What makes this useful: A sourced EarnThread field guide written for creators turning attention into an owned business.
Affiliate marketing for small creators usually pays a little, not a lot. On Amazon's US programme most product categories pay 1% to 4.5% of the sale, so a $40 item earns you somewhere between 40 cents and $1.80. Software programmes pay far more per referral: Kit pays 50% of a customer's first year, and Shopify pays up to $150 per qualified referral. The creators who earn real money from affiliate links pick a few high-value products their audience is already buying, disclose clearly, and use affiliate income alongside their own offers rather than instead of them.
Key takeaways
- Amazon's US Associates programme pays 0% to 10% by category, with most physical goods between 1% and 4.5%.
- Software and subscription programmes pay far more per referral: Kit pays 50% of a customer's first year and Shopify up to $150 per qualified referral.
- Amazon's US session lasts 24 hours from the click, so links work best where people are ready to buy.
- Regulators in the US, UK and Ireland all expect a clear ad label upfront on affiliate content.
- A $40 product of your own earns you far more per sale than a 3% commission on a $40 item, and you keep the customer.
What affiliate programmes actually pay
Commission rates come from each programme's own terms. Here are three common ones, checked against their official pages in October 2026.
Amazon Associates (US). The Amazon Associates commission income statement (opens in a new tab) sets a rate per product category:
| Rate | Example categories |
|---|---|
| 10% | Luxury Beauty, Luxury Stores Beauty, Amazon Explore |
| 5% | Digital Music, Physical Music, Handmade, Digital Videos |
| 4.5% | Physical Books, Kitchen, Automotive |
| 4% | Kindle and Echo devices, Apparel, Shoes, Jewellery, Watches, and all other categories not listed |
| 3% | Toys, Furniture, Home, Beauty, Pet Products, Sports, Baby Products |
| 2.5% | PC, PC Components, DVD and Blu-ray |
| 2% | Televisions, Digital Video Games |
| 1% | Grocery, Health and Personal Care, Physical Video Games and Consoles |
| 0% | Gift Cards, Wireless Service Plans, Alcoholic Beverages, among others |
Amazon also pays fixed bounties for some sign-ups on the same page: for example $12 for a Prime free trial or paid membership and $5 for an Audible Premium Plus free trial. If you're in the UK or Ireland, Amazon runs separate Associates programmes with their own rate schedules, visible once you sign in, so check yours before you plan around the US figures.
Kit (email software). Kit's affiliate programme (opens in a new tab) pays 50% of what each referred paying customer pays in their first 12 months. After that, recurring commission depends on your tier: 10% at Bronze (10+ paying referrals a year), 15% at Silver (50+) and 20% at Gold (100+).
Shopify. The Shopify affiliate programme (opens in a new tab) pays up to $150 per qualified referral, depending on the referral's location, when someone you refer signs up for a paid Basic, Grow or Advanced plan. It tracks referrals for 30 days from the click, pays monthly, and has a $10 minimum balance to withdraw.
The gap between these is the main lesson. A percentage of a cheap physical product is small. A share of a subscription someone keeps for a year is much larger.
The maths for affiliate marketing for small creators
Take a hypothetical creator with 3,000 followers who shares one product recommendation a week. The click and purchase numbers below are illustrations to show the shape of the maths, not benchmarks.
| Scenario | Monthly buyers (assumed) | Price | Rate | Monthly commission |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kitchen gadget on Amazon US | 20 | $40 | 4.5% | $36 |
| Toy or home item on Amazon US | 20 | $40 | 3% | $24 |
| Email software at 50% of year one | 2 | $300 first-year spend each | 50% | $300 (spread over the year) |
| Shopify referral | 1 | n/a | up to $150 | up to $150 |
Physical-product links need volume to matter. Software and service referrals need trust, because you're recommending something people will pay for every month. For most small creators, one or two well-chosen software or tool recommendations outearn dozens of product links.
Notice what isn't in the table: the time it takes. A product link inside a genuinely useful post costs you little extra. A whole post built to push a commission costs you trust if the product disappoints.
How affiliate tracking windows work
Commission only counts if the purchase happens inside the programme's tracking window, and those windows vary a lot.
- Amazon US: under the Associates programme policies (opens in a new tab), a session starts when someone clicks your link and ends after 24 hours, when they place an order, or when they click another Associate's link. An item added to the basket during that session can still count if the order is completed within 89 days of the original click.
- Shopify: referrals are tracked for 30 days from the click, per its affiliate page (opens in a new tab).
- Kit: its affiliate page doesn't state a cookie length, so ask before you rely on it.
Short windows reward links placed where people are ready to buy, such as a "what's in my kit" list or a tutorial that uses the product. Long windows suit software, where people take days to decide.
What the data says about creator affiliate income
Affiliate marketing is widespread but rarely the main earner. The Visa 2025 Creator Report (opens in a new tab), based on more than 1,000 creators in five countries, found 78% of creators engage in affiliate marketing. But in Linktree's Creator Report (opens in a new tab) (9,576 users, survey run in 2021), only 15% of niche creators and 10% of non-niche creators listed affiliate marketing (excluding Amazon) as a channel that earns them revenue. Our round-up of ways creators make money in 2026 compares it with the options that work better at small sizes.
It also moves with brand budgets. Kajabi's State of Creator Commerce report (opens in a new tab) (1,717 respondents, published April 2025) found affiliate marketing income down 36% year on year among its respondents, alongside a 33% drop in platform payouts. Kajabi sells creator software, so read that as one vendor's survey, but the direction matches what many creators report: income you don't set the price for can shrink without warning.
Disclosure rules in the US, UK and Ireland
Affiliate links are advertising in the eyes of regulators in all three markets. You need to label them clearly, where people see them before they click.
- US (FTC): the FTC's Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers (opens in a new tab) says to disclose any financial relationship with a brand, place the disclosure with the endorsement rather than in your bio or behind "more", and avoid vague terms like "sp", "spon" or "collab". In videos, say it and show it on screen.
- UK (ASA/CAP): the ASA's guidance on recognising ads on social media (opens in a new tab) expects a prominent "ad" label upfront and applies the same rules to affiliate content. It specifically advises against using the word "affiliate" on its own, abbreviations like "aff", or a discount code alone as your label.
- Ireland (CCPC and ASAI): joint guidance from the CCPC and ASAI (opens in a new tab) published in October 2023 says commercial content should be labelled #Ad (or #Fógra in Irish) and that labels must be instantly visible.
A label such as "Ad: affiliate link, I earn a commission if you buy" at the start of the caption meets the spirit of all three. This is general guidance, not legal advice. The same labelling applies to paid posts, which our guide to brand deals under 10k followers covers alongside rates and pitches.
Where to put affiliate links so they get clicked
Placement matters more than volume. A link where someone is already deciding what to buy earns more than ten links dropped into unrelated posts.
- Tutorials that use the product. When you show how you do something, the tool on screen is the natural recommendation. Mention it, show it, and put the link in the caption or description.
- A "what I use" page. Keep one page on your own storefront listing the tools and products you rely on, with a sentence on why each one earns its place. Link it from your bio and from posts where people ask what you use.
- Your email newsletter. Subscribers have opted in to hear from you, so a well-explained recommendation lands better there than in a feed. Check each programme's terms on email links before you add one.
- Pinned comments and descriptions. On YouTube and TikTok, people look in the description or the pinned comment for links. Put the disclosure next to the link there as well as in the video.
- Answers to real questions. When followers ask the same "what do you use for…" question, a short post answering it with a link earns and helps at the same time.
Avoid link dumps. A list of 30 products with no reasons reads like an advert and gets ignored.
How to choose programmes worth your audience's trust
Before you add a link, run it through five questions:
- 01Do I use it now?
If you'd stop using it when the commission ends, don't recommend it.
- 02Is the payout meaningful?
Compare a percentage of a cheap item with a share of a subscription.
- 03How long is the tracking window?
A 24-hour session suits impulse buys, not considered purchases.
- 04Can I see the terms?
Rates, payout thresholds and clawback rules should be on the programme's own page.
- 05Does it fit my next step?
The best affiliate link sits naturally beside your own product, such as the tool you use in your template or course.
Keep a simple list of the links you run and review it every quarter. Remove anything that hasn't earned or that you no longer use.
Affiliate income vs selling your own product
Here is the comparison that changes most small creators' plans. Using the same hypothetical $40 price:
| Amazon link (3% category) | Your own $40 digital product | |
|---|---|---|
| You earn per sale | $1.20 | $40 minus platform and payment fees |
| Who sets the price | Amazon | You |
| Customer's email | Amazon keeps it | You keep it, with consent |
| Rate can change | Yes, by the programme | Only if you change it |
On EarnThread's free Launch plan, the platform fee on a $40 sale is 5% ($2), plus Stripe's processing fee, and the money goes straight into your own Stripe account. On Growth ($19 a month) the fee is 1%; on Scale ($49 a month) it's 0% (see pricing). Our breakdown of creator platform costs explains what else to count.
You don't need to choose one. Use affiliate links for the tools you genuinely rely on, and send the same audience to a product of your own. If you haven't made one yet, how to choose your first digital product and how to price your first digital product cover the first steps, and a creator storefront can hold both your product and your recommended-tools list.
The realistic plan
Affiliate marketing pays small creators in proportion to price and trust, not follower count. Keep two or three links for products you use and that pay a meaningful share, label them clearly, and treat the income as a top-up. Then put your best effort into one offer of your own, where you keep most of the sale and the customer relationship. You can start free on EarnThread and list a first product alongside your recommendations today.
Frequently asked questions
How much do affiliate marketers make per sale?
It depends entirely on the programme. On Amazon's US Associates programme, a $40 item in a 3% category earns $1.20 and in a 4.5% category $1.80. Software programmes pay more: Kit pays 50% of what a referred customer pays in their first 12 months, and Shopify pays up to $150 per qualified referral.
What is the Amazon affiliate commission rate?
On Amazon's US Associates programme, rates are set by category: 10% for luxury beauty and Amazon Explore, 4.5% for physical books, kitchen and automotive, 4% for categories not otherwise listed, 3% for toys, home and beauty, and 1% for grocery and health. Gift cards and some others pay 0%. UK and Irish programmes publish their own schedules.
Can small creators do affiliate marketing?
Yes. Most programmes have no follower minimum, and some, like Shopify's, look for an audience that fits rather than a large one. With a small audience, focus on a few products you genuinely use, place links where people are deciding what to buy, and prefer programmes that pay a meaningful amount per referral.
Do I need to disclose affiliate links?
Yes. The FTC in the US, the ASA in the UK, and the CCPC and ASAI in Ireland all treat affiliate content as advertising. Put a clear label such as "Ad" at the start of the post, next to the recommendation, not only in your bio. In videos, say it and show it on screen.