ShopMy vs LTK: which one is right for you?
Both pay you commission for linking products. The difference is who they let in, and what they pay for.
Here’s the easiest way to hold them apart. LTK is a mall. Shoppers browse it, they open the app to shop, and they find you inside it. ShopMy is a business card. Nobody browses ShopMy — you send people to your page from your own content.
LTK, in plain terms
LTK (the app formerly called LIKEtoKNOW.it) is invite-only and application-based. You need an established social presence and a consistent aesthetic. They’re slow with approvals and they say no a lot.
What you get in return is real: shoppers actively open LTK looking to buy. That’s the rarest thing in affiliate marketing — an audience that arrived with a credit card out.
Hard if: you’re brand new, faceless, or your content is educational rather than aspirational.
ShopMy, in plain terms
ShopMy is far easier to get into and built around your link, not their marketplace. You build a page of collections, drop it in your bio, and earn when people buy through it.
The thing creators love about ShopMy is the gifting side. Brands on the platform can send you product directly, which means it doubles as a way to get PR packages without cold pitching.
Hard if: you expect built-in traffic. You bring the audience.
The comparison that actually matters
LTK gives you shoppers. ShopMy gives you access. If you don’t have an audience yet, access is worth more.
Commission rates on both are set by the individual brand, not the platform, so “which pays more” has no single answer. What differs is the effort shape: LTK rewards being findable, ShopMy rewards being persuasive.
How to get accepted
2. Pick a lane before you apply. “Affordable home decor for renters” gets approved. “Lifestyle” does not.
3. Show you already link products. If your content never mentions where things are from, there’s nothing to approve.
4. Apply to ShopMy first. Easier yes, and it gives you a real link history to point at when you apply to LTK later.
Heads up: some links in my content are affiliate links. If you buy through one, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only share what I actually use.
What I’d do if I were starting today
Start with ShopMy, because you can start this week, and use the gifting side to build a portfolio. Apply to LTK once your content is consistent enough that a stranger could describe what you post in one sentence.
And don’t run both hard at once. Splitting your links across two platforms means neither gets enough volume to tell you anything. Pick one, run it for ninety days, then judge.