TikTok has more ways than ever for creators to make money

The TikTok Creators Summit, held on Thursday in Hollywood, had the feel of an intimate awards show mashed with a retro-style work convention, complete with lanyards and name tags.

Platform creators sipped coffee and snapped photos before being led into a cavernous room with hundreds of seats and a brightly lit stage. Hosts Eric Sedeño (@ricotaquito) and Yasmine Sahid (@ladyyasmina1) admirably kept the energy up throughout the 90-minute-long proceedings, even with some cringey jokes piped into their teleprompter.

No trophies were handed out at the summit; instead, TikTok leadership, along with creators and advertisers, cheerfully shared guidance on how TikTok talent could turn their passion for videos into a legitimate career that pays the rent (and everything else). With approximately 2 billion monthly active users, there is a lot of money on the table.

TikTok bosses like Keiko Mori, head of Creative Product Marketing and Commercial Partnerships - North America, emphasized to the young, rapt assemblage that advertisers seek creators with a clear niche and those who consistently post, engage with their audience, and have a track record of successful brand partnerships.

Selling TikTok One to creators

Part of TikTok's strategy to enrich its creators is to get them on TikTok One, a platform that directly connects creators with advertisers. Any creator with 10,000 followers can join One, which allows them to create ads for brands to push as they please, rather than post sponsored content on their profiles, and to monetize existing (and applicable) videos by letting TikTok promote them as ads.

While TikTok One has been around for a while, TikTok announced new perks at the summit. These included One Pay, a feature which allows creators to get paid from brand deals directly through the app, rather than through the advertisers. While this sounds like adding a middleman and giving him a cut of the profits (akin to Airbnb’s model), TikTok says it collects no fees or commissions on its end of the transaction. It also addresses a big issue for many creators: chasing down payments from brand deals.

"Payment lands in under 30 days after a video posts, which is quicker than the traditional terms common in the industry," according to a statement from TikTok.

Another new One perk is TikTok One Plus, an invite-only opportunity for adult U.S. and Mexican creators with at least 100,000 followers. "High-quality content creators" are chosen for Plus, according to TikTok, opening up new exclusive brand opportunities for them. Companies that advertise on TikTok can easily find OnePlus creators via AI or analog searches, quickly identifying an account that aligns with their marketing campaign.

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"When I first started and got my first big brand deal. I was so excited," Vanessa Louise Miller, aka DeliciousNess Bakery, told Mashable. "They did reach out to me directly. But looking back now, I feel like I waited way too long for that moment. You don’t need to have millions of followers to have a great brand deal. You can reach out to companies directly. TikTok One has been incredible for that, it connects me with a brand in the same ecosphere — and you never know what brand you’ll find on there."

8 ways to get paid on TikTok

TikTok execs at the summit emphasized the myriad revenue streams available to creators — specifically, eight of them:

• Creator Rewards Program: A performance-based model that pays creators according to individual video performance. The program rewards users for their creativity, according to TikTok, which usually means longer videos with more production value (effective lighting, professional-looking editing, etc.).

• Specialized Rewards Program: This invite-only monetization program sounds like the aforementioned TikTok One Plus, but it isn't directly connected to advertising or brand marketing. Eligible creators can produce "high-quality content within specialized categories like film/TV, sports and learning" to unlock more bucks. Creators must be in the site's Creator Rewards Program to join.

• Brand Deals: Sponsored content and brand partnerships are the bread and butter of making money on TikTok.

• LIVE: At the summit, TikTok execs were encouraging live sessions for users, especially since their followers can gift them cash rewards during the vids.

• TikTok Shop: TikTok's e-commerce platform lets shoppers buy products featured in videos and live streams, with users (and TikTok) taking a cut of the proceeds.

• TikTok GO: Similar to TikTok Shop, creators can promote hotels, attractions, and local services to their followers and get a cut of the bookings.

• Post Contests: Again, TikTok wants "high-quality content" for this opportunity, which seeks videos about specific subjects or those related to a campaign hashtag. The nice thing about these contests: no minimum follower count required.

• Subscriptions: Unknown to many is the ability to charge followers a subscription, ostensibly for exclusive content like special videos or behind-the-scenes clips.