Imagine this scenario: your Douyin (TikTok) shop has finally overcome its initial hurdles, gained some traction, and achieved a barely passing store rating. Eager to boost sales, you start reaching out to influencers, hoping to leverage their audience. Yet, you face rejection at every turn. What’s going wrong? This article delves into the common challenges Douyin shop owners face when collaborating with influencers and provides actionable solutions to help new sellers successfully partner with creators and drive sales growth.
The Core Challenges
Many Douyin shop owners encounter similar issues in their early stages: low store ratings, products failing to enter the platform’s recommendation pool, and uncompetitive pricing or commission rates. These factors make it difficult to attract influencers. Crucially, sellers often overlook the multifaceted criteria influencers use when selecting partners, such as the alignment between store ratings and influencer credibility scores, as well as product competitiveness.
The Rating Game: Foundation for Collaboration
Douyin’s platform enforces strict mechanisms linking store ratings and influencer credibility scores. If a store’s rating is low (e.g., 4.3 or 4.4) while an influencer’s score is high (e.g., 4.8 or 4.9), the influencer will likely decline the partnership. A low store rating can drag down the influencer’s score, potentially leading to limited reach or restricted promotional capabilities. Thus, sellers must prioritize improving their store ratings before seeking collaborations.
Product Eligibility: The Gateway to Traffic
If a product fails to enter Douyin’s recommendation pool after its initial sales, it indicates underlying issues with the product or store. Without platform-driven traffic or sales, and with uncompetitive pricing or commissions, convincing influencers becomes nearly impossible. Sellers must optimize their products to enhance quality and appeal, ensuring eligibility for platform recommendations and traffic support.
Strategies for New Sellers: Adjusting Your Approach
Beyond ratings, influencers evaluate multiple factors: competitive pricing, ease of promotion, benefits offered by sellers, supply chain reliability, and after-sales service. New sellers can adapt their strategies by focusing on the following:
1. Target Micro-Influencers: Start Small
For new Douyin shops, pursuing top-tier influencers with massive followings is impractical. Instead, focus on smaller influencers with solid sales records and frequent livestreams. For example, influencers averaging $700–$1,400 per session may be more open to partnerships, especially if long-term collaboration is possible. These creators often have lower commission expectations and are more willing to experiment with new partners.
2. Competitive Pricing: The Hook
New shops should avoid setting excessively high price points, as micro-influencers may struggle to sell premium products. Consider using low-priced "traffic-generating" items to attract influencers. These products can serve as entry points to draw audiences into livestreams, indirectly boosting sales of other items. This strategy enhances store visibility and user engagement.
3. Attractive Commission Structures: The Incentive
Influencers prioritize earnings. Sellers should design compelling commission plans, such as offering lower rates for budget products and higher rates for premium items. This balances influencer profits with cost control, creating a win-win scenario.
4. Highlight Supply Chain Advantages: Build Trust
Direct factory sourcing and guaranteed 48-hour shipping are significant selling points. Emphasizing these strengths reassures influencers about product availability and delivery reliability, reducing concerns about post-sale issues.
5. Robust After-Sales Service: Long-Term Partnerships
A seamless return/refund process and responsive customer service foster trust and encourage repeat collaborations. Satisfied customers improve store reputations, making influencers more likely to maintain partnerships.
In summary, Douyin sellers must holistically address ratings, product optimization, commission structures, and operational reliability to attract influencers. By refining these areas, new shops can unlock growth through strategic creator collaborations.