How to Get Paid Making TikToks For Brands - 5 Steps
1. Make your own TikToks first
If you’re not already using TikTok or Instagram Reels, you need to get on those platforms first. There’s a specific style that TikTok lends itself towards, and if you don’t understand that style, your videos will suck. Fast cuts, an authentic voice, and trends are crucial for successful videos.
TikTok rewards authenticity, and doesn’t care so much about the well-curated feed that we’ve all become so good at on Instagram. So take the pressure off yourself! Hop on there and make a few videos to understand the process. Scroll for a while, try out a few trends, share a story or two. This is an essential first step to start speaking the language of TikTok.
2. Start shooting products
Once you understand the how the platform generally works, take a look at a few brand pages to see how they incorporate their products. Right now, close-up product videos shot on smartphones perform really well, because people want to see what a product is actually like. Grab a product you have at home, like a candle or a watch, and try to make an interesting 15-second video.
Set up next to a window or go outside, and use the natural light to illuminate your product. A really cheap way to increase the quality of your videos is to incorporate creative backgrounds. Colorful poster-boards, textured walls, and computer screens all work well. One you have ten good video clips, edit them in-app, and add on-screen text, and add music to bring it to life.
3. Make five videos on spec
Creating a video “on spec” means to create the work for a brand before they agree to pay you. This is an age-old strategy that creatives have been using to build their portfolios and win work for decades. There’s no guarantee that you’ll win a project just because you create spec work, but it’s a much stronger pitch than having nothing to show at all.
Pick your five favorite brands on TikTok, and study what they’re already doing on their accounts. Next, write out some ideas for how you could improve on their content. Do they Then go do it!
4. Reach out to 100 brands with a package
100 brands? Isn’t that excessive? No. If you’re reaching out to a brand with no prior connection, you’re just another cold email that could end up in the trash folder. This is no reflection on you, it’s a reflection on society. We don’t waste time responding to messages from people we’ve never met before, especially people who are trying to sell us something.
A good rule of thumb is this: for every 100 emails you send, expect 10 replies, 5 phone calls and 2 clients. You’ll greatly increase your chances of success with this strategy by having clear pitches. So make a package that outlines exactly how many videos you can make, what they’ll look like, when they’ll be delivered, and how long it will take, and how much it costs. This takes the guess work away from the brand, and gives them a clear understanding of whether or not they can hire you.
5. Lock in a deal
Once you lock in a deal, it’s show time. But locking in a deal with a brand is only half of the job. The other half is taking care of your new client and delivering quality content on time. Outline clearly what you’ll be delivering to them, and when you’ll deliver it. Then, deliver on that date, building in some buffer time in case you get delayed.
Making good work is important. But client care is just as important, so make sure your client is excited about the videos you’re delivering, and feels like they can trust you to respond quickly and professionally.
