 Hello, I know what you're thinking. How can I make money on TikTok? TikTok now is not going anywhere, we know that. In terms of how big it is, it's got to the point where it's so big I think that it'll just consistently evolve like things like Instagram, Snapchat and stuff. So companies are now jumping on it now and realising how do we keep going, how do we keep putting out the content. So there's a variety of ways you can make money on it, some more reliable than others. This is the Great British YouTubers podcast with me Neil Mosse. Hello, it's awesome to have you here. This is a place where we share advice, experience and tips with high-achieving creators and performers, just like you. And in this episode, Stephen MacKell. Stephen has over 2.3 million followers on TikTok, clocking up over 500 million views. He also has a YouTube channel, so is absolutely the best person to talk about YouTube versus TikTok. This is part two of our chats and all the other episodes are in the description. And this is a this is a delicate question, an awkward question, but do you make money on TikTok? Yeah, do I? When I first started it for the first few years, you know, there's different ways to make money on TikTok. And I think some people a little bit do be able to talk about it because, you know, they don't want to. But I'll be the one to set the record straight now. There's different ways to make money on TikTok. You can do live streaming where people then send you gifts. They buy gifts from the app and they send you them. And in return, you like some people have live streams where they play games, where they do. Now you can guest people in sometimes. So you get something back for that. Or if you want to support your favorite creator, you can do it that way. Me personally, I've never asked for that on live streams. I've been giving gifts. And no matter, you can tell it, you can tell people don't give them all you want. Some people are still just going to give you gifts. And a lot of things nowadays like the small gifts and like thank you, but like save it and like donate to somewhere or do something else. Whether I just want you to join my live streams to have fun. But other people can make a living from it. They can make the, they put a lot of time and effort into live streaming. I used to live stream, like I used to live stream like two years straight on the platform every night. I live stream and that was for me to build my following. Back then it was really big because it was cheaper for gifts and people, some creators in America got done really well on gifting. But now TikTok, I've put in like measures to keep it safe for so kids can't send gifts on the app. You have to be 18 or over. You have to be 16 or over to live stream, which I totally agree with because then what they're doing is safeguarding the people watching, but also the creators that are live streaming. But that's one way you can do it. This is a long-winded answer as well. I'm sorry. No, no, this is an Anoraki kind of podcast. So go into as much detail as you feel comfortable. Yes, you can do it. You can do it through live streaming things that I wish a lot of people do and most people put a lot of work into live streams where some people don't. And there's other ways of doing it. You can do sponsored content like you would do on YouTube or Instagram or Twitter. Most of sponsored content that's on TikTok is music because music drives the platform. It's in all like most videos you'll see you'll have a music turned to the bottom of what artist that is, etc. So you get the brands that you want to promote a song and you then get a campaign and you talk to the artist, but the music record label, etc., or your management and you kind of figure out what you want to do with that. Oh, there's a variety of ways. You can put things in your bio. You can make videos at ads. Like I help sometimes or try and help companies like build on TikTok. So if you've really got a lot of knowledge, you can use it to then help companies build on the platform. Like they can pay you or you can work with them or whatever where you want to do that. And you can help them build, give them the knowledge to build on TikTok. I know a lot of people that have done that. There's some people that I know that have stopped doing TikTok altogether on their page and went and ran another TikTok account for the business because that's how TikTok now is not going anywhere. We know that. In terms of how big it is, it's got to the point where it's so big, I think that it'll just consistently evolve like things like Instagram, Snapchat and stuff. So companies are now jumping on it now and realizing they're good to start with and they're like, oh, we need to have, how do we keep going? How do we keep putting out the content? So there's a variety of ways you can make money on it, some more reliable than others. But that sounds really wise, Stephen, because it means that your income doesn't just rest on the platform on what the platform gains to give you like on YouTube. You are building relationships that will last longer than the next payout. Yeah, exactly. I think there's a difference where it was, we would love on TikTok if we ever content was monetized and we'd love it. It'd be great. I mean, just like YouTube does, I don't know how they would do that now. You've got different things where they're trying to build different things to help creators and brands connect. TikTok will try to act as they do that. However, I think they need to just be like, they need to make it, not for everyone, because if that happens, you'd have hundreds of millions of people abusing some sort of system. So they'd have to make it really to do YouTube. You have to have a certain amount of watch time and a certain amount of videos and stuff. But we would love it if it was monetized, but there is ways to do it. And relying on me making the work, the effort to make a video, getting me paid instead of relying on the views, not relying on the views, but it's better thinking I've worked hard for this money than not doing anything at all really. If everyone's listening from TikTok, we would still love for their content to be monetized, i.e. our videos getting views, because no one's going to pass that up, are they? If they could do it in a way that was fun and great, then we would love it. Oh, should we both ask TikTok now? Please, TikTok. Yeah, do it, please. Monetize. Monetize the videos. Monetize videos. And I think that the way to do that, I think, you know, it's hard for them because it is because they've worked hard to get monetization through a creator place where brands and creators can connect, which is fine and fun. However, some brands are going to undercut the smaller creators and give them peanuts, and they're going to take them. I love TikTok as a platform, and I've been on it for years, so it's my baby. But there's a lot of new creators that come up now, and they get a bit of a following really quickly, and then it kind of plateaus, which happens to everyone. And then, you know, if they've not got a lot of knowledge on the platform, or how to keep themselves safe from brands, or people trying to take advantage of them, like management or whatever, you try and let them know, but at the end of the day, you know, some people just are going to choose their own decisions. But that's the issue that you have now. You've got a lot of people coming up, get it big for a little bit, and then you're like, oh, what are they doing? People trying to take advantage of them. Think of any platform you're on, any social media, anything like that. There's always someone that's probably out there to kind of see what they can get from you without really giving you your worth. But as I'm really lucky, I've kind of built my knowledge up. I know, not worth in terms of money, because money is, you know, it's something you think about because it is a job, but it's not my first priority. My first priority is, well, my content inspires people in some way. That's what I think about when I make content. Money comes like third or fourth for me. Don't get swept up in the things, this is from personal experience, but don't get swept up in this, you know, looking at everyone else's accounts for the views, comparing yourself to other people, to thinking you've got to be like someone else. I don't know all those things, and honestly, what it does is just range your whole entire vibe. It's not something you want to kind of get involved in. You've got to be able to be yourself. So don't compare yourself to anyone else ever. Just don't do it. Believe me, it's the best thing. Just don't do it. And please, hit the subscribe button below. If you want to see more great British YouTubers, there's a playlist and a podcast. All the links are in the description below. I'm Neil Mossy and I'll see you on the very next Great British YouTubers.