iPhone cases are usually the standard offerings. This direct revenue is a great way to monetize a Tiktok following or community on any platform.

When creators share a link to a product that fans use to make a purchase, the creator typically gets a percentage cut of the sale. TikTok has apparently been "experimenting" with adding links to videos and to users' bio pages, which means that affiliate marketing could be an even bigger revenue stream in the future. Get onto affiliate link programs through Amazon, Skimlinks or RewardStyle to cash in.