How to Make Money on TikTok in Kenya

After all, you’ve seen countless Kenyan TikTok influencers appear out of nowhere and turn your attention into cash. They’re living large, having a blast, making money from their smartphone. Shika Smartphone na bei poa na ulipie monthly pole pole.

Easy, right?

No. Making enough money on TikTok to pay your bills every month and live the good life requires hustle. Patience. Creativity.

So, in this quick guide, I’ll cover the basics. The logistics of how to make money… via sponsored videos, selling products, creating premium content, and much more.

Then it’s up to you to start building your audience.

But you’re not alone. At MESH, Kenyan hustlers share their stories and tips for growing any kind of business, including using TikTok. Join for free to get the most honest support on the internet.

Sponsored content is the most common way to earn money on TikTok in Kenya.

Kenyan brands are actively seeking influencers to promote their products. Top TikTokers with over 1,000,000 followers – like Azziad – earn roughly KES 500,000 per sponsored post. Creators with 10,000 to 50,000 followers can expect to earn KES 50,000 to 100,000 per sponsored post.

But you don’t need a huge following. “Nano-influencers” with a few thousand engaged followers can make a few shillings from the right sponsored content. Kenyan creator marketing platform Wowzi accepts accounts with just 250 followers.

Start by growing your audience and engaging actively with them. The more authentic and interactive your content, the more attractive you are to potential sponsors

And be patient. It might take a year to get enough followers that you attract sponsors. If you need cash now, there might be better ways to make money o...

Becoming a brand ambassador is the next evolution of sponsored content.

As a brand ambassador, you work with a single company (usually they want exclusivity) to regularly promote their products. This can include attending events (for free!), collaborating with other creators, and finding innovative ways to share a brand’s story.

Brand ambassadors benefit from more stable income, as you’ll be paid monthly vs per post.

To attract these opportunities, showcase your ability to influence and engage an audience. A loyal community is often more important than high follower counts. If your follower count is growing, you get lots of comments and reactions, and people are sharing your posts – you are building an an engaged audience.

Enable TikTok’s gifts feature to let your fans support you directly. This method works well if you consistently deliver content that your audience loves.

Educate your followers on how they can tip you. Express how much their support helps you continue creating content, and show appreciation for any tips received.

Personalized thank-you messages and shoutouts will encourage others to support you as well.

Tipping isn’t a very sustainable method to make money on TikTok, but it’s an easy way to start and practice being bold with your audience. The first time you ask for a tip will be the scariest. But it gets easier every time.

TikTok is excellent for showcasing and selling physical products. Whether you create handmade crafts, fashion items, or unique accessories, TikTok can help you reach an audience of millions.

And not just in Kenya! Imagine using TikTok to find customers across the globe (it’s possible!)

TikTok has a built-in e-commerce platform – TikTok Shop – where you can sell directly to your followers.

To succeed, create fun and engaging videos promoting your products and highlighting their unique features.

Use TikTok’s product tags to make discovery easy and to attract new followers.

Then, ensure your store operations are ready to deliver and provide an excellent customer experience.

If you're skilled in digital creations, TikTok is a powerful tool for selling products like courses, graphics, music, ebooks, memberships, and much more.

Create teasers or tutorials related to your digital products. Show potential customers the value these products can add to their lives or businesses. Then, direct followers to platforms where they can purchase your digital goods.

Make sure you streamline the purchasing process to convert interest into sales quickly. Then encourage followers to share your products in their feeds to create a viral content marketing engine!

If you don’t have any physical or digital products to sell on TikTok, try affiliate marketing instead.

With affiliate marketing, you promote other peoples’ products to your followers. You earn a commission every time a follower purchases those products via your feed.

See how it works in our guide to making money with affiliate marketing in Kenya.

TikTok is currently rolling out new features so you can monetize your content directly, by creating premium posts.

One example is TikTok Series.

TikTok Series allows you to create longer videos (up to 20 minutes) and hide them behind a “paywall.” You can charge $0.99 to $189.99 to access your TikTok Series content.

Creating 20-minute entertainment and viral content is going to be tough. Instead, Use TikTok Series for behind-the-scenes content, tutorials, interviews, and long-form, in-depth content.

To apply for TikTok Series, you need to meet these criteria:

• 18+ years old

• Your account is at least 30 days old

• You have at least 10,000 followers

• You’ve posted 3+ public videos in the last 30 days

• Those videos have at least 1,000 views

If you can’t access TikTok Series, you could try hosting one-off livestreams and events, charging an entry fee on a separate platform like Hustlesasa

Promoting your business on TikTok can be a game-changer for your brand. It helps you increase your visibility, thus increasing your sales.

And anyone can use TikTok for promotion, whether you sell products, services, events, consulting, or software.

Here's how you can do it effectively:

• Show and Sell. Whether you run a booming Mitumba store or bake cakes, Kenyans love to see Kenyan talent. Get creative and show off your unique offering by filming product demos or showcasing your services.

• Use TikTok Ads. Increase your business’s visibility and increase your customer base on the app's native ad network.

• Create viral content. This is the simplest way to get noticed. Whether you create funny skits, life hacks, or just plain cool stuff, create content people want to share with everyone!

• Collab with Kenyan creators. Work with other creators to grow your own brands together.

With a little creativity and innovation, you can use TikTok to grow your business massively. Just remember to stay authentic. Kenyan TikTokers can smell when a brand is faking it to seem cool, hip, or “down with the kids.”

You've probably seen people collecting money from fans on TikTok for various reasons, the most common being medical bills. This is known as crowdfunding.

However, you can crowdfund for a lot more than personal emergencies. A new product, a community project, a crazy experiment, or a personal goal – your TikTok followers might be your biggest supporters!

If you want to raise money on TikTok via crowdfunding:

1️⃣Create engaging content that explains your campaign's goals and benefits.

2️⃣Be transparent about how the funds will be used.

3️⃣Share your journey and show behind the scenes so people are emotionally invested.

Encourage your followers to share your campaign with their networks to increase its reach and success.

But, quick note, TikTok doesn’t have built-in crowdfunding tools, so you’ll have to create something manually and use platforms like Kickstarter.

If you’re a master at managing your TikTok, you could offer your services to busy businesses and influencers on the platform.

Becoming a TikTok account manager means creating and editing videos, scheduling the publication, engaging in the comments, finding ways to grow, and many other tasks. But you’re already doing that anyway, every time you’re on the app!

To get TikTok clients:

1️⃣Reach out to account owners and showcase successful accounts you’ve managed or grown.

2️⃣Provide testimonials or case studies to build trust.

3️⃣Don’t offer to work for free, but maybe suggest a paid trial creating some viral posts.

4️⃣Stay updated on TikTok trends and algorithm changes.

With a little hustle, you can become a big brand or influencer's secret TikTok weapon.

In 2023, TikTok announced it was closing its Creator Fund and replacing it with a new Creativity Program The Creativity Program is rolling out worldwide, but it's still in beta in Kenya.

Kenyan TikTok users can’t join the program yet.

However, you can still access the Creator Fund if you meet the eligibility criteria: you have at least 10,000 followers and 100,000 views in 30 days.

When we can join the Creativity Program, expect advanced monetization options for your account.

Based on early examples, Kenyan TikTokers who join the Creativity Program can expect to earn $0.10 to $2 per 1,000 video views. This is a wide range, and much higher than current rates (see the end of this post), so it’s difficult to judge the value of joining yet.

For now, don’t focus on the Creativity Program. Build a loyal audience and use the other methods we’ve discussed to make money from your TikTok account.

TikTok only pays Keyans directly in 2024 via the Creator Fund.

The Creator Fund pays creators a profit share based on video views and engagement. Rates vary from $0.02 to $0.04 per 1000 video views.

Kenyan TikTokers can get paid indirectly on TikTok via sponsored content, brand partnerships, and the other methods we’ve discussed in this quick guide.

TikTok has no built-in calculator to estimate your potential earnings from the Creator Fund or other methods. Instead you can use one of these tools:

• TikTok Creator Fund Calcula...

• TikTok Money Calculator — C...

• Tiktok Money Calculator | a...

You can estimate how much a Kenyan TikToker earns via sponsored posts and other methods by finding the latest rates on forums and platforms like Wowzi.

If so, join MESH and get the support you need to turn your account into a real business (it’s free).

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