I saw a Tik Tok video of a young woman who mentioned to an older man that her business was primarily on Tik Tok. Apparently, when the man heard this, he scoffed and said, “Tik Tok? Yeah right. That’s a kid’s app.”

Oh, to be on the wrong side of history. ?

The woman in the video goes on to remind us that at one point or another, Facebook and Instagram were just kid’s apps too. And now, for most businesses, FB and IG are vital aspects of their marketing strategy. (PS, isn’t it weird to think back to a time when businesses weren’t using social media for marketing??? So wild.)

So let’s just be clear: Tik Tok is no different. Every single day, a new business goes viral on Tik Tok. (And I know this because I accidentally helped 3 businesses go viral in 2020!)

But how!?

Well, it’s usually not from selling. In fact, being salesly on Tik Tok is a mission destined to fail. However, it is the perfect place to position yourself as an expert, cultivate community, give value, and grow that email list.

Here are 4 ways that you can do just that.

1.) Your own linktree!

If you have a website but you’re using Linktree, STOP! Did you know that you can just create a secret page on your website entitled yourdomainhere.com/linktree and you can create your own call to action buttons with your own branding???

Don’t worry, I felt so stupid when someone explained this to me. This little trick brings more people to your actual site on the first click, and you can convert people into subscribers right from there!

2.) Freeeeeebies, of course.

Tik Tokers love a freebie. Especially if it teaches them a skill or gives them resources to a topic that you are known for. To achieve this, I usually like to make a video outlining the basic points of whatever my freebie is. Then, in the caption, I’ll say something like “I wrote a guide that goes further into detail — link in my bio!”

Like I said before, being salesy doesn’t play on Tik Tok, but providing actual value does. Don’t be afraid to give away a little bit of that freebie content in your actual video.

3.) Giveaways

I’ve been hearing a lot of talk that Giveaways are OUT on instagram. I’m no IG expert, so I can’t speak to that, but I what I can tell you is that they are IN on Tik Tok.

This strategy works the best when you first have a viral video about someone else’s product (something that is adjacent or complimentary to yours). And before you freak out–Sarah!? how do I create a viral video??!— I have a whole webinar on this topic.

After your video about someone else’s thing goes viral, you can post a video explaining the giveaway about that thing. It works like a charm.

4.) Blogging

Blogging is not dead, ya’ll. (Lol @ me saying this right as you’re reading my blog.) One of these days, I’ll talk more in detail about how I repurpose content, but for now, all you need to know is that I usually create at least one Tik Tok video based on the blog I wrote that week.

Then, somewhere in the caption, I’ll say “I wrote a blog post that goes further in detail, link is in the bio!”

The folks who are interested will click into my linktree, and lo and behold, they’ll either read my blog OR sign up for my freebie. It’s a cyclical system.

And there you have it! Now that you’re an expert on how to grow your email list on Tik Tok, maybe you’d be interested in joining mine! (Shameless plug.) I’m serving you monthly newsletters all about business and marketing, Tik Tok (obvi), and personal development. See you soon!