There are some things you can do to get approved for free samples on TikTok. The important thing is to have sales. If you can have a friend buy from your Showcase early on, you will start getting approved for samples sooner.
Please read all of this before starting to request sample products. It’s important to know all you can. Sure, free samples are great but as you choose them, you are saying something about yourself through the videos you will have to post about them. You want to start building a brand even if it’s a brand about being trustworthy.
If you have junky samples you have to post about, that may lower your credibility with your followers.
Also, TikTok will use these products to help categorize you into certain niches. This will then increase or decrease your chance of getting approved for samples in other niches. Read on, and it will make more sense!
How to Get Free Samples on TikTok
1. You must be a TikTok Affiliate
First off, you have to be a TikTok Shop Affiliate to qualify for free samples (as far as I know). Then, when you start making sales, you will get approved for more free samples. It’s really as simple as that.
So make a bunch of videos on stuff you already own that TikTok sells, and link the products. Once you start getting some sales, you will start getting approved for more and more free samples. Consider the niche as well.
You can also be more general, in a Lifestyle type of niche which is what TikTok categorized me in, among a few others.
2. Go to the Product Marketplace
I tried to get samples from going to the Product Marketplace. Click on a few that offer Free Samples. There is a limit to how many you can click. Spread it out. Ask for maybe two the first time and then one or two the next day.
I think there is a limit of seven you can ask for. I believe the company will have seven days to approve or deny.
I had limited success with. Some of the first ones I was approved for were:
- Goli Dreamy Sleep Gummies
- A soap that had turmeric
- GoPure Arm Toning Cream
3. Consider the category and price
Supplements and beauty products, especially skincare, seem to be good categories to get free samples in.
Don’t choose very expensive products. Choose something for $15 – $20 maximum. This is just my own experience.
4. Find free samples from people’s videos
If you see someone post a video with a product you like, when you click the link, it may show that there is a Free Sample opportunity. I personally don’t like clicking on someone’s link because it will tell them they had a sale but they don’t earn commission.
When it happens to me, I get a bit bummed about it. So because I don’t want to do that to someone else, I find the product in the Product Marketplace and request the Free Sample that way. But you can do it either way.
5. Have a friend buy from your Showcase
Getting a sale will make a huge difference to brands which will help you get approved for Free Samples. I never thought to buy from my own Showcase, so I don’t know if that would have looked like a sale or not.
The sooner you get sales, the sooner you will be approved. Enlist a friend or family member who is on TikTok. Even if you ask them to buy something you want on your behalf. You can pay them back.
My friend bought from my Showcase
One of my friends joined TikTok after me and was out to dinner with her two friends, both of whom were talking about stuff they bought on TikTok. One was raving about an inexpensive karaoke machine.
The next day, my friend told me about it and said she needed makeup from It (I think). So I put everything from that brand in my Showcase so it would be there when my friend “shopped my Showcase”.
She bought one or two makeup items and also a Goli supplement. I earned $9 in commission and offered to give it to her but she didn’t care. She was happy to help. I just wanted the sales, not the commission. It was very nice of her.
That helped me be approved for more things.
6. Go to Collab Invites
I found about Collab Invites very randomly and much later than I wish I did. This is where you find the Free Samples. I don’t know how soon this was available to me because I was definitely more than a month into this, maybe even two or more months in.
The beauty of Collab Invites is brands are reaching out to you, and you have a much greater chance of being accepted.
To find Collab Invites:
- Go to TikTok Studio
- Scroll down and under Monetization, click TikTok Shop for Creator
- Under the TikTok Shop toolkit, scroll until you see Collab Invites
- Click on Collab Invites and look at the products
- Request Free Samples that seem interesting
- Check Collab Invites multiple times a day; some of the better ones come and go
7. Post a video for every free sample you receive
You have 14 days to post about a free sample. Strive to have a perfect 100% posting rate. If a company sends you a sample, post about it. That was the agreement: they send, you post.
If you need more time, ask for an extension. Don’t abuse this. I did this once so far.
I once watched someone knowledgeable on TikTok talk about how companies can see that you posted free samples and how many you didn’t. Keep a great record for yourself. It will help you get free samples.
8. Choose wisely
When you start out, it’s easy to want to click and get all the free samples you can. Please resist the urge. It is far better to choose products you think you will actually like and want.
You will have to make a video about the product. This goes into your credibility with your viewers and also having to use your time to discuss a product. So you want to try to choose products you will like.
Choose free samples that have had a lot of sales and/or ones that the company has a good rating. Do not choose samples from companies with low ratings.
Another huge reason to choose carefully is with every product you promote, TikTok will be categorizing you into niches. This can change over time, but the clearer your focus, the more of an “expert” you will become.
9. Message companies through the TikTok app
I had a product I already owned and was making a lot of videos about it. After making a few videos, I messaged the company asking them to send me a few more of their products.
They sent me the two things I asked for and then a few weeks later, sent me three additional products. I did videos on all of them.
You can also email them but I find messaging through the app very easy.
Summary
- Become a TikTok Affiliate
- Check Collab Invites (not sure if this is available to new affiliates; I found it awhile later)
- If Collab Invites are available, check them daily. There is no maximum to how many you can choose.
- Ask someone to buy from your Showcase. (Be sure to have products in your Showcase someone will want to buy. Even if they buy one thing, it will be helpful.)
- Always do videos on every free sample. If for some reason you can’t, contact TikTok Support with your reason.
- Choose samples from reputable companies.
- Choose samples you will enjoy making videos about. You only need to post one but it’s better to be able to post several.
See my TikTok woes post as well as how I make money on my websites — but not this one!