You don’t need a manager or brand deals to use affiliate links. This post explains how content creators can get started with affiliate links—cleanly, ethically, and without overthinking it.
A lot of creators assume affiliate links are something you deal with later.
Later means:
That assumption is why so many creators miss out early.
The reality is much simpler:
You don’t need a manager to use affiliate links.
You don’t need permission.
And you don’t need to change how you create content.
You just need to understand how the system works.
Affiliate links aren’t a milestone you unlock.
They’re not a reward for growth.
They’re not a badge of legitimacy.
They’re infrastructure.
If you already:
…you’re already doing the hard part.
Affiliate links just make sure you’re credited when that recommendation turns into action.
This part trips people up because it sounds more complicated than it is.
Affiliate links usually come from one of three places:
Many brands already run their own programs.
You apply directly, get approved, and receive:
You don’t need a relationship with the brand.
You don’t need a pitch deck.
You don’t need a manager.
Some brands use networks to manage attribution.
These act as intermediaries that:
For creators, this often means:
This is what people usually think of first.
Emailing brands.
Negotiating terms.
Asking for custom links or codes.
That comes later.
If you start here, you’re doing things backward.
You only need three things:
This could be:
It doesn’t need to be perfect.
It just needs to exist.
Not a list of ten.
Not a “resources page” with everything you’ve ever used.
Start with:
That’s it.
This matters more than volume.
If you mention a product:
Most creators fail here, not because they don’t try — but because there’s no system to support it.
These mistakes are common, and they slow people down:
None of that is required.
Affiliate links work best when they’re boring, predictable, and available — not aggressively promoted.
Affiliate links don’t require scale.
They compound quietly.
Starting early means:
The creators who struggle most with affiliate links are often the ones who waited too long and then tried to bolt them on after the fact.
Getting an affiliate link is easy.
Keeping it:
…is the hard part.
That’s why so many creators technically “have” affiliate links, but still earn very little from them.
The system around the link matters more than the link itself.
This is exactly the progression most creators follow:
Aardvark exists to remove that friction — not by changing how creators create, but by fixing how attribution works once someone is ready to buy.
You don’t need to think about that on day one.
But starting clean makes everything easier when you get there.
