The realistic way to make money with TikTok is to use the app as a marketing platform for your own products. If a user has launched their own business, TikTok can be great for advertising it. Anyone who can get their products in front of customers within 15 seconds has found the right tool in TikTok. Thanks to the link feature on your own profile, users are taken straight to your website and so directly to your products. If a seller runs a carpentry shop, for example, they can also post short how-to videos here showing how they build different pieces of furniture. Making money with TikTok works by presenting your products attractively. You can also put a logo in the clip. In the caption, the user points to the link in their profile, and you're ready to go.

Users can also explore the incredible reach they can get through cleverly chosen hashtags. That way, they reach a broad mass of interested people in no time and, in the best case, customers too. Creative and above all memorable videos that appeal to users are the most effective here. What's especially good is that advertising on TikTok is free.

Making money with TikTok: history and market data

The app was acquired by the company ByteDance, headquartered in Beijing, back in November 2017 and then renamed TikTok in August 2018. ByteDance is one of the most valuable start-ups in the world and, with a market value of 75 billion dollars, is ahead of SpaceX and Airbnb. In China, TikTok is called Douyin and offers a number of additional platforms compared with Germany. For example, a news portal is integrated there. ByteDance is currently working on many projects, mostly in the field of artificial intelligence.

Making money with TikTok


How many people make money with TikTok, including in Germany, isn't officially known. TikTok doesn't provide any information on this and points out that in 2018 it was the fourth most downloaded app in the world. There's also a figure of 4.1 million users in Germany circulating online.

Making money with TikTok: stars use the app too

There are a number of TikTok stars in Germany too. Some time ago, the app also invited people to a so-called Creator Day in Berlin, and for the first time in Europe, journalists were able to attend as well. Several TikTok creators were there, part of the TikTok team from Germany, and colleagues from Shanghai and London. Some TikTok users showed how they succeed on the app and got the chance to exchange ideas with other users and influencers.