Are YOU A FAILURE - TikTok Shop Affiliate Mistakes To Avoid

Are YOU A FAILURE? - TikTok Shop Affiliate Mistakes To Avoid

So, this article is going to be a bit more serious than my usual stuff. I won't fill it with ridiculous memes—well, except for one. But seriously, this is going to be one of the most important articles on my channel. The sad fact is nobody might read it, but if it helps even one person, I think it's worth it. So here we go.

I've had some minor success with the TikTok Shop affiliate program, but this month I'm pretty much failing. I'm going to show you my exact revenue so far this month and tell you why I think my numbers have dropped and what you can do to avoid it.

But first, and I need you to pay attention to this part, please. I know you just want to see the numbers and get the tips and tricks to learn what I'm doing wrong so you can avoid my mistakes. But I believe this article is super important for a couple of reasons.

As a YouTuber, my job is to create content that gets people excited, gets them to click, watch, comment, and share my videos. When you have a big win with a program and make a lot of money, it's easy to create content around that success. You can put up a title like "I made $ 5,000 with simple TikTok videos, and you can too," show tons of money in the thumbnail, and get people excited about how much money they can make. That's how you grow your channel. And as a content creator, that's what we all want—to grow.

There's nothing wrong with that; I absolutely do this on my channel as well. But I'm worried that this could have a pretty demoralizing effect on viewers. If all you see on YouTube are the insane amounts of money that people are making and these big wins, it's easy to feel like you aren't keeping up if you’re not making that kind of money. It might feel like you're failing.

I need you to understand this: I have been making video content my entire life. I've also worked professionally in the affiliate marketing world for longer than some of my subscribers have been alive. And this month, I struggled to make any money with the TikTok Shop affiliate program. So, if you're currently struggling to make this program work, you are not alone. In fact, you are in the vast majority of people who are testing this program. Most people struggle to make these programs work and to have the types of earnings that you see YouTubers talk about.

And if you're getting all your information about this program from YouTubers like me, you need to be aware that YouTubers are often drawing circles around the bull's eyes. Let me say that again because it's a really important concept to understand. We are drawing circles around the bull's eyes and, in some cases, completely ignoring all the darts that didn’t even hit the board. It's what we have to do to grow our channels. So, I want you to at least be aware of it.

And trust me, doing a video that I know nobody is going to watch actually hurts my YouTube channel. But I feel strongly that it needs to be said because I promise true transparency on this channel—the wins and the losses. More than that, it’s a really normal and common thing that happens when building your own business. There are constant ups and downs, wins and losses. You're going to be really good at certain things, and you’re going to struggle with others.

But I promise you, and I've said this so many times that it should probably be a meme by now, you are going to learn more by trying these things and failing at them than you ever will by watching a guru like me tell you how to do it. Failure is not just a normal part of this journey; it may be one of the most important parts. So, get your mind okay with the idea of failing.

My Earnings Breakdown

Let's take a look really quickly at my earnings so far this month.

In February, I made almost $ 33,000. In March, I made almost $ 2,000. And so far this month in April 2024, I have made a whopping $ 297. 194 300 bucks so far this month.

What Went Wrong

Let's discuss what I’m doing wrong and maybe why I’m failing, so you can hopefully avoid the same mistakes. During the first month testing this program, I heavily relied on product research using a tool called Kalata. I tried to figure out which products were going viral or had the potential to go viral, with some insights into the videos that made that happen. This method seemed to be successful.

However, this month, I changed my strategy. I stopped doing thorough product research and pretty much just went through my collab invites to find all the companies willing to give me free products. I found a few of those I was interested in, had them sent to my house, and did videos on those items. I didn’t do any product research to ensure they had viral potential. I just focused on cool things I was interested in. It turns out, this method didn't work.

I could hardly make any success—around $ 300 this month. So, it drilled into my head the idea that product research might be more important than the actual video itself. Certain products might capture people’s attention more and go viral. You need to choose those kinds of products to make the TikTok Shop affiliate program work.

Another thing I did was drastically reduce the number of videos I made this month. The first month, I was doing two or three videos a day, even on weekends. I was excited about it. TikTok isn’t something I'm super in love with, so this month, I dramatically reduced the number of videos. I went days without uploading anything. This lack of consistency showed in my results. I think consistency is a big part of this business. On TikTok, it may make sense to do at least one video a day.

Actionable Tips to Avoid My Mistakes

To be successful on TikTok:

Consistency: Post at least one video a day.
Product Research: Spend a significant amount of time researching products that have the potential to go viral.

Ruben over at Rich Input has good videos on picking products on the verge of going viral. You may want to check those out for more details.

Final Thoughts

If you've made it this far, I greatly appreciate it. This watch time is going to help spread this message to more people. Let’s reiterate the message in a cornier way.

Thomas Edison was once ridiculed for his many failures in pursuit of creating something amazing, the light bulb. In response to that criticism, he said, "I never once failed at making a light bulb. I just found 99 ways to not make one."

Hopefully, this helps some of you understand that this journey is filled with failures. It happens to us gurus just as much as it happens to you. We just don't focus on them on our channels because it doesn’t help us grow. If this information helps some of my subscribers grow, then it was worth it.

If you're into this sort of stuff, please do all those things you're supposed to do to help the channel grow, and I'll see you in the next one.

Keywords

TikTok Shop Affiliate Program
Product Research
Viral Products
Consistency
Affiliate Marketing
Earnings Breakdown

FAQ

Q: Why did your earnings drop so significantly this month?
A: I changed my strategy to rely less on product research and focused on products sent to me for free without verifying their viral potential. I also reduced the number of videos I posted.

Q: What is the importance of product research in the TikTok Shop affiliate program?
A: Product research is crucial as it helps you identify items that have the potential to go viral, which can significantly impact your success in the program.

Q: How often should I post on TikTok to see success with the affiliate program?
A: Posting at least one video a day helps maintain algorithmic momentum and engagement, which is essential for success.

Q: What advice do you have for someone new to affiliate marketing on TikTok?
A: Focus on consistent posting and spend a significant amount of time researching products that have a high potential to go viral.

Q: Are failure and setbacks normal in affiliate marketing?
A: Yes, failure is a normal and essential part of the journey. It offers valuable learning experiences that aid in long-term success.