TikTok

TikTok is the best place on the internet to be discovered by people who've never heard of you. Most of what someone sees comes from the For You feed, which recommends videos based on what each person watches and does, not just who they follow. That makes it a great place to start from zero, and a tricky place to build lasting relationships unless you do it on purpose.

How the For You feed decides

TikTok says recommendations are based on a mix of signals^[1]:

• What people do: the videos they like, share, comment on, watch to the end, and the accounts they follow.
• What the video is: captions, sounds and hashtags.
• Device and account settings: like language and country, weighted less than the rest.

Strong signals count more than weak ones: TikTok's example is that finishing a longer video says more than simply being in the same country as the creator. It also says follower count isn't a direct factor in what gets recommended^[1]. Bigger accounts tend to get more views because more people already watch them, not because the feed favors size.

What tends to work

TikTok's own tips have stayed simple^[10]: shoot vertically, add captions for context, use sounds, and use a few relevant hashtags rather than a wall of them. It also says how often you post doesn't, by itself, change whether a video is recommended. Beyond that, these habits are what we see working for small accounts:

How people earn on TikTok

Eligibility rules differ by country and change often, so treat these as a map and check the Creator tools in the app for your own account.

• Creator Rewards Program. Pays for qualifying videos of at least one minute. In the US, TikTok's terms require you to be 18+, have at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 views in the last 30 days, and use a personal (not business) account^[3]. Rewards weigh originality, watch time, search value and engagement^[4].
• TikTok Shop affiliate. Earn a commission when people buy products you feature in videos and LIVEs. In the US, affiliate creators need to be 18+ with at least 1,000 followers, and newer creators start with limits on how many shoppable posts they can make^[6]. Commission rates are set per product. Sellers with their own shop can sell without a follower minimum^[6].
• LIVE gifts and subscriptions. Viewers can send gifts during LIVEs and subscribe monthly for perks. TikTok's subscription eligibility includes being 18+ and either meeting LIVE requirements or having 10,000 followers and 100,000 monthly views^[5].
• Brand deals. Through TikTok's creator marketplace or directly with brands that fit your audience.
• Your own offers. Products, services and memberships you link to from your profile. No minimums at all.

Shopping on TikTok is big and still growing: TikTok reported US Shop sales up 120% year over year, and over 171,000 small and local US businesses selling there, as of mid-2025^[7].

AI on TikTok

TikTok requires creators to label AI-generated content showing realistic scenes or people, labels content made with its own AI effects automatically, and reads Content Credentials to label AI content made elsewhere^[8]. It has been adding ways for viewers to see why something is labeled and to see less AI content if they prefer^[9]. The chapter on AI covers how to use it without losing your audience's trust.

Should you pay to promote?

TikTok's Promote feature lets you pay to show a post to more people, with goals like views, followers or website visits^[11]. For most small accounts, organic posting and replying will do more for less. See the chapter on ads for when paying makes sense.

Free tool from the islandFreeBluSpot trends early across social media, then decide which ones you can genuinely make your own.

Free tool from the islandFreePingPoint your shop, payment or Discord alerts at a friendly face, so you notice sales and messages without living in the app.