How To Launch TikTok Ads That Make Money in 2025 (Free Course + Proven Strategy)

If you’ve tried running TikTok ads before and walked away thinking, Why am I just burning through my budget?—You’re not alone.

It’s one of the most common pain points we hear from beginner and intermediate dropshippers inside the Sell The Trend community.

But here’s the thing: TikTok is STILL one of the best platforms to grow a dropshipping store—if you know how to play the game in 2025.

The algorithm has changed. Ad costs are higher. And a lot of the “gurus” are still pushing outdated tactics from 2021.

So today, we’re going to cut through the noise.
In this guide, you’ll learn the simple, scalable TikTok ad strategy we use—and how you can model it step by step.

And yes, this is based on our free TikTok Ads course, so feel free to follow along.

But first…

Why You Need a Winning Product Before You Even Think About Ads

Let’s start here: no ad strategy in the world will save a bad product.

Before you even open up TikTok Business Manager, you need to validate that you have something people want to buy.

And no, you don’t need to spend days scrolling through AliExpress hoping to stumble on a winner.

Instead, we recommend using tools that are built for this exact job:
Sell The Trend offers a 14-day free trial where you can test-drive its entire product research suite.

Inside Sell The Trend, you’ll find tools like:

• Nexus AI: uses artificial intelligence to surface trending products with real potential
• AdFinders: lets you spy on high-performing competitor ads and engagement
• Handpicked Products: These are manually curated by ecommerce experts (so you’re not guessing)
• Spy Tools: analyze what competitors are running, selling, and scaling
• Supplier lists & competitor stores: skip the painful process of hunting down suppliers manually

You can grab your free trial right here.

For this guide, we chose to use a product from the Handpicked Products section because these are already pre-validated and often doing well in the market.

Example: Finding a Winning Product

Let’s say your store focuses on beauty and wellness.

You head into Sell The Trend, filter by niche, and find a Youthful Glow Necklift Tape.

Looks promising.

Next, you click Product Research and instantly see:

• Cost
• Shipping time
• Suggested selling price
• Estimated profit margin
• Downloadable ad video assets
• Competitor stores currently selling this product
• Facebook and TikTok ad copy templates

This saves HOURS of prep work.

You can even download the product video and use it in your TikTok ads (or edit it into multiple versions, which we’ll cover later).

Why TikTok Ads Are a Game Changer for Dropshipping (Even in 2025)

Before we dive into building your campaign, let’s talk about why TikTok is still such a goldmine for e-commerce marketers.

1. Huge reach

TikTok now has over 1 billion monthly active users—and it’s still growing.

Compare that to Meta platform,s where a lot of the audience is already saturated or fatigued by ads.

2, Smart targeting

TikTok’s AI-driven algorithm is unmatched.

It learns FAST.

Even with broad targeting, TikTok is capable of delivering your ads to users who are highly likely to engage and convert.

We’ve consistently seen TikTok outperform Meta in both cost per acquisition (CPA) and return on ad spend (ROAS) across multiple campaigns.

3. Highly engaged audience

The average TikTok user spends 90 minutes per day on the app.

That gives you a lot of opportunities to capture attention with the right creative.

4. Short-form video = perfect for dropshipping

Impulse buys are driven by short, punchy videos—and that’s what TikTok was made for.

If you’re selling physical products, especially visual ones that look good on video, this is the ideal platform.

5. Better ROI than Facebook ads (for dropshippers)

While Facebook ads are still viable for some brands, TikTok ads are producing stronger results for many of our users in the dropshipping space.

The key difference: TikTok favors creative testing and rapid iteration—something beginner and intermediate sellers can do well with the right tools and mindset.

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Pro Tip: Keep Your Ads Short

One quick tip before we move forward:

Your TikTok ads should ideally be:

• Under 25 seconds long
• Show the product within the first 3-5 seconds
• Use music that fits the vibe of the product (not slow or weird music that kills engagement)

If your video waits too long to showcase the product, most users will scroll away before they even know what you’re selling.

Keep it short. Keep it snappy. 

Setting Up Your TikTok Ads Account the Right Way

Now that you understand why TikTok is such a powerful platform—and you’ve found a winning product—let’s move on to setting up your first campaign.

If you’ve never run a TikTok ad before, don’t worry.
It’s more straightforward than you think, especially if you follow this flow.

Here’s a quick checklist to get started:

• Create a new TikTok Business Account if you don’t already have one
• Fill out your business details and set up payment (we recommend using a credit card, not PayPal)
• Connect and set up your TikTok Pixel on your store (Sell The Trend offers helpful resources for this inside your dashboard)

Building Your First TikTok Ad Campaign

Once your account is ready, you can jump into TikTok’s Business Center and click on Create Ads.

TikTok will ask for your advertising objective—choose Sales if you’re running a dropshipping store.

Next, give your campaign a simple name so you can track it easily. Example: Sell The Trend – Beauty Campaign 1.

Under Optimization Goal, select:

• Conversion data connection
• Optimization event: Purchase

Now onto Audience Targeting:

• Location: choose the country you want to target (example: United States)
• Languages: leave as all for broad targeting
• Placements: Automatic placements generally work best

Budget and Scheduling

How much should you spend?

For beginners or intermediate users, we recommend starting with:

• $20-$30/day budget

You can go higher if your testing budget allows, but this range gives TikTok’s algorithm enough data to optimize.

Scheduling: We typically recommend scheduling your ads to start at 5:00 AM local time the next day.
This gives TikTok a full day to optimize and deliver your ads during high-traffic periods.

Creating Effective TikTok Ad Creatives

Now comes the fun part: your actual ad creative.

Here’s what we recommend to maximize your success:

1. Test multiple videos

Upload at least 6-7 different videos per campaign.

TikTok will naturally favor the ones that perform best and show them more often.

You can download product videos directly from Sell The Trend and edit them using basic tools like CapCut or Canva.
We love using Sell The Trend’s TikTok Ad Copy Generator as well—it gives you ready-to-use ad text you can drop into your campaign.

2. Keep it fast and product-focused

Remember:

• Ads over 30 seconds usually don’t perform well
• You need to show the product in the first 3-5 seconds
• Avoid starting with long intros or “talking head” clips—grab attention fast
• Music matters. Use trending sounds or music that match the vibe of your product

3. Don’t overcomplicate text overlays

Stick with simple, direct text that highlights:

• The core benefit of the product
• An offer (if relevant)
• A clear call to action (Shop Now / Buy Now)

Avoid cluttering the video with too many lines of text—it reduces impact.

4. Build urgency when possible

Simple phrases like:

• Limited time offer
• Selling fast
• Only a few left in stock

These can nudge shoppers toward taking action.

Adding Tracking and Publishing Your Ad

Before you hit publish, make sure your TikTok Pixel is properly connected and tracking:

• Purchases
• Add to cart
• Initial checkouts

If you’re using Sell The Trend + SellShop, this process is even easier thanks to built-in store automation and pixel setup guides.

Once everything is set up, click Publish, and your ad will go live.

Now comes the part where most new advertisers get stuck: understanding which ads are working.

Let’s talk metrics.

How To Interpret Key TikTok Ad Metrics

TikTok’s Business Center provides a lot of data.
But as a beginner or intermediate dropshipper, you only need to focus on a few key metrics:

1. CPC (Cost Per Click)

• You want to keep this below $,1 ideally
• Lower CPC means your ad is engaging enough to drive clicks affordably

If your CPC is high, you likely need to improve your video creative or targeting.

2. CTR (Click-Through Rate)

• Target above 1% CTR
• A low CTR (<1%) means your ad isn’t compelling enough to stop the scroll and drive clicks

If your CTR is solid but purchases aren’t happening, look at your landing page and offer next.

3. ATC (Add To Cart) and Purchase Metrics

These tell you how well your ad is converting:

• Are people adding products to their cart?
• Are they completing checkout?

Track this progression carefully—if people are clicking but not buying, something is off with your product page, pricing, or offer.

How To Scale TikTok Ads The Right Way (Without Wasting Money)

This is where a lot of beginner and intermediate dropshippers get stuck:

Your ad starts performing… so what do you do next?

Too many people make the mistake of scaling too fast—jumping from $20/day to $100/day overnight—and they end up crashing the campaign.

Here’s the simple, proven scaling strategy we teach:

1. Let TikTok’s algorithm do its job

There is NO need to hyper-target on TikTok.

Broad targeting works extremely well because TikTok’s algorithm is designed to find the right buyers for your product.

When you start narrowing targeting too much, you limit the algorithm’s ability to optimize.

2. Scale smart and incrementally

If your campaign is profitable or breaks even:

• Increase your budget by 20-30% every 1-2 days
• This allows the algorithm to adjust and maintain performance

If you scale too aggressively (100%-200% increases), you’ll confuse the algorithm and likely see a sharp drop in ROAS.

3. Only scale what’s working

Don’t force scaling on an underperforming ad.

If an ad has high views but no sales, it’s not ready to scale.
Let the data guide you:

• High CTR
• Low CPC
• Good ATC and purchases

Those are the signals to scale.

4. Creative testing never stops

TikTok’s feed moves fast.
Even a winning ad will eventually fatigue and see declining performance.

The solution? Always be testing new creatives.

We recommend having 7-10 ad creatives ready at any given time.

Rotate them regularly and watch how each one performs.

Creative testing is the #1 lever for improving TikTok ad results in 2025.
It’s far more important than tweaking targeting or obsessing over small bidding changes.

Tips For Better Creative Testing

Here are some quick tips to help you maximize creative testing:

• Use variations of your best-performing video: change the first 3 seconds, music, text overlays, or call to action
• Test different angles: one version might show the product demo first, another might focus on problem/solution
• Leverage user-generated content (UGC) when possible—TikTok audiences love authenticity
• Keep your videos under 25 seconds and show the product within the first 3-5 seconds

If you’re using Sell The Trend, this process is even easier because you can:

• Download existing product videos
• Get ready-made TikTok ad copy
• Analyze competitor creatives using AdFinders and Spy Tools

It takes the guesswork out of ad creation and lets you focus on what works.

Final Thoughts and Summary

If you’re serious about building a profitable dropshipping store in 2025, TikTok Ads should absolutely be in your toolkit.

Yes—the algorithm has changed.
Yes—ad costs are higher than they were a few years ago.

But the opportunity is still massive for e-commerce entrepreneurs who know how to adapt.

Let’s recap the proven strategy we just covered:

• Start with a winning product, validated using tools like Sell The Trend
• Use Nexus AI, Handpicked Products, AdFinders, and Spy Tools to shortcut product and creative research
• Build your first TikTok campaign with:
  • Broad targeting
  • 6-7 short video creatives
  • Clear tracking with TikTok Pixel
• Focus on CTR, CPC, ATC, and Purchase metrics to optimize performance
• Scale gradually: 20-30% budget increases on profitable campaigns
• Constantly test new creatives to maintain momentum and avoid ad fatigue

Remember—there’s no secret “hack” to TikTok ads.
It’s about understanding the platform, testing smart, and giving TikTok’s AI the right inputs.

And with the right tools (like Sell The Trend), you can move much faster and make better decisions along the way.

If you want to go even deeper, be sure to check out our full TikTok Ads Free Course video linked here → <link to video>

It walks through this entire process step-by-step on screen, so you can follow along and launch your first (or next) profitable TikTok campaign.

Ready to make this your best year yet?
Let’s go.