Influencer Discount Codes and Affiliate Links: How Brands Measure Sales and Follow the Rules

Written by Jacob Boe with the help of AI

Cover: Influencer Discount Codes and Affiliate Links

Brands use influencer discount codes and affiliate links to turn a creator’s recommendation into a measurable sale: each creator gets a unique code or link, and every purchase made with it is attributed to that creator. The code gives the audience a reason to buy now, and the brand gets data on which collaborations actually sell. In Sweden, a post with a code or affiliate link is advertising and must be clearly labelled as such.

What is an influencer discount code?

A discount code is a word or combination – often the creator’s name plus a number – that gives the follower a discount at checkout. Because each creator has their own code, the brand can see how many orders each code generated. E-commerce platforms support this; Shopify, for example, lets you set validity dates, usage limits and minimum order values for a code, and offers a Sales by discount report that shows how often codes are used.

Codes work especially well for consumer goods where the audience can buy directly online, such as fashion, beauty, food and drink, and home.

What is an affiliate link?

ICC’s Advertising and Marketing Communications Code defines an affiliate link as a URL containing a unique identifier linked to an affiliate – an individual or a company – used to track traffic and sales generated by that affiliate. When someone clicks the link, buys or completes a requested action, the affiliate receives a commission or a fixed fee.

The difference in practice: a code is something the follower remembers and types in, while a link is something they click. Links fit Stories, link-in-bio and YouTube descriptions; codes fit video and audio, where people cannot click, and situations where the purchase happens later.

How do you measure sales from influencers?

Use both, and read them together. Codes and links each miss sales the other catches:

Codes can leak. Once a code is public, it can spread beyond the creator’s audience, so time-limited or personal codes give cleaner data.
Links lose track when people switch device or buy days later. Tag links with UTM parameters so the sales also appear in your web analytics.
Compare with a baseline. Look at total sales, search volume and traffic in the campaign period compared with a normal period – not only at code orders.
Look beyond the last click. Many people see a creator, remember the brand and buy later without a code. That effect is real but does not show up in a code report.

This is particularly important with well-known personalities. A big name often drives awareness and trust that pays off over time, which a pure code count undervalues. Let codes and links measure the direct effect, and measure brand effect and reach separately.

Which commission models are there?

Fixed fee: the creator is paid for the content and the publication, regardless of sales. Predictable for both sides, and the most common model with established profiles.
Commission only: the creator is paid a share of the sales or a fixed amount per order via code or link. Low risk for the brand, but many experienced creators will not work only on commission, since they carry all the risk.
Hybrid: a lower fixed fee plus commission. It shares the risk and gives the creator an incentive to push sales over time.
Ambassadorships: a longer agreement where the code becomes a permanent part of the collaboration, with recurring content and follow-up.

Whatever the model, agree in writing what counts as a sale, how returns are handled, how long the code or link is valid, and how and when the commission is reported and paid.

What are the pros and cons of discount codes and affiliate?

The pros are clear: measurable sales, a direct reason to buy, data on which creators and which content work, and payment models that can be tied to results. The cons are worth taking seriously. Discounts cost margin, frequent codes can train customers to wait for the next offer, and code campaigns attract deal-seekers who are less loyal. A strategy built only on codes also risks favouring the most code-friendly audiences over the creators who build the brand. Use codes for launches and sales periods, and combine them with collaborations that build awareness without a discount.

What rules apply to discount codes and affiliate links in Sweden?

A post with a code or affiliate link is marketing and must be labelled as advertising. Konsumentverket states that the rules apply when a company pays an influencer to spread purchase links for its products, that compensation can be money or other economic benefits such as goods, and that hidden advertising is prohibited. Especially high demands for clarity apply on social media: the recipient must understand that the post is paid even at a fleeting glance, and it is not clear enough if the consumer has to scroll to find the labelling. The company that hires the influencer has the main responsibility and cannot contract it away. Serious breaches can lead to a sanction fee of up to four percent of annual turnover.

ICC’s code is explicit about affiliate. Content where affiliate links are used counts as marketing communication, and when an affiliate link leads to a product on an external website, its nature and commercial purpose must be transparent. The labelling may not be hidden in a series of hashtags or in a read more section, and the marketer must ensure that the content does not mislead consumers about the product’s costs or other characteristics – so the discount must be stated correctly. If a creator’s name or image is used in the brand’s own ads with the code, consent is required under the law on names and images in advertising (1978:800).

How do codes work with paid media?

Organic posts from big names can sell a lot on their own, but the effect fades quickly as the post drops out of the feed. Paid distribution takes the best code posts further and deeper into the target group – to people who match the creator’s audience but do not follow them. On Facebook and Instagram, partnership ads let brands run ads from a creator’s handle, and on TikTok, Spark Ads let brands use a creator’s organic post as an ad with the creator’s authorisation. The code stays in the content, so sales can still be measured per creator.

How does Collabri work with performance-driven collaborations?

We start from the goal and choose the model to fit – fixed fee, hybrid or a long-term ambassadorship. For Protein.com, content is optimised for both organic and paid distribution, and the best collaborations become long-term ambassadorships. We handle strategy, talents, contracts and rights, production, whitelisting and paid distribution, and reporting – including making sure that every code and link is correctly labelled.

Key takeaways

Unique codes and affiliate links tie sales to each creator and show which collaborations sell.
Codes and links miss different sales – use both, add UTM tags and compare with a baseline.
Choose fixed fee, commission, hybrid or ambassadorship depending on the goal and the creator.
Codes measure the direct effect; big names also build awareness that a code report does not capture.
Posts with codes or affiliate links are advertising – label them clearly, and the brand has the main responsibility.

Frequently asked questions

Does a post with a discount code have to be labelled as advertising?

Yes, if the creator has received compensation or the brand controls the content. A code or affiliate link in a collaboration is marketing, and the labelling must be clear at once – not hidden in hashtags.

Is a commission the same as payment?

Konsumentverket describes compensation as money or other economic benefits, so a commission on sales is compensation. Label the post as advertising.

Should we use discount codes or affiliate links?

Often both. Codes work in video, audio and stores, links work where people can click. Together they give a fuller picture of sales.

Can discount code posts be used as ads?

Yes, with the creator’s permission – for example as partnership ads on Meta or Spark Ads on TikTok. Agree the rights and period in the contract.

Want help building influencer collaborations that sell and can be measured? Contact Collabri at info@collabri.se. You can also browse our talents and client projects.

Sources

ICC Sverige – ICC:s regler för reklam och marknadskommunikation (2024): https://iccwbo.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/11/ICC_2024_MarketingCode_Swedish.pdf
Konsumentverket – Influencers reklaminlägg – regler för företag: https://www.konsumentverket.se/marknadsratt-foretag/influencers-reklaminlagg-regler-for-foretag/
Sveriges riksdag – Lag (1978:800) om namn och bild i reklam: https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-och-lagar/dokument/svensk-forfattningssamling/lag-1978800-om-namn-och-bild-i-reklam_sfs-1978-800/
Shopify Help Center – Discount codes: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/discounts/discount-types/discount-codes
Meta for Developers – Partnership Ads: https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/ads-commerce/marketing-api/ad-creative/partnership-ads
TikTok for Business – Spark Ads (Help Center): https://ads.tiktok.com/help/article/spark-ads

This article was written with the help of AI and reviewed by Collabri.