How to Be a TikTok Affiliate

The phenomenon that is TikTok not only offers creators opportunities to exercise their creative skills by creating TikTok videos, but also to add to their revenue sources by becoming a TikTok affiliate, working with TikTok affiliate marketing, and promoting products on the platform. 

You’ve probably already seen TikTok affiliates or TikTok influencers without even knowing it. If you’ve seen a TikToker showing off clothing, energy drinks, or tech gear on their TikToks, chances are there were also links you could click on to buy those products directly.

TikTok Affiliates earn commissions when viewers buy a product directly from them. You promote those products by using a single link or a clickable links list in your bio, so users can shop directly from your affiliate links; or by creating a landing page for all of your affiliate links and other socials.

You can also share unique coupon codes (ie “Ethan2025”) so brands can track sales attributed to you, and you can get paid. Impulse purchases are popular on TikTok and on TikTok Shop - so all you need to do is create TikTok affiliate videos that draw people in and inspire them to make their impulse purchases through you!  

Why is TikTok a Good Place to Sell Stuff?

TikTok has ridiculously high engagement rates and a massive audience that’s perfectly positioned to become your customers. 

The numbers tell the story: TikTok has over 1 billion active global users. 900 million of those users browse through TikTok every day, spending nearly an hour on the platform on average. 70% of TikTok users find new products on TikTok. 

And over 30% of those people make purchases through TikTok Shop. That makes affiliate marketing on TikTok a pretty lucrative opportunity! Let’s get into how it works.

How to Get Started in TikTok Affiliate Marketing

It’s tempting to just jump right in to TikTok Shop, with visions of giant bags of money floating over your head. But to really do this well and start building your TikTok customer base, a little bit of pre-planning is definitely in order.

The first thing you’ll want to do is choose a niche: a specific area of interest that you’ll focus on for the majority of your TikTok posts. If you already have an established TikTok audience - let’s say you’re a fitness creator - then you’ll want to, for example, find products that align with your existing content. For a fitness creator, those could be things like exercise gear, workout apparel, and fitness accessories. 

If you’re starting fresh on TikTok, then you can choose any niche you like!

Once you decide what you’re focusing on, you can start looking for brands and companies within your niche that are open to working with TikTok content creators and influencers like you. 

You’ll contact those brands to request samples of their products, and then produce creative TikTok videos to introduce those products to your audience! You can also go live on TikTok once you qualify, to recommend your affiliate products in a dynamic live setting, answering questions and sharing the products with your live chat.

Okay, I’ve Got a Niche! Where Do I Go From Here?

Becoming a TikTok Affiliate is a fairly easy venture once you have enough followers (the current requirement as of late 2024 is , but there are a few steps you’ll need to follow to apply. 

• First, get yourself set up with a TikTok business account, or change your personal account to business.
  

• Next, join TikTok’s Affiliate Program by logging in to TikTok’s Creator Center, and clicking on “Get Started” in the Affiliate menu.
  

• You’ll need to qualify by completing the TikTok application, verifying your identity, and of course linking your TikTok account; then you’ll just wait for approval, which generally happens in under a week.
  

• You can also join an external affiliate network like Amazon Storefront, Rakuten, or Temu; but if you’re using external links, make sure you disclose that you’ll be earning commission if people purchase something from those external links on your account.

Let’s Make Affiliate TikToks!

Now that you’ve got all of the “official” stuff set up, you can start making affiliate TikToks. Get creative and think of compelling, interesting, eye-catching ways to create TikTok videos that spotlight your affiliate products of choice while also being entertaining to your viewers.  

There are several different approaches you can take to TikTok Affiliate Marketing. You can showcase products in-use; talk about your fave products within the context of a related video (for example, doing a walk-and-talk video in the rain, and also casually mentioning your affiliate product umbrella); or do a full shopping session where you show and explain a range of products to your audience. 

Add a link to each product in your bio or on a links list so the products or services you’re promoting are easy for your viewers to find.

TikTok content creator KendallMaynard sends her viewers to her Linktree to get links to the products she promotes on her account.

Making the products relatable “must haves” to your audience is an important component of potentially selling lots of them! Get enthused about the products, services, and features, and your audience will, too. TikTok affiliate marketers have a unique POV in that they can show how products are used in everyday life, and can even answer questions about the products in real-time on a TikTok Live broadcast. 

Be sure to talk about or show the relevant info on each products, plus how to get to the affiliate links and codes in your videos, bio, and/or bio links, so you can direct viewers to get the relevant links to the products they want. And add relevant hashtags to help your TikToks get found.

This example from TikTok content creator and affiliate marketer ChezysDiary shows how to add a coupon code overlay (“#IbaAngNUWHITE”) to your TikTok video.

Then, watch your progress, keep an eye on your viewership, sales stats, and TikTok analytics, and keep optimizing to grow your engagement and sales rates.

Time to Strategize!

Being in the TikTok Shop Affiliate Program has rapidly become a very popular way to earn more revenue as a content creator, so staying on top of new products and TikTok trends are important components of your new job! Here are some other tips and strategies to get your TikTok Affiliate account positioned for success: 

• Create engaging, short-form video content that aligns with TikTok trends, and think up creative ways your TikTok videos can stand out on the platform - go ahead and take those artistic risks so you can make a bigger visual splash.
  

• Shout out any special events you’re planning for TikTok on your other social media platforms to draw in more viewers; in the reverse, you can also drive traffic from TikTok to your other social networks, to help grow your audience across the internet.
  

• Stay on top of those trending hashtags! They’re a great way to guide people to your TikTok content, and your affiliate products.
  

• If you’re using multiple links in your TikTok bio, save space and make everything easier to access by using a clickable links list service like Linktree or Linkpop. Take some time to carefully organize your links, and make the visual design compatible with your brand and the look of your TikTok account.
  

• Include CTAs (calls to action) in your affiliate product TikToks - people will go where you direct them, so make sure to tell them where to find the links to the products you’re promoting, and remind them of any time-sensitive purchases (like limited-time sales, expiring coupon codes, or special holiday buys.)

Ready to Get Affiliated?

Take your first steps toward becoming a TikTok Affiliate! Joining the TikTok Affiliate program, applying for TikTok Shop, or signing up with an external affiliate program can change your revenue for the better. 

You still get to create content, only now you’re getting paid for it; you’ll be growing your TikTok audience; and you often get some great sample products and other benefits, too. TikTok Affiliates FTW!