8 Ways To Make Money on TikTok That Don’t Involve Dancing
Despite the recent drama surrounding the TikTok ban, the popular app used by more than 135 million Americans is still available. And if you’re one of the many people looking to make money on this lucrative social media platform, you’ve come to the right place.
While you might be tempted to follow in the footsteps of now-famous TikTok dancers like Charli D’Amelio (who happens to be worth $45 million at the time of writing), there are plenty of other ways to make money on the platform that don’t require any choreography or rhythm. In fact, in 2025 there are multiple ways you can make money as a TikTok creator, whether it’s for your personal brand, business or your employer.
We gathered a list of eight ways you can make money on TikTok in 2025 — and some of them might just surprise you.
Make Extra Money Outside of TikTok
Making money on TikTok isn’t instantaneous or a guarantee (which you’ll learn about in a minute), but we do have some ideas when it comes to making easy money outside of social media platforms. Check out some of our favorite ways to make quick cash below.
| Offer | What You Can Earn | What You Have to Do | Take Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| InboxDollars | $225/month | Complete short surveys | |
| FreeCash | $1,000/month | Simple online tasks | |
| GoBranded | Up to $140/month | Share your honest opinion | |
| Kashkick | $1,000/month | Try out apps | |
| Solitaire Cash | Up to $83 per win | Compete against other players |
How to Get Followers and Start Making Money on TikTok
First things first: You’re going to need to download the TikTok app on your phone and create an account. Once you have a TikTok profile set, you can start producing, customizing and sharing your videos. Here are eight of our best tips to help you get started earning money as a content creator on TikTok.
1. Make Quality, Consistent Content
Quality and consistency are the name of the game with all social media platforms. That’s especially true with TikTok. Once you choose the kind of videos you want to make, it’s good to make a schedule and stick to it.
“With TikTok, you have to be prepared to play the long game and prioritize consistency in content creation and publishing,” said Kelsey Parks, COO and Cofounder of Psyche Digital. “The creators who do it best know their audience and have a steady pulse of relevant content going out.”
While your videos don’t have to be Academy Award winners, it helps to put some thought into who you want your audience to be and what kind of content they respond to. You’ll also want to create videos regularly. It’s not enough to create one or two good videos. You’ll need to be regularly producing content to stay at top of mind with your followers and start making money.
2. Focus on a Niche
Your job as a content creator will also be easier if you come up with a niche for yourself. While many new creators think a niche will be too limiting, the opposite is actually true. The more succinctly you can identify your target audience and the kind of content that will best resonate with them, the better your chances are of standing out and gaining a following.
For example, let’s say you’re an interior designer looking to boost your business on TikTok. While you could post generic videos on the interiors you design or like, you’d be much better off focusing on a niche like decluttering or minimalist living. Not only will this make you easier to find for people searching those kinds of accounts, but those same people will be more likely to engage with your videos because you’re posting content on the exact subject that interests them — not just something generic.
Parks recommends asking yourself the following questions to guide you toward a niche for your content.
- Who am I creating for?
- What do they actually care about?
- What style of content will resonate with them best?
- What words and phrases are they using to find what they need on TikTok?
3. Use the Creator Rewards Program
Once you’ve got the basics down and your videos are gaining traction, you might want to consider joining TikTok’s Creator Rewards Program. The way TikTok pays its creators has changed over the years. What was formerly known as the TikTok Creator Fund has become the Creator Rewards Program.
The Creator Rewards Program works by paying creators for the qualified views their original content receives; and current rates are between $0.02 and $0.04 per 1,000 views. But in order to qualify for the TikTok Creator Rewards Program, you’ll need more than engaging, original content. You’ll also need to be at least 18 years old, have at least 10,000 followers, and have at least 100,000 video views in the last 30 days. You can view the full list of requirements for joining here.
4. Get Sponsorships
Like many things in life, making money on TikTok is best done by not putting all your eggs in one basket. Translation? Take advantage of many strategies, not just one.
“Don’t rely on just one revenue stream,” Parks said. “Sponsorships, affiliate links, TikTok Shop, Creator Rewards — it all adds up.”
Sponsorships are another great strategy to use. Once you have enough followers to qualify for the Creator Rewards Program, you also likely have plenty to start pitching your content to brands. You can do this by including a callout to brands you’re interested in working with or by joining the TikTok Creator Marketplace. That’s the official space brands and influences use to connect.
Like we mentioned previously, you’ll want to spend some time thinking about what brands your content is best suited for and how you can further their bottom line with your videos. This might be as simple as highlighting products. Or it might be more complicated — like promoting a certain program or practice. As always, you’ll do best if the brand feels like it’s an organic fit with the kind of content you’re creating and the audience you’re building.
5. Make Use of Gifting
Once you have a solid following, you should also consider setting up gifting. That allows your followers to send you monetary gifts during live streams. Gifts are given using coins, which is an in-app currency users can purchase. While TikTok keeps half the value of all gifts given, the amount you receive can still add up.
For example, if someone gives you a gift of 5,000 coins, this would equate to $50. The platform would keep half, leaving you with $25. Depending on your following and how many people are tuning into your livestreams, a number of even relatively small gifts could become a more significant sum of money.
6. Sell With TikTok Shop
Another great way to make money on TikTok is to sell your products with TikTok Shop. This integrated e-commerce platform allows users to shop your storefront and buy your products without even leaving the app. It also creates a unique opportunity for you to market your products and create content around your offerings.
“I think the number one way to make money on TikTok is to find a winning product on TikTok Shop and then start creating content that targets the pain points of someone who would purchase it,” said Carradean Farley, co-founder of Periscope Media.
And don’t be afraid to make a splash with the content you create surrounding your product.
“If it’s controversial and gets higher engagement, that will help with virality,” Farley said.
7. Market Your Services in Your Content
Much like creating content around your product offerings, another way to make money on TikTok is by creating content that markets your services. This could be as simple as creating short videos that explain what you offer or something more involved, like gathering recorded testimonials from happy customers.
“A content creator can also go live on TikTok and it can be like one long infomercial,” Farley said. “All the creator needs to do is talk about the product or service and how it has solved their problems.”
8. Build an Audience Beyond TikTok
If you do nothing else to advance your business on TikTok, be sure to at least link your business website to your profile and work on building your following beyond the platform itself.
“The smartest creators don’t rely solely on TikTok to make money,” Parks said. “Instead, they use it as a tool to drive traffic to their own platforms (whether that’s a website, online store or blog), so they’re not dependent on an algorithm to keep the cash flowing.”
Parks also recommends using TikTok as a launching point to build up a direct mailing list that exists beyond the platform. You can do this by incentivising your followers to sign up for your emails with a free product download.
“That way, if for some reason TikTok got shut down, as it did in January 2025, you don’t have to go into crisis mode and can instead just funnel that time into other channels.”
Larissa Runkle is a writer and editor living in Colorado. Her work focuses on personal finance, real estate copywriting and lifestyle guides.
FAQs About How to Make Money on TikTok
To get paid on TikTok, you should be sure to sign up for its Creator Rewards Program and also make use of other in-app tools like TikTok Shop, where you can sell your products, and use gifting—where viewers give you monetary gifts during livestream events.
TikTok pays creators between $0.02 and $0.04 per 1,000 views, but your exact earning potential will depend on a number of factors including the quality of the content you create, your audience and engagement.
To make money on TikTok’s Creator Fund, you’ll need at least 100,000 video views within the last 30 days, as well as a minimum of 10,000 followers.
