Affiliate links for creators are shopping links that a social media creator shares in a post. When a follower buys through the link, the creator earns a commission, a share of the sale. The brand that pays for the post can see which creator's post led to which sale. The business of creators earning from what their followers buy is often called creator commerce.
How does the link know who sent the buyer? Each creator gets a unique link for each product. When a follower taps the link, the platform records the tap and passes a code to the shopping website. The website keeps the code for a fixed period. Each website sets this period, usually between one day and 30 days. If the follower buys within that period, the sale is credited to that creator. The shopping website may be an online marketplace or the brand's own store, built on an e-commerce platform.
For creators, the platform also makes a shop page. This is one page that lists all the products a creator has shown, with a link to each. The creator puts this page in the profile of each social media account.
Imagine a fashion creator in Guwahati with 2 lakh followers on a photo and video app. She posts a short video of five monsoon outfits. Each outfit is linked on her shop page. A follower in Shillong taps the link for a cotton kurta and buys it for ₹1,299. The commission on this kurta is 8%. So the creator earns about ₹104. The commission is confirmed only after the return period ends, because a returned kurta earns nothing. At the end of the month, the platform adds up all her confirmed commissions and pays them into her bank account.
For brands, the platform runs creator campaigns. A brand chooses a group of creators, sends them its products and agrees what each post should show. The platform then reports the taps, the sales and the commission for each creator's post. Working out which post or advertisement led to a sale is called marketing attribution. Social listening software can help a brand find creators who already post about its products.
In India, a creator who is paid to promote a product must say so in the post, for example with a label such as "#ad". The rules come from the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) and the government's consumer protection guidelines.
How is it different from an ordinary advertisement? An advertiser pays for the advertisement to be shown, whether or not anyone buys. With an affiliate link, the creator is paid only when a sale happens. A website that earns the same way, by comparing products and linking to the shops, is an affiliate comparison website.