TikTok shop affiliate marketing is one of the hottest "make money online," methods of 2024, and for good reason. There are dozens of examples of creators making huge commissions with short TikTok videos if they can get them to get some organic love from the TikTok algorithm.
Here's what I'm loving most about the TikTok shop affiliate program and the success stories I'm seeing
- Existing audience size doesn't matter as much. One of the things I love most about TikTok's algorithm is that it doesn't punish small creators like YouTube or other platforms. Your first video could theoretically go viral if it is getting great engagement and high watch time.
- The videos don't need to be fancy or highly edited. I'll show you in the examples what I mean, but most of the success stories I'm seeing require little more than a surface level understanding of mobile video editing.
- There is a lot of overlap with the Amazon influencer program. I've written at length about making money by creating short product reviews with the Amazon influencer program. The TikTok shop affiliate program is similar and many of the products that we can review on Amazon are also available on the TikTok shop. This means you can buy things to review (or review things you already have) that are on both programs. You'll be killing two birds with one stone.
I'm not going to get into the basics of the program in this article (you can learn all about the program via TikTok's own training area here). Instead, we're just going to go over 10 examples that should inspire you to give the TikTok shop a shot.
How to Find Inspiration Outside of These 10 Examples
If you're a TikTok user, you've been seeing examples of successful TikTok shop affiliate videos daily, you just might not have noticed.
Pay attention to the videos that show "Shop" on the bottom left hand side. You can then click on the product and see it. If you're an affiliate, you can then swipe up to learn more about the product.
You can see the commission rate, estimated earnings per sale, units in stock and examples of videos that are promoting the product.
You can use these for inspiration for your own videos.
I found these examples doing my own research inside of the TikTok app and through some basic research using a really powerful paid tool called Kalodata.
For these examples, I wanted to find creators that were relatable. I didn't want creators who had 100,000+ followers already and I didn't want creators who were spending hours each day going live like the ShamWow guy.
Also, I didn't want to showcase any videos that were using ads to sell their products. We're focusing solely on organic videos.
Ok, ready? Let's get into it.
Note on Revenue vs. Earnings
Kalodata shows total revenue, not total commissions. Commissions are a percentage of revenue and then minus returns. Commission rates range from between 5% and 30% of the total sale, with the average physical item being around 10%-15%. Keep this in mind when viewing these examples and whenever anyone shares their own earnings.
TikTok Shop Affiliate Example #1
@kaitilyndecker Replying to @livingdownsouth HARMONY IS BACK. *immediately buys 3 tubes before its sold out again* 🥲 #beauty #mothersdaysale #mothersdaygift #lysbronzer #contourtrick #contourtips #makeupreview #makeupmusthave #selftan #bronzers #bronzertutorial #newmakeup #affordablemakeup #drugstoremakeup #tiktokmademebuyit #viralmakeup #viral ♬ original sound - Kaitilyn Decker
Why It Worked + Lessons Learned
Although this woman did have over 100,000 followers, this video drove an abnormal amount of views and sales regardless. The fact that she shows the process and results after using the make up really is the key to this video.
TikTok Shop Affiliate Example #2
@warstory.ai Such a good deal
♬ party monster - 🫂
Why It Worked + Lessons Learned
Ok, this one isn't the most profitable example on this list, but it's a great example of a supremely minimalistic video that worked. It is only 8 seconds long and plays entirely on the fact that the product is cheap.
Remember, unlock the Amazon influencer program, TikTok creators are allowed to mention sales price and leverage it as a sales point. It clearly works.
TikTok Shop Affiliate Example #3
@itemsbeyond Best gadget for car owners 🙌🏽🚀 #car #cartok #TikTokShop #fyp #4upage ♬ original sound - ItemsBeyond
Why It Worked + Lessons Learned
This is one of my favorite examples because the creator spent nothing on ads and had under 2,000 followers when he posted this.
It works because he shows a cool product that solves a common problem in a simple way AND he mentions how affordable it is ("the price of a Chipotle burrito").
TikTok Shop Affiliate Example #4
@dailydealss6 Go get you one#ttshop #TikTokshop #gadgets #carcharger #fypシ ♬ drowning (edit) - Antent & vowl.
Why It Worked + Lessons Learned
Another car product from a smaller creator (under 1,000 followers when he posted) with zero ad spend and a video that is under 20 seconds without even showing his face.
As is a common theme in these videos so far, he mentions how affordable it is and the product is clever or somewhat original.
TikTok Shop Affiliate Example #5
@tiktokshoppluggg If you have bleeding gums… 🩸 🦷 #waterflosser #fyp #gingivitis ♬ original sound - TikTokShopPluggg
Why It Worked + Lessons Learned
This video, although dramatized with abnormally dirty teeth with loose muck in them, does a great job of demonstrating the product and highlighting a common problem (gingivitis).
Cleaning the mold of the teeth is highly satisfying and makes the product look really cool. It's clear why it went viral organically.
TikTok Shop Affiliate Example #6
@sweetcrispyfurniture A surprise order on Cyber Monday #sweetfurniture #cybermonday #cybermondaydeal #coffeetable #viralcoffeetable #desk #homedecor #lifttable #tiktokshopping ♬ Standout - Kid Dean
Why It Worked + Lessons Learned
This one surprised me. It was wildly minimalistic and just used a screenshot of the product and juxtaposed it with what it looked like in her house.
The price was displayed and it was relatively low. Beyond that, it's hard for me to really pin point why this worked, but it's a good motivator for the average creator because there is simply nothing special about this video.
TikTok Shop Affiliate Example #7
@bob_reviews Can’t recommend this pillow enough #bestpillow #sidesleeper #bestsleep #ttahop #fyp #viral #viralproducts ♬ original sound - Bob Reviews
Why It Worked + Lessons Learned
This product went viral from several creators, so there is something about it that people seem to really like organically. This video did very well and was from a creator who was basically brand new though. The little skeleton he uses was attention grabbing and he explains the actual reasons why the pillow will help you sleep better and more comfortably.
One thing to note with the TikTok shop compared to the similar but different Amazon influencer program is that there doesn't seem to be any rule on medical advice on TikTok compared to Amazon.
He also mentions a Mother's Day sale that is going on so it adds a sense of scarcity to the offer. This was the first video I saw that leveraged price and scarcity like that. It appears the price remained the same though, so buyers likely were just pumped to see they could still get the offer and jumped on it.
TikTok Shop Affiliate Example #8
@denofdeals They straps are back in stock and will sell out fast!! #madeintheusa🇺🇸 Truck Straps Tie down truck Straps #lifetimewarranty #amazing #truckowner #trucks ##tiedownstraps ♬ original sound - Den of Deals
Why It Worked + Lessons Learned
Another smaller creator with a short video in the automotive niche. This video uses the "these were out of stock but are back in now," scarcity tactic. Items go in and out of stock on TikTok all the time, so leveraging this is brilliant.
TikTok Shop Affiliate Example #9
@lifeofalex06 These earphone are the future of sound and Apple is catching on. #earphones #earpods #lenovox15pro #wirelessearbuds #ttshop #tiktokshopspringsale ♬ original sound - FinkingForYou
Why It Worked + Lessons Learned
This video leverages a little bit of drama. The caption "PSA: Apple Stealing Designs" grabs your attention and doesn't make it feel like the video is a sales pitch right out of the gate.
He mentions the key points briefly and also uses the social proof of "they've sold damn near half a million of them," as well as the low price and current 50% off deal.
TikTok Shop Affiliate Example #10
@alexcozys Replying to @Jeffrey Hannah doesnt get better than this #macros #nutrition #foodscale #creatine ♬ original sound - Alex Cozys
Why It Worked + Lessons Learned
This is an example of a genuinely cool product that most people don't know about. He leverages hashtags like #nutrition and #macros to target the types of people who would be interested in a product like this and quickly demos it. Nothing fancy, just simple and a product that basically sells itself if you're lucky enough to get the organic love from TikTok.
Key Takeaways
Here are some of the biggest insights I found while doing working on this article.
#1 Mentioning a Low Price Helps
Almost all of the examples mentioned how affordable the products were in some way. We're allowed to do this on TikTok and many of the products are extremely affordable.
#2 Use #TikTokShop Hashtag
I was hoping to see a trend that showed hashtags made a huge difference, but honestly, I didn't notice that. I did see the #tiktokshop and the standard #fyp hashtags more than others though.
#3 Length Doesn't Matter
If anything, it seems easier to go viral with shorter videos. I'm guessing this is because the watch time percentage is very high and many viewers watch the video more than once which inflates the view total (which TikTok sees as a positive signal when choosing what videos to show more organically).
#4 Many of the Successful Affiliate Products Run Ads
When doing your research, be sure to check to see if revenue is artificially inflated by a massive ad spend. This is why I'm loving Kalodata. It shows which videos are running ads and how much they're spending. Many of the videos and products that seem to be making a lot of money are actually not (some are losing a lot after ad spend).
If you're serious about making the TikTok Shop affiliate program work for you, I suggest you give it a try. Avoiding these fake successful products will save you a lot of time and hassle.
#5 Mention Time Sensitive Sales
The video in example #7 leveraged this well with their Mother's Day sale mention. Many products run "sales" but actually seem to have the same low price all the time or they just do another sale immediately after the last one. Even if someone watches your video after the current promotion has expired, it's still more likely to grab their attention and drive a click which could lead to a sale.
#6 Mention Out of Stock/In Stock
Items on TikTok shop are constantly going in and out of stock. Mentioning this adds serious scarcity to videos which drives conversions.
#7 The Shelf Life of TikTok Shop Videos Isn't Long
As I expanded the timelines of videos, it's clear that TikTok loves to give a lot of traffic to a video and then move on to someone else later.
If you have a successful video, enjoy it, but don't expect it to drive consistent sales forever. It seems like one or two big weeks is the normal trend with a few outliers making money long term.
One tactic people are clearly using though is running paid ads to the videos that did well organically. If you know how many sales you're getting per view, you can justify spending money on your own traffic to it and still make a profit.