The TikTok Growth Playbook

GMV is not profit. Read this first.

24 PAGES·PDF·INSTANT DOWNLOAD
§01 — INSIDE

TikTok stopped being a discovery platform and became a commerce platform. This 2026 Edition playbook is the operator's guide to running organic, affiliate, and paid together without losing money on every sale: how the algorithm actually distributes content, the real mechanics and math of TikTok Shop, creator partnerships built to scale, Spark Ads and GMV Max, and a measurement chapter that treats GMV as a starting point rather than the answer. Written for DTC and lifestyle brands.

§02 — CONTENTS
  1. 01Pick Your Model: Organic, Affiliate, or Paid
  2. 02How The Algorithm Actually Works
  3. 03Content That Converts
  4. 04TikTok Shop & The Affiliate Engine
  5. 05Creator Partnerships Without the Chaos
  6. 06Paid Amplification: Spark Ads & GMV Max
  7. 07Measuring What Actually Matters
  8. 08The 90-Day Rollout Plan
  9. 09Common Mistakes & Quick Reference
§03 — WHO WROTE IT

Hotseat is a strategy-led digital agency across Cape Town, London and Amsterdam. The team has run campaigns for Under Armour, ASICS, Knight Frank, Hey Dude and more — the guides package the systems they use every day.

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