5 Ways Ecommerce Creators Can Diversify Their Income

Published on April 10, 2025

If 5 Ways Creators Can Diversify Their Income the brief TikTok ban earlier this year accomplished anything, it was to show influencers the importance of diversifying their channels and sources of income. Economic trends change, algorithms change and apps change, so the revenue stream that flows strong today could slow to a trickle tomorrow. Revenue diversification is the key to smoothing out unexpected bumps in the creator economy.

Another reason to diversify is to better grow your audience and your business. Expanding into other channels, marketing methods or product categories enables you to reach more people and interest more brands. The right type of expansion also adds to your credibility. You’re no longer “just” a TikTok personality or “just” an Instagram influencer; you’re now a multichannel authority.

Below, we explore five ways you can diversify and expand your reach, your business and your income.

#1: Join Multiple Affiliate Programs and Marketplaces

If you're only doing brand deals, the potential to command sizable fees for such work might have initially attracted you to become an influencer. But just as most wannabe actors who head to Hollywood don’t become stars, most influencers don’t make a living exclusively from big-name brand deals.

Many, 5 Ways Creators Can Diversify Their Income if not most, content creators find affiliate programs to be more lucrative sources of income. In fact, 63% of the influencers we surveyed reported that affiliate commissions make up more than half of their income. Amazon, TikTok Shop, Etsy, Shopify, Target and Walmart are just a few retailers that welcome influencers as affiliates.

Because affiliate programs pay on a commission basis, influencers need to ensure that their content drives viewers directly to product pages where they can complete a purchase. If the content links to a brand’s landing page rather than the actual product, the consumer might balk at the extra clicks needed to complete the purchase. And even if the consumer does go ahead and buy, the influencer will not get the credit for the sale. For that reason, influencers who become affiliates should implement an app-to-app solution (like URLgenius) that enables them to deep link directly to brands’ category and product pages.

And here’s a benefit exclusive to URLgenius users: The URLgenius Marketplace lets you reap higher than average affiliate commission rates from participating brands. This type of marketplace commission is paid directly by the brand through URLgenius.

If you're just getting started with affiliate programs as an influencer, try the Amazon, Walmart and TikTok Shop programs.

#2: Promote Products and Deals Across Multiple Social Channels

Since you’re already investing the time and resources to create content for one channel, why not share it via other platforms? Even if you want to keep certain content exclusive to your core platform, you can still use other channels to promote it: Link to your TikTok videos via Pinterest, for instance, or tout your YouTube channel on your Instagram bio.

Don’t limit yourself to the big, general-interest platforms. Specialty social channels abound: Untappd for beer enthusiasts, Ravelry for knitters and crocheters, Houzz for home renovations and design… Research which platforms not only have an audience most receptive to your content, but also which ones have the most engaged participants. Branch out to just one or two at a time and monitor what sort of lift you gain from them.

If after several months the juice from a particular platform isn’t worth the squeeze, try another channel instead.

#3: Consider Blogging

Blogging offers another promotional and sales channel. You can launch your own website and post additional content, such as roundups with links to favorite products, behind-the-scenes photos, weekly musings and teasers regarding upcoming videos or collaborations. Or you can start a blog on a platform such as Substack or Medium. These platforms typically allow affiliate links. They also have a built-in readership and an e-newsletter component, both of which enable you to expand your reach.

That said, blogging does require a commitment of time and resources. It’s most effective when posts are published regularly. If your schedule is already maxed out, blogging probably isn’t right for you. The same is true if you don’t like writing. While posts can be primarily images, people go to blogs largely to read as well as view.

#4: Expand Your Product Categories

This 5 Ways Creators Can Diversify Their Income doesn’t mean suddenly producing content about topics you know or care nothing about. But chances are, there are categories adjacent to your specialty that you could easily expand into. For example, someone who creates cooking content could branch out into table setting ideas or kitchen-tool comparisons; a beauty influencer might try talking about fashion. This could pave your way to becoming a lifestyle influencer where you share a variety of interests, from morning workouts to nighttime skincare routines.

Expanding your scope opens you up to more followers and more potential brands to work with, which can translate into more income. However —only do this if it feels authentic! If you’re passionate about exercise but not about diet, even though there’s a synergy between the two topics, your lack of interest about the latter will be conveyed. And given that authenticity is key to success as an influencer, feigning enthusiasm about a topic could damage your entire brand.

#5: Sell Your Own Products or Services

As a content creator, you’ve no doubt accrued plenty of valuable information about your chosen subject matter. Optimize that knowledge by charging for it! A foodie influencer could self-publish a cookbook to sell; a home decor content creator could charge for virtual room styling sessions; an artist could charge for drawing lessons or sell a gamut of items, from T-shirts to skateboards, embellished with their original designs.

You could also sell your content creation expertise: Offer courses or e-books on video production, photography, content calendars, promotion and other aspects of the influencer industry in which you excel.

How URLgenius Can Help

Regardless of whichever methods you choose, URLgenius can help boost your income. URLgenius enables you to create affiliate app links that route users directly to the right in-app destinations—such as category or product pages—while bypassing login screens.

Of the influencers who had implemented an app deep linking solution like URLgenius, 89% enjoyed higher Prime Day conversion rates last year. What’s more, a recent survey found that 78% of influencers saw their average order value rise after implementing URLgenius.

URLgenius measures non-personally identifiable information (PII) including clicks, app opens, device and platform. Beyond being able to track performance, you can use this information to see your most popular links so that you can continue improving your content.

See for yourself how URLgenius can help you grow your income with no added effort; contact us today.

For more best practices on how to succeed as a content creator, check out the resources below:

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