How To Sell On TikTok Shop: The Ultimate Guide To Launching and Growing Your Online Store

Pinterest and Facebook started the ball rolling on social media app stores years ago, seeing how it could be massive. More recently, TikTok became a part of that club, developing a shop to monetize its platform.

The business case for a store was obvious – why direct users to other sites when they can get the products they want on TikTok, where they spend most of their time? It was a no-brainer for the people behind the platform.

But how can you start selling on TikTok Shop? That’s the topic of this article. It looks at how to become a seller on TikTok, some marketing strategies you can use, and what to do to maximize sales. Reading this, you should feel more confident going ahead and setting up a store – even if you are just getting started!

Setting Up Your TikTok Shop

Setting up your TikTok Shop is more straightforward than you might think. However, the platform still requires you to jump through some hoops before you can begin flogging merch.

Step 1: Become Eligible

The first step to selling on TikTok is to become an eligible seller. (Don’t worry, it’s not as scary as it sounds).

First, you must be a resident of a participating market. TikTok shopping is only available in the platform’s primary countries: the U.S., U.K., and China.

You must also fall into one of TikTok’s eligible categories as a seller, creator, partner, or affiliate.

To become a seller, send TikTok support government ID (such as a driver’s license) to prove who you are, your residency status, and your business license. (TikTok uses this to determine if you run a legitimate firm).

Creators should send the above items and meet minimum follower requirements, while partners send documents proving they are signing influencers.

Step 2: Create Your Business Account

If you qualify, the next step is to create a TikTok business account. It’s free and fairly straightforward for anyone with rudimentary computer skills.

When you sign up, you will get access to the TikTok Ad Manager. This software helps you target your audience better with various analytics tools and features.

Step 3: Register For TikTok Shop

TikTok will prompt you to register for Shop during the signup process. Simply fill out all the required information on the form. Provide evidence of the documents above for your category (seller, partner, etc.) to avoid any hassle. (TikTok requires this information for regulatory reasons).

Step 4: Wait For Approval

Once you submit the application form with relevant documents, all that’s left to do is wait for TikTok’s response. Provided you have the proper paperwork, TikTok will likely approve you. However, it may limit you if you sell anything that goes against its terms of service (or that it doesn’t want to promote).

Approval usually takes less than twenty-four hours. Once granted, you can start selling as you might on Facebook or Etsy.

Step 4: Start Selling

Finally, TikTok will link the Shop to your account once. This change lets you add products and advertise them to your audience.

To list products effectively:

• Write descriptions and collect high-quality images of the items you want to sell (including colors and variants)
• Ensure you have the right stock to begin shipping products to customers immediately
• Choose pricing for the items you want to sell (perhaps following the distributor’s or manufacturer’s MSRP)
• Add call-to-action buttons to your product pages
• Monitor the performance of your sales using TikTom’s analytics tools (to check if you are targeting the right audience)

Also, ensure you use the right option to sell your products on TikTok Shop. The platform offers multiple options, including:

• Live Shopping – Demo products live on the platform and show followers how to get the most out of them
• Product showcases – A mini storefront followers can click to view various products with affiliate links
• Shoppable Ads – Advertisements that sync with your product catalog and combine with TikTok ad campaigns to offer one-click shopping
• Shoppable Videos – Videos with shopping links embedded into them, allowing users to shop without leaving the content

Marketing Strategies To Dominate TikTok Shop

TikTok Shop is democratic, meaning it’s open to everyone. But it’s also highly competitive. Therefore, users won’t find your merch if you don’t get your strategy right.

But what should you be doing to attract their attention?

Creating Awesome Content

Any successful TikTok Shop begins with fantastic content. Your videos and dance routines (if that’s what you do) should stand out.

Don’t put the shop first, relegating your creative efforts to second place. That won’t work. After all, TikTok is first and foremost a social media platform.

Instead, look for content likely to perform well and pursue it. Keep everything topical (and relevant) while focusing on high production values where possible.

Avoid the temptation to go for the pure sales pitch. If you end up selling anything, weave it into your content and ensure it aligns with your brand. Avoid flogging products that contradict your values.

Build Lasting Influencer Partnerships

At the same time, you want to build long-term influencer partnerships. Working with existing creators gets your products (and affiliate links) in front of a broader audience.

Influencer marketing is a big business on TikTok. Research shows that 74% of Gen Z view them as “reliable” with more than 78% buying a product after a TikTok influencer recommended it. Therefore, it can help you generate more sales on the platform.

Finding influencers on TikTok is relatively straightforward. However, anyone you choose should have the same audience as you (or a close overlap) and be authentic. Slick sales pitches can work in the corporate world, but they are a big no-no on TikTok.

Use TikTok’s Paid Advertising

Lastly, you might want to use TikTok’s paid advertising to draw attention to your shop. It offers numerous features to reach your target audience and excite them with your product offers.

In-feed ads are the most common native ads for TikTok and slot into the social media platform’s “For You” feed. Advertisements blend into the background, improving engagement and inspiring action (with call-to-action buttons).

TopView ads are another option and, as the name suggests, are often the first ads users see when opening the TikTok app. These offer full-screen video content off the bat (instead of followers scrolling to find it).

To set up TikTok paid ads:

1. Create a TikTok Ads Account (you can do this during the initial registration process)
2. Choose the objectives you want your campaign to have from the options menu (i.e. boosting awareness or driving sales).
3. Use TikTok’s advanced targeted features to ensure its algorithms reach the right people. You can choose by location, age, gender, behavior, and interests.
4. Select the budget you want for the ad. Pick between a daily and total budget, setting the schedule for when your ads will appear.
5. Monitor ads with the Ad Manager analytics tool. Track key metrics relevant to your campaign, like return on ad spend (ROAS) or conversion rate.

Don’t worry if your TikTok campaigns don’t go perfectly the first time. Getting used to the platform takes time. Instead, keep testing and iterating using A/B testing until you develop a formula that succeeds.

Maximizing Sales: How It’s Done

Top TikTok sellers can make millions of dollars. But how do you become a member of this elite group?

Ensure Your Content Is Top-notch

The first place to start if you want to sell more on TikTok is with your content. The better it is, the more revenue you will generate.

Start with fundamentals: high-quality audio and visuals that draw in your audience. Invest in a decent camera and recording equipment to always sound and look your best.

When recording short clips, try to add story-based elements. Create some sort of narrative your followers can track.

For example, you might start a TikTok explaining how applying some makeup products is challenging first thing in the morning. Then, you could move on to how you solved the problem using a makeup lamp you want to promote. (It can be as straightforward as that).

It also helps to stay up-to-date with the latest fads and trends. Catching these early can encourage more users to visit your channel.

For example, if you notice other channels commenting on events or adding specific music to their videos, do the same. Riding momentum can be an excellent strategy.

Finally, include plenty of user-generated content (UGC) in your TikTok marketing. Gathering social proof makes your outreach more compelling and gives more users the confidence they need to buy from you. (After all, if it worked for your current clients, it will probably work for new ones, too).

Leverage Unique And Interesting Promotions and Discounts

You can also drive sales by leveraging various promotions and discounts. These eat into your margins, but also put your brand on the map and encourage new followers to take a chance and buy from you.

Start with limited-time offers, one of history’s most effective sales and marketing strategies. These tell customers they only have a few days or hours to take advantage of a deal before it’s gone.

Limited-time offers work because they introduce scarcity. Users worry if they don’t buy now they will miss the opportunity forever.

You can also offer customers seasonal promotions at specific times of the year. These take advantage of spending periods (usually around the holidays) when people are willing to part with more cash.

Lastly, you could experiment with product bundle discounts. If customers buy a group of items, they get money knocked off the price.

Analyzing Sales Data

Analyzing sales data is another strategy you should use when learning how to sell things on TikTok Shop. The more data-driven insights you can glean, the more successful you will likely be.

Start by tracking the metrics that matter most:

• Conversion rates
• Average order value
• Total sales

Then, analyze customer behavior to see how the two interact. Discover which products are your most popular and why by scanning comments or asking followers outright.

You can find these metrics on TikTok Analytics, the platform’s built-in system to track ad performance. It reports total play time, follower numbers, and average watch time (among other metrics). You can also use third-party tools, like Social Insider and Social Champ for more in-depth analysis.

What Are The Biggest Challenges To Setting Up A TikTok Shop?

Learning how to sell products on TikTok Shop is one thing, but doing it successfully is another. Just like any seller, you will need to overcome various hurdles.

Marketing And Reaching Prospective Buyers

The primary challenge of selling on TikTok Shop is reaching your audience and going viral. Unfortunately, it can take a long time, and starting from scratch is slow.

Solution:

Fortunately, solutions do exist (some of which we mentioned already). One is to reach out to influencers and collaborate to drive product sales. Social media personalities already have the trust of their audiences: all you need to do is tap into that.

Another option is to start A/B testing your ads to see what works. Sometimes, small format changes can have a profound impact on sales.

Dealing With Customer Service

A further TikTok Shop challenge is dealing with customer queries. If you have over 1,000 followers, you can get bombarded daily with questions and requests, leaving wondering; is it worth selling on TikTok?

Solution: Fortunately, you can deal with this issue with automated responses to common questions. If that won’t work, consider outsourcing responses to a virtual assistant.

Verifying Your Account

Lastly, you may experience challenges verifying your account. As noted, the process can be lengthy and requires a lot of paperwork.

Solution: Start by reading TikTok’s sign-up policies in detail to learn how to sign up. Check your planned shop meets their criteria. You can also prepare all your documentation in advance. Ensuring you have proof of ID and your business license to hand is a good start.