If I had to launch a product on TikTok Shop again, this is what I would do.

I love this form of thought exercise to synthesize my current insights and the process I've been using through my work with 1-to-1 clients.

1. I would research the market opportunity for my hero product

I would focus on launching one product only, and that product will be my best seller.

I would ask myself the following questions and research the answers with my team.

• What problem does your hero product solve? What are the unique selling points?
  - Pick one clear transformation your product delivers.
  - Look for urgent, relatable problems your audience already talks about.
  » You should be able to narrow down this problem as a hook-worthy sentence.
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• Who’s your core audience?
  - Be specific: age, gender, pain point, lifestyle and TikTok behavior.
  - Search your niche on TikTok to validate content and audience size.
  » It's very important to put yourself into the shoes of your audience and see TikTok through their eyes. I would invest the time to create a new TikTok account that you program in a way the "For You Page" is the one your audience would see.
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• Check if my product is TikTok Shop compatible.
  - Is the product lightweight for fulfillment cost and impulse-buy priced (<$40)?
  - Can it be easily explained and sold through short-form video?
  » Use this 5-step TikTok Shop pre-launch checklist to make sure you’re actually ready.

The last bits of research are to check if my organization/team has the skills I need to succeed on TikTok Shop. This will give clarity if we need to plan some training, up-skilling or hires.

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2. I would position my product according to a hook-worthy value proposition and I would steal ideas from my competitors and benchmarks.

• Find 3–5 brands/products doing well, direct and indirect competitors. Use TikTok Shop analytics platforms and search also with specific keywords directly on TikTok Shop.
  » Use them as benchmarks to study what consistently works.
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• Reverse-engineer their best-performing videos. Analyze hooks (visual, text, verbal), structure (GRWM, hauls, demos...), pacing, and CTAs.
  » It helps you to create a database of content ideas to start from.
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• Reverse engineer their affiliate/creator strategy
  - Check if they rely on Lives, affiliate, UGC, or polished brand content. How much GMV do affiliates contribute?
  - Who drives their sales: niche creators, macro influencers, mercenaries, or community-first accounts?
  » This gives you some data point to inform your own content and affiliate strategy. But make sure to use first your strength and differentiation as your anchor to build your strategy.
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• Evaluate their pricing and bundling strategy
  - What’s their price point, discounting, or BOGO offer? Do they use bundles?
  » It's important to have a price point compatible with what the TikTok consumer is used to. It will also be important in a later phase as you work on your product line for TikTok Shop.
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• Scan their reviews
  - Look at what customers highlight (benefits, complaints, and keywords to reuse.)
  » A last step that can give you a deeper, truthful understanding of your competition.

Take what works. Tweak it. Then make it yours.
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3. I would learn how TikTok Shop differs from selling on Amazon, Shopify or Instagram, with a focus on how to produce TikTok video content for my brand and product.

Selling on TikTok Shop is very much different compared to other platforms.

• It’s entertainment-led. Shopping is integrated inside content.
  - Entertainment leads, commerce follows. The best-selling products look like content, not ads.
• The hook is vital.
  - Content must hook in 1–3 seconds, feel authentic, and deliver immediate value or curiosity.
• What works: trust, relatability, and repetition.
  - Raw > polished. Consistency > perfection. People buy from content that feels real.

If I were starting today, I’d:

• Study TikTok Shop brand profiles and creators in my category
• Build a creative brief based on high-performing angles, hooks, and formats
• Produce a starter bank of videos showing my product’s story, benefits, and how it fits into people’s lives that I'd publish on my TikTok brand's profile
• Run a pre-launch organic awareness campaign on TikTok with my content
• Boost my best performing videos with TikTok ads to seed discovery with the right audiences and affiliates.

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4. I would build a creative engine to find a first "viral" hook and storyline

TikTok Shop is a very data-driven platform, for each video created with your product you'll learn how many seconds viewers watch you video before scrolling. Building a fast pace creative engine through nurturing a small, motivated group of affiliate is instrumental to quickly find the first hook and storyline that will put your brand on the map of affiliates at scale... and generate GMV!

• Partner with a creator network to hire 3–5 high-fit affiliates aligned with your brand
• Test video structures: GRWM, problem-solution, unboxing, testimonials, etc.
• Track which hooks and CTAs get watched, clicked, and bought
• Map out your first 30 days: content cadence, affiliate roles, live events (remember the reverse-engineer on content from your competitor you did on step 2, use it!)
• Then track, iterate, keep what's working.

Success will come from affiliates AND a systematic approach to your affiliate management. Learning to set this up is your priority.

>>> Until now you were in pre-launch mode. Your shop is opened, you start to see a few reviews, very small GMV, more content. You should feel the traction as more shoppable videos published as part of your creative engine are generating revenue.

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The secret that everyone is missing... launching on TikTok Shop is about implementing a system that works.

5. I would never stop growing my creative engine

TikTok Shop rewards consistent iteration.

Content is your #1 growth channel on TikTok Shop. So I’d:

• Launch monthly creative sprints: test 3–5 new angles per product, with clear CTAs and hooks.
• Track performance by format: What converts? What gets skipped? Double down only on what sells.
• Update creator briefs every 2 weeks based on real data

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6. I would build a community-focused relationship with affiliates - by giving value, not just selling
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​Early on, I would invest time on nurturing a strong relationship, at scale, with affiliates. Once you go beyond the 3-5 core affiliate group, you need an affiliate platform to work with 100s of affiliates. But always remember that affiliates are people, and you should build a sense of community with each of them. Some will love it, and will stick with your brands, some will leave for more shiny products, but anyhow, it's their loss. Move your best affiliates to a dedicated community like on Discord to deepen the relationship.

At the end, affiliates are your biggest asset. Investing in their success is key to their success, and they know it. In return, it's more videos per affiliate published, higher overall conversion rate, leading to higher GMV. The data is clear!
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7. I would start focusing on scaling the number of affiliates I work with.

Once you've got a commerce video format that goes viral, affiliates will come to you in droves.

• Double down on high-performing content formats by sharing with your affiliate community what's working
• Build a system to grow to 10,000 affiliates or more
  - I’d use AI-powered platforms to discover and auto-onboard more high-fit affiliates/creators.
  - I’d also tap into creator networks like Brands Meet Creators or Social Army to reach micro and mid-tier affiliates/creators fast.
• Accelerate with TikTok Shop paid Ads aka GMV Max to scale commerce videos that work. Read more about GMV Max here.

Now, the evil is in the detail, as running such a system at scale you need to tight loose ends. But the reward is big... we talk about hitting 7-figures monthly!
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So... if I had to launch again, here’s what I’d keep in mind:​
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What matters more in launching on TikTok Shop is to adopt a systematic process, starting small, focusing on test and iteration.

The right hook and storyline. The right affiliates. These are your biggest assets.

Once you’ve nailed your core ‘creative engine', it’s time to grow your system. Recruit high-fit affiliates. Use AI to expand reach without increasing headcount.

You can do it!

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