is it possible to be an ethical influencer?

a deep dive into earning affiliate income and receiving gifted products

There’s been a lot of chatter here on Substack recently about influencers and affiliate linking, so I thought I’d share my experience.

I’ve gone back and forth on my approach to affiliate links and gifted and sponsored content for years. When I first started mindful closet in 2013, it was a big deal to get something sent to you for free (quick definition: an “affiliate link” means that if someone clicks through your specially coded link, you either get an amount of money per click or a percentage of the item’s cost if it is actually purchased, “gifted” means a free item has been sent to you, “sponsored” means you have been paid an amount of money to promote the item).