Promo code vs affiliate link: how each one pays you

The mechanical difference

• Attribution

  Affiliate link

  Click plus cookie or tracking parameter, within a window

  Promo code

  Code entered at checkout, whenever that happens

• Survives device switching

  Affiliate link

  Usually not: a click on a phone rarely credits a laptop purchase

  Promo code

  Yes: the code travels in the buyer's head or clipboard

• Follower benefit

  Affiliate link

  None built in

  Promo code

  A discount, which gives people a reason to use yours

• Typical failure

  Affiliate link

  Attribution window expires or the cookie is lost

  Promo code

  Code expires, gets typo'd, or leaks to coupon sites

Which one you get, and from where

Affiliate programs and platforms like LTK hand out links by default. Codes usually come from direct brand relationships, and increasingly from platforms too: ShopMy, for example, supports brand-issued commissionable codes that credit you whenever the code is used, even with no click. If a brand offers you either, ask for both: the link for people ready to tap, the code for everyone else.

The measurement asymmetry

Links come with click counts. Codes, from the creator's side, often come with nothing: the brand sees redemptions and you see silence. That is why a code-first bio page counts code copies, the one signal on the code path a creator can own. It measures interest, not sales, and it fills the gap between posting a code and the brand's monthly report. More in promo-code tracking for creators.

Practical rules

• Say the code out loud and show it on screen; put the link where it can actually be tapped. The two paths reinforce each other.
• Keep code and link together on one page per brand, so a buyer who arrives with half the information finds the other half.
• Confirm with the brand whether your code is commissionable or discount-only before you build a campaign on it. A discount-only code helps your audience but pays you nothing directly.