In this newsletter: A Q&A on affiliate links, including — How much does a link earn? How do people keep track of the clicks and purchases? What if you click the link but then buy the next week? And lots more!
I used to always worry about shopping round ups because thought some creators only recommend something if it was associated with an affiliate program. There are some small brands that aren’t in these programs that often don’t get shared because of this. However I appreciate the programs and creators being compensated for their work and influence. Thank you for these explanations.
This was very comprehensive and informative! I've always assumed that creators are getting commission on their links, and I also assume they like the products they are recommending (I mainly read blogs, not Tik Tok, and tend to trust people who can write, a bit more, if that makes sense). And I suppose you just have to trust that you are actually getting paid correctly, as it would be difficult to track. I was glad to hear that you make money if someone buys other things through your link, and surprised that you get deducted for returns (I am a salesperson on commission in a store that has a generous return policy and so I feel your pain).
Thanks for sharing this and being so candid, Gabrielle! I completely understand if you don't want to share this, but I'm curious about the finances: do you find that you're paid about the same each month, or are there drastic fluctuations month-to-month? How much are you earning from affiliate links each month (not specifically, but is it enough for a nice dinner out each month? Or enough to pay for everyone's Christmas gifts? Or are we talking a full-time middle-class monthly salary?)
I think the work of online content creation is so fascinating -- and sometimes reviled -- because it seems so opaque. We understand what a surgeon or mechanic or high school teacher does, and their general pay, but I think people get so bent out of shape about influencers because it is relatively mysterious to everyone outside that world, yet we interact with it every day.
Great questions! I've only done this earnestly for 5 months, and so far the earnings are drastically different each month. The first month I tried it, I felt great about what I earned, and the next month, I earned 1/5 of that amount. If those months had been reversed, I don't know if I would have stuck with this experiment.
With a following that's similar in size to mine, with the same amount of engagement, I do think it's possible to achieve a full-time middle class monthly salary via affiliate links — though I'm not there yet and may never be. I cobble together several revenue streams to make create my income (including this newsletter).
A few factors to keep in mind:
1) Unlike a 2-week paycheck full-time job, taxes are not automatically withheld from affiliate earnings. And the tax rate on this type of earnings is about 30%. So if someone earns $10,000 in affiliate income in a year, the usable income (equivalent to "take home pay") is about $7000. And there are no work benefits like insurance or a 401k.
2) Internet numbers are never what they seem. A huge account on Instagram, say 500k followers might have very poor engagement — with less than 1000 likes on their posts. While an account with a smaller following, say 50k, receives 5000 like on their posts. And sometimes the numbers are hard to believe. Like I might have a reel that has 100k views, but didn't send any new followers. But then I have a post, that gets 10k likes, and I get tons of new followers. So it's hard to believe the reel truly had that many views — it makes it seem like the view count is artificially inflated. And obviously, for affiliate links, engagement (clicking, buying, sharing, saving, liking) is the thing that matters more than follower count or view count.
3) Having a niche matters. Creators who do especially well with affiliate links often focus on a specific niche — like the laptop reviewer I mentioned. I, on the other hand, am niche-less — I write about current events, parenthood, my abortion book, renovations, life in France, and whatever else is on my mind. Having or not having a niche can make a huge impact. There are creators with a much smaller engaged audience than I have, and they generate much more income from their content, because they made the smart decision to focus on a niche.
4) The huge differences in what falls under the umbrella of "creator" is a big factor in why this work seems opaque. The youtube laptop reviewer's business model is so different from mine, that when we discussed how we both use affiliate links, we couldn't find any advice that applied to both of us.
Thank you so much for this detailed explanation. I was happy to see that the question I've had for a long time was answered: For links, I always "open in web browser" instead of shopping within instagram, and I was a bit bummed to think that maybe the affiliate link would not "count". Very glad to see that it does!
Thank you for this explanation of the behind the scenes of content creator life.
I like clearly marked *ad breaks* much better and find them much more honest than having ads strewn in-between other content. Lately many IG accounts remind me of the movie The Truman Show, with so much commercial content embedded into their regular content, that it has become fake and annoying. An *ad break* acknowledges that we understand that the content creator needs to get paid in order to continue creating content. And thank you thank you thank you for creating so much amazing content for so long!!
This was so great. Thank you. I had these questions floating around in my brain and now i understand how the whole system works much better. It's kind of crazy tbh. Personally I love your ad breaks. It's hard to explain but your notice kind of changes my mental mindset and preps me for a commercial. It's definitely less abrupt. I also love to hear others' opinions/advice on the items.
I love how you’ve added affiliate links. I love the very clear “time for some ads” slide and I really like when you post comments made by other followers that have either purchased or already use a specific product. I don’t know why, but it just feels so much more genuine than reading reviews or having an influencer claim that a certain product is their favorite when they’ve already made the same claim about similar products several times.
And this is a fascinating break down of how it all works (at least in your specific case). I think, at heart, you are an educator! You clearly have a passion for learning and a real talent for explaining things and new concepts.
What about if you click on the link and close it, but decide later that you want to buy the item? If I log back in on my own and find the product, do you still receive the sale?
I appreciate you and so much. For all these years you’ve made conversations like this so helpful and refreshingly open. You’re the best, Gabby. Oh, and thanks to your affiliate links I now use Target school notebooks as my morning pages journals.
I used to always worry about shopping round ups because thought some creators only recommend something if it was associated with an affiliate program. There are some small brands that aren’t in these programs that often don’t get shared because of this. However I appreciate the programs and creators being compensated for their work and influence. Thank you for these explanations.
This was very comprehensive and informative! I've always assumed that creators are getting commission on their links, and I also assume they like the products they are recommending (I mainly read blogs, not Tik Tok, and tend to trust people who can write, a bit more, if that makes sense). And I suppose you just have to trust that you are actually getting paid correctly, as it would be difficult to track. I was glad to hear that you make money if someone buys other things through your link, and surprised that you get deducted for returns (I am a salesperson on commission in a store that has a generous return policy and so I feel your pain).
Thanks for sharing this and being so candid, Gabrielle! I completely understand if you don't want to share this, but I'm curious about the finances: do you find that you're paid about the same each month, or are there drastic fluctuations month-to-month? How much are you earning from affiliate links each month (not specifically, but is it enough for a nice dinner out each month? Or enough to pay for everyone's Christmas gifts? Or are we talking a full-time middle-class monthly salary?)
I think the work of online content creation is so fascinating -- and sometimes reviled -- because it seems so opaque. We understand what a surgeon or mechanic or high school teacher does, and their general pay, but I think people get so bent out of shape about influencers because it is relatively mysterious to everyone outside that world, yet we interact with it every day.
Great questions! I've only done this earnestly for 5 months, and so far the earnings are drastically different each month. The first month I tried it, I felt great about what I earned, and the next month, I earned 1/5 of that amount. If those months had been reversed, I don't know if I would have stuck with this experiment.
With a following that's similar in size to mine, with the same amount of engagement, I do think it's possible to achieve a full-time middle class monthly salary via affiliate links — though I'm not there yet and may never be. I cobble together several revenue streams to make create my income (including this newsletter).
A few factors to keep in mind:
1) Unlike a 2-week paycheck full-time job, taxes are not automatically withheld from affiliate earnings. And the tax rate on this type of earnings is about 30%. So if someone earns $10,000 in affiliate income in a year, the usable income (equivalent to "take home pay") is about $7000. And there are no work benefits like insurance or a 401k.
2) Internet numbers are never what they seem. A huge account on Instagram, say 500k followers might have very poor engagement — with less than 1000 likes on their posts. While an account with a smaller following, say 50k, receives 5000 like on their posts. And sometimes the numbers are hard to believe. Like I might have a reel that has 100k views, but didn't send any new followers. But then I have a post, that gets 10k likes, and I get tons of new followers. So it's hard to believe the reel truly had that many views — it makes it seem like the view count is artificially inflated. And obviously, for affiliate links, engagement (clicking, buying, sharing, saving, liking) is the thing that matters more than follower count or view count.
3) Having a niche matters. Creators who do especially well with affiliate links often focus on a specific niche — like the laptop reviewer I mentioned. I, on the other hand, am niche-less — I write about current events, parenthood, my abortion book, renovations, life in France, and whatever else is on my mind. Having or not having a niche can make a huge impact. There are creators with a much smaller engaged audience than I have, and they generate much more income from their content, because they made the smart decision to focus on a niche.
4) The huge differences in what falls under the umbrella of "creator" is a big factor in why this work seems opaque. The youtube laptop reviewer's business model is so different from mine, that when we discussed how we both use affiliate links, we couldn't find any advice that applied to both of us.
Thank you so much for this detailed explanation. I was happy to see that the question I've had for a long time was answered: For links, I always "open in web browser" instead of shopping within instagram, and I was a bit bummed to think that maybe the affiliate link would not "count". Very glad to see that it does!
Thank you for this explanation of the behind the scenes of content creator life.
I like clearly marked *ad breaks* much better and find them much more honest than having ads strewn in-between other content. Lately many IG accounts remind me of the movie The Truman Show, with so much commercial content embedded into their regular content, that it has become fake and annoying. An *ad break* acknowledges that we understand that the content creator needs to get paid in order to continue creating content. And thank you thank you thank you for creating so much amazing content for so long!!
This was so great. Thank you. I had these questions floating around in my brain and now i understand how the whole system works much better. It's kind of crazy tbh. Personally I love your ad breaks. It's hard to explain but your notice kind of changes my mental mindset and preps me for a commercial. It's definitely less abrupt. I also love to hear others' opinions/advice on the items.
I love how you’ve added affiliate links. I love the very clear “time for some ads” slide and I really like when you post comments made by other followers that have either purchased or already use a specific product. I don’t know why, but it just feels so much more genuine than reading reviews or having an influencer claim that a certain product is their favorite when they’ve already made the same claim about similar products several times.
And this is a fascinating break down of how it all works (at least in your specific case). I think, at heart, you are an educator! You clearly have a passion for learning and a real talent for explaining things and new concepts.
I’ve always wondered about this.
What about if you click on the link and close it, but decide later that you want to buy the item? If I log back in on my own and find the product, do you still receive the sale?
I think so, but I’m not totally certain. I guess you could always go back to my link and click it again?
I appreciate you and so much. For all these years you’ve made conversations like this so helpful and refreshingly open. You’re the best, Gabby. Oh, and thanks to your affiliate links I now use Target school notebooks as my morning pages journals.