Your guide to the TikTok Creator Fund and TikTok Creativity Program

Wondering how to earn income from TikTok? Buckle up, we’re about to tell you everything you need to know about the TikTok Creativity Program

The potential for going from zero to viral is one of the biggest factors that’s made TikTok so popular with over 1.5 billion active users across the world.

As more and more creators racked up impressive view counts, followers, and loyal fans with their TikToks, the platform giant needed to find a way to keep creators engaged and happy doing what they do best – increasing users’ time on TikTok.

In 2020, the TikTok Creator Fund was launched to monetise creators’ work and attract new talent.

Over recent months, the way to earn an income through TikTok has had a facelift with the launch of the TikTok Creativity Program – making it even more attractive to creators.

In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about both the TikTok Creator Fund and the TikTok Creativity Program.

What is the TikTok Creator Fund and the TikTok Creativity Program?

Launched in June 2020, the TikTok Creator Fund was a program that financially rewarded creators for their content. The TikTok Creator Fund gave creators an alternative to traditional ad revenue sharing, diversifying the way they could earn money on TikTok.

With an initial investment of $200 million in the US, TikTok aimed to grow the fund to over $1 billion within three years, proving its commitment to supporting rising stars on the platform.

The TikTok Creator Fund paid creators based on a combination of views, engagement, and their region. No formal application process existed, just meeting the criteria automatically made you eligible to receive potential monetisation from the TikTok Creator Fund.

But videos weren’t guaranteed to be rewarded, even if you met the overall criteria. TikTok considered various factors to determine which videos resulted in payouts, which was one of the reasons creators were frustrated with it.

The exact payout amounts from the TikTok Creator Fund are murky, but it was estimated to be between 2 and 4 cents per 1,000 views.

Although TikTok never publicly disclosed the total amount paid out to individual creators, we do know that videos with higher engagement were likely to receive higher payouts. But there was also an overall fund cap in place meaning eligible creators were susceptible to diluted earnings. 

After listening to feedback from creators about low payouts, the platform announced in December 2023 that it would be shutting down the original TikTok Creator Fund and launching a new Creativity Program. If you were thinking of joining the old TikTok Creator Fund, then unfortunately you’re out of luck as it is now closed completely for new sign ups.

The new and improved version gives creators the opportunity to collect rewards as they create and publish longer video content. Creators have the potential to earn up to 20 times the amount previously offered by the Creator Fund and have more transparency around monetisation. The launch of the Creativity Program also aligns to TikTok’s goal of attracting advertisers with longer ad placement opportunities.

As an added benefit, the TikTok Creativity Program also provides access to educational resources, networking opportunities, and potential brand partnerships.

@tiktokfeatures Join the new Creativity Program Beta and get rewarded for longer quality content. #CreativityProgramBeta ♬ original sound – TikTok Features

Who is eligible for the TikTok Creativity Program? 

To be eligible for the TikTok Creativity Program, you’ll need to meet these criteria:

• Be at least 18 years old (or 19 in South Korea)
• Have a TikTok account in good standing, including no history of regularly violating Community Guidelines and Terms of Service
• Have a personal account – business accounts and accounts belonging to political or government organisations aren’t eligible
• Live in a region where the program is available
• Have at least 10,000 followers (or 50,000 followers in South Korea)
• Have at least 100,000 video views in the last 30 days

How does the TikTok Creativity Program work? 

Here’s how the new TikTok Creativity Program works:

• People have to watch your content for a set amount of time for you to be eligible
• Your rewards are calculated based on RPM (average gross revenue per 1,000 qualified views, aka Revenue Per Mille)
• Your RPM can fluctuate depending on a variety of factors, like video engagement, authenticity of content, and region in which your video is viewed, as well as adherence to the Community Guidelines and Terms of Service

TikTok Creativity Program requirements

If you’re thinking about monetising your content, here are the requirements for the TikTok Creativity Program:

• Content must be original and high-quality, and have been filmed, designed, and produced entirely by yourself
• Length – your videos will need to be at least one minute long
• Eligibility – your videos have to follow specific criteria to be eligible for rewards, and Duets, Stitches, Photo Mode videos, ads, and sponsored content are excluded
• The content must have been uploaded after you joined the Creativity Program
• You need to have at least 1,000 qualified For You feed views. (Video views from the same account will only be calculated once for each video)
• Video views must be longer than five seconds
•  Views on videos that are reported by others as ‘Not interested’ are not counted
• Advertisements, disinformation or misleading information, paid promotions, sponsored content, and videos linked to a series aren’t included

@tiktokCheck out TikTok’s new Creativity Program. It’s a more transparent way to help grow your community, with the potential to earn more. Eligible creators can apply today!♬ original sound – TikTok

How much does the TikTok Creativity Program pay? 

In sharp contrast to the old Creator Fund, the platform has been a lot clearer around monetisation when it comes to the TikTok Creativity Program.

They announced that the program gives you the potential to earn up to 20 times the amount previously offered by the Creator Fund. A pretty impressive stat.

It’s still too early to pinpoint exactly how much you can earn, but some creators have already reported an increase in their income.

@smartworkai How much does the TikTok creativity program pay? I break down my earnings results and what I’ve learned about the program rules. #creativityprogram #tiktokcreators #creatorfund #tiktokcreativityprogrambeta #tiktokcreator ♬ original sound – Celia | Ai Tips & Life Hacks

How to join the TikTok Creativity Program

With applications now closed to join the old TikTok Creator Fund, here’s how you can join the new TikTok Creativity Program:

1. Open the TikTok app
2. Tap Profile at the bottom
3. Tap the Menu ☰ button at the top
4. Tap Creator tools
5. Tap Creativity Program
6. Follow the on-screen instructions

Keep in mind that your age is based on the birthdate you used when opening your TikTok account and will be confirmed during the TikTok Creativity Program application process.

Applications are reviewed and you should receive a response within three days. Unlike the previous TikTok Creator Fund, acceptance isn’t guaranteed, but there is an appeals process. If you’re not accepted, but believe you should be eligible to join, you can appeal the decision within 30 days or just reapply after that point.

@claireliz_ Replying to @Lilly / nyc + fashion how to join the tiktok creativity program! this is the new tiktok creator fund and how you can earn money off your tiktoks 💫 #tiktokcreativityprogrambeta #tiktokcreativityprogram #microinfluencertips #microinfluencertiktok #learnontiktok #aspiringcreatortips #earnontiktok ♬ original sound – claire | social media coach

What’s the difference between the TikTok Creativity Program between the US, Australia, and UK? 

For content creators in the UK and the US, there really aren’t any big differences for the newer TikTok Creativity Program aside from things like: 

• Payouts in the local currency for each country
• Tax implications
• Content trends

However, creators based in Australia aren’t yet able to join the TikTok Creativity Program. As it’s still early days, TikTok have been launching the program gradually across the world, which means that, unfortunately, our Ozzie friends will have to wait a little while longer.

There’s no official announcement from TikTok about when the Creativity Program will roll out to other countries, but as TikTok market themselves as a global business, hopefully it won’t be too long before other countries can join too.

Understandably, Australian creators haven’t been too happy about not being able to join the TikTok Creativity Program as they were able to monetise content previously through the TikTok Creator Fund. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that they’ll soon be able to be part of this new initiative.

At Vamp, we empower creators by advocating for fair pay, inclusivity, and transparency. Through our award-winning influencer marketing platform, we help brands to connect and collaborate with the right influencers for their campaigns.

If you want to discover brand collab opportunities and apply to join our exclusive community of influencers, head to www.vamp.me to get started.