Creator Lola Torres told Digiday she now derives the majority of her income from affiliate marketing rather than traditional brand partnerships, citing predictability and control as the primary drivers. According to the interview, affiliate commissions provide a steady monthly baseline that brand deals—typically one-off payments for sponsored posts—cannot match.

Torres runs affiliate links across her content platforms, earning a percentage each time a follower purchases a recommended product. She retains editorial control: no creative briefs, no approval rounds, no delivery deadlines imposed by a brand's campaign calendar. The affiliate model pays her for as long as the link converts, creating a compounding revenue stream that outlives a single Instagram Story.

The mechanism works because the creator bears the audience-trust cost upfront. Torres built credibility by recommending products she uses and explaining why they solve a specific problem. When she links to a blender or a skincare set, her audience already knows she owns it and has tested it. The transaction happens in the decision moment—mid-scroll or mid-video—without the friction of a staged brand narrative. For the product company, this means ongoing, authentic exposure with zero media buy and payment only on performance.

Physical-product brands can run the same play without hiring an agency or negotiating influencer contracts. Join the affiliate networks your product category already uses: Amazon Associates for consumer goods, ShareASale or Impact for premium items, or a direct Shopify affiliate app if you sell DTC. Set your commission rate—8% to 15% is standard for physical products, higher if margin allows. Then recruit creators in your niche by reaching out with a simple pitch: your product, your affiliate rate, and a sample if they want to try before they link.

The small-brand advantage is speed. A solo founder can activate 10 micro-creators in a week by sending a templated email and a product sample, then tracking conversions through the affiliate dashboard. No contracts, no content approvals, no minimum spend. Creators who see their audience convert will keep linking. Those who don't will stop, and you've paid nothing beyond the sample and the commission on actual sales. Torres's preference signals a structural shift: creators increasingly want residual income and editorial freedom, and affiliate models deliver both. Brands that build creator affiliate pipelines now will own a repeatable, low-CAC acquisition channel while competitors still negotiate one-off Instagram posts.

The broader pattern is that creator economics now favor performance alignment. As more creators optimize for recurring revenue, affiliate partnerships become the default collaboration model, and brands that offer compelling commission structures and frictionless onboarding will capture the creator traffic that once went to higher-bidding sponsors.