TikTok is a social media and short-form online video platform. It is known globally and is experiencing exponential growth – surpassing two-billion mobile downloads in 2020 and became Cloudflare’s most popular website of 2021.

But behind the flashy and colorful contents uploaded by its billions of users globally, there is something you should learn. That is how to earn on the platform through affiliate marketing.

In this webpage, we are going to learn more about the TikTok Affiliate program.

Rise of Tiktok as Platform of Earning Money

If you ask children and teenagers, there is a high chance that they have heard of TikTok and they have an account on it.

TikTok is the social platform known for skyrocketing the popularity of short-form video contents, these are the 15-60 second clips about art, dance, trends and memes.

Creation of these clips are so much faster with the aid of video-editing tools that have become increasingly easier to use, included here is TikTok’s own CapCut.

Apart from being a social media platform, TikTok is also an online shop. Sellers can upload a photo or video of their items and the social’s users can purchase these quickly and easily.

Hence, this has helped increase the platform’s users. Not only a social media but a store.

But there’s a greater news – you can earn through the platform even if you do not have a product. That’s because of the trend called Affiliate Marketing.

In affiliate marketing, you earn money through promoting another person’s product. You get a share from the price, and this is tracked through unique links.

Surely, you’ve heard of the trend #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt. This is a popular trend since the platform can influence viewers to buy products. A survey by Student Beans disclosed that 55% of TikTok users have made a purchase after seeing a product on the platform.

How to Join TikTok Affiliate

TikTok Affiliate has helped many individuals earn money at the comfort of their home. This has many perks – being at home with family, showcasing arts you love, and by simply using your mobile device.

You can make this as side hustle, but many has made it to become their only source of income. Even exceeding their salary from previous employment.

Here is how to join the number of TikTok affiliates who are already earning a lot through the platform:

Meet the Minimum Requirements

The first step to joining the TikTok Affiliate Program is to ensure that you are eligible. There are minimum requirements that TikTok asks its users to be able to join the program.

• You must be at legal age. In the Philippines, you should be at least 18 years old, ID verification may be required.
• Meet the minimum follower threshold of 1,000 followers to unlock product linking.
• The TikTok Shop Seller Center is available in select countries; it is necessary to check your country.

TikTok Affiliate Content Creator

After meeting the minimum requirements, you are now ready to initiate the application process.

First, you need to have your account converted to either a Creator or a Business account. To do this:

• Go to your TikTok profile, click the three lines in the top-right corner.
• Go to Settings and Privacy, click the Manage Account.
• Select Switch to Business Account or Creator Account.
• Select a category from the choices.

Second, you need to sign-up as TikTok Shop creator. Here’s how to do this:

• Go to the TikTok Shop Creator Center.
• Sign in with your TikTok account.
• Fill the information required.
• Submit verification documents, as required.

After sign-up, wait for your application to get approval from the company.

Link Bank Accounts

Congratulations, your account has been approved to join the affiliate program. After the receiving the confirmation, you need to link your bank account.

Linking your bank account beforehand ensures that receiving your payments later goes smoothly. Here’s how to do it.

• Go to your TikTok Shop dashboard.
• Add your bank details for payouts.
• Complete your Creator profile with a profile image, bio, and preferred product categories.

Get TikTok Affiliate Links and Start Sharing

You are now ready to make money through affiliate marketing. Start by going to the TikTok Shop dashboard, filter products by category, commission rate, and popularity.

Thereafter, click Add to My Affiliate Products to start promoting them.

After adding the products to your affiliate list, you need to get your affiliate link.

Affiliate links are unique links generated by a website that is helpful to track sales and ensures that individuals who purchased through your link are properly credited to your account balance.

Here’s how to do it:

• Go to your Creator Center or TikTok Shop dashboard, move to My Products.
• Copy the custom affiliate link for each product.
• Share the links on TikTok or other social media platforms.
• You can also tag the product in your TikTok videos or add it to your TikTok profile storefront.

To earn more, level-up your creativity. Ensure that you are very creative, selective with items to promote (relevant to audience and niche), review your previous uploads to find which one goes viral and which one does not.

How Your Commission Gets Computed

One of things an aspiring affiliate is curious about when joining the program is: how much can I earn?

Well, commission on TikTok Shop affiliate marketing is set by the seller. Not the platform.

Therefore, rates vary wildly based on margins. Shopify disclosed the following rates which is typical in the market:

• Physical goods: 5%-10% (fashion, beauty, gadgets)
• Digital goods: 20%-30% (software, courses)

TikTok enforces a 30-day commission lock, hence if the seller decreases the rate, the original rate will remain valid 30 days thereafter (you’ll receive a two-day advance notice).

The good news is that if the seller raises the commission, the higher incentive takes effect immediately.

Commissions are typically paid out roughly 15 days after the order is delivered. In case a customer returns the item, your commission is deducted.

Strategies to Promote Your Affiliates

So far, you’ve learned:

• What is TikTok Affiliate program and How it Works
• How to join the TitTok Affiliate program
• How much is possible earning by becoming a TikTok Affiliate

Provided that you have succeeded in learning these three, it’s time to start the money-making game through learning some of the helpful strategies that you can apply.

Be Creative and Maximize What Works

The number one thing that you need when you are working on social media platforms is to get attention – you should make a strike. The best way to do this is to be very creative, make your outputs emotional, something that people would be interested to click – and watch over and over again.

In CapCut and other video editing tools, you can put trending video styles, stickers, music and more. There are great tutorials on blogs and on YouTube on how to make awesome video clips. Invest some time in learning how to take proper clips, what to do when filming, how to edit clips, and the time to upload.

Time invested in learning produces ripple effects on your next outputs.

In addition, while tutorials on the internet provides an overview on the suggested styles, you should experiment yourself. That’s because of regional (area) variation, audience, niche, and other factors.

Take a look at (a) what works with you, (b) what works with your competitors, (c) which of the things you’re applying no longer works. This will provide an overview on what techniques to keep, and what techniques to discard.

Take Advantage of Special Occasions and Holidays

Most businesses have their income go super high during holidays and special occasions.

These includes Christmas, New Year, Valentine’s Day, and others. At these times, people would spend a lot of money – commonly on gifts or on foods for the celebration.

This is something to take note of when working with affiliate marketing.

If necessary and possible, tailor your contents to the occasion. For example, on October 31st, you can wear a Halloween costume on your videos while promoting a product. The product can be related to the season, but not necessarily since there are other things to consider such as the audience.

The advantage here is that social media companies such as TikTok would show more contents related to the holiday on their platform, and the audience want more of that.

Be In-The-Know with the Latest Trends

The needs of consumers shift from time to time that is why it is necessary for every affiliate marketer to be aware of the latest trends.

There are products that creates a bandwagon effect such as the recent rise of Labubu dolls, K-Pop Demon Hunters collectibles, and others. But, these products will soon wane from popularity.

As an affiliate marketer, you should find products like these since these provides high income quickly. If its popularity fades, find another product and you will always find that’s trending.

This does not mean that you should completely disregard evergreen products, but we’re talking about social media here which is almost always synonymous with what’s trending.

Stay Consistent on Your Uploads

You should upload contents consistently, otherwise your followers will turn to other video creators. Take note of the word consistently but do not overdo it.

Social platforms follow an algorithm, and what appears on a person’s feed are pre-determined based on preferences according to what they’ve watched recently.

In addition, followers tend to browse a lot daily, and failure to (upload) appear on their feed for a long time will make your profile be removed by the algorithm on their feed, and in their own personal preferences.

Therefore, it is important to provide uploads consistently to keep up with the momentum. Three uploads per day would be enough.

Final Thoughts

If you are part of the new generation who are fond of using the internet and is using social media like TikTok, the promise of earning while keep doing what you love sounds great.

It appears easy money. While not necessarily easy because it surely requires hard work and there are many competitors, working with something you love and enjoy will make it feel easy.

Earn money while dancing, singing, or making stunts in front of your phone. Have followers and engage with them, you become popular. It’s the aim of becoming a celebrity, while earning money.

Give TikTok Affiliate a try and join the growing list of individuals who are earning a lot through their mobile devices.

References

• Affiliate Program | TikTok for Business
• Anyone have luck with Tiktok Affiliate marketing? : r/sidehustle
• What is affiliate marketing on TikTok and how can creators utilize it to earn money? – Quora
• TikTok Affiliate Marketing: How to Become TikTok Affiliate in 2024?
• Ultimate Guide to Affiliate Marketing on TikTok In 2024