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How Do TikTok Live Gifts Work? Can You Make Money Through Them?
TikTok is enticing more influencers and content creators to start using its platform with the live gifts feature. This article talks about what the feature is, how it works, and whether content creators can make money out of it.
Give me a raise of hands if you love gifts, people! So that’s almost.. everyone? I love giving gifts to people because it is a token of my love and appreciation for them. I have often wished I could gift something to my favorite content creators.
Apparently, TikTok had the same idea, which is why they introduced this feature called “live gifts.” Read on to find out everything about it!
What Are TikTok Live Gifts?
TikTok live gifts is a feature which allows your fans and followers to send you virtual gifts during a live stream. Whenever you go live, viewers will see a small gift box icon at the bottom of the video. They can tap it and choose the gift they want to send to show their appreciation.
However, before someone can send you a gift, they need to make sure they have enough coins to purchase the gifts. Coins can be recharged by heading to Profile Settings → Balance → Recharge → Select a coin bundle to purchase. The sender needs to be more than 18 years old.
Coins come in bundles, with the lowest bundle consisting of 65 coins for a price of $0.99. Please note that any purchases are final and cannot be refunded- whether it be coins or gifts.
Each type of gift has a different value. You can cash in the gifts and earn actual money. However, before you can receive gifts, you need to qualify for the feature and set it up on your profile. Let’s look at how!
Eligibility To Set Up TikTok Live Gifts:
To set up live gifting, you must first ensure your eligibility:
- You need to be at least 18 years old, although the age limit is higher in certain countries.
- You must have a minimum of 1000 followers.
- At least one of your videos must have reached 1000 views in the last 30 days.
- You must be a part of TikTok’s Creator Next program.
First, let us look at how you can join the Creator Next program. This feature allows creators like you to monetize their content (including the gifts you receive). Do keep in mind that, currently, it isn’t available everywhere. It has the same requirements as above with a few additional ones:
- You must NOT be a business account.
- You must have posted on TikTok at least three times in the last 30 days.
If you meet the above requirements, go to your Profile → go to Settings → tap on Creator Tools → select Apply → follow the instructions.
How To Set Up TikTok Live Gifts?
If you are eligible, open TikTok → go to Profile → go to Settings → tap on Creator Tools → click on Live Gifts → follow the instructions to set it up.
There is also another step that you need to complete- setting up to receive gifts on your other posted videos. In order to do this, follow the same instructions as above, but instead of clicking on “live gifts,” select “video gifts” and tap “turn on video gifts.”
Voila! The live gifts feature is up and running!
Once this is done, your followers will not only be able to send you live gifts, but they will be able to send you normal video gifts as well. All they have to do is go to your profile → click on a video → click on the “comments” icon → click on the gift icon → select a gift → click send.
However, certain video posts such as sponsored ads, promoted posts, duets, stitch videos, and videos that violate TikTok’s community guidelines are not eligible to receive gifts.
What Are Diamonds?
There are several types of TikTok gifts and each one is worth a different amount of coins. According to Advertisemint, here is a breakdown:
Panda: 5 coins
Italian Hand: 5 coins
Love Bang: 25 coins
Sun Cream: 50 coins
Rainbow Puke: 100 coins
Concert: 500 coins
I’m Very Rich: 1,000 coins
Drama Queen: 5,000 coins
Once you receive the gifts, the coins get converted into a type of TikTok currency called Diamonds. You can cash in these Diamonds for real money.
2 coins are worth 1 diamond and each diamond is worth $0.05. So, if you receive an ‘I’m Very Rich’ gift, you will get 1000 coins = 500 diamonds = $25. TikTok takes 50% of the cut, so you will only receive $12.5.
The minimum withdrawal amount is $100 and you cannot withdraw more than $1000 in a single week. Which means the maximum amount you can make in a month is $4000. You also need a verified PayPal account connected to your TikTok account in order to be able to withdraw the cash.
Advantages of The TikTok Live Gifts Feature:
- It allows fans and followers to show appreciation to their favorite content creators.
- Even small accounts with just 1000 followers can make money doing what they love. This acts as an incentive for them to continue posting videos.
- This feature encourages content creators to go live, which is a great way to connect with their followers and establish authentic connections with them.
Other Ways To Make Money On TikTok
The TikTok live gifts option is not available in many countries yet. Moreover, there are several eligibility requirements you need to follow. So how can you monetize your TikTok account if you are unable to receive live gifts?
- Collaborate with brands and become an influencer. You can do this by finding brands to work with on your own or by joining the TikTok Creator Marketplace.
- If you own a small business, you can sell your products using TikTok shopping.
- Join TikTok’s creator fund and make a lot of money on videos that gain a lot of engagement.
- Become a brand ambassador.
- Link your Patreon or Ko-fi account in your bio and ask your followers to tip you.
If you want to make the most of TikTok in order to grow your business, TikTok has recently launched a Follow Me program that will help you do exactly that! It’s completely free!
Do you know of any other unique ways to make money on TikTok? Let us know in the comments below! And don’t forget to share this article.