Advertising can take a big bite out of a business’s budget, and it does not always deliver strong returns. The ideal scenario is paying for promotion only when it leads to an actual sale. TikTok created a solution for this inside TikTok Shop through its affiliate marketing program.
The TikTok affiliate program is one of my favorite parts of TikTok Shop. In this article, I’ll walk through my strategy and how to get started. Below is a screenshot showing how to access TikTok Affiliate.
Shop Level Plan
Understanding the plans is extremely important because this is the first step in building a strategy that helps you connect with more creators.
👉 Shop Plan allows sellers to set a universal commission rate for all products inside Seller Center.
👉 The Open Plan is available to all qualified affiliate creators. Sellers can approve creators before they promote products through the Open Plan. The seller chooses which products are available for promotion and sets the commission rate, which can range from 1% to 80%. All affiliate creators can access the Open Plan, which helps products gain visibility in the creator marketplace.
- Within the Open Plan, you can also offer samples to creators.
👉 A Targeted Plan allows sellers to invite specific creators to promote products on their behalf. Once a creator accepts the invitation, they can start promoting immediately.
- Products: selected merchandise from the seller
- Commission rate: customized rate between 1% and 80%
- The Targeted Plan helps sellers work more closely with specific creators who can generate stronger sales.
What is the relationship between these plans?
Each product can be included in multiple plans at the same time. However, creators are only paid one commission rate per product, based on this priority:
Targeted Plan > Open Plan > Shop Plan
Strategy Talk
Getting Started with Creators & the TikTok Affiliate Program
For the first 30 days, you want to focus on the lowest-hanging fruit while you learn the process and get comfortable navigating the system.
Action 1
Start with an Open Plan at 15% commission and offer 10 free samples, but do not feel pressured to approve every sample request. I also strongly recommend auto-approving creators who apply to the Open Plan.
Action 2
For creators who start generating sales, begin opening conversations and evaluate whether it makes sense to move them into a Targeted Plan, where you can offer 18% or 20% commission. In my experience, creators become more motivated when they see a higher commission opportunity.
- A proactive step on your side is to regularly review creator performance and reach out before momentum slows down. Set aside about 2 hours per week to network and communicate with creators.
Action 3
By the end of the first 30 days, you should start seeing traction, as long as you consistently invest about 2 hours per week, or roughly 10 hours total, into affiliate marketing. The goal is to build a creator network you can rely on to promote different products each month.
TikTok Shop tracks each affiliate-driven sale. You can find this data under Data Compass. See the screenshot below.
Once you have a solid handle on creators across both the Open Plan and the Targeted Plan, you can begin expanding into livestreaming and giveaways. I usually see brands and sellers begin live-stream and giveaway strategies around six months after starting with TikTok Affiliate. Your goal should be to get there within 30 to 60 days after launching your affiliate strategy.
If you need someone to manage this strategy for 60 days, our fees start at $499 per month.