If you’re active in the digital space, you’ve probably seen influencers or creators promoting promo codes and affiliate links for various brands. But if you’re not sure what they are or how they work, don’t worry—you're in the right place to learn all about them!
Affiliate links are trackable URLs with a unique affiliate ID attached to a brand’s domain. These links direct traffic to specific landing pages on the brand’s website, allowing the brand to track which influencer generated that traffic. On the other hand, discount codes are digital coupons that brands give to influencers, allowing their audience to access exclusive discounts.
When combined, affiliate links and discount codes become two of the most powerful tools in an influencer’s marketing strategy. Brands like Shein and Sweetgreen have leveraged these tools to track performance, engage audiences, boost sales, and increase brand visibility.
And by utilizing platforms like Shopify, Creator Hero, and Influencer Hero, they can further maximize their impact and optimize influencer partnerships.
That said, in this article, you’ll learn:
An influencer discount code is a unique, customized promo code that a brand provides to an influencer to share with their audience across one or multiple platforms—often featuring the influencer’s name, nickname, or handle (e.g., AMANDA10 or MRBEAST).
When followers enter the code at checkout—usually manually— they receive a benefit such as a discount on specific products, sitewide savings, or free shipping. And if the influencer is part of an affiliate program, a portion of the sale can be attributed to them.
Additionally, these codes work whether or not the visitor uses an affiliate link to access the site.
Influencer discount codes offer a win-win: Followers get a special offer, and brands gain measurable results from influencer promotions. Here’s why they’re so effective:
An influencer affiliate link is a unique, trackable URL provided by a brand that influencers can share with their audience. It directs followers to a specific page on the brand’s website—whether a product, collection, or homepage—while tracking clicks and traffic generated by the influencer.
When someone clicks the link and makes a purchase, the influencer earns a commission, and the brand can attribute the sale directly to the creator, as part of the Influencer Affiliate Marketing program. However, it’s important to note that these links do not necessarily offer a discount to the customer.
Also, to increase recognition and trust, these links can be customized with the influencer’s name, nickname, or handle as well.
Influencer affiliate links are a powerful performance-based marketing tool that also helps brands measure an influencer’s campaign success. Here are some key benefits:
In short, the difference between influencer discount codes and affiliate links is:
Now…When to use discount codes, affiliate links, and both?
Use Discount Codes when your goal is to drive sales through special offers, as they create urgency and are highly shareable, making them ideal for social media posts and Instagram stories.
Use Affiliate Links when you want to precisely track influencer-driven conversions and reward influencers based on performance. They work well for Instagram stories (with link stickers), blog posts, YouTube descriptions, newsletters, and longer-term content.
Use Both when you want measurable results through affiliate links and a strong incentive for customers to buy via a discount code. Many brands offer a discount code linked to the affiliate program, ensuring influencers earn commission while offering their audience savings. It’s a win-win!
Using both tools together provides more comprehensive insights and benefits:
Tip: For Instagram, ask creators to share the post or reel to their Stories and include the sticker link. For YouTube, request they add the affiliate link in the video description or pin it in a top comment!
When running influencer campaigns, broken affiliate links or unmonitored discount codes can significantly impact performance. Invalid tracking can result in missed sales attribution, while improperly managed codes may get leaked or misused, costing your brand revenue. So, here’s how to properly set up and manage discount codes and affiliate links:
Assign each influencer a custom discount code and affiliate link so you can track individual performance and attribute results accurately, as well as make the promotion feel more personal and exclusive to the audience. Using generic discount codes like WELCOME10 or CHRISTMAS15 across several creators makes it difficult to attribute performance accurately.
Clearly outline the offer to ensure alignment and set expectations up front:
Tips:
1. Percentage discounts might perform better than dollar-off discounts — and vice-versa — depending on the product and audience.
According to a survey, 80% of shoppers are more likely to buy with a percent-off deal, boosting conversion rates. But for higher-priced items, 48% prefer a dollar-off coupon. Additionally, Coresight Research found that percentage discounts work best for smaller purchases, while dollar-off offers win on big-ticket items.
2. Find a balance between attracting customers and maintaining healthy profit margins. Be mindful not to compromise long-term sustainability just to boost short-term sales.
Use UTM parameters (small bits of text added to the end of a URL) to help track where your website traffic is coming from, and combine this with affiliate dashboards for real-time performance insights. Always take time to analyze what worked, what didn’t, and which influencers performed best, so you can optimize future efforts.
Always test both the affiliate link and discount code before sending them to the influencer to ensure they work correctly and apply the intended discount or tracking. This prevents confusion, missed sales, and unnecessary back-and-forth.
Check popular coupon websites to see if any codes have been leaked. If you have dev resources, consider creating an internal tool or script to automatically notify you when a promo code is detected outside of the intended channels. Setting expiration dates or usage limits (e.g., “valid for the first 100 redemptions”) and rotating codes regularly can also prevent misuse, as well as maintain urgency and control.
Encourage influencers to use their discount code and affiliate link together for stronger attribution and performance. Additionally, make sure they follow the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) disclosure guidelines. Creators must clearly disclose their relationship with a brand using terms like “#ad”, “#sponsored”, “#gifted”, “#paid partnership”, or “#affiliate”, depending on the nature of the collaboration. Disclosures should be easy to notice—placed in captions, spoken aloud in videos, or visibly included in Stories. This not only ensures legal compliance but also builds transparency and trust with their audience.
Pro Tip: Looking for free tools to track performance?
1. Use Google’s Campaign URL Builder to generate UTM-tagged links and track campaign performance. The most important fields to complete are:
BONUS: Shorten links with Bit.ly for cleaner sharing.
2. Then, track results in Google Analytics, where you can set up Conversion Goals to measure behaviors like signups, purchases, page views, and more!
Influencers earn money from discount codes and affiliate links through commission-based structures. When a follower uses their unique code at checkout or clicks an affiliate link to make a purchase, the influencer receives a percentage of the sale.
This system incentivizes creators to promote products they genuinely love while giving brands a measurable way to track performance, reach new audiences, and boost sales through authentic word-of-mouth marketing.
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Remind influencers to make disclosures intuitive and tailored to each platform. These should be easy for audiences to notice and understand. For example, Instagram’s “Paid Partnership” tag, YouTube’s paid promotion label, and Pinterest’s affiliate disclaimers all help clarify the nature of the content.
Clear and consistent disclosures protect both your brand and the influencer from potential scrutiny—and build trust with their audience over time.
Don’t rely on a single post to drive results. Encourage influencers to feature discount codes and affiliate links in multiple places—like YouTube video descriptions, Instagram bios, blog sidebars, or email newsletters. Repetition reinforces the message and increases the likelihood of conversion. Just make sure placement aligns with your campaign goals and the influencer’s typical content style.
Influencer codes are most effective when they create a sense of reward and a reason to act now. Use phrases like “limited time only,” “expires Sunday,”, “limited spots” or “exclusive for the first 50 buyers” to add urgency, while highlighting what’s in it for the customer—such as extra savings or early access. This motivates immediate engagement and reduces the chance followers forget to use the code.
Use affiliate software to auto-generate discount codes and tracking links to streamline management and maximize ROI. However, if you’re working with a small team and a select group of influencers, managing everything via spreadsheets can still be effective.
Organize influencers by niche, platform, and/or partnership type (gifting, affiliate, or paid). This allows for more targeted strategies and clearer performance insights.
Keep your pipeline active by continuously reaching out to and onboarding new influencers.
Monitor performance regularly and use insights to prioritize your top-performing partners, ensuring you get the best return on investment.
Shein is a global e-commerce platform originally founded in China and known for offering trendy, affordable clothing, accessories, and home decor. The brand collaborates with a diverse range of influencers from different countries and age groups, providing them with personalized discount codes and trackable affiliate links as part of its Affiliate Program. This approach has played a significant role in Shein’s viral growth and the development of strong brand loyalty across international markets.
LOOKFANTASTIC is a UK-based online beauty retailer offering a diverse range of skincare, haircare, makeup, and wellness products. The brand leverages seasonal moments and holidays, such as Easter, to craft campaigns and collaborate with influencers who create tailored content that resonates with their audiences and showcases the latest beauty trends. This approach not only boosts the brand’s visibility but also strengthens customer loyalty by keeping the brand top of mind during key shopping periods.
Sweetgreen is a U.S.-based fast-casual restaurant chain known for its fresh, seasonal salads and warm bowls. To drive immediate action and increase orders, the brand regularly launches limited-time offers—like $1 sides or percentage discounts on select menu items. These promotions are amplified through influencer collaborations, where engaging and authentic content helps extend their reach and spread the word. This strategy not only creates urgency and boosts visibility but also deepens customer loyalty by combining value-driven incentives with a strong brand voice.
Whether you're managing your program with spreadsheets or an influencer marketing platform, combining discount codes and affiliate links is one of the most effective ways to maximize the impact of your influencer partnerships. This dual approach gives brands better control over promotions and provides valuable, trackable insights into performance, customer behavior, and ROI.
On the other hand, relying on only one tool—just links or just codes—can limit your reach and tracking. Some followers may skip clicking a link but remember and use a discount code later. Others may prefer the convenience of tapping a link to shop instantly. So, encouraging influencers to use both ensures broader coverage, stronger attribution, and more accurate performance data.
Yes, and it’s often encouraged for better tracking and performance. Using both helps track conversions from the promo code and provides insights into sales generated from the affiliate link, giving you a complete picture of the influencer’s impact.
It depends on the platform. Some allow you to set custom expiration dates, while others may provide links and discount codes that never expire. Be sure to check the specific terms with your affiliate platform to understand the duration and renewal process.
Yes! Promo codes can be shared via various offline channels such as radio, print ads, in-person events, and podcasts. This allows you to reach a broader audience, beyond just digital channels.
Track usage through your eCommerce backend or affiliate dashboard, where you can see how many times a code has been used and view related traffic and sales metrics. For a quick check, try clicking the affiliate link to see if it registers a new click, and test the discount code on your site by adding a product to the cart and applying the code at checkout.
Yes, many platforms allow you to customize discount levels for each influencer. This lets you incentivize top performers with higher discounts or offer exclusive deals for specific campaigns, helping you tailor the strategy to different types of audiences or partnership goals.
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