Courtesy of Talon Krebs
- Talon Krebs earns six figures as a TikTok Shop affiliate, posting up to 30 videos a day.
- He says anyone can get started with just a couple hundred bucks.
- Effective TikTok videos need a strong hook to give people a reason to stop scrolling.
Talon Krebs works full time as a TikTok Shop affiliate, promoting products on the app and earning a commission when shoppers buy through his links.
The gig earned the 23-year-old six figures last year, according to a 1099 form reviewed by Business Insider.
"As far as startup cost, TikTok Shop has to be one of the most profitable business models I've ever seen," he told BI.
Krebs said beginners can get started with a phone, a few products, and an understanding of what makes people stop scrolling. He shares three steps to turn TikTok videos into a source of income.
1. Build an account and meet TikTok Shop's eligibility requirements
Anyone can open a TikTok account, but affiliates need an established following to join TikTok Shop.
TikTok offers multiple routes into its affiliate program, Krebs explained. Its pilot program requires 1,000 followers but limits participants to a handful of posts a week, while the main program, which gives affiliates more flexibility, requires at least 5,000 followers.
Krebs already had about 24,000 followers on a personal account when he got started. He said he built the audience by posting about sports, current events, and other subjects he liked: "I was just posting stuff I was interested in."
2. Start with products you already own or would buy anyway
Krebs said he spent $100 to $200 on a handful of products when he first started. He chose items he needed anyway, like hoodies.
Affiliates can search TikTok's product marketplace for brands and products to promote. Krebs said they don't need a direct relationship with a brand to start making videos, though successful affiliates may eventually negotiate higher commissions or paid content deals.
Talon Krebs
For someone trying to keep costs close to zero, Krebs recommends looking around the house first. If an item you already own is listed on TikTok Shop, you can create a video about it rather than buying something new specifically to promote.
He also joined Media Labs, a community for affiliates that offered video feedback and weekly calls. He paid the $1,500 fee in six $250 monthly installments, putting his initial outlay — including products and his first community payment — at about $450.
Skip the community, use products you already own, and film with a phone and free editing tools, and Krebs said you could get started for essentially nothing.
3. Make videos that give people a reason to stop scrolling
A TikTok Shop video still has to work as a TikTok video. Krebs said the opening seconds matter most: The hook should get a viewer's attention, identify a pain point, or create enough curiosity to keep them watching.
In one of his most successful videos about a digital business card, he opens with: "Paper business cards are officially a thing of the past." The statement created some controversy, he said, but it got viewers' attention before he explained the product and how he used it as an entrepreneur.
Krebs tries to keep most videos between 30 and 50 seconds, though he said the right length depends on the product. Some products need more explanation, while others can be shown in a 10-second video.
He thinks of each video as a loop: The hook opens it, the middle explains or demonstrates the product, and the call to action closes it. Affiliates can tag a product directly in the video, allowing viewers to tap the orange shopping-cart icon, view the listing, and ultimately make a purchase.