Affiliate Links-- to share or not to share?
In these times, is it ethical to share an Amazon or Target affiliate link?
Getting political in 3, 2, 1. . .
Unless you’ve been living under an ignorant rock, you know that billionaires have been running the show lately. They control where we buy our everyday things, how we connect digitally, and electric cars and spaceships. And now they are in control of our government, sitting front row at the President’s inauguration.
I’ve been creating content on Instagram since 2018. I’m not new to being an Amazon Affiliate Creator. I remember the days when you had to have 10k followers to even have the link-sharing option. I daydreamed of which link was going to be the first one I’d share. Linking was a privilege to the “popular club”.
Not anymore.
I also know that Amazon was already ruling our lives and Jeff Bezos wasn’t suffering monetarily. Years ago, sharing links to Amazon could still be considered unethical, depending on who you ask. To me, I let it go. Everyone used Amazon, therefore it was okay to share.
What’s the difference now?
It seems that the difference is billionaires are less insidious these days. We’ve allowed them to say the quiet parts out loud + get away with anything and everything.
The analogy of the frog in boiling water comes to mind. We’ve been in water for so long that now it’s boiling, it’s too late to escape.
For the longest time, I didn’t want to believe that our government was greedy. Billionaires were good, they couldn’t help when they wanted to— their hands were just tied with red tape. My eyes are open. Money + power is all they seem to care about. And their pocketbooks are where it hurts the most if we want to make a difference.
When TikTok was banned (insert eye roll here), I immediately went on a war path. I deleted my Facebook. I deleted Threads and I couldn’t care less about X (formally Twitter). I didn’t care too much about Facebook. Threads was okay but Instagram is where I’ve built my long-standing community + my business. I didn’t want to lose the connections I had built. I also haven’t bought anything on Amazon in a month.
I thought about deleting my Amazon Prime. I would rather go out of my way to buy something somewhere else than support Jeff Bezos. As I went to hit “delete account”, I remembered my storefront. I shared links every day on Instagram for followers to buy what I recommended + in turn, made money for my family. On a good month, I make about $250 with Amazon affiliates + $350 on LTK. That’s $600 a month which might not seem like a lot. But, it can cover 2 Costco runs, 12 trips to the gas tank, or into our emergency savings. It pays down my business credit card.
How can I fight against the system when I also benefit from it?
How can I share a link to Amazon + not buy from there myself? Is that ethical? Do I just post the link + let others use their free will? Do I not post the link in protest? If followers are going to buy my recommended spin mop no matter what, at least let them buy it from a content creator they trust— right? I’m not sure anymore.
I thought Target was safe to post affiliate links. When they reversed their DEI policy, I went on a war path again. I deleted my Target app + haven’t shopped there in 2 weeks.
My ways of sharing links ethically are waning.
This isn’t a post about what the correct thing to do is. I don’t know what the right thing is myself. I see many of my content creator friends sharing links freely. They may hate it but do it anyway. They may need to do it to help put food on the table. It’s not my place to judge.
All I know is that I’m drastically lowering my consumerism in all areas. I’ve found a local, employee-owned grocery store. If I want something, I’ll look for it at a local store. I’ll support small businesses that also share my same values. If I can’t wait because I don’t have same-day shipping, then maybe I don’t need it at all. I’m shopping more at thrift stores. We obviously cannot change all our ways overnight. Change is a gradual climb.
When doom-scrolling Instagram or TikTok + you see your favorite creator share an affiliate link, pause + ask yourself if this is something you want to participate in. Do you truly need this product they’re sharing? Nothing against the content creator (I have so many dear content creator friends) but this is your hard-earned money. How do you want it spent?
Do you want your money going into the pocketbooks of billionaires?
How can I support content creators without using their affiliate links?
— Share their account. The more you share their account, the more eyes are on them + what they share. Content creators aren’t just in it for the money. We truly love the community we built + the connections it brings us. Sharing accounts shows us you truly love the work we put out.
— Engage. For the love of God, engage! Like, comment, share (again), DM. It’s free to engage + it boosts us in the algorithm. Out of the 23K+ followers I have, the most liked post I get averages around 1K likes. Do you know those posts from creators that say “Comment WASH and I’ll send you my face wash”. That’s because everyone comments + that boosts the algorithm. Yes, they want to sell you their face wash, but they also want your engagement.
— Buy them coffee. Wait, what? Yes. There’s a fabulous website called Buy Me A Coffee. Creators can set up their account + share their link. You can contribute to a coffee slush fund. It goes straight to their pocket so they can stay caffeinated. I just created mine.
— What other outlets do they have? Do they have a weekly newsletter? If they do, are you subscribed + opening your email? Is there a way you can contribute to their newsletter by pledging or sponsoring? Do they have a course you can purchase? Do they have a free E-book you can download? What about a book club? What about their actual services, like a personal stylist? Content creators are more than just link sharers to multi-million companies. They’re small businesses with big dreams.
Final Thoughts + Recap:
Again, I don’t have the answer to what is ethical or not. This was a thought practice more than anything. We are the only ones to choose for ourselves what is right or wrong.
As for me, I’m slowing down the link sharing to Amazon and Target. If I’m sharing an LTK link, it’s more likely going to be from Etsy or a business that aligns with my values. I’ll be sharing more coffee + of course, here on Substack, you can pledge for my writing + read for free.
We can make a gradual change. It will take a lot of us to make a lasting difference.
See you next week xx
Morgan
I’ve heard it said that there is no ethical consumption under capitalism… You just gotta do your best and hope it’s enough ❤️ personally, I am doing a low buy this year. Partly in preparation for higher prices but also because I don’t want to contribute to the madness of the oligarchy.
Also, these kinds of conversations always remind me of The Good Place—if you haven’t seen it, you must watch it immediately.
Gosh, this is SO true. I’ve been thinking about the exact same thing!! I don’t hve the answer yet but I reallly appreciated reading through someone else’s thoughts about it all.