🟣 Issue No. 31: TikTok Shop

COMMERCE TIPS

TikTok Shop Playbook for 2025

If you’re not paying attention to TikTok Shop yet, let’s change that. TikTok Shop raked in over $100M during BFCM in 2024 alone. That’s not just growth; it’s a wake-up call.

This channel is still young, but early movers are reaping outsized rewards. And guess what? You can be next. TikTok combines viral product discovery with a seamless checkout experience — a goldmine for CPG brands like yours. The question is: are you ready to seize it?

1. Picking Your Product Playbook

Let’s clear this up right away: you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. You’ve already got products in your catalog that are delivering sales elsewhere — on Amazon, your DTC store, or retail. The real challenge is figuring out which products to try first on TikTok Shop.

Here’s a simple framework to guide you:

Your TikTok Shop Product Checklist:

• Already Working Elsewhere: Start with products that are already driving revenue.

• Video-Friendly: Think visually. Can your product shine in a 10-30 second TikTok? (Transformation shots, usage hacks, or before-and-afters are golden.)

• Emotionally Gripping: Products that trigger an emotion — whether it’s excitement, surprise, or curiosity — perform best.

• Repeat Potential: Does this product lend itself to repeat purchases? LTV is key.

Example: A skincare brand took their best-selling moisturizer and leaned into its “natural” narrative. By showing simple before-and-after videos, they generated $1M in sales in just 3 months. The product didn’t change; the platform did.

2. Finding Your Creators: The Right Partners Make All the Difference

If TikTok is the engine, creators are the fuel. But not just any creators — the right ones.

Here’s How to Start:

1. Micro and Nano Influencers: These creators don’t need millions of followers. Focus on those with high engagement who resonate with your audience.

2. Where to Find Them:

   • The TikTok Creator Marketplace

   • Your current customers or loyal fans

   • Facebook groups, Discord servers, and niche communities

   • Insense (a platform to connect brands with top TikTok creators)

3. Make It Easy for Them: Creators are busy, so reduce friction. Provide clear briefs, examples of winning content, and let them add their personality. (Authentic > Polished.)

Pro Tip:

Let creators tell their stories with your product. Raw, unpolished videos that feel native to TikTok will always outperform slick ads.

3. How to Motivate Creators to Go All In

Great creators need great incentives. If you want them to stick with you and give their best, build a win-win structure.

How to Reward Creators:

• Hybrid Model:

  • A small retainer to keep creators consistent.

  • Big commissions tied to sales from TikTok Shop. (The better they perform, the more they earn.)

• Share Success Stories: Show creators how others are earning real money. One creator made $110K in a single month promoting a supplement brand. Highlight these wins to attract more talent.

• Make It Fun: Gamify growth. Leaderboards, viral bonuses, and perks can go a long way.

Imagine this: a skincare creator posts a 30-second video, earns their biggest paycheck ever, and tells their friends. That’s your flywheel starting to spin.

4. Real Stories: Operators Who Cracked TikTok Shop

You need proof that this works? Here it is:

Story #1: Bloom Nutrition's Supplement Breakthrough

• The Challenge: Drive massive TikTok sales without a huge budget.

• What They Did: Bloom Nutrition partnered with 100+ creators who posted one video per day, showcasing how their greens powder improved energy and bloating.

• The Results: Viral videos pushed monthly sales from $150K to $800K in just 2 months, with spillover traffic boosting their Amazon rankings and sales.

Story #2: Tallow Glow's Skincare Breakthrough

• The Challenge: Compete in a crowded market with a natural moisturizer.

• What They Did: Tallow Glow leaned into its all-natural, beef tallow moisturizer, focusing on short, impactful TikTok content — simple before-and-after videos highlighting real skin transformations.

• The Results: They hit $1M in sales within 3 months, reinvesting profits into onboarding even more niche creators to keep the momentum going.

Story #3: Goli Nutrition's Affiliate Explosion

• The Challenge: Scale TikTok Shop sales fast while engaging thousands of creators.

• The Strategy: Launched a massive affiliate program with 4,900 creators incentivized by rewards like free iPhones, luxury cars, and exclusive retreats.

• The Results: Creators produced 177,000 videos in 30 days, driving $4.1M in sales in a single month. One standout video alone generated $370K in revenue.

See what’s happening here? These operators moved quickly, leaned on creators, and let TikTok’s discovery engine do the heavy lifting.

5. Test, Measure, Iterate: Winning on TikTok = Speed

On TikTok Shop, speed is everything. You need to test content, learn from the data, and double down on what works.

How to Test Faster:

1. Launch 10-20 Creators: Start small but wide. Every video gives you more data.

2. Track Performance:

   • Views: Are people watching?

   • Sales: Is it converting?

   • Engagement: Shares, comments, and saves signal viral potential.

3. Scale What Works: When you spot a winner (creator or content), double down. Give your top performers the tools to keep creating.

Real Talk: One operator found that 80% of their TikTok sales came from just 20% of their creators. They reinvested hard into those creators and grew like wildfire.

6. Building Your Team: In-House vs. Agency

Executing on TikTok requires a team. Here’s how to decide if you should build in-house or bring in an agency.

In-House: Leveraging Your Existing Team

If you’re building in-house, the focus shifts from content creation to managing affiliates, inventory, and amplification. Here’s what you need:

• Affiliate Manager: Outreach en-masse to attract and incentivize the right affiliates. Build and manage relationships, track their performance, and ensure they stay engaged.

• Performance Marketer: Paid amplification is critical. Assign someone to identify top-performing affiliate content and put ad spend behind it for maximum ROI.

• Inventory Manager: Ensure your TikTok Shop inventory stays in sync with demand spikes driven by affiliate content.

• Channel or Project Manager (PM): Oversee the TikTok Shop channel as a whole. This role will coordinate outreach, incentives, content approvals, and performance tracking to keep everything moving smoothly.

Pro Tip: Lean into your existing team’s strengths. If someone excels at customer relations or partnerships, they could be perfect as your Affiliate Manager. Passion and follow-through are key.

Hiring an Agency

If speed is critical or your team lacks bandwidth, an agency can help you scale faster — but not all agencies are created equal. With so many popping up, it’s important to know what to look for.

What to Look For:

• TikTok Partnerships: Agencies with key partnerships or direct relationships with TikTok have better access to platform insights and support.

• Private Affiliate Networks: Ensure the agency has a strong, vetted network of high-quality affiliates and creators ready to produce results.

• Platform-Aware Leadership: Agencies led by creators or ex-creators often have a sharper understanding of how TikTok works and what resonates on the platform.

• Transparent Processes: Ask about their workflows for outreach, incentivization, performance tracking, and ad amplification.

• P&L Aware: A great agency understands the unit economics of eCommerce, including contribution margins and profitability. They should know how to optimize your campaigns to drive not just revenue, but sustainable profit.

Pro Tip: Don’t just look for flashy results. Dig into their process. A proven, ROI-focused system separates great agencies from the rest.

7. TikTok + Amazon: Double the Power

Not every shopper will check out on TikTok, and that’s okay. Here’s how to capture those buyers elsewhere:

1. Optimize Amazon Listings: Prepare your product pages for spillover traffic. Add badges like “As Seen on TikTok” or “Went Viral on TikTok” to reassure shoppers that they’re seeing the same product they discovered.

2. Leverage TikTok Content: Repurpose high-performing videos on Amazon product pages to build trust and increase conversion rates.

3. Track Branded Searches: TikTok virality often leads to increased search volume on Amazon and Google. Ensure your SEO and PPC campaigns are ready to capture this traffic with optimized product titles, keywords, and imagery.

Together, TikTok and Amazon create an unstoppable discovery-to-purchase loop.

8. 2025: Your Window to Win

Here’s what’s coming:

• More Competition: The early-mover advantage won’t last forever. Start now.

• Creator Power: Your success will depend on the creators you attract and empower.

• Marketplaces Rule: TikTok Shop and Amazon are taking over. DTC alone won’t cut it.

The Time to Act Is Now

This isn’t just another platform. TikTok Shop is changing the game for CPG brands like yours. The operators winning here are fast, bold, and relentless.

So, dig into your catalog. Reach out to creators. Test fast, learn faster, and build that flywheel. This is your chance to build something huge.

Are you in?

Let’s Build This Together

If TikTok Shop is on your radar for 2025, don’t go at it alone. I’ve built a network of experts who know how to execute TikTok strategies that deliver real results. Whether you need creators, campaign managers, or performance marketers — we’ve got you covered.

Let’s connect and make 2025 the year you dominate TikTok Shop. Reach out to me now and let’s get started.

Freebie Presented by Insense

🧭 How to Find and Choose the Right Creators

Selecting the right creators and influencers is crucial for achieving your marketing goals. This comprehensive guide by Insense offers actionable strategies to identify and collaborate with creators who align with your brand and product, enhancing campaign performance.

Key Takeaways:

✅ Effective Creator Discovery: Explore four practical methods to find creators and influencers on TikTok and Instagram.

✅ Strategic Selection Criteria: Learn how to choose creators that resonate with your target audience, leading to higher conversions.

✅ UGC vs. Influencer Partnerships: Understand the distinctions between selecting creators for User-Generated Content (UGC) and influencer partnerships to optimize your campaigns.

✅ Comprehensive Selection Checklist: Utilize a detailed checklist to ensure successful collaborations with creators and influencers.

Elevate your marketing efforts by partnering with creators who can authentically amplify your brand's message. Access the full guide to make informed decisions and drive your campaigns toward success. Download the guide here.

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