Amina Khabibula | 05.12.2025
Can TikTok Turn People Into Millionaires?
TikTok has grown from being a simple app called Musically, where people lip-sync, video share and etc., into one of the biggest platforms in the digital world, where people can gain lots of fame and money. With over 1.9 million monthly active users, it has the power to turn ordinary people into celebrities almost instantly. But the real question is: despite being an online celebrity, can it really turn people into millionaires?
TikTok’s algorithm is one of the main reasons why the platform itself feels so unpredictable, as unlike older social media apps, TikTok doesn’t only promote people with a huge amount of followers. Instead, every other video has a chance to be shown to millions of people on your page. It starts off with showing the video to a small audience, and as the video gets more attention, likes, and shares, TikTok starts promoting it to bigger audiences; therefore, this system gives everyone a chance of going viral if the content is interesting enough. Another way the algorithm promotes a video is with the author's usage of hashtags. The more relatable hashtags there are in the caption of the TikTok, the more people who interact with those kinds of videos with similar hashtags will get to see it.
However, going viral once isn’t enough to become rich. One popular video might give you a following; however, it won’t generate money. The creators whose source of income is TikTok have stayed consistent in their content and have built a recognisable persona to gain an audience. Whether it’s cooking, fashion, or even fitness content, TikTok rewards a creator fund to the creators who give their audience a reason to keep using their app. Yet most people think that TikTok pays a lot of money to creators; however, the truth is, it’s not a huge amount of money. The TikTok creator fund pays approximately $0.4 to $1 per 1,000 views; therefore, generally, creators earn about $400-$1,000 per 1 million views. Although the numbers seem big, getting 1 million views could fluctuate, as it’s not guaranteed what videos may go viral. Instead, the real money of creators comes from selling their own products, brand deals, and many more business strategies.
Brand deals are the biggest source of income for influencers. Many companies pay creators to promote their products to their audience in a unique way to gain attraction and make a profit. Titkok creators' payment for brand deals ranges based on the following count, engagement on their video, and how successful the campaign was, ranging from approximately $100-$50 to beginner influencers and $2,000-$20,000 to mega influencers with a larger audience.
Another major source of income for TikTok creators is affiliate marketing. With new features such as the TikTok shop or other programs such as Amazon, creators can link the products they influence their audience to buy in their videos. Every time a consumer buys from their link, they typically get paid a commission of 5% to 30% of the product’s sale price. This is why phrases such as “Run, don't walk!” or “TikTok made me buy it” became a huge trend, as TikTok actually helps content creators generate sales.
Some creators, after successfully generating enough income and gaining a solid audience, typically start their own brands and launch their own products. This includes skincare/makeup products, clothing lines and online courses on how to become just as successful as them. Many of these businesses end up making more money than a TikTok creator’s views. We could use Charli D'Amelio in this example, an ordinary girl posting dancing videos in 2019 and going viral overnight, who has stayed consistent in her content to gain the most followers on TikTok. She has then proceeded to create a clothing line by selling merchandise, collabs with big brands such as Hollister, launching a perfume line, and selling books about her life. This has helped her further on scoring brand deals with Luxury brands such as Prada. Charli D’Amelio’s net worth is now estimated to be around $45 million.
Being a TikTok creator also comes with its one negative side, such as constant pressure. The lifestyle of these creators may look lavish; however, they constantly worry about staying relevant on social media. They need to have consistent high engagement, deal with a flood of criticism, and manage the business side of their platform; therefore, many creators eventually hire a team that consists of managers and editors to help them.
So, can anyone become a millionaire on TikTok? Yes! However, it requires lots of strategic planning, consistency and audience growth to stay relevant to earn enough income to reach the millionaire status. TikTok tries to give everyone a fair chance of going viral, sharing their voice, and building their brand; however, it’s not predictable, making TikTok one of the most exciting apps ever.
Sources:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrasternlicht/2022/09/06/charli-and-dixie-damelio-turned-tiktok-fame-into-a-billionaire-backed-personal-brand-that-hinges-on-their-personal-lives/
https://www.crunch.co.uk/knowledge/article/how-to-make-money-on-tiktok
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/05/business/media/tiktok-algorithm.html
https://www.meltwater.com/en/blog/tiktok-creator-fund
TikTok’s algorithm is one of the main reasons why the platform itself feels so unpredictable, as unlike older social media apps, TikTok doesn’t only promote people with a huge amount of followers. Instead, every other video has a chance to be shown to millions of people on your page. It starts off with showing the video to a small audience, and as the video gets more attention, likes, and shares, TikTok starts promoting it to bigger audiences; therefore, this system gives everyone a chance of going viral if the content is interesting enough. Another way the algorithm promotes a video is with the author's usage of hashtags. The more relatable hashtags there are in the caption of the TikTok, the more people who interact with those kinds of videos with similar hashtags will get to see it.
However, going viral once isn’t enough to become rich. One popular video might give you a following; however, it won’t generate money. The creators whose source of income is TikTok have stayed consistent in their content and have built a recognisable persona to gain an audience. Whether it’s cooking, fashion, or even fitness content, TikTok rewards a creator fund to the creators who give their audience a reason to keep using their app. Yet most people think that TikTok pays a lot of money to creators; however, the truth is, it’s not a huge amount of money. The TikTok creator fund pays approximately $0.4 to $1 per 1,000 views; therefore, generally, creators earn about $400-$1,000 per 1 million views. Although the numbers seem big, getting 1 million views could fluctuate, as it’s not guaranteed what videos may go viral. Instead, the real money of creators comes from selling their own products, brand deals, and many more business strategies.
Brand deals are the biggest source of income for influencers. Many companies pay creators to promote their products to their audience in a unique way to gain attraction and make a profit. Titkok creators' payment for brand deals ranges based on the following count, engagement on their video, and how successful the campaign was, ranging from approximately $100-$50 to beginner influencers and $2,000-$20,000 to mega influencers with a larger audience.
Another major source of income for TikTok creators is affiliate marketing. With new features such as the TikTok shop or other programs such as Amazon, creators can link the products they influence their audience to buy in their videos. Every time a consumer buys from their link, they typically get paid a commission of 5% to 30% of the product’s sale price. This is why phrases such as “Run, don't walk!” or “TikTok made me buy it” became a huge trend, as TikTok actually helps content creators generate sales.
Some creators, after successfully generating enough income and gaining a solid audience, typically start their own brands and launch their own products. This includes skincare/makeup products, clothing lines and online courses on how to become just as successful as them. Many of these businesses end up making more money than a TikTok creator’s views. We could use Charli D'Amelio in this example, an ordinary girl posting dancing videos in 2019 and going viral overnight, who has stayed consistent in her content to gain the most followers on TikTok. She has then proceeded to create a clothing line by selling merchandise, collabs with big brands such as Hollister, launching a perfume line, and selling books about her life. This has helped her further on scoring brand deals with Luxury brands such as Prada. Charli D’Amelio’s net worth is now estimated to be around $45 million.
Being a TikTok creator also comes with its one negative side, such as constant pressure. The lifestyle of these creators may look lavish; however, they constantly worry about staying relevant on social media. They need to have consistent high engagement, deal with a flood of criticism, and manage the business side of their platform; therefore, many creators eventually hire a team that consists of managers and editors to help them.
So, can anyone become a millionaire on TikTok? Yes! However, it requires lots of strategic planning, consistency and audience growth to stay relevant to earn enough income to reach the millionaire status. TikTok tries to give everyone a fair chance of going viral, sharing their voice, and building their brand; however, it’s not predictable, making TikTok one of the most exciting apps ever.
Sources:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrasternlicht/2022/09/06/charli-and-dixie-damelio-turned-tiktok-fame-into-a-billionaire-backed-personal-brand-that-hinges-on-their-personal-lives/
https://www.crunch.co.uk/knowledge/article/how-to-make-money-on-tiktok
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/05/business/media/tiktok-algorithm.html
https://www.meltwater.com/en/blog/tiktok-creator-fund
