TikTok influencers say Kylie Pitts situation should be a warning

One of TikTok's major influencers, Kylie Pitts, recently shared that she was removed from the platform's Creator Program seemingly without cause or warning. And while many are sympathetic to the beloved content creator, her story has also become a cautionary tale.

Other TikTok creators are now using her situation as a springboard to start a highly important conversation about managing income on social media. And most agree on the message: Do not rely on social media platforms to generate all of your income.

Diversifying income streams is a huge topic of conversation in the gig economy, especially among freelancers and online creators who often don't make money from one primary source such as a full-time job with benefits. While it's possible to make hundreds of thousands of dollars as an influencer, if you're relying on sources like creator funds exclusively, you're doing it wrong.

This is because of real horror stories of creators like Pitts, who went from paying their bills entirely with the money from creator funds to suddenly no longer having that money as an option at all. Pitts' videos get millions of views each, and many are theorizing that she was removed from the program because TikTok did not want to pay out that much money to just one account.

That money can come and go in an instant. It happened to me with Instagram's Reels Play bonus program in 2023 -- one month I had a little extra money to hold me over; the next, I didn't.

There is more than one way to make money online -- and very soon I'll dive into a series where I go over these options so you can choose which one is best for you. The point, in short, is to never rely on just one source of income to survive as a creator. It will backfire, and these platforms will not save you. You have to create your own financial security from the very beginning.