How influencers use affiliate marketing programs to make money and how much they earn - Business Insider Africa

• Influencers frequently share links to their Instagram Stories or below their YouTube videos.
• Those links are often affiliate links that let creators earn a commission on sales. 
• We spoke with creators about how much money they earn using affiliate marketing.

When someone makes a purchase on a website after clicking through a trackable link or using a specific code, the influencer who posted it can earn a commission from that sale in what's called affiliate marketing. 

How lucrative affiliate marketing is for an influencer depends on several factors such as their following size, engagement, and which industry they are in. It also depends on the commission rates brands and platforms put in place.

One personal-finance influencer, Tori Dunlap, told Insider she made more than $200,000 in eight months in 2021.

But finance isn't the only content category paying off for creators.

In 2021, Instagram also made it easier for influencers to add affiliate links to their stories after the platform lifted its requirement that users either be verified or have at least 10,000 followers to use the feature. 

Insider has talked with many influencers and industry experts about affiliate marketing. Here's a rundown of what they told us they have earned.

We spoke with a handful of influencers about how they incorporate affiliate links into their content. Several detailed their monthly earnings. They ranged from about $50 per month to more than $25,000 per month.

Here's how much money 10 creators make from affiliates:

• Tori Dunlap, a personal-finance influencer on TikTok with 1.7 million followers
• Ryan Scribner, a personal finance YouTuber with 737,000 YouTube subscribers
• Vi Lai, a skincare influencer with 849,000 followers on TikTok and 180,000 on Instagram
• Erin Confortini, a personal finance with 180,000 TikTok followers
• Charlie Chang, a YouTube creator with 457,000 subscribers who posts personal finance and real estate content
• Kara Harms, a full-time blogger with a social-media following of over 300,000 followers
• Charli Prangley, a part-time YouTube creator with about 200,000 subscribers
• Erika Kullberg, an attorney and YouTube creator with 200,000 subscribers
• Bethany Everett-Ratcliffe, a fashion and lifestyle micro influencer with 16,000 Instagram followers
• Kayla Compton, a lifestyle nano influencer with 4,600 YouTube subscribers and 2,700 Instagram followers