For TikTok shop sellers, finding effective ways to promote your products and your brand is crucial for success.
One avenue that has gained significant traction in recent years is leveraging TikTok influencers as affiliates. These influencers have the power to reach millions of users and drive sales with their engaging content.
But how exactly can TikTok sellers tap into this resource? In this guide, we’ll explore the strategies and techniques for finding and partnering with TikTok affiliates to boost your product sales and reach new audiences.
Why should TikTok Shop Sellers Find TikTok Affiliates
Sales volume: According to internal research and analysis, the contribution brought by TikTok influencers to the US market is the most prominent among all content types.
Native UGC content: Utilizing a large number of influencers to help businesses create native content to reach more local consumers, increasing exposure and brand/product awareness on TikTok.
High return on investment (ROI): Actively reaching out to influencers to produce videos in the early stage, and relying on the Product Marketplace with Open plans after the products accumulate some sales to attract affiliates, is a great way for sellers to promote with minimal effort.
Step by Step on How to Find Affiliates
1. Pick a product
- Focus on 1-2 products for now
- If you don’t have a product with high sales on TikTok shop, choose the one with the highest sales on your other platforms (Amazon, DTCs etc). Focus your resources to make one of your products hot, even trending, before moving onto the next one.
- Use your competitors as a reference
- Go to the product marketplace in TikTok Shop Creator Center and check out the best sellers and creator favorites that are similar to your products
- Use Kalodata
- By using the advanced filters in kalodata.com/product, you can easily find the similar products with the best sales in recent weeks.
2. Choose the user profile of affiliates
According to the practical experience of numerous businesses, the flexibility and cooperation level in collaborating with KOCs (Key Opinion Consumers, influencers with low-to-mid tier followers and influence) are higher. At this stage, these affiliates demonstrate a stronger demand for active follower growth and increased earnings.
In kalodata.com/creator, you’ll discover KOCs within your category boasting 5k to 100k followers.
Focus on those who consistently share content, with at least 10 videos posted in a span of 14 days. Additionally, prioritize individuals whose videos get 2500+ views for bonus value.
3. Get contact info
You can get the contact information (email, instagram profiles, etc) in the creator detail page in Kalodata.
There is a customized report for bulk export for the advanced users.
4. Reach out strategy
- Goals:
- Cold message response rate: 6% – 10%
- Partnership confirmation success rate with responsive affiliates: 50% – 80%
4.1 Set up your targeted plan
Before contacting affiliates, set up your targeted plan. If possible, include a link to your target plan in your outreach message. This allows them to familiarize themselves with the product and commission structure.
How to set up target plan:
Go to Seller Center – Affiliate – Choose ‘Targeted Plan’ under Plan – Add Targeted Plan (top right corner blue button)
How to get sharable link:
We recommend offering a commission of at least 20% for new products during the initial launch phase.
As sales accumulate, consider reducing the rate to approximately 15% and reallocating the surplus budget towards paid ads.
4.2 Communication channels
We recommend Whatsapp > email > Facebook/instagram TikTok DMs.
- Include your brand name in your username
- Use your brand logo as profile picture
- Utilize your business email address, ideally incorporating your brand’s name as the domain (e.g., marketing@yourbrand.com)
Facebook/Instagram
- Messages from strangers will go to Message Request and it might be hard to find
TikTok
- TikTok restricts incoming messages from strangers to 3. Maximize their impact with the technique introduced in the following section.
- Sending messages to too many people (20+ in a day) can easily lead to being banned. Mitigate this risk by using your personal account.
If your team has no prior experience in affiliate marketing, then we recommend:
- Allocate at least one dedicated team member to handle affiliate outreach full-time and establish an SOP.
- Set the first-month goal as:
- Send out 15-20 samples to affiliates weekly
- Get 20-25 videos produced weekly.
- Reach a daily GMV of $1000
4.3 Scripting techniques
Please adjust flexibly according to specific circumstances. Remember to maintain a writing style that is positive, friendly, complimentary, and communicates honesty.
1st Message – introduction and state your purpose
- Email title: emphasis the benefits
- Earn money and boost your personal brand as a YOURBRAND ambassador
- Start earning with a partnership from YOURBRAND on TikTok TODAY!
- Get sponsored by YOURBRAND NOW! Get more attention with your perfect look
- Self introduction: make it clear that you’re a real person, not a bot, and send out invitation on behalf of the brand
- I’m the brand manager for a growing company of a global personal care brand, YOURBRAND.
- My name is X, and I represent YOURBRAND, a rising sports equipment brand for high-end users.
- Give compliments: boost the desire for partnership
- We’re reaching out because we believe you are an excellent fit for our brand as an ambassador and an affiliate partner.
- We think you’d be gorgeous wearing our products.
- We love your content and enjoy following your journey on your TikTok.
- Highlight the brand’s strengths:
- We have been following our mission for 20 years, making high-quality Category Names for all generations.
- We uphold strong environmental values in all aspects of our company. Our products are crafted from natural materials.
- With seven years of experience and millions of sunglasses sold on Amazon, …
Here’s a template example for emails:
Title: Make money and grow your personal branding as our brand ambassador
Hi Sam,
My name is Peter, and I’m a brand manager for a rising global sunglasses brand, NiceGlasses . I’m totally in love with your vibe on TikTok.
We would like to offer you FREE sunglassess (Wat) . Also, We’d like to invite you to make an product recommendation video on TikTok for our products. Are you interested in gifting-colbs with commissions?
To learn more about NiceGlasses, check out our hashtag #NiceGlasses on TikTok. We’ve made history with numerous creators, and now it’s your turn to join in.
Here are some examples of our collaborations with creators:
[insert link]
Find our product links on TikTok Shop here:
[insert link]
We look forward to hearing from you soon!
TikTok message version:
Hey Sam,
This’s NiceGlasses. We’ve hit over 1 billion views on TikTok! Interested in Reviews? Free samples + 20% commissions await. Our products are stylish sunglasses, just reply us for a direct invitation right away!
2nd Message – establish commission and video requirements
- For new affiliates:
“Hi Sam,
Thanks for the quick response! It’s great to hear you’re interested!
Are you familiar with the TikTok Creator Affiliate program? You can earn 20% commissions by sharing our product links in your TikTok videos. It’s as simple as adding the link!
If you’re new to this, just let me know, and I’ll send you a PDF guide on using TikTok for affiliate marketing.
Also, don’t forget to send us your video’s AD code after posting for a bonus promotion.
Here are some key points about creating the video:
- video Duration:
- Hashtags & Tags:
- Must-Have in the video:
- Sample videos:
Please provide your preferred color and the recipient’s details. I’ll ensure everything is ready for shipping tomorrow. :)”
- For experienced affiliates:
“Hi Sam,
Thank you for your swift response! We’re excited to see your enthusiasm!
Earn a 20% commission by including our product links in your TikTok videos. It’s an easy way to earn some extra cash.
And to sweeten the deal, we may even boost your post with the video AD code once it’s live.
Here are some key points about creating the video:
- video Duration:
- Hashtags & Tags:
- Must-Have in the video:
- Sample videos:
Please provide your preferred color and the recipient’s details. I’ll ensure everything is ready for shipping tomorrow. :)”
3rd Message – provide the tracking number
4th Message – alert when samples are delivered
5th Message – friendly reminder of video deadline
5. Send samples
- We suggest sending 1-3 sample pieces to affiliates, enabling them to create multiple videos for optimal results.
- Please expedite shipping for the samples using priority mail.
- Provide notifications to affiliates just before the samples arrive.
6. Follow up
Oversee video posting
- After the affiliates receive the samples, remind them to complete video production and release within one week.
- Offer affiliates 2-3 key selling points, along with reference showcase videos.
- Monitor fulfillment efficiency. Target a 50% video upload rate within one week and an 80% rate within one month.
Video Analysis
We can breakdown the revenue from videos into 4 components:
- GMV = VV (video views) * CTR (click through rate) * CO (order conversion rate) * AOV (average order value)
To maximize video revenue, we can focus on improving these 4 aspects
- Increase VV
- Select affiliates with a track record of high video views in recent weeks in kalodata.com/creator.
- Identify successful videos with high views on kalodata.com/video and highlight their key features.
- Leverage ads if your budget permits.
- Increase CTR
- Highlight the selling points of the products
- Call to action at the end of the video
- Increase CO
- Increase the product rating.
- Make a better product detail page. We have a guide for this.
- Combine with promotions and discounts.
- Increase AOV
- Set up product bundles.
