TikTok creators like Charli D’Amelio and Josh Richards have earned millions of dollars through brand deals. However, while brand deals are an excellent source of income, they can be challenging to come by for many TikTok creators, especially if you are just getting started. 

The next best thing would be to find an alternate strategy to monetize your TikTok channel. Selling digital products is a perfect fit for most TikTok creators, and we’ll show you why! 

Digital products like ebooks, online courses, private groups/memberships, etc., allow you to create a passive income stream with the potential to last many years. Vs. a brand dealing being a one-and-done opportunity. 

TikTok creators that are currently building their followers can introduce digital products now and watch their income grow alongside their audience. More people purchase the digital product or join your paid members area/group.

In this guide, we will teach you how to do just that and show you which digital products you can start selling today. 

Why Sell Digital Products on TikTok?

TikTok is synonymous with wacky dance videos and comedy skits. However, the platform has become even more accommodating to all sorts of content creators, like tech reviewers, writers, marketers, podcasters, and more.

The Saving Grace Podcast is crushing it on TikTok with millions upon millions of views. In addition, Mary-Anne Da’Marzo built a considerable following on TikTok with her excellent marketing tips. 

Source: @SavingGracePod TikTok

There are plenty more content creators from other platforms like YouTube and Instagram that are successfully establishing their brands on TikTok. However, most of these creators are making the mistake of only using TikTok as a promotional tool. 

TikTok is more than capable of being an income-generating platform. Top TikTokers like Addison Rae and Loren Gray have earned millions of dollars on the platform. Primarily through sponsorships deals. 

Addison Rae has produced plenty of sponsored content for fashion and makeup brands. She has also signed deals with Spotify and Netflix.

Source: Spotify

The thing is, sponsorships and brand collaborations are mostly short-lived. There's more longevity to creating and selling your digital products, and it can undoubtedly benefit the top earners. 

Selling digital products on TikTok is also beneficial to content creators from other platforms that are building a following on TikTok. Especially if they are like MKBHD, who already has digital products of his own.

Is MKBHD Missing Out?

Content creators like Marques Brownlee effortlessly generate millions of views on TikTok with his unique tech clips. His goal on TikTok is clear, to build an audience that he can direct to his YouTube channel. 

Source: @mkbhd TikTok

This suite Marques’ strategy, which is to drive as much traffic as possible to his MKBHD YouTube channel. He has spent years building his channel and brand that is linked to multiple sponsors, ad revenue, and digital products.

People who visit his channel can subscribe and watch his videos to potentially discover his digital products (video editing graphics and an online course). 

Source: MotionVFX

But what if Marques sold his digital products directly on his TikTok channel? Wouldnt it save him a step? He wouldn't need to direct traffic to YouTube to find revenue. 

Marques can create new revenue streams in his TikTok profile by selling products directly to his TikTok audience. 

So instead of using TikTok as a promotional channel, why not turn it into a place for additional income? 

An excellent way to start monetizing a TikTok channel is with digital products.

What are the Best Digital Products To Sell on TikTok?

The best digital product for you to sell depends on your niche. It's also crucial to know what your audience wants. 

So let's take a look at some of the most popular digital products that you can sell on TikTok:

1. Online Courses

Monetize your knowledge by creating an online course and selling it to your TikTok audience. 

Online courses help people to develop a much-needed skillset quickly. For example, if a person wants to write a novel and has no idea how to get started, they can complete a quick course online to understand what is required of them. 

Writers actually have a wide range of courses to choose from. Courses that are developed by universities or people with experience in writing.

Writers can even complete a course designed by an accomplished writer like Dan Brown. 

Source: Masterclass

The possibilities for online courses are endless as there are so many unique skill sets that people wish to learn. Furthermore, the internet has made it even easier for people to access the courses they want to learn. 

On the other hand, selling online courses is an excellent way for people to earn a passive income. Industry experts, teachers, and universities successfully create and sell courses all the time. 

And now, even more, people are getting into online courses to create passive incomes for themselves. They achieve this simply by showing others how to attain a skillset that they learned over years of experience. 

Source: Udemy

If you have a particular skill set that you know other people will benefit from, then you could develop a course to teach others that skill set. 

Examples of popular online courses that you could create:

• Cooking
• Fitness
• Art
• Music
• Business
• Language
• Money management
• Relationship or dating
• Marketing
• Writing
• Video editing and production

Pro Tip: You must sell a course that your TikTok audience will find appealing. You don't want to sell a writing course on a comedy channel. Unless it's about writing jokes!

Teachers are an ideal fit for knowledge commerce and have the potential to create exceptional courses. 

Learn more about How Teachers Can Make Money Online here.

2. Ebooks

Ebook revenue hit over a billion dollars in the US (2020). Selling ebooks online remains a lucrative business for content creators looking to create a passive income stream. 

If you do have a knack for writing or an interesting way with words, then perhaps you can tell the world your story. And make some money in the process by promoting your ebook on TikTok.

Ally Gong, a writer, and YouTuber, successfully released two books on Amazon. She promotes her books on her blog, YouTube, and TikTok.

Source: AllyGong.com

Apart from earning revenue from her online businesses and ventures, Ally’s books generate a passive income for her. 

We had the pleasure of speaking to Ally, who shared her entrepreneurial experiences and mistakes. Listen to the full interview below: 

Ebook Alternatives

Developing a book from scratch can be time-consuming. Especially if you are working on your own. The good news is that there are more accessible alternatives that will also allow you to build a passive income on TikTok. 

Here are a few examples of alternatives to creating ebooks:

• Gamer guide - "Fortnite Tips and Tricks to Help You Get a Victory Royale." Ideal for gamers that have a decent following on TikTok, which consists of people who play similar games.
• SEO guide - Online marketers can build a PDF with all of their tried and tested SEO tips.
• Tip sheets - A musician may have developed a resource of record label contacts. The musician could sell that contact list with additional tips on signing deals or who not to work with. 

Pro Tips: If writing a book or putting together a guide takes up too much of your time, then you could ask a colleague to help. Partner up with someone and share the workload. 

You can even consider enlisting the services of a ghostwriter to create your content for you. Give your ghostwriter strict and clear instructions for writing your book. An outline for the book with all the chapters you want to be written will allow the ghostwriter to produce content that's to your liking. 

3. Other Digital Content

It has become even easier to be fully independent and sell your own content directly to your fans. For example, if you are a musician, you can launch your latest song on your TikTok channel and sell the track directly to your followers. 

Another example is a filmmaker that charges his fans to access premium content. It may have been expensive to produce such content (like a short film). So, charging people to watch is a great way to make up for the expenses and to make some money as well. 

How to Sell Digital Products on TikTok

There are limited options to sell on TikTok. For example, you cannot directly sell products on the platform. Or host your online store on the platform, like you would on Facebook or Instagram. 

All you have to work with is the single “link-in-bio,” as TikTok does not allow you to place links in posts or videos. 

A link-sharing tool like HyPage allows you to build a “link page” that has all of the crucial links that you are currently promoting. Creating a link page is straightforward.

Simply add your digital product links, videos, socials, website, and more to your page and adjust the design to your liking. 

After you publish your link page, you will have a URL for that page. Now, insert that URL into the link in your TikTok bio.

Source: @AmpedAsia TikTok

Now, your TikTok followers can click on the link in your bio and get re-directed to your digital product links (and other links). 

When promoting your digital products in your TikTok vids, ask your audience to "click on the link in your bio to buy now!" You can also make a similar request in your post descriptions. 

You can use the link in your bio to link out directly to your product. However, you will need to keep updating the link for new products. You also cannot host two or more links at the same time in the link in the bio. 

It's for these reasons that a link page to manage all of your product links, and other crucial links are ideal for selling on TikTok. 

Other Ways To Earn Money on TikTok

Digital products are an excellent fit for TikTok creators that are looking to monetize their audience. But it doesn't end there. There are more ways for content creators to earn a living on the platform. 

As with business, no industry is created equal. Meaning, that what may work for one company or industry may not work for you. So, it makes sense to try out different income streams and strategies to find out which one works best for you.

Here are more ways for you to earn on TikTok:

Webinars

Webinars are live events that are held online. A keynote speaker delivers their presentation, answers questions, then leads guests to their product or service page to make a purchase. 

If your brand offers a service, has a great product to demonstrate, or you just have a killer course that you want to show off to people, then a webinar can work for you. 

Everything takes place online. So, if you are talking about a course, then you can simply direct people to your course page once you have convinced them to make a purchase. 

Create a post on TikTok letting people know the date and time of your next webinar. Then use your “link in bio” to direct TikTok users to the webinar. 

Online Classes

Online classes hosted on platforms like Zoom are a great “hands-on” approach to teaching. You can host a Zoom meeting (class) and charge TikTok followers to attend. 

This is an ideal scenario for creators that would prefer to share their knowledge in person as opposed to recording videos for a course. 

Source: AesaNetwork

Online classes are also an excellent way to add more value to your current online courses:

For example, You already have an online course on Creating TikTok Videos. TikTok recently updated the platform to host 10-minute-long videos. So, you can host online classes teaching people how to create compelling videos based on the new 10-min format. 

Accept Donations

Fans understand that it can be costly for their favorite creators to create free content for them. This is one of the reasons why people make donations to creators. 

Services like Hypage allow you to accept donations from TikTok followers. 

Donations are ideal for small content creators that are trying to earn a living through something that they are passionate about. However, it can take some time before you have built a considerable following that will entice sponsors to work with you. 

In this case, donations can be a great stepping stone for creators trying to monetize their TikTok channels. 

Memberships

Charge your fans a monthly subscription fee to fund your work, access your premium content, and receive regular shoutouts or customized content. 

This strategy works well for full-time content creators that regularly dish out new content. However, if you find that your next video, podcast, or book turned out to be an exceptional piece of content, then perhaps leave that for your paid subscribers only. 

Sell Physical Products

It's very common for creators to sell physical products. Most commonly merch - T-shirts, caps, hoodies, etc. Some creators team up with brands to sell sports drinks, phone cases, and even coffee. 

One example is Kevin Kreider, star of Netflix's Bling Empire. Kevin has his own performance supplement called Be More Matcha. He regularly promotes his supplement website on his socials and has since become an excellent additional revenue stream for him. 

TL:DR

TikTok is a platform with plenty of potential to earn an income. Major TikTok influencers and stars have made millions of dollars through brand deals. However, this isn't the only way you can earn money on TikTok. 

We believe that selling digital products on TikTok will allow creators to build a lucrative passive income. Longevity exists when making money from selling digital products, especially if it is evergreen content. 

If selling digital products isn't your thing, then there are more ways for content creators to earn a living. For example, creators can accept donations, host online classes, and charge fans a monthly membership fee to access premium content. 

What are your thoughts on selling digital products? Are they a good fit for TikTok creators? Let us know in the comments. 

Jack Paxton

Jack Paxton is the co-founder of VYPER, a marketing tool that helps brands build email lists, social followings, and revenue using viral giveaways, referral, and reward programs. After millions of dollars spent testing different marketing strategies at his marketing agency. He then also co-founded Hyax a fast, conversion & design-focused course and funnel builder for creators.