---
name: tiktok_shop_strategy
description: Plan and run a creator's TikTok Shop operation: affiliate product selection, commission math, shoppable video and LIVE formats, disclosure compliance. Use when a creator wants to sell through TikTok Shop, join the affiliate program, pick products, or plan live-selling sessions.
---

# TikTok Shop Strategy

## Purpose

Turn a creator's niche and audience into a working TikTok Shop plan. Covers affiliate mechanics (eligibility, the Product Marketplace, sample requests, product tagging), product selection scoring, shoppable video and LIVE formats, commission math, and the disclosure rules that keep the account alive. All facts trace to the sources in `references/`; ranges that drift are flagged, never stated as current facts.

## Workflow

1. **Check eligibility before anything else.** US path: 18+, account in good standing, identity verification, at least 1,000 followers to apply. Under 5,000 followers you enter a 30-day pilot (3 shoppable videos/day, 3 shoppable LIVEs/week, limited product access) until you cross 5,000. If the creator doesn't qualify yet, the plan becomes: grow to 1,000 first, then apply. Never promise earnings before eligibility is confirmed.
2. **Score product candidates.** Run each candidate through `references/product-selection.md`: niche fit, price sweet spot ($10-$50 for impulse buys), review quality and seller reliability, commission rate, and competition (how many creators already promote it). Kill anything that fails two or more checks. Niche fit beats commission rate every time; a 10% product your audience actually wants outperforms a 30% product they scroll past.
3. **Do the commission math.** Use `bin/shop-math.py` to model per-video and per-LIVE earnings from price, commission rate, and expected views/conversion. Set a weekly time budget and a break-even bar (sample costs, time on camera). If the math doesn't clear the bar, cut the product or the format, not your time.
4. **Pick the format mix.** Three shoppable formats exist: tagged short videos (the volume play, most sales originate here), LIVE shopping (the conversion play, real-time demos and Q&A), and the profile Product Showcase (the storefront, compounds over time). New creators: one product, one format, two weeks of consistent posts, then read the data. Details in `references/live-selling-playbook.md`.
5. **Request samples before filming.** Ask sellers for free samples through the Marketplace; request a short blurb about your content style and only promote what you've actually used. Never claim you used a product you didn't: the FTC treats that as a violation, and your audience will notice.
6. **Publish with disclosure built in.** `#ad` or `#sponsored` at the start of the caption (never buried in a hashtag cluster), spoken out loud in the first minute of video or LIVEs, plus TikTok's own Sponsored Content toggle. Disclosure rules live in `references/compliance.md` and apply to every single post, not just the ones that feel like ads.

## Output Contract

A finished strategy includes:
- Eligibility status and what, if anything, gates the creator (followers, verification, account standing).
- A scored product shortlist: 3-5 candidates with niche fit, price, commission, seller trust notes, and one line each on why the fit is real.
- A format plan: which of the three formats, posting cadence, and a 2-week starting calendar for the first product.
- Earnings model output from `bin/shop-math.py` with the break-even bar stated in plain numbers.
- A disclosure checklist confirming every post format carries visible disclosure.

## Operating Rules

1. Every factual claim in the plan must verify against `references/` or a current primary source. Numbers, thresholds, and policy details drift; treat the 2026 figures here as aging and re-verify if the calendar has moved a year past them. Unverifiable = cut it or frame as opinion.
2. Never chase commission rate over fit. A high-rate product outside the niche reads as an ad, and TikTok's algorithm punishes hard-sell content.
3. Disclosure is not optional and not per-campaign. Every shoppable post discloses, every time. Bio-only disclosure doesn't count; platform toggle alone doesn't count.
4. Samples first, hype never. If you can't get the product in hand, say so or don't promote it.
5. Review account health weekly: strikes, violations, pilot-program status. Losing e-commerce permissions ends the whole plan.