make money with tiktok - Trustthelink.com

This post was originally published in [2025] and has been fully updated for 2026 with new data and tools. TikTok is no longer just an app for dance trends; it is the world’s most powerful search engine for the younger generation. If you aren't optimizing your content for discoverability, you’re leaving thousands of potential followers on the table. To stay ahead of the curve, you need to implement TikTok growth hacks that focus on watch time and SEO rather than just "sounds." These 10 TikTok growth hacks are the exact strategies top creators use to skyrocket their popularity, even without going viral. Put a link in your profile TikTok Affiliate Program vs TikTok Shop Make 10-20 second videos Use a strong hook Titles Other viral content CTA Paid Ads Comments Creator Search Insights Repurpose the video Keep reading, and I'll share a way to make the MOST money from TikTok on day 1, you don't even need followers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zU-hE5AcsYc How to get a link in your TikTok bio without 1,000 followers With a TikTok business account, you can have a link in your profile on day 1. With a creator account, you need 1,000 followers to put a link in your profile. That link can then lead someone to a landing page where you collect emails. Then, using email, you can promote products and earn money. If you're not sure... How to create a landing page How to send emails How to get people to open emails How often to send emails How to get traffic to a landing page How to earn money with emails I'm giving away free guides to do ALL this at this post HERE. If you know what you're doing with email, you don't even need that much traffic—it's THAT powerful. 🎵 Viral Score Predictor ⚡ Analyze your 2026 performance metrics. Video Completion Rate (%): The % of viewers who watched to the very end. Engagement Rate (%): (Likes + Comments + Shares) ÷ Total Views × 100. Was Trending Audio Used? Yes (New/Rising Trend) No (Original/Older Audio) Predict Virality TikTok Shop Affiliate vs. Personal Marketing: Which pays more in 2026? The elephant in the room is earning money directly on the TikTok app. There are 2 programs, and some people get them confused. TikTok Shop affiliate program - is referring products on the app and earning a commission if someone buys something. TikTok Shop is a built-in e-commerce platform where people can sell products directly on the platform. In order for someone to get accepted as a TikTok Shop Affiliate they need 1,000 followers There used to be this workaround (hack) where someone could become a TikTok Shop Affiliate by enrolling in a TikTok Shop (no followers required). That hack is closed! It used to work, but 100% does NOT work anymore. I know because I tried it. The pros to becoming a TikTok shop affiliate - is that you can sell products directly on the app. The con is you're dependent on the app. The problems would be.... TikTok has a penalty system and can restrict your account or ban you any time. TikTok has some issues with governments due to China owning it. It's NEVER a good idea to depend on just 1 platform. Take it from a guy who has lost many accounts. The best thing about owning a website or a list is it's MORE stable. What I recommend is earning money through a list and landing page, and when you get 1,000 followers, sure, promote TikTok Shop Affiliate programs on the platform. I just recommend doing both and not putting ALL your eggs in 1 basket. Photo by Zobia Shakar on Unsplash This way, if TikTok changes for the worse or your account is restricted, you're still earning money from a list. The best video length for the TikTok algorithm to get more views When TikTok first became available, videos could ONLY be 15 seconds long. The whole platform is built for people with short attention spans. Sure, some videos still do well that are 60 seconds long, but it's harder. The more people that reach the end of your video, the BETTER it's going to do. This is why shorter videos generally do better. Now, if you have a complex topic, a strong hook, and the video keeps people engaged, then a 60-second video can do well (but it's harder). 1 tip is to NEVER go over 20 seconds. It will force you to get to the point quickly, and you will get more views. TikTok Hook Ideas: How to increase your watch time and go viral The first few seconds of a video are EVERYTHING. Well, after a good title. If people start dropping off in the first few seconds, your video will not do well. The way to keep them is with a hook (like hooking a fish). How do you create a good hook? Give the viewer a reason to keep watching. Here are some ideas on how to make a hook... Hook 1: (Bold Promise) - Example = At the end of this video, you will know the secret to keeping viewers that works 99% of the time. Hook 2: (Crazy fact) - Example = 99% of creators do not know this secret tip I'm going to share with you. Hook 3: (Relatable Frustration) - Example = Tired of getting NO views - Here are 3 tips to actually work in 2025. Hook 4: (FOMO) - Example = If you’re not using these 3 TikTok growth hacks right now, you’re leaving serious reach and potential income—on the table. To be fair, if you're making a short 10-20 second video, it can be hard not to go over 20 seconds. What I do, and I need to improve on this too, is combine the hook with the title. Today, I made a video called "2 Secrets for Content Creation Burnout." What I could have done and should have done is combine the hook with it. At the end of this video, you will know 2 Secrets for content creation burnout that work 99% of the time. 99% of creators do not know these 2 Secrets for content creation burnout. Tired of getting NO views - Here are 2 Secrets for content creation burnout that work in 2025 If you’re not using these 2 Secrets for content creation burnout, you risk overworking. The reason you want to say the keyword in the beginning is TikTok uses voice AI to know what you're talking about. The hook just helps people watch more of it. The keywords in the title, thumbnail, and speaking them all help. To learn how to find GREAT keywords that have low competition, I go into detail in my guide to dominate with short video that has 50 tips HERE. TikTok SEO Tips: How to write titles that rank in search results I've heard that titles are 50% of a video. Your titles should be a little clickbait. How do you make a strong title? The single BEST thing you can do is put a number in there. They outperform "everything." I don't know why they just do. People can see the tangible benefit of watching the video, maybe. 2 ways to lose belly fat 3 hacks to improve TikTok views 4 ways to keep a garden alive 1 way to smoke tons of weed (just seeing if you're paying attention) Titles with an adjective also work, such as... “effortless, easy, simple, unique, powerful, strange, underrated, unlimited." Such as…Easy Way to Get More Views! FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) can work well with titles. Use "I wish I Knew About" or "If Only I…" or "You won't believe." Negative words in titles can work, such as "Stop" or "Don't" or "Without."These can trigger someone's insecurities and get them curious to watch yourvideo. such as….Stop Using Paid Tools for SEO! Asking a question can be good, but try to make the answer obvious.This can help with engagement. You could also include YOU in the Title to pull the viewer in.3 Nutrition Hacks for YOU! To learn more about titles and how to get more views for short videos, check out a free guide I created with 50 tips at this post HERE. How to use viral TikTok trends to grow your account (The Stitch Method) As the saying goes, "don't reinvent the wheel." There are many ways to use what is working. The easiest and best is stitching. This is where you find something viral, then make a few changes and repost it for views. There is actually software that makes this super easy. The cool thing is you mix it with your content, use only this for content creation, or double your video output with it. You've got to admit it's nice to get views without shooting film? You can check out this software HERE. Oh, and you can keep reusing it for more views; it's very cool. Another way to use other viral content is to find something viral in your niche, watch the video, then try to remake it in a better, more creative way. Lastly, if a video of yours did VERY well, just remake it and make it better, or change 1 part of it. Best Call to Action (CTA) for TikTok: How to turn viewers into followers At the end of your video, you can have a CTA, and here are some examples.. Click the link in my profile for more Follow or subscribe for more Leave a comment Share if you liked this video Go to the Website 123.com A call to action is telling the viewer what to do at the end. This is how you get paid. I firmly believe EVERY video should have some type of call to action at the end. Every video has a chance to go Viral on TikTok. Can you imagine how horrible it will feel if 1 of your videos goes viral and there is NO call to action at the end? via GIPHY People are more likely to do something if you tell them. You should do this at the end of a video; otherwise, it comes off as pandering or begging if it's the beginning. If you don't have a call to action at the end, the viewer will probably just watch another video and forget about you. TikTok Ads for Beginners: How to scale your reach with a small budget Many people forget about paid ads. They do have some benefits such as... Faster Channel Growth Highly Targeted Reach Increased followers Promotes High-Converting Funnels Improves Organic Performance Improve your video’s watch time Boost click-through rate (CTR) Send strong positive signals to the algorithm Build Retargeting Audiences Can be added to a remarketing list, letting you follow up later. Control Over Your Growth No more guessing you can guarantee traction and measure ROI. Testing Power Gets you to 1,000 followers quicker! Plus MORE The problem with paid ads is that there are SO many questions, such as... How do you know when a paid ad is working? How do you know when to change things? How split testing works How do you create a paid ad? How long should an ad be? How NOT to waste money on them? Because money is on the line, they are not easy to start. The good news is this place HERE gets you in the game as easily as possible. Plus, it makes it as easy as possible to create the ad, plus do all the split testing for you. It even optimizes the ad and improves it. Oh, and there are some "ok" benefits (they are REALLY good). So it would be a crime if I didn't tell you about it. Oh, and the software HERE makes it very easy to do paid ads on other platforms. It's very powerful. Just make sure you have a landing page set up, and you start slow. You could get to 1,000 followers faster with paid ads. How to handle TikTok comments to boost your algorithm ranking It would be a crime if I didn't talk about comments. The more comments on your TikTok video, the better. It's best to respond to all comments if you can, even if it's just "thanks for the comment." The faster you respond, the better. Many times, I'll ask a question in the comments to get a conversation started. Yes, I love trolls! Anytime someone leaves a comment, they are honoring you, even if it's a negative comment. They are taking time out of their schedule to write to you. If someone leaves a nasty comment, try NOT to take it personally, laugh it off, and remember the comments usually have to do with the person making them, NOT you. How to use TikTok Creator Search Insights to find trending keywords In the TikTok app search feature, you can type in "creator search insights." This brings up a program that helps you find content to create. The middle tab is interestingly called "Content Gap." These are topics that get searched a lot, but there are not a lot of videos made on them. Try to make videos on them and see how they do. How to repurpose TikTok videos for YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels Repurposing your TikTok video is an unused growth hack, and it ROCKS! After you make the video, you can copy the web address and paste it into this website HERE. Now, you can download the video without the watermark. You can post the "same" exact videos to TONS of places, such as... -Tiktok -Instagram -YouTube Shorts -Facebook Reels -X -Threads -Rumble -Linkedin -Butchute -Dailymotion -Tumblr Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg. You can do even MORE with a short video if you want, such as… Make Pinterest pins for the video Create 1 long YouTube video out of a few Create a blog post out of a few Use the videos for Quora, Reddit, or Forum posts Use it in a Facebook feed There are also groups on Facebook and Reddit that are dedicated to helping with videos Plus much more. For just a little more work, you can get TONS more views. Some of my videos that bomb on TikTok grow on YouTube like crazy! Conclusion The biggest growth hack might just be to keep going, keep learning, and trying to improve. Showing up with a crappy video is better than not showing up. In fact, for a while, I forgot to clean my lens on my phone, and my videos were fuzzy, I missed a word, and that video (that sucked) got MORE views than all the videos I made. You just don't know! Also, try to have LOW expectations. Get excited with just making content and celebrate EVERY view, everything. Lastly, put things in perspective! For the last 2 years, I cold-called business owners, so creating videos is better. It's also better than manual labor. For the complete 10-step guide to building a short video income stream, check out this post HERE. Bye for now.