Find a trending TikTok hook, then script an avatar video: 10 cents

Writing a hook from a blank page is the slow part of short-form video. A cheaper start is to look at what is already getting views for your keyword, then write your own version for your own product. Sume has a trending video search for the first step and the avatar talking-video route for the second. The two together cost about $2.86 for a 15 second clip at standard.

Step one: search

POST /v1/trending-videos/search returns ranked public TikTok video metadata: watch URL, cover thumbnail, author handle, description, metrics and relevance scores. It does not return video files, and it is not a generation model. Each accepted call costs $0.10. In production, query is required (up to 200 characters), limit runs from 1 to 50 and window can be this-week, this-month and so on.

curl -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/trending-videos/search \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"platform":"tiktok","query":"candle shop","window":"this-week","limit":10}'

Step two: write your own hook

Read the descriptions and the metrics, and look at the first line of the top three. You are looking for structure, not words to copy: a question, a surprise, a number. Then write your own opener about your own product. Do not reuse another creator's caption or voice.

Step three: the avatar

Send the script to the talking-video route. Fifteen seconds is about 35 words: the hook, one fact and one call to action.

curl -X POST https://api.sume.com/v1/avatar-1.0/talking-video \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SUME_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"avatar_handle":"@host","quality":"plus","aspect_ratio":"9:16","script":"Why does everyone ask what is in this jar? Soy wax, a cotton wick, and thirty hours of cure time. Link in my profile."}'

What the search will not do

It returns metadata only. At the time of the docs, summary_mode: transcript gives metadata plus an unsupported warning, and the download options are reserved for a later workflow. You still have to watch the videos yourself on TikTok to see what makes them work.