In 2024, for ordinary people looking for zero-cost side hustles, TikTok definitely ranks at the top.
All you need is a smartphone and a TikTok account to start making money. With just the platform’s video play earnings, you have the chance to make up to $10,000 a month.
YouTube’s video play earnings are approximately 10 cents per 1,000 views, while TikTok can go as high as $1 per 1,000 views, which is ten times higher. If you further monetize your fanbase, such as directing followers to an independent site to sell products or leveraging TikTok’s own store, the earnings can be even higher.
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The Natural Advantages of TikTok
TikTok is an app originally from China, known as Douyin in its home country. While Douyin’s user base has long been saturated, TikTok is still in a period of rapid growth.
TikTok and Douyin are very similar; they only differ in their user bases, but they both belong to the short video platform category, and their monetization logic is the same. Therefore, we can replicate Douyin’s early methods of traffic generation and monetization on TikTok.
I will later compile some Douyin monetization methods and put them into practice on TikTok, so stay tuned for more updates.
After gathering and analyzing numerous TikTok accounts, I have identified five niches that are most suitable for ordinary people to operate in. These niches have low barriers to entry, zero investment required, and do not necessitate appearing on camera. Each niche can potentially generate a monthly income in the four- to five-figure range.
Unlike affiliate marketing, which has a long payment cycle, you can start earning money the same day your videos reach a certain number of views.
Before introducing these five TikTok niches, I want to remind everyone that while you can imitate and learn from these accounts, do not copy them entirely. We are borrowing their strategies, not the video content itself.
Podcast Niche
Firstly, podcasts are a broad topic, so it’s best to combine your strengths and interests to choose a niche for your content creation. Let’s take football as an example.
You don’t need to be a professional football commentator with deep and unique insights into football matches; that’s too difficult for most people. Even if you don’t understand football, you can still create great content in this field.
How would I do it? Let’s use the recent UEFA European Championship as an example. You can create highlight reels of goals. This theme alone can produce many videos. For instance, you can make goal highlight reels for each national team. There are 24 countries in the European Championship, so you can create 24 videos.
However, it’s important not to directly reuse others’ videos. To earn TikTok’s creator revenue, you must post original content. Don’t worry, you don’t need to start from scratch and edit an original video entirely by yourself. You can re-edit existing videos.
For example, if I want to make a video comparing goals by Mbappe and Yamal, I would first find individual highlight videos of their goals on TikTok and download them. Then, I can remove the original subtitles and audio, add some nice music, and interlace the goals from both players—showing a goal by Mbappe, then one by Yamal, and so on. This way, you quickly create an original video, which TikTok would recognize as original content.
This doesn’t require you to be highly knowledgeable about football or have advanced editing skills. You just need to know some basic editing techniques.
A few months ago, I started several accounts like this. Editing such a video takes about 20 minutes. The revenue from these videos has been quite stable over the past few months, bringing in a few hundred dollars each week. However, I won’t share my accounts because too much exposure would make them unsafe.
Dark Fantasy Niche
Content in the dark fantasy niche isn’t new; it has been around for a long time but remains very popular. The creation process for this type of content is quite simple. Let’s look at an example:
@teapot.pon The door to an unknown world #darkfantasyaesthetic #medieval #placesthatdontfeelreal #placesthatdontexist #darkfantasy #dreamcore #nostalgic #weirdcore
This video, which leverages AI tools to generate images or very short videos, has amassed 11.3 million views.
Now, let’s check out this account:
https://www.tiktok.com/@worldpulse1
The account has published 72 videos and has 36,000 followers. Initially, the content consisted of celebrity portraits drawn in a game, which garnered some views but not exceptionally high ones. Later, the focus shifted to fantasy-themed film clips. Using AI tools, various movie characters are portrayed in a fantasy retro style, such as a dark fantasy version of Deadpool or Batman.
I searched some keywords on Google to find out which tools are used to create such videos and found the answer on YouTube:
This YouTube creator uses an AI image generation tool called Midjourney, which can create corresponding images by inputting text descriptions.
Looking at the video posting frequency of the TikTok creator @worldpulse1, they post a maximum of two videos a day. However, these types of videos can be produced in bulk. You only need multiple computers, as such software typically requires significant computer memory.
By using AI tools like Midjourney, you can create original dark fantasy content efficiently, making it a low-barrier, high-potential niche for TikTok.
Animal Feature Niche
Here’s an example of an account in the animal feature niche:
https://www.tiktok.com/@thatcoolguyknows
This account’s videos are also examples of secondary creation, similar to the podcast niche but with a focus on animals. These videos use AI software for voiceovers and to generate virtual characters. Your task is to find interesting or thrilling animal videos, write a script to introduce the video, and use AI to assist with scriptwriting. However, for higher viewership, it’s important to craft scripts that encourage user interaction.
A few years ago, when I first started on TikTok, I created animal-themed videos. I would find suitable animal footage, such as videos of stray dogs and cats, and add a text overlay, like “This poor dog was abandoned by its owner due to illness. Who will save it?”
Such videos tend to evoke sympathy and attract attention, leading to comments and shares.
The account in the example focuses on showcasing cool animals, which has a visually stunning effect.
With advancements in AI technology, we can now leverage AI software for voiceovers and even replace human presenters with AI-generated virtual characters. This can make content creation in the animal feature niche both easy and engaging.
Fun Geography Knowledge Niche
Here’s an example of an account in the fun geography knowledge niche:
https://www.tiktok.com/@factvoyageyt
This account shares interesting geography and history facts, such as which country has been invaded the most times or which country has won the most Olympic medals.
For instance, a video asking “Which country is the rudest in the world?” has garnered 2 million views. The creator also has a video guessing flags with 15 million views. Videos like these easily generate comments and interactions from viewers.
Currently, this account has posted 100 videos, received 9.9 million likes, and its views are likely in the hundreds of millions. The video views alone could yield $10,000+ in revenue.
While it’s unclear if these videos were generated using AI tools, it is entirely possible. Additionally, these short videos are often clipped from longer videos. This creator also has a YouTube channel where videos average around 10 minutes in length.
You can apply the same strategy by clipping long videos into multiple short ones. Start each short video with a hook and make them part of a series (e.g., a three-part series). If one video goes viral, the other videos in the series will likely see increased views as viewers seek out the rest of the series.
Virtual Storytelling Niche
Here’s an example account in the virtual storytelling niche:
https://www.tiktok.com/@mrstorytelling
These videos typically feature AI-generated text and images to tell a story, which can be either fictional or a true historical narrative.
These five TikTok niche markets don’t require you to appear on camera, and most of the video production can be done with AI tools.
Unlike Douyin, when starting on TikTok, you don’t need to worry too much about monetization initially. TikTok’s creator fund can provide substantial income. In the beginning, focus on creating high-quality content. Once your views increase, the revenue will naturally follow. As your follower count grows, you can explore additional monetization methods, such as selling your account.
