Affiliate marketing for influencers: how it works and what it pays

How does affiliate marketing work for influencers?

Affiliate marketing pays you a percentage of a sale when a buyer clicks your tracked link and buys within a set time, called the attribution window or cookie window. The merchant sets the rate, the program tracks the click, and you get paid after the return period ends.

Three rules decide what you actually earn. First, a later click can take the sale. TikTok Shop credits the last affiliate link clicked, so a follower who taps another creator's link later takes the sale with them. Second, returns and cancellations are reversed, which is why commissions sit as pending for weeks. Third, the window matters more than the rate. A 10% commission with a 24-hour window can pay less than 5% with a 30-day window on a product people research before buying.

Affiliate income suits creators whose audience already asks where they got something: fashion, beauty, home, tech, books, and gear reviews. It suits comedy and commentary creators far less. If your comments never ask for links, start with brand deals or selling to your fans instead.

Amazon Associates commission rates

Amazon Associates pays fixed commission rates from 0% to 10% depending on the product category, and 4% on any category not listed. The table below is Amazon's published fixed standard commission schedule for the US program.

Amazon's cookie is short. Its operating policies, updated April 14, 2026, say a referral ends 24 hours after the click, except that products added to the cart during that visit still count if the order is placed within 89 days of the first click. Amazon pays approximately 60 days after the end of each month, once you reach $10 for direct deposit or gift card payment. US checks carry a $15 processing fee.

New accounts need three qualifying sales within the first 180 days to stay open, and Amazon says personal orders do not qualify. The April 14, 2026 update added two rules that hit creators directly. Purchases referred through any paid or boosted ad that links to Amazon no longer earn commission, with limited exceptions, so boosting a post full of affiliate links earns nothing. And a product must ship, stream, or download, and be paid for, within 180 days to count.

Amazon is the easiest program to join and the lowest paying in most categories. Use it for breadth. If most of your recommendations are clothes or beauty products, the creator storefronts below usually pay more per sale because brands set higher rates there.

Amazon Influencer Program vs Amazon Associates

The Amazon Influencer Program is an add-on to Associates that gives you a storefront at amazon.com/shop/ followed by your handle, where you can collect products and post shoppable videos. Amazon's help center says members are paid in a similar way to Associates. It does not publish a follower minimum, only that applicants must meet Amazon's "qualitative and quantitative thresholds".

Videos you post on Amazon earn onsite commissions, and those use a separate, lower table. Amazon's help page lists 4% onsite for Luxury Beauty, against 10% through a standard link, 0.5% for physical books, and 1% for all other categories. Since April 14, 2026, onsite commission applies only when the buyer purchases the exact product variant shown.

Join if your audience already shops Amazon and you can make product videos quickly. Skip the onsite video work if your time is better spent on posts that drive clicks from your own channels, where the standard rates apply.

LTK and ShopMy: creator storefronts with brand-set rates

LTK and ShopMy are application-only storefront platforms where brands set their own commission rates, which tend to be higher than Amazon's fixed rates in fashion and beauty. Both suit creators who post outfits, routines, and home finds, and both are weak fits for anyone outside those categories.

LTK's UK creator page asks for an engaged and growing audience of at least 5,000 on a public social profile. It says retailers set their own rates and that the average commission is 10% to 25%, reaching up to 30%. LTK moved creators to weekly commission payouts in August 2024.

ShopMy's help center says joining requires an application and a minimum of 1,000 followers, with each application reviewed case by case, and rejected applicants can reapply after 90 days. ShopMy is unusually clear about its cut: creators keep 82% of commissions earned and ShopMy keeps 18%, and the rate shown in the app is already your share. Payouts go out weekly on Fridays through Stripe or PayPal once at least $11 is ready, and commissions typically stay pending for 30 to 120 days while returns clear.

TikTok Shop and YouTube Shopping affiliate programs

TikTok Shop and YouTube Shopping both let you tag products in your videos and earn a seller-set commission on sales, and both now open at low follower counts. They suit creators who already make product videos. They pay nothing on views alone.

TikTok Shop's US creator requirements, dated September 2026, are 1,000 followers, an age of 18 or over, and a US base. Creators under 5,000 followers start in a pilot of at least 30 days, limited to three shoppable product videos a day, with no access to campaigns. Sellers set commission rates anywhere from 1% to 80%, and a targeted collaboration rate offered to you overrides the seller's open rate. TikTok credits the last click, each link earns for up to 100 days, and commission typically settles 15 days after the order is delivered.

YouTube Shopping's affiliate program requires YouTube Partner Program membership and, since YouTube's March 25, 2026 announcement, at least 500 subscribers. Music channels, Official Artist Channels, and channels set as made for kids cannot join. Each brand sets its own commission rate and attribution window per product, and YouTube pays through AdSense 60 to 120 days after the purchase, with returns reversed. For YouTube's other income, see how much YouTube pays.

Affiliate programs compared

Amazon is the only program here with a fixed public rate table. On the others the brand sets the rate, so compare the offers inside each app before you commit your content to one platform.

How to disclose affiliate links

Every affiliate link needs a clear disclosure in the post itself, because the FTC treats a commission as a material connection between you and the brand. The FTC's Endorsement Guides say material connections include monetary payment, and its guide for influencers says a disclosure has to be hard to miss. A link in bio with no label does not meet that bar.

Amazon adds its own rule. The Associates Operating Agreement, updated October 15, 2025, requires the statement "As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases" to appear clearly and prominently. Platforms have rules too. Instagram's help center says content with an affiliate link should carry the Paid partnership label. YouTube's Shopping help page tells creators to inform viewers that they earn a commission on purchases.

Plain words work best. "I earn a commission if you buy through these links" next to the links, plus a spoken mention in videos, covers most cases. For the full rules, see FTC disclosure rules for influencers.