Hustle of the Week: TikTok's Creator Fund

TikTok, for a long time, was the "funnel platform." What do I mean by that? Well, it was a platform on which you could go viral, and in the process, you'd funnel your audience/followers to a platform like YouTube where you could properly monetize your viewership. However, the game has now changed, and it's called the Creator Fund – a gateway to turning your TikToks into actual cash!

In the old TikTok era, creators were all about spreading their name, maybe scoring a brand deal or two. But now, creators can dive headfirst into their content without constantly trying to funnel viewers to other platforms for cash. The TikTok creator fund allows creators to get paid based on the number of views they bring in, which is significant for many creators. Previously, most would have to rely on funnelling or brand deals, which are obviously easy to get at a certain point of stardom, but it would create a super difficult position for medium-sized influencers that would be bringing in a lot of views but were yet to have enough influence that would warrant a worthwhile brand video. This allows TikTokers to really focus on the quality of their content rather than thinking about when the best opportunity to promote their YouTube channel is.

Now, here's where it gets interesting (and maybe a bit tricky). The rise of 50/50 videos, where engaging visual content meets mind-bending audio, is on the up. But, with the average TikTok watch time at 3.33 seconds, is it affecting attention spans in real life? Are we sacrificing focus for a quick dopamine hit? I'm sure you've all been present at your family gatherings... How many times have you seen your little cousin pull out his/her phone to start scrolling through their video feed, one by one, each one giving them a perfectly fine dopamine hit? Don't worry, I'm not going to turn into David Goggins or anything, but it's definitely something to consider when it comes to a long-term, more lasting effect on the world! Am I overreacting?

I bet you're thinking: "This sounds cool, but get to the bit where I make money!" Absolutely. Creators are cashing in by running influencer-focused pages, think streamer or podcaster highlights. It's like a shortcut to TikTok success. For example, I love a podcast about dogs. I watch it every week as soon as it's made public. I take clips from the best parts of the podcast, whether funny, controversial, or informative, and I post them on my TikTok clips page. This allows all the people following me to get all the juicy parts of the podcasts without having to listen to all the bark (pun intended!). However, this brings us back to the shorter-is-better debate (relax). Are we trading longer, in-depth content for bite-sized clips? It's a real head-scratcher.

So, how do you get a piece of this TikTok money pie? The Creator Fund requires a minimum of 100,000 views in the last 30 days. You also have to be at least 18 years old and have 10,000 authentic followers. But once you're in, TikTok starts showering you with some sweet, sweet cash.

In conclusion, TikTok's Creator Fund is like the genie in the lamp for content creators, but it's not without its challenges. Are we trading better quality content for our attention spans? Or are we now going to see more clips that target our dopamine sensors in return for our time and singular view? It's an interesting topic, really, and I'm sure many will have contrasting thoughts.