YouTube is betting on social shopping as it ramps up efforts to get creators to link to products below their videos.
Last year, YouTube launched an affiliate-marketing program that the company had been quietly testing with a small set of creators since 2021. The program pays creators commissions for the sales they drive through clickable affiliate links.
Rivals Instagram and TikTok have both struggled to integrate shopping seamlessly into their platforms. Instagram shut down its native affiliate program in 2022, shifting focus to its Creator Marketplace that matches creators with brands for paid partnerships. Meanwhile, TikTok Shop has found success drawing in small businesses but struggled to convince larger consumer brands — and turned off some users who feel the app has been flooded with shopping videos.
While it’s still early days for YouTube’s native affiliate program, Business Insider’s conversations with several talent managers and creators suggest the tool may be having a hard time attracting creators who have a bevy of other affiliate options to choose from.
Five talent managers working with YouTube creators told BI their clients have yet to use YouTube’s affiliate program or that they weren’t familiar with the program. Their clients use other programs from Amazon, MagicLinks, and LTK.
Influencers have long used startups including LTK and MagicLinks, as well as the Amazon Influencer Program, to earn commissions from promoting products. Many personal-finance influencers work directly with programs from financial institutions, such as banks or investing firms, as well.
These established programs could make it hard for YouTube’s affiliate feature to compete.
Personal-finance influencer Kelly Anne Smith, who has 53,000 subscribers, said affiliate marketing is one of her top income streams — yet she doesn’t use YouTube’s program.
That’s because there aren’t finance products available to link to through the program, she said. Instead, she uses finance-related affiliate programs through financial institutions, including CitiBank and Lemonade.
Some creators, like Kristen McGowan, have started using YouTube’s affiliate program alongside other tools.
The home-decorating creator, who has 1.7 million subscribers, told BI that affiliate marketing is a huge part of her creator business and that she uses YouTube’s affiliate program. (YouTube provided an interview with McGowan after BI reached out to the company for comment on this story.)
“I started implementing links because a lot of what I do is recommending products, like how to get the look for less, which has to do a lot with what to buy,” McGowan said, referring to YouTube affiliate links.
McGowan also uses other programs, including those from Amazon and MagicLinks. The description of her most recent YouTube video from March 24 links back to those programs, as well as YouTube’s in-house program.
YouTube’s success in shopping may depend on convincing more creators like McGowan that its affiliate tool can bring in money for them on top of the other programs they’ve come to rely on. Currently, YouTube’s program doesn’t offer anything creators can’t get elsewhere in the affiliate-marketing space, YouTuber Amanda Golka said.
What YouTube pays creators who make a sale through its affiliate program
YouTube’s affiliate program offers commissions between 1% and 20%, according to screenshots of the affiliate-program dashboard that were viewed by BI.
Recent YouTube commission rates shared with BI included a 15% commission for driving sales of Adidas leggings and Sephora Collection liquid foundation, as well as a 1% commission on a Samsung USB-C wall-phone charger sold through Walmart.
These rates are comparable to existing programs, including the Amazon Influencer Program, which also offers fixed rates between 1% and 20%.
Still, YouTube’s rates haven’t been enough to draw some creators who have relationships with other programs. The company also offered bonuses last year to get creators to participate.
Golka, the creator behind the YouTube channel Swell Entertainment with 445,000 subscribers, uses affiliate programs, including from VidIQ, MagicLinks, LTK, and Amazon. She hasn’t used YouTube’s affiliate tools yet because she’s concerned about tying all her revenue to a single platform, she said.
For instance, if Golka’s YouTube channel were demonetized, she wouldn’t be able to make money from the YouTube native affiliate links since the feature is through the Partner Program that allows creators to make money from advertising in their videos. By using a variety of platforms, she said she can find the best rates for the products she promotes and diversify her income.
One other creator told BI they’d love to use YouTube’s affiliate program, but they weren’t eligible.
Lifestyle influencer Gigi Robinson, who has 1,500 subscribers on YouTube, can’t join because creators need more than 15,000 subscribers to apply. Creators also must be in the YouTube Partner Program and based in the US. She said she hopes YouTube will eventually lower the requirements for the affiliate program so that smaller creators can join.
Source YouTubers reveal how the platform’s new affiliate-marketing program measures up to
