TikTok’s latest feature–known as Series–gives content creators a new way to diversify their content monetization by pairing related content in one place.
If it feels like TikTok is constantly rolling out new features, it’s because they are. It can be overwhelming trying to keep up as a user on the platform. But, fortunately, the new Series feature isn’t all that different from others geared toward creators on the platform. The feature just opens up new doors for longer content and integrates paywalls into the monetization plans.
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What TikTok Series has to offer creators
TikTok Series allows creators to charge their audience members for a collection of up to 80, one to 20-minute long videos. That’s up to double TikTok’s current video time length limit and it gives content creators an opportunity to expand on topics their audience members love.
This is beneficial for infopreneurs using their account to teach others, whether that’s by sharing cooking tutorials, beauty routines, or other educational content. Longer videos give content creators more room to thoroughly explain a topic or do a demonstration without having to speed up the process or cut out helpful information. That added content can add value, making it easier to charge for.
Offering an authentic connection
For some content creators, these longer videos can also be a great way to showcase a more personal side. Reni Odetoyinbo, a personal finance and career creator, told Business Insider she’s noticing her audience wants to know more about her as a person. While she isn’t comfortable sharing her dating life with her entire audience, she said she’s open to revealing that information to her top fans.
Series are all hidden behind a paywall, giving content creators an opportunity to offer premium content. The content can be purchased through direct in-video links or on a creator’s profile and content creators will be responsible for setting their own prices, from as low as $1 to as much as $190.
Since followers are paying for content, it’s vital that it provides information or value that people can’t get elsewhere. Maybe it’s a special technique or a more detailed explanation of a concept. It could even be a particularly helpful life hack tip or a healthy substitution for a popular recipe.
Monetizing knowledge
“I can see a very clear use case in which other creatives like myself can showcase their work, and then put guides and tutorials into the paywall videos,” Noah Jennings, who has over 1 million followers, told Business Insider.
Jennings is planning on putting his long-form tutorials or in-depth guidelines about editing videos behind the paywall. He plans on charging between $50 to $60 for a series of five to 10 tutorials. Odetoyinbo said she plans to charge $3.99 for content about her personal life.
But not all content creators want to start charging their followers for their posts. Fabio Pena, a content creator with over 20,000 followers, told Business Insider that the change could mean lower-income people can’t access his content.
“Charging followers would just hurt my brand equity,” he said. Indicating that some users worry that charging isn’t quite authentic to their brand.
TikTok Series eligibility
TikTok relies heavily on its 1 billion users and content creators to power the platform. This is part of the reason the company is constantly trying to reward creators in new ways. For now, content creators keep 100% of their profits after applicable fees, according to TechCrunch, which could mean a loss of about 30%, according to The Verge. While it may sound like a lot, that loss is likely to expand once TikTok starts taking a cut as well, although it’s unclear when that’ll happen or what the exact breakdown will be.
While Series are a great way to monetize content, the feature is currently only available to select content creators.
To be eligible for Series, creators must:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Have accounts that are at least 30 days old and have at least 10,000 followers
- Have posted at least three videos in the last 30 days
- Have at least 1,000 authentic video views in the last 30 days
Content creators that don’t have 10,000 followers can apply to use the Series feature if they meet all the other requirements and have a track record of selling premium content on another platform. It’s possible the monetization program could open up to other creators down the line, although, there’s no guarantee.
“As Series is in its early phase, right now we’re focused on building the product and hearing feedback from our creators to improve the product,” a TikTok spokesperson told Variety.
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