Man reveals how much TikTok paid him for 1.1m views with alarming result

Ever wondered how much going viral on TikTok makes you? Not as much as you'd think, apparently.

It's no secret that how much a person can make as an influencer depends on branding and the size of their following - a typical content creator won't be making anything close to the six figures Kylie Jenner bags per sponsored post - with the rates being even lower for a normal person who just happens to go viral one day.

This brutal reality was recently outlined by TikTok user @baaskeey, who shared a behind-the-scenes look at how much a viral video can make for a user.

"How much money did I make from a video which 1.1 million views?" he began, adding that his video was over a minute long and therefore available for content monetisation.

"This is going to blow your mind."

Baskey went on to explain the context of his recent viral video, before revealing that

over a million viewers made him just $30.63 (£23.06).

Certainly not the payday you'd be hoping for.

"You think TikTok pays a lot of money, right?" he said. "That's how much you get paid for a million views."

Going on to break down TikTok's rationale behind the final figure, Baskey explained that out of the 1.1 million views, only 178.3k were considered qualified views, while his Revenue Per Mille (RPM) was just $0.17 (roughly 13p).

"That's how much TikTok pays," Baskey added, going on to joke: "You can get rich from TikTok."

How does content monetisation work on TikTok?

Now, for anyone who isn't a full-time influencer, phrases such as 'RPM' and 'ineligible views' are likely to be a bit of a head scratcher, so let's break it down.

According to the TikTok Creator Academy, earnings on the platform are broken down into two sections: Standard Reward and Additional Reward.

Standard Reward is the base payout which a creator gets, which is based on a video's qualified views.

Qualified views come from users who are based in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom, or France – aka, regions where the TikTok Creator Rewards program is available.

So in Baskey's case, the majority of his viewers are likely to have come from outside of those regions.

The Standard Reward feature also factors in metrics such as search views, which last for longer than 30 seconds, authentic viewers and registering one view per account.

The length of time in which a person watches a video is also important to TikTok when it comes to calculating revenue, with creators advised to make sure the bulk of their audience sticks around for the absolute minimum of five seconds.

When it comes to Additional Rewards, this relates to the quality of the video posted. To boost your video quality, TikTok recommends that users share well-filmed and edited videos which are both creative and engaging, in order to make sure their work reaches a wider audience.

Specialised content is also highly valued on the platform, which means that sharing your knowledge on a niche hobby or skill can also pay off.

Both the standard and additional rewards are then taken together to calculate a video's RPM.

Looks like the art of being an influencer isn't limited to getting your camera out and going viral after all...