I’ve been spending way too much time on TikTok lately 😂 and I can’t help but wonder,
- How are these influencers actually getting paid?
Like yeah, I’ve heard of the Creator Fund, but from what I’ve seen people say, the payouts are tiny (like a few dollars per million views). So how are these big TikTokers affording cars, apartments, traveling, etc.?
Do brands just reach out directly and pay them for promos? Or is it more through affiliate links, merch, and moving their audience off TikTok (like to YouTube, Instagram, OnlyFans, Patreon, etc.)?
Also, does follower count really matter, or is it more about views/engagement? For example, could someone with 50k followers but crazy high engagement make more than someone with 500k followers but dead engagement?
If anyone here has done TikTok collabs or knows the business side of it, I’d love to hear how the money actually works. Because right now, it feels like magic to me when I see people blow up and suddenly start living that “influencer lifestyle.