How to Find TikTok Affiliates and Grow Your TikTok Shop Sales

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Aja Marie Horváth
Aja Marie HorváthMarketing Strategist @ UpTk

TikTok Shop sellers send free products to creators with big followings and wait for something to happen. A few post once, most don't post at all, and sales stay flat.

The sellers who actually grow find creators already selling similar products and get them posting consistently. With 78% of shoppers purchasing after seeing product-led videos, the affiliate you activate today can drive hundreds of orders next month.

Finding the right affiliates isn’t complicated, but it requires knowing what to look for and having a system that doesn't fall apart after ten outreach messages. This guide breaks down how to find TikTok affiliates, what to look for, and how to build an affiliate program that supports steady sales growth.

TL;DR - How to Find TikTok Affiliates

Before diving into the details, here’s a summary of how to find TikTok affiliates who actually drive sales and focus on execution:

  • Search TikTok for product demos, reviews, and how-to videos in your niche. The creators already posting this content are your targets.
  • Affiliates who post regularly drive better sales than creators who go viral once and disappear.
  • Look for signs of purchase intent, such as comments.
  • Affiliates convert better when they test the product and understand the commission upfront.
  • Track clicks and sales, then prioritise affiliates who lead to repeat results.
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Why TikTok Affiliates Matter for Brands

Affiliates are a critical part of your TikTok marketing campaign as they combine reach with direct sales impact. TikTok’s algorithm pushes content based on user interests, rather than follower count. This allows affiliates to reach buyers quickly, even with small audiences.

The video-first format makes it easy for affiliates to show products in action through demos, unboxings, and before-and-after results. This short, visual content builds trust fast and encourages viewers to click through to TikTok Shop.

TikTok’s audience is also highly purchase-ready. Many users actively discover and buy products inside the app, which makes affiliates a reliable channel for driving consistent sales instead of one-off exposure.

How to Find Affiliates on TikTok (Step-By-Step)

Finding the right TikTok affiliates works best when you follow a clear process. Focus on building a thriving creator network that already posts product-driven content and influences buying decisions.

Here’s a simple step-by-step approach on how to find affiliates on TikTok:

  • Search by Product and Use Case: Use TikTok search to find videos related to your category, problems, or product use cases. Look for creators who regularly post reviews, demos, or comparisons.
  • Review Posting Consistency: A viral video means nothing if the creator hasn't posted in three weeks. Scroll their profile:
    • Do they post multiple times per week?
    • Do their videos follow a recognizable format—unboxings, testing videos, before-and-afters?
  • Check Engagement Quality: Look beyond simple positive reactions. Instead, look for purchase intent; people asking where to buy, what size to get, and whether it's worth the price.
  • Shortlist Based on Fit: Add their handle to a spreadsheet along with their best-performing video and a quick note about why they fit.
  • Offer Samples and Clear Incentives: When you reach out, send samples first. Pair that with a simple commission offer and basic expectations, like post frequency, content style, and how they get paid.
  • Reach Out and Follow Up: Start outreach with a clear message about the product, commission, and expectations. If they have posted your product, engage with it. If they haven't responded, try a different angle or move on.
  • Scale What Works: Once an affiliate drives sales, treat them differently:
    • Send restocks before they ask.
    • Offer higher commissions or exclusive codes.
    • Give them content ideas if they want them.

Our Favorite Tool to Find TikTok Affiliates Faster

Manual affiliate sourcing works early on. Once volume increases, it becomes a major challenge. Searching profiles, sending DMs, following up, and tracking replies can easily take up 20+ hours each week. Cruva removes that friction for TikTok Shop sellers.

For sellers launching or scaling on TikTok Shop, Cruva provides the structure needed to grow affiliate-led sales without added operational drag.

Here are some of our key features:

  • Find proven affiliates faster: Instead of manually hunting creators and typing out DMs, Cruva provides AI-powered discovery that finds affiliates already selling products like yours.
  • Automate outreach at scale: Instead of sending DMs one by one, Cruva’s TikTok shop affiliate outreach bot lets you message thousands of verified TikTok Shop affiliates per day across TikTok and email. Outreach and follow-ups stay structured and consistent.
  • Track performance in real time: Everything is tracked, including GMV per affiliate, posting frequency, sample requests, and conversion rates. You know immediately who to restock, who to pay more, and who to cut loose.
  • Replace manual work with systems: Cruva turns affiliate sourcing from a manual task into a repeatable workflow. You spend less time hunting creators and more time growing revenue through affiliates who convert consistently.

For example, SEEQ Supply transformed its TikTok Shop affiliate program with Cruva. They replaced manual outreach with automated recruitment and follow-up workflows. After implementing these processes, they scaled from $138,780 to $693,950 in GMV, with affiliates driving 89% of total sales.

If you want to apply the same approach and scale affiliate-led sales without spending weeks on manual outreach, book a demo with Cruva to see how it works in practice.

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How TikTok Affiliate Marketing Works

TikTok affiliate marketing lets creators promote your products through TikTok Shop using affiliate links. When a viewer buys through that link, the affiliate earns a commission.

You start by listing products in TikTok Shop and enabling affiliate access. Creators then choose your products, create short videos around them, and tag the items directly in their content. TikTok’s algorithm distributes these videos based on user interests, helping the right products reach the right audience quickly.

As sales come in, commissions are automatically tracked in TikTok Shop. This model keeps costs tied to performance and makes it easier to scale without upfront creator fees.

How to Track Affiliate Performance

Tracking affiliate performance helps you see who drives sales and where to focus your effort. When you review the right signals, you can scale what works and cut wasted time.

Some key metrics to track affiliate performance are:

  • Watch posting frequency: Creators who post weekly or multiple times per week are treating this like income. Those are the ones who compound results.
  • Track who sends traffic: A video with 100K views means nothing if no one clicks through to your product page. Check which affiliates are actually driving traffic to your shop.
  • Conversions and GMV: Sort your affiliates by total sales generated. Your top five affiliates should be obvious. If not, you're not tracking closely enough.
  • Content patterns: High-performing affiliates use similar hooks and formats. Document what works so you can replicate it with new affiliates instead of guessing.
  • Response to support: Send a restock or commission bump. If they post more, they're scalable. If nothing changes, move on.

You can optimize your TikTok Shop affiliates for maximum sales growth by tracking GMV, posting frequency, and conversion impact at the affiliate level. This prevents you from spreading effort evenly across creators who deliver very different results.

Mistakes to Avoid When Finding Affiliates

Once you know how to track affiliate performance, the next step is avoiding mistakes that undermine those results. Many programs struggle not because affiliates fail to convert, but because the wrong creators are selected or managed from the start.

These are the most common mistakes to avoid when finding TikTok affiliates:

  • You chase views instead of sales: A creator with 500K views who never links to your product is worthless. Find affiliates who drive clicks and orders, not just scrolling.
  • Ignoring posting behaviour: Someone who posts twice a month won't build momentum. You need affiliates who show up multiple times per week, and not just when they are feeling inspired.
  • You skip watching their content: Follower counts and engagement rates tell you nothing about whether they can actually sell. Watch their videos and answer questions like:
    • Is the pacing tight?
    • Do they explain the product clearly?
    • Would you buy from them?
  • Your outreach is vague: Generic "Want to collab?" messages get ignored. Instead, be clear and tell them what the product is, what you'll pay, and what you expect.
  • No follow-up process: Many potential affiliates respond only after a reminder. Build follow-ups into your outreach workflow.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

These are the most common questions sellers ask when learning how to find TikTok affiliates and build a sales-driven affiliate program on TikTok Shop:

What Qualifies Someone as a TikTok Affiliate?

A TikTok affiliate is a creator approved to promote products through TikTok Shop using affiliate links.

They earn commission on every sale they drive and usually post product-focused content that encourages direct purchases.

Can Small Brands Benefit from TikTok Affiliates?

Yes. TikTok affiliates work well for small brands because commissions are paid only after a sale happens.

This makes it easier to test creators, control costs, and scale partnerships without a huge marketing budget.

Can TikTok Affiliates Promote Products in Other Countries?

Affiliates can promote products in markets where TikTok Shop is available and where the seller has enabled cross-border fulfilment.

Results improve when affiliates already create content for that local audience.

What Type of Products Perform Well With TikTok Affiliates?

Some products that perform the best with TikTok affiliates are:

  • Problem-solution products with clear use cases perform consistently.
  • Impulse buys under $50 move fast. Low price, low risk, and easy decision.
  • Visual transformation products like skincare, fitness gear, cleaning tools, and hair products that work well in before-and-after videos.

Conclusion

Finding TikTok affiliates is only valuable if it leads to repeat sales. The sellers who grow on TikTok Shop don’t chase volume or one-off wins. They work with affiliates who post consistently, understand their audience, and influence buying decisions over time.

As your affiliate program grows, the challenge shifts. Discovery takes longer, follow-ups get forgotten, and you lose track of who's actually generating revenue. This is usually where manual workflows stop the campaign from scaling.

Cruva is built for this stage. As an Official TikTok Shop Partner with access to more than 3 million verified TikTok Shop affiliates, Cruva gives you a clearer, faster way to grow.

We help you find affiliates who are already selling in your category, automate outreach, and track performance at the affiliate level so you know what to scale and what to stop. Instead of managing creators one by one, you get a system that supports consistent execution.

If you want to spend less time hunting affiliates and more time growing TikTok Shop sales, book a demo with Cruva and see how affiliate-led growth works in practice.

Ready to Scale Your TikTok Shop?

Start your free trial today and see the results for yourself.

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