Why Affiliate-Only Deals Are Undervaluing You — and What to Do Instead
Release Date: 12/15/2025
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info_outlineThink affiliate links are the key to making money online? Think again.
In this real-talk episode of Accidentally Influential, Kate and Teanna unpack the truth about affiliate marketing — and why, for most creators (especially educators and digital product sellers), affiliate-only deals are watering down your brand and leaving serious money on the table.
With over $500,000 in brand partnerships under our belts — and less than $10K in affiliate income — we’re pulling back the curtain on:
Join the Not an Influencer Creator Club Waitlist → CLICK
🔥 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- Why affiliate marketing is not a sustainable business model for most creators
- The actual psychology behind conversions (and why your content may never get credit for the sale)
- How affiliate deals can displace your effort and funnel ROI to other creators
- The difference between top-of-funnel content and conversion content
- Why your educational content is worth way more than a commission
- Real numbers: what we’ve earned from affiliate links vs brand deals
- When affiliate income does make sense — and how to use it strategically
- The red flags that scream “free labor” (and how to say no confidently)
We’re Not Anti-Affiliate — But You Need to Hear This:
Affiliate links can absolutely be part of your revenue strategy — but not the foundation. Especially if:
- You're creating tutorial-style content that takes hours to plan and film
- Your audience is slow to convert (because they trust you and want to research first)
- You’re promoting tools, subscriptions, or high-investment services
- You're building content that educates, not just entertains
We break down how affiliate-only partnerships shift the risk entirely to the creator, and how to flip the script by turning affiliate links into paid brand partnerships.
Real Stats We Share:
- Kate made $166K in brand deals this year — and under $5K in affiliate income
- Teanna made over $100K from one brand through paid deals — and just $6K in affiliate commissions from that brand
- You are not “just” a creator — you are a strategic marketing partner and you should be paid like it.
Mentioned in This Episode:
- Beacons.ai – Our go-to platform for building media kits, brand pitches, and custom links
- Tailor Brands – The platform we used to legally form our LLC as creators
- Join the Not an Influencer Creator Club Waitlist → CLICK
- Episode 5 – The Obvious Yes Framework: How to Pitch Without Feeling Cringe
This Episode Is For You If…
You’re a creator, educator, or expert who:
- Sells digital products or coaching
- Has an affiliate link graveyard in your Beacons link hub
- Keeps getting pitched commission-only deals
- Has created high-quality educational content that got zero affiliate credit
- Wants to negotiate better brand partnerships (even if you’re under 10K followers)
📣 Creator Challenge:
Audit your affiliate links. Pick one brand you’ve been promoting and turn that performance into a paid brand pitch using our Obvious Yes framework (Episode 5). Screenshot your pitch and tag us on Instagram so we can hype you up!
Resources + Links Mentioned:
This Episode is Sponsored by Tailor Brands
If you're a content creator who's ready to start treating your platform like a business — this is for you.
We used Tailor Brands when launching Not an Influencer Creator Agency to form our LLC, and it took less than an hour, start to finish. No confusing forms. No legal stress. Just a clean dashboard and step-by-step process made for creators like us.
From helping you file your LLC, get your EIN, set up a business bank account, and even track your income and expenses, Tailor Brands is the one-stop business builder for creators, educators, and entrepreneurs.
💼 Ready to make it official?
Just search "Tailor Business Builder" or head to tailorbrands.com to get started today.
Ready to Build a Real Creator Business?
You don’t need 100K followers. You need strategy.
Accidentally Influential is the no-fluff podcast for creators, educators, and online entrepreneurs who want to build a business without becoming a full-time influencer.
With over $500K in paid brand deals under our belt and 500K+ combined followers, we’re showing you:
- How to land sponsorships with brands you love
- How to stop undercharging
- How to treat your platform like a business
- And how to build intentional influence with the skills you already have
🎧 Hit follow, leave a review, and tag us when you share! We’ll be in the DMs cheering you on.
Follow us on Instagram + TikTok → @notaninfluencerco