TikTok transformed the way users discover and shop products. With its innovative in-app shopping feature, TikTok Shop, users can seamlessly browse and purchase items directly from the app. This streamlined shopping experience has led more than 55 million users in the US to shop on the platform.
For content creators, TikTok offers a lucrative way to monetize their influence by promoting products and earning commissions. Meanwhile, brands and sellers gain a unique opportunity to engage with their target audience and boost sales. But what exactly sets TikTok sets TikTok Shop creators apart from sellers? How do their roles and strategies differ?
In this article, we’ll go through TikTok Shop’s key features and the differences between creators and sellers, helping you determine which path aligns best with your goals.
TikTok Shop is TikTok’s in-app shopping feature that integrates e-commerce directly into the platform, allowing users to discover, browse, and purchase products without leaving the app.
What makes it unique is that it bridges social media and online shopping as it combines short-form video content with a streamlined buying experience.
TikTok shop offers content creators and influencers an exciting way to earn income by promoting products to their audience. With this in-app shopping feature, creators can collaborate with brands through affiliate partnerships and sponsored promotions. In other words, by promoting products through their content, they earn commission from the sales they make.
Nowadays, over 37% of TikTok users want to buy a product immediately after they discover it. This is why for brands, TikTok Shop offers a powerful platform to showcase and sell their products directly to TikTok’s highly engaged audience. By integrating e-commerce into TikTok’s content ecosystem, brands can leverage viral trends, influencer collaborations, and real-time engagement to drive sales and enhance visibility.
TikTok Shop offers a powerful digital space where both creators and sellers can earn money in a straightforward way. But, which one is better than the other? Which one should you be focusing on? This depends on a number of factors.
The main difference between TikTok shop creators vs sellers is in the fact that as a creator you’re promoting somebody else’s product, earning a percentage of the sale, while as a seller you’re selling your own product.
Let’s dig deeper into the main difference between both affiliates vs sellers:
To sign up for the TikTok shop, creators and sellers have different requirements. Businesses who want to sell their products on TikTok shop don’t require any minimum of followers. However, they’ll need to provide details such as:
Once uploaded, it takes about 24 hours for the account to be verified.
Creators, on the other hand, do require a minimum of followers. Depending on the region, they’ll need between 1,000 to 5,000 followers to qualify. Creators located in the U.S. or the UK must have at least 5,000 followers. Those in Southeast Asia only require 1,000 followers to be accepted into the program.
Additional requirements for creators include:
One of the major benefits that creators have regarding the TikTok Shop program is the freedom from inventory management. Creators simply promote products they love without dealing with the complexities of production, storage, or logistics. They don’t need to worry about sourcing materials, manufacturing processes, or packaging since the products belong to the sellers.
Sellers, on the other hand, do have the responsibility for these operational aspects. They must invest time and resources into purchasing inventory, managing manufacturing, and handling packaging and shipping. These efforts can be costly and require careful planning to ensure a seamless experience for their customers.
For creators, TikTok shop is an easy strategy to increase their revenue overnight. Under the premise of “work as little to earn as much as possible”, creators can make significant income, building their personal brand and promoting products they truly enjoy. The only aspect to keep in mind here is that this model is not sustainable for the long term as it relies heavily on the platform’s popularity and trends.
Sellers, on the other hand, have a more sustainable strategy. Their success is rooted in the products they offer rather than the platform itself. If the platform disappears or stops being as popular as it is now, they can easily sell their products elsewhere (Etsy, Amazon, Target, etc) without having a significant impact on their revenue. This adaptability ensures their business remains resilient and less dependent on TikTok’s ecosystem.
For creators, TikTok Shop presents minimal risk, making it an attractive option. They aren’t responsible for product development, inventory, or upfront costs. Instead, their role is limited to creating content and promoting products, meaning they have little to lose if a product doesn’t perform well. This low-risk model allows creators to focus solely on building their personal brand and engaging their audience.
Sellers, however, face significantly higher risks. They must invest capital into product creation, inventory management, and marketing efforts. From production costs to packaging and logistics, sellers bear the financial burden and risk associated with running a business. If a product doesn’t sell or trends shift, they stand to lose both time and money.
Both TikTok Shop creators and sellers have the opportunity to earn money, but their profit models and outcomes differ. Creators earn a commission based on the products they promote, with rates typically ranging from 10% to 20% or even higher, depending on the brand and product. Their earnings are performance-driven, meaning the more they sell, the more they make. This model allows creators to capitalize on their influence without the need for product ownership or upfront investment.
Sellers, on the other hand, have the potential to generate significantly higher revenue. By collaborating with TikTok creators and influencers, sellers can amplify their product reach, increase brand awareness, and drive substantial sales. While sellers incur costs for production, inventory, and marketing, they retain the majority of the profits. When executed effectively, this strategy not only boosts short-term revenue but also builds long-term brand recognition and customer loyalty.
Creators can create different types of content such as in-feed videos, carousels, or live streams to promote products, encouraging their audience to purchase specific products.
TikTok Shop provides sellers with a social media storefront to sell their products, which they can sync with their Shopify or Amazon storefronts. Sellers can also access tools like product listing management, order tracking and performance analytics.
Creators on TikTok Shop prioritize crafting authentic, relatable, and engaging content that connects with their audience. Their goal is to build trust and influence by showcasing products in a way that feels natural and aligned with their personal brand.
On the other hand, sellers focus on producing TikTok videos and targeted shop ads that highlight their products’ features and benefits. Their content is designed to captivate potential buyers, generate leads, and ultimately drive sales by leveraging TikTok’s powerful algorithm and viral potential.
TikTok Shop provides creators with a seamless way to earn commissions by promoting products directly through engaging content. Here’s a breakdown of how it works:
You can join TikTok Shop through “Creator Tools” in the app, where you’ll find all monetization features. There, you have the “TikTok Shop for Creator option” that allows you to apply for the affiliate program. You can also do this through TikTok’s website.
For creators to join, they need to meet specific requirements (like the ones we mentioned above) such as:
Once you’re accepted, which usually takes between 1-3 days, you can start browsing through available products in TikTok shop and find the ones that make sense with your niche and the type of content you create.
Apply to promote the products, and once the seller approves you, you can receive samples and start featuring them in your videos.
This depends. TikTok Shop affiliate commissions vary, typically ranging from 10% to 20% of the sale price. Some sellers may also offer a flat fee.
In some cases, brands that sell higher-value products, like electronics or fashion, can offer higher commissions (between 15% to 25%) making them more attractive, although harder to sell.
Here’s a breakdown of the TikTok Shop’s commissions by industry:
If you’d like to learn more about how to get the most out of TikTok Shop, explore our guide How to Become a TikTok Affiliate.
Creators who are part of TikTok shop can promote their products in a variety of ways, including:
TikTok Shop allows creators to host live shopping events, where they showcase products in real-time and interact with their audience, driving immediate purchases.
Many brands collaborate with creators for sponsored campaigns, providing opportunities to earn additional income while promoting relevant products.
Creators can tag products in their videos, enabling users to shop directly through the content they love. This feature makes the buying journey seamless and keeps the audience engaged.
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If you want to start selling your products in TikTok shop, these are the steps you need to take:
Visit the TikTok Seller Center and select your region. Keep in mind TikTok is only available in the U.S., U.K., and Southeast Asia region.
To be verified and complete your application process you’ll be asked for specific details including:
It usually takes 24 hours to be verified.
After being verified, you can start adding your products to your shop.
For this, you’ll be provided with two options to proceed: Manually upload your products or import them from an e-commerce platform like Amazon, Shopify, BigCommerce, or Square.
If you already have an e-commerce store, you can seamlessly sync it with TikTok Shop to import your products.
To upload products manually, go to your dashboard and click the Upload Now button. The process involves two steps: downloading a template and uploading a completed spreadsheet.
First, download the spreadsheet template by selecting a product category that best matches your item and choosing a relevant brand. Once downloaded, you can begin filling out the spreadsheet with product details.
You’ll need to include key information such as:
After completing the template, simply upload it back to the TikTok Shop dashboard, and your products will be listed.
To connect your accounts, navigate to your TikTok Shop dashboard and click the Get Started button under the Connect your shop to a TikTok account section.
Next, open the TikTok app, go to your profile, and tap the three lines in the top right corner. Select the scan icon to scan the code and authorize the connection.
Once this is done, your accounts will be successfully linked. Keep in mind that the TikTok account you connect needs to be a business account (TikTok for Business). If your account isn't already a business account, it will be automatically converted.
You have your TikTok Shop ready! But, now, how do you sell your products? With the help of sellers!
Through influencer marketing, you can collaborate with influencers and UGC creators and sell your products in an authentic way. Why does this work? Because users trust influencers more over traditional advertising. Over half of Gen Z and millennial consumers (53%) state that they would consider buying products based on influencer recommendations.
There are a variety of ways you can promote your products with content creators, including:
Collaborate with influencers to create step-by-step tutorials featuring your products. Tutorials allow creators to show their followers how to use your product effectively, highlighting its features and benefits. This type of content provides value to the audience while subtly promoting your product in an educational and engaging way.
Partner with influencers to showcase unboxing experiences of your product. Unboxing videos are popular on TikTok because they build excitement and curiosity around new products. Influencers can film their reactions as they open and explore your product, allowing their followers to see it in real-time and increasing the perceived value of the product.
Create seasonal campaigns by collaborating with influencers to promote your products during holidays or special events. Whether it’s promoting summer essentials, back-to-school items, or festive products for the holidays, seasonal content helps your product resonate with current trends and taps into the time-sensitive excitement around specific seasons or holidays.
Partner with influencers to create honest and detailed product reviews. Consumers trust authentic opinions, and reviews from influencers can help build credibility for your products.
Host a giveaway in partnership with influencers, where their followers can win your products. This drives engagement, attracts new followers, and creates buzz around your products.
To effectively scale your TikTok Shop sales, collaborating with influencers is a powerful strategy, and one of the easiest ways to do so is through influencer marketing platforms. For example, Influencer Hero is an all-in-one software solution that simplifies the process. It allows you to find the perfect TikTok influencers using advanced filters such as engagement rate, audience quality, and lookalikes.
Plus, it helps you manage all of your partnerships from a single platform. By leveraging AI, Influencer Hero automates your outreach while keeping it personalized, boosting your open rates and enhancing your campaign efficiency.
Interested in learning more about Influencer Hero? Book a free demo today!
Both TikTok Shop creators and sellers offer unique advantages, but their roles and approaches to the platform differ significantly. Creators benefit from minimal risk, focusing on content creation and leveraging their influence to earn commissions. Their ability to authentically promote products to engaged audiences can lead to quick revenue gains, though it may not be a sustainable long-term strategy. Sellers, on the other hand, invest in inventory, manufacturing, and marketing, taking on greater risk but also the potential for sustained, scalable growth.
Whether you are a creator looking to monetize your influence or a seller seeking to expand your reach, TikTok Shop presents exciting opportunities for both, depending on your business model and goals. Ultimately, understanding the strengths and challenges of each role can help you make the most of the platform, whether you're promoting products or building your brand.
A TikTok Shop Creator promotes products from various brands and earns commissions through affiliate partnerships. In contrast, a TikTok Shop Seller lists and sells their own products directly on the platform, handling order processing and fulfillment.
Creators can monetize their content by becoming affiliate partners, promoting products in their videos, and earning commissions on sales generated through their unique links.
Yes, individuals can function as both sellers and creators. They can sell their own products and simultaneously promote other brands' products to earn affiliate commissions.
To switch from a Seller to a Creator account, navigate to your account settings and change your account type. Note that the process may vary, and it's advisable to consult TikTok's official guidelines or support for detailed instructions.
If you have a Seller account instead of a Creator account, it may be due to the initial selection during the sign-up process. Sellers are typically brand owners or individuals selling their own products, while Creators promote other brands' products to earn commissions.
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