Congratulations! You’ve finally decided to take the leap to monetize your creative outlet. Whether you are just getting started or a long time social media content creator, this blog will provide tips and tricks to get into one of the most sought after affiliate programs, Like to Know It/ Rewards Style. The company has yet to share the exact criteria for who they accept, but from my recent expereince, by following these steps you can certainly increase your chances!
Create website/blog
As a creator, it is important to have a “back-bone” to your business which most often is blog. Think of your blog as your sturdy tree trunk. It will host all of your creative portfolio permanently. Social media channels like Instagram and Facebook are the tree branches that will lead potential customers/subscribers back to your site. Your site will be the foundation of your business that YOU get to control and own forever.
As a recent blog creator, I have already learned the importance of why you should create a blog. We are simply users of social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc. The audience on these platforms are not always guaranteed. Should one of these companies decide to shut down, you lose access to connect with that audience. Additionally, there are restrictions to what you can post as a user of these sites. When you own your own blog, you are in control of your page including all images and copy.
You can easily set up a blog hosted on WordPress.com to get started. From there, you can begin to personalize your page by securing a domain at a hosting provider like GoDaddy. Once you have this set up, the most important step for your blog is to obtain an Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate, which will make your blog more secure. SSL certificates are what enable websites to move from HTTP to HTTPS.
Now that your blog is set up, don’t forget about engagement! Be sure to inform your friends and family know that this is important to you so that they can support you. I have told my closest people that the best way to support me is by liking and commenting on my posts, whether social media or my blog. When I was accepted into LTK, I made sure that every blog had at least 5 comments. So ask your mom, dad, sisters, brothers, friends, and relatives to support you!
Manage business social media channels
Social Media plays a large role in monetizing your business. If you’re still creating via a personal account, you will want to switch your setting to become a business account. A business account will allow you access to analytics and give you credibility with your audience. If you want to keep your personal page separate, you can always create a new business account. For me, I did not want to start over and plus, you will be surprised how many of your closest friends will stick around to watch your business grow.
So what now? According to LTK’s referral guidelines, here is what we know they look for in potential influencers:
- At least 4 months of consistent, quality and original content
- An engaged and growing audience
- Clean editorial design
Before applying to LTK, I made sure that I posted a minimum of 1 post (photo, reel, or video) per day for 30 days. Now keep in mind, I did have personal photos still on this page so my account had previous posting history. If you are starting a new business account, I would recommend following the guidelines of at least 4 months of posts demonstrating consistent, quality and original content.
But is posting enough? The answer is simply no. If you are looking to monetize through LTK, you will need to start organically sharing content showcasing products from other brands. For example, I shared a photo of my home and tagged companies whose products are shown, i.e. Target, Pottery Barn, Amazon, and Loloi. You will also want to follow all of Like To Know It’s social media pages (linked below), and tag them in your post to show them you are interested.
@shop.LTK | @LTK.home | @LTK.family | @LTK.europe | @LTK.brasil | @LTK.australia
Applying to LTK
You’ve completed all of the steps above and are now ready to apply. The last piece to this puzzle (where you don’t know how many pieces you need) is to apply to LTK with a referral link! Send me an email from my Contact page and I will be happy to send you a referral link. I have included the screenshots below to show you exactly what I submitted so that you can *hopefully* start monetizing soon!
Step 1: Your Info
Enter demographic information. If you have a business email address, please enter that instead of personal email.
Step 2: Posting Channels
Select “Blog” as your Primary Posting Channel and “Instagram” as your Secondary Posting Channel. This is where owning your own site and having the SSL certificate is important. The reason I chose Instagram as my second channel is because it is the place where I have the most followers/engagement. Note: Your additional channels may be different depending on which platform of yours has the most followers/ highest engagement rate. Finally, there is an option to add an Additional Posting Channel. I chose to add my Facebook page since it has my second highest engagement rate. Adding the additional channel shows you are serious about using LTK to monetize your business.
Step 3: Your Goals
LTK is a company intended to help influencers and brands align sharing curated products with potential customers. Large companies are now pouring money into affiliate marketing over traditional marketing so content creators can share sources with their audience and also benefit financially from the sale. By clicking “More tools o monetize content” and “Full time, I want to make this a career”, LTK knows you are fully dedicated to using their platform.
Let’s start monetizing!
We covered a lot of important steps! As a content creator, you were probably doing most of these steps from the start. Were all of these steps necessary? No influencer truly knows. However, from my experience, I received my confirmation email that I WAS ACCEPTED into LTK in less than one hour after applying. I have heard it can take people weeks or months to hear back and even then, they might get rejected and have to wait 6 months to apply again. So, let’s recap everything you need to do to get into LTK on your first try!
- Create a blog/website and secure SSL certificate
- Post 5 blogs to your site with 5 comments on each
- Change social media account from Personal to Business
- Consistent 1-4 months of daily posts/ reels/ videos
- Engagement with other accounts including tagging brands + following LTK accounts
- Most importantly: Apply via creator referral link (Email me for your link!)
I can’t wait to watch your business start growing. Please reach out to me for any questions via Instagram or my Contact page. May the LTK luck be in your favor!
