TikTok Affiliate Marketing – How to do it Step by Step

Are you an affiliate marketer or content creator and want to break into TikTok affiliate marketing? Or, are you already on TikTok and want to know how you can make some money?

If you are either, this guide is for you.

With TikTok exploding with over 1 billion active users in over 150 countries, the opportunity is there for smart marketers on this social platform.

I am going to show you how to get started and exactly what you must do. This guide is dealing with free, organic methods only, but I do give you some paid options as well with TikTok paid ads.

Let's dive right in!

How Does Affiliate Marketing on TikTok Work?

Affiliate marketing on TikTok works almost in the same way as on other platforms. You become an affiliate for a company or product, and you get a special link (affiliate link) that you will direct traffic to using your TikTok account.

Whenever a user clicks that link and buys something from the company or product, you earn a commission. Simple enough right?

Some common networks are Clickbank, CJ, and Amazon Associates. Whatever niche you are in, you can always find a product to promote.

TikTok Affiliate Marketing Step-By-Step Guide

Here are the steps to follow. These are not necessarily in order, except for setting up your account first, obviously!

1. Upgrade or Create a TikTok Business Account

Some free accounts will not let you add a link in your TikTok Bio. You will need this for affiliate marketing. Therefore, you should set up a business account on TikTok. But don't worry, it's free and the process is pretty straightforward.

If you have a personal account, you can just upgrade to a business account. It's free also. Follow these steps to do it.

2. Add Your Link To Your Bio

Just like on Instagram, the only place where you can add a clickable link is within your Bio. This is where you are going to drive traffic. Keep in mind you should not put a direct affiliate URL link here. It should go to either a landing page, another profile, or a Linktree account that will then take them to the affiliate link.

Having a direct affiliate link could get you banned from the platform and not only that - it doesn't convert as well. It also doesn't make you look professional. What to do is next...

3. Create a Proper Link For Your Bio

Now that you understand you should not link directly to an offer, even if the link is cloaked, (like a bitly link) what do you do? 

Here are four different types of properties you should link to:

Landing Pages

Landing pages convert the best for affiliate offers. You don't need expensive page builders like Clickfunnels, you can find some free ones online or a really good inexpensive one I use is LeadPages.

I use Thrive Architect on this site right here, so I stand by it. There are no monthly fees. You pay just $97 a year instead of $97 a month with Clickfunnels and it comes with a ton of landing page templates you can use to create eye-popping offers for TikTok.

If you don't have a website that's ok. You can just register a domain name  for 10 bucks and then use it for creating unlimited landing pages.

Social Profiles Accounts

You can also post your offer on your social account, whether it's Facebook Twitter, YouTube, or something else.

Just be sure that it is the latest post in your feed so that when someone clicks your bio link, it will be displayed.

LinkTree

Some people don't like FB or Twitter, so if they see a different social account they like, your chances of getting those clicks to your offers improve.

Your Website or Blog

If you have a website or a blog, you can link this in your Bio as well. The only challenge here is that you will need to have your offer clearly visible on the first page of your site so it can be easily found.

It's also a great way to build your list if you have any opt-in forms or upsell them with other products. Just do some testing to see what works best.

4. Use Coupon Codes

People love discounts, so if you can get a promo or discount code from the affiliate, you can use this in your promotions. Sometimes the vendor may provide you with a URL that includes the discount which is a bonus. Mention it in your videos, through both voice and text. Encourage people to visit your bio and use the discount code at checkout.

This will help you stand out from other affiliates, as well as convert better than other offers. Plus, it's great for building relationships with the vendor and keeping your customers happy!

5. Drop URLs in your Videos

When you create your videos, you can also include the actual URL of your offer in the video. Just be sure it isn't a long one, just something that’s easy for people to remember and type into their browser.

6. Add Your URL to the Description

Like Instagram, you may have seen people type in the URL in the description. Although this is not a clickable link, most people know how to copy and paste it anyway.

Encourage them to copy and paste the link, this can go anywhere you wish, including directly to the offer. But as I mentioned before, a landing page of some sort is always best.

7. Be Consistent With Your Content

8. Be Patient

Don't expect overnight success even if you are putting in the effort. Affiliate marketing takes time and dedication, but it will be worth it in the long run! It may take some time before you see any sales but don't give up.

Some offers will convert way better than others, you just need to match up the right offer with the right audience.

9. Network With Other Influencers

Networking with other influencers and creators by collaborating with them is an awesome way to get your offers in front of a new audience. Find influencers who are already successful and have already gained trust with their followers, and see if they want to collaborate with you on something.

This will help open up a whole new pool of potential customers that you can target. Just make sure the influencer is relevant to your niche, and not just someone you are looking to make a quick buck from. Getting the right influencers will increase your chances of success.

10. Don't Overkill it With Hashtags

Hashtags on TikTok don't have nearly as much effect as they do on other platforms. So limit them to just a few. Three to Five is enough.

11. Always Look Out For New Trends

You can use tools like Google Trends to see what is trending. You can also check networks that influencers use a lot to see if there are any trending products.

12. Understand Who Your Audience Is

In order to be successful with affiliate marketing on TikTok, you need to understand your target audience is. On your follower's tab, you'll be able to determine their gender, location, time of day they are most active on TikTok, and videos they have watched.

With this data, you can custom tailor products suited based on their gender and location. Post your videos when your audience is most active on the platform.

13. Choose Your Affiliate Network and Product Wisely

Never promote a product just because it has a huge payday in commissions. If you get this wrong, your audience will never click your bio link again.

Instead, choose a product that they might be interested in. A great way to do this is to find products that solve a problem. These are the highest-converting products. Every niche has a product that solves a particular problem.

If you can find these, they will do especially well.

Using TikTok Paid Advertising

Paid ads are entirely an option for marketing affiliate products on TikTok. You can use this along with your organic traffic but it's not totally necessary.

There are a few options you can use if you want to go with paid ads and these include In-Feed ads, Image ads, Spark ads, Video ads, TopView ads, and more.

I will go into these in greater detail in another post because this article was mainly about how to do affiliate marketing on TikTok using free, organic traffic.

Real-Life Examples of Affiliate Marketing on TikTok

One of the best ways you can learn is to spy on what others are doing. Here are some great examples.

1. dustylumberco

Dusty has over 3M followers and is in the woodworking niche. His bio links to a Linktree where he displays links with various affiliate offers, most from Amazon

2. rachel_meaders

Rachel has over 2 million followers and she focuses mainly on the Amazon Associates affiliate program. The link in her bio doesn't actually go to Linktree, but to ezbiolink.com. Ezbiolink is a paid service but it's not necessary to use.

3. rider_tom

Rider Tom has a smaller channel with around 100K subs. His bio link goes to a Linktree account where he doesn't promote Amazon links but other affiliate offers. He also links to his other socials which will drip-feed into other offers as well.

Courses That Teach TikTok Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing on TikTok is relatively new and a lot of affiliate marketing courses will likely teach how to do it on TikTok. You wouldn't need a course specifically for TikTok because it's just one of many different social media platforms you can use for affiliate marketing.

However, one that really caught my attention is 15-Second Free Leads. Believe it or not, you can get this course for a buck. That's right - just 1 US dollar!

It's no slouch either. See how they were able to generate 800K free leads from one account. It's pretty crazy stuff.

And, here are some testimonials:

Pretty cool right? 

These people were able to get theres results by implementing the strategies taught in the 15 Second Free Leads course.

Another option is to get a course that teaches affiliate marketing that might include TikTok. 

You can see the courses I recommend, some of which will include affiliate marketing on TikTok.

You can also get a YouTube course that can help with video production and affiliate marketing as well. Since YouTube and TikTok are similar in some respects (especially with YouTube shorts) you could benefit by learning how to do well on both platforms with this training.

However, extra education is only an option. If you want to really explode your potential, a course will definitey help.

Conclusion

So, should you do TikTok affiliate marketing? If you're not afraid to get on camera and have a passion for whatever niche you are in, then yes, you'd be wise to do so. TikTok has massive reach and you could do quite well.

The free organic traffic is probably all you'd need, but there's also an option to look into the paid ads as well on TikTok to further increase your affiliate commissions.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I become an affiliate on TikTok?

To become an affiliate on TikTok, it is advised that you upgrade to a business plan. The business plan is free, but it will allow you to place a link in your Bio. This link can be a landing page, Linktree, your website, or a single social account where you can display your affiliate offers.

How do you make money with TikTok affiliate links?

You make money with TikTok affiliate links by first getting your unique affiliate link from the vendor of the product you wish to promote. In your bio, include a link to a page that will have your offer, but do not link directly to the affiliate page. When a user clicks your link for your affiliate offer and makes a purchase, you will earn a commission.

How much can a beginner TikTok affiliate make?

There is no definitive answer to how much a beginner affiliate on TikTok can make because it depends on the size of your audience, your offer, and how you promote it. Some beginners will have more success than others with their affiliate marketing business, so ensure you start off right by learning affiliate marketing by getting a good course.

How many followers do you need for affiliate marketing on TikTok?

Technically, you could do affiliate marketing with 0 followers on TikTok. There is no requirement. But obviously, the more followers you have, the more potential customers you'll be able to reach and the more money you can make.

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