Affiliate marketing is a key customer acquisition channel for ecommerce brands. It accounts for nearly 10% of US ecommerce sales ($113 billion), according to a 2025 study from The Performance Marketing Association. TikTok has reshaped affiliate marketing by letting creators promote products that shoppers can purchase without ever leaving the app.
This shift has changed how people discover products. In an interview with Glossy, Donte Murry, group vertical director of beauty, wellness, and personal care at TikTok, said that 77% of users search for the product they just saw in TikTok affiliate content. Creator recommendations are an increasingly important way for brands to reach customers during the buying journey.
Here’s how TikTok affiliate marketing works, how to set up the TikTok Shop affiliate program, and how creators can get started.
What is the TikTok Shop affiliate program?
The TikTok Shop affiliate program lets creators earn commissions by selling products on TikTok Shop on behalf of a brand. Businesses in select countries, including the United States, Thailand, Vietnam, and the United Kingdom, can join the program, enabling creators to promote their products across TikTok videos, livestreams, and on their profiles.
Traditional affiliate programs work differently. Creators get a unique affiliate link that they post on their social media accounts, newsletters, blogs, and podcasts, sending their audience to another web page. TikTok Shop’s affiliate program is contained within the app. If a creator posts a video about a product, there will be a shoppable link at the bottom. The viewer can then purchase directly from TikTok Shop.
Businesses can also manage the entire process through the app. They can recruit creators, send product samples, and monitor performance through TikTok.
Alternatives to the TikTok Shop affiliate program
There are a few reasons to use an alternative to the TikTok Shop affiliate program such as Shopify Collabs, Awin, and CJ Affiliate. You might want to diversify your program, allowing your affiliate partners to promote discount codes or promote your products across multiple platforms with direct links.
The ramen brand Immi has a TikTok Shop but has also used Shopify Collabs to generate more than $200,000 in sales. They began their program by sending product samples to creators and inviting those who genuinely connected with the brand to join its “Ram Fam” ambassador program.
To scale their affiliate marketing program, they used Shopify Collabs, where they could review applications, handle gifting, and track results. Using an alternative also allowed creators to post where they most felt comfortable. Their highest-performing affiliate posted on Instagram to roughly 10,000 followers.
You may also live in an area where the TikTok Shop affiliate program isn’t available. For example, beauty brand Three Ships can’t sign up for the program because it’s not accessible in Canada.
For their affiliate program, they start by seeding products, or sending free products to influencers without the expectation that they’ll post. Once they start posting, they send them an affiliate code so they can earn commissions.
How to set up a TikTok Shop affiliate program for sellers
- Set up TikTok Shop
- Choose products and collaboration type
- Determine commission structure
- Find creators
- Monitor performance and optimize
Follow these steps to launch a TikTok Shop affiliate program:
1. Set up TikTok Shop
The first step is to create your TikTok Shop seller account. Ensure you meet all the requirements, such as being 18 or older, living in the country where you’re setting up your shop, and having the required paperwork, like a Social Security number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.
If you have a Shopify store, you can sync products and manage your catalog from one central location through Shopify’s TikTok integration.
Head to the Shopify App Store and install the TikTok app. You’ll be able to connect your Shopify store to your TikTok Shop account, connect your shop to a TikTok account, and add logistics information and products from your admin.
It can take up to three business days for TikTok to approve your shop.
2. Choose products and collaboration type
Once your TikTok Shop is active, log in to the TikTok Shop Seller Center. Navigate to Affiliate on the menu on the left-hand side. If you’re selected for their One Click Affiliate enrollment solution, you can opt to have your products automatically added to open collaboration. This makes your products available to creators on the TikTok Shop product marketplace.
However, you can adjust and choose which products you want to sell and what type of collaboration you want to set up. The other option is Target Collaboration, where you reach out to the creators with whom you want to work.
3. Determine commission structure
TikTok lets you set commission rates between 1% and 80% for affiliate sales. You can customize these rates for individual creators or campaigns. For added flexibility, TikTok Shop allows sellers to use tiered commissions, offering higher introductory commission rates or rewarding creators with higher rates as they reach sales milestones.
To set a commission rate, consider your product margins, average order value, and how competitive your rate is compared to similar offers. Sellers should account for TikTok Shop platform fees as well, which are generally around 6%.
If you are unsure where to start, TikTok Shop provides Shop Ad commission rate recommendations based on top-performing products in your category. As your affiliate program grows, you can adjust your commission structure or incentives based on which creators and campaigns generate the strongest results.
Lastly, if you want to expand your relationship with creators, you can opt for a flat-fee collaboration, which combines an upfront payment ranging between $20 and $10,000 for a creator partnership with optional performance-based commissions.
4. Find creators
The best affiliate partners aren’t necessarily the ones with the largest audiences. Look for creators whose content, audience, and values align with your brand and products. Creators who already speak to your target audience often produce more authentic content.
For example, the oral care brand MySmile partnered with affiliate creators who were already using their teeth whitening products to create product demonstration videos rooted in their personal experiences. That strategy contributed to the brand selling more than $1 million worth of products through the platform in their first three months.
TikTok Shop gives sellers two primary ways to find and recruit creators:
Open collaboration
If you don’t have a specific creator in mind, open collaboration lets you list your products and set commission rates in advance; creators can contact you about products they’d like to promote. Within open collaboration, you can still restrict participation to approved creators.
TikTok suggests that sellers new to the program begin with open collaboration and offer free samples to attract creators. Eventually, you can add targeted collaboration to recruit priority creators. Brands can continue to run open collaboration for ongoing creator discovery.
Targeted collaboration
If you want to work with a specific creator or creators, invite them to promote your product directly via the targeted collaboration option. The Find Creators page in Seller Center helps you identify creators by category, audience, engagement, and other metrics.
You can also use the TikTok creator picks tag, which highlights creators whose content performs well on the platform, to help you find possible collaborators. If you’re planning to send creators samples through TikTok, you can also check out their Creator Sample Score, a number from 1 to 100 that shows how reliably they complete content about the samples and how engaging their content is.
Once you’ve chosen collaborators, you can customize commissions, establish time frames for the promotion, and specify content formats such as videos or TikTok Live sessions.
5. Monitor performance and optimize
Once your affiliate program is running, regularly review performance in the TikTok Shop Seller Center to see which creators, products, and campaigns are generating the best results.
You can check who has and hasn’t posted about the product samples they received. TikTok lets you send a reminder notification to creators who received the product at least five days before but have yet to post about it.
The Analytics dashboard lets you track metrics such as sales, livestream performance, estimated commission, and number of creators with sales. Use these insights to refine your program by investing more in what’s working and adjusting what isn’t.
You may choose to increase commissions for high-performing creators, expand partnerships that consistently drive sales, and test different products or campaign structures when results fall short.
For example, after the skin care brand Love & Pebble found success with affiliate creator videos, they repurposed that content into Shop Ads. The resulting ad campaign generated a 3.2-times return on ad spend (ROAS), demonstrating how successful affiliate content can continue driving results through paid promotion.
How to become a TikTok Shop affiliate
Becoming an affiliate lets you make money on TikTok and get paid through the platform. Follow these steps:
1. Check TikTok Shop’s eligibility requirements
To join the TikTok Shop Affiliate program, you’ll need a TikTok account that meets your region’s eligibility requirements. They can vary by country, but in the US, they include being at least 18, meeting TikTok’s community guidelines, and having 1,000 followers.
To check your eligibility, search for Creator Search Insights on the TikTok app. At the top of the screen, you’ll see a prompt about wanting to become an affiliate creator. Once you click it, a window will appear with details on what qualifications you have met or are missing.
If you’re eligible, you’ll be able to apply.
2. Set up your TikTok Shop Showcase
Once you’re approved, you have access to creator tools, including the Product Marketplace, affiliate analytics, and TikTok Shop Showcase.
Your TikTok Shop Showcase acts as your personal storefront. Viewers can browse products you’ve chosen to recommend and purchase directly from your account. You can choose from one brand or a variety of them.
For example, Kait Nichole is a TikTok Shop affiliate who posts about beauty and lifestyle products. Her Showcase includes the perfume brand Dossier and athletic wear company Comfrt.
To find TikTok products, consider items you can speak to with genuine enthusiasm. You can also visit the TikTok Shop and browse different categories, like fashion and electronics, to see reviews and sales numbers to promote trending items. You can then request samples so you can speak about products with authority.
Since you can add up to 2,000 products to your Showcase, it’s necessary to organize them. TikTok’s Smart Showcase option automatically prioritizes products it predicts are most likely to drive sales. Still, you can also use filters (like back in stock and free shipping) to appeal to your audience.
3. Create shoppable content to promote products
Feature and tag your selected products in short-form videos or Live sessions directly in your content. Authentic demonstrations, tutorials, reviews, and day-in-the-life videos can be effective because they often feel more like recommendations than advertisements. For example, beauty creator Siera demonstrates products as part of her regular routines.
As she explains what she likes about the products, a clickable link that goes to TikTok Shop is visible at the bottom of the screen.
TikTok affiliate marketing FAQ
What’s the difference between TikTok affiliate marketing and influencer marketing?
TikTok Shop affiliate marketing is performance-based, with creators only earning a commission when their content generates qualifying sales. Influencer marketing can include affiliate marketing as well as paying creators a flat fee to produce sponsored content, regardless of how many sales it generates.
How do I choose the right commission rate for my TikTok Shop affiliate program?
ANSWER 2
QUESTION 3
ANSWER 3
