What Is LTK?
- Gen X Chelle
- Dec 4, 2025
- 7 min read
A Guide for Shoppers and Creators Alike
If you follow fashion, beauty, or home creators, you have probably seen “Shop my LTK” in captions and stories. Maybe you have tapped once or twice, then backed out because it felt confusing or salesy.
LTK is short for “Like to Know” and it is a shopping and creator platform that connects three groups in one place
• shoppers
• brands
• creators
Shoppers use the LTK app to browse and buy products featured in creator content. Creators use LTK to earn affiliate commissions when followers purchase through their links. Brands use LTK to run campaigns and track sales that come from creator content.
According to the company, more than forty million shoppers use LTK each month, and the platform drives around five billion dollars in annual consumer sales across thousands of retailers.
It started as RewardStyle and the LiketoKnow.it app. Today it has evolved into a video focused shopping and lifestyle platform with its own app experience, social style features, and in app checkout.
How LTK Works for Shoppers
From a shopper’s point of view, LTK is a curated shopping app. Think of it as the part of Instagram that is only outfits, links, and “where did you get that” answers, pulled into one place.
Here is what you can do as a shopper
The app is available for Apple and Android. It lets you follow creators, brands, and even friends.
Follow creators you trust (Like ME! GenXChelle on LTK)
You can search by creator name, style, category, or location and follow the people whose taste matches yours. The app is leaning into lifestyle content now, so you will see fashion, beauty, parenting, travel, home, and more.
Shop directly from posts and videos
When a creator tags products in their image or video, you see product tiles under the content. Tap, see the exact item, and either buy through the brand site or, in many cases, purchase directly inside LTK through its Buy Now checkout feature.
Save and organize favorites
You can save posts and products, build wishlists, and keep track of items you want to buy later.
Join group chats and social features
LTK has been rolling out more social features and a video first feed, that lets you control your feed and discover content by interest and location.
From the shopper side, the experience is meant to feel simpler than hunting through ten different retailer sites. You see the product on a real person, then tap once or twice to buy the exact thing.
How LTK Works for Creators
For creators, LTK is an affiliate marketing and brand partnership platform. When you are accepted to the LTK Creator program, you get access to
• affiliate links for thousands of brands and retailers
• campaign opportunities with partner brands
• tools to build a shoppable “LTK shop” that lives in the app and on the web
• analytics on clicks, sales, and top performing products
When someone taps your LTK link and buys, you earn a small commission at no extra cost to the shopper. LTK tracks the click and the purchase behind the scenes and attributes it back to your account.
The platform now works with more than eight thousand retailers and supports tens of thousands of brand collaborations each year.
Basic requirements to become an LTK Creator
LTK is not an open sign up platform. You have to apply and be approved. Requirements evolve, but their own documentation and creator resources highlight a few core points
• you must be at least eighteen years old
• your main social profiles need to be public
• you should have an engaged audience on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or a blog
• you should post original content regularly and feature products or brands in your posts
Growth potential is a major selling point. LTK positions itself as a home base where creators can gather their audience away from ever changing social algorithms and keep a stable, shoppable feed.
How creators earn on LTK
Creators typically earn in two ways
Affiliate commissions
Every trackable product link has an affiliate ID attached. When a follower clicks and buys within the cookie window, LTK logs that sale and pays the creator a percentage. Commission rates vary by brand and category and are set through LTK’s relationships with retailers.
Paid campaigns and brand deals
Brands can work directly with creators through LTK for sponsored posts, whitelisting, and paid campaigns. LTK highlights that it manages thousands of these collaborations every year.
For many creators, especially in fashion and beauty, LTK becomes a steady income layer on top of brand deals and platform payouts.
How LTK Works for Brands
If you are on the brand side, LTK functions as a creator commerce engine.
Partner brands
• get their products ingested into the LTK system
• appear in the product search that creators use when tagging items
• are discoverable in the LTK app when shoppers search or browse
• can run targeted campaigns and track performance by creator, post, and product
Brands use it to drive measurable sales from creator content without having to build their own tracking infrastructure. LTK sells this as “creator guided shopping” and has continued to add more data, geolocation, and retargeting options for brands.
Is LTK Legit?
Yes! Absolutely Yes!
LTK has been around for more than a decade in various forms and works with thousands of mainstream brands and retailers. It reports around forty million monthly shoppers and billions in yearly consumer sales.
That said, you are still sharing data whenever you click an affiliate link or create an account on any platform. So it is always smart to
• read the privacy policy and terms on the LTK site
• check the policies of retailers you buy from through the app
• use payment methods you are comfortable with
From a shopper perspective, the main “risk” is overspending because the app makes it very easy to see things on real people and buy them quickly. From a creator perspective, the bigger question is whether LTK fits into your long term business strategy and how much time you want to invest.
How To Use LTK as a Shopper
If you are just here to shop smarter, here is a simple walkthrough
Download the LTK app and create an account.
Search for creators you already follow on Instagram or TikTok and follow them inside LTK.
Use the search and category filters to find style, beauty, wellness, or home content that fits your life stage.
Tap on posts that speak to you and check out the product tags below the content.
Save the posts or products you like so you do not forget them.
When you are ready to buy, purchase through the product links in LTK or the in app checkout where available.
If you are over fifty like me, and rebuilding your style, this can be an easy way to collect outfit ideas, see how pieces fit real bodies, and avoid endless scroll on brand sites.
How To Become an LTK Creator
If you are a creator who wants to use LTK for affiliate income, here is the basic path
Clean up your main social platform
Make sure your main profiles are public, that you post consistently, and that your content clearly shows products, outfits, or recommendations.
Check your engagement
LTK is more interested in engaged audiences than vanity follower counts. Comments, saves, and shares matter.
Apply through the official site
You can start the application from the LTK Creator page on the company site.
Once accepted, set up your LTK shop
Upload content, tag products, and build collections that match your niche.
Share your LTK link everywhere
Add it to your Instagram bio, TikTok profile, website, blog posts, and email newsletter so people can find it easily.
Watch your analytics
Use LTK’s reporting to see what drives clicks and sales, then create more of what works.
It is not a get rich quick situation. It works best for creators who treat it like a real part of their business rather than a casual side app.
LTK vs Other Shopping and Affiliate Platforms
If you already use Amazon storefronts, ShopMy, or other affiliate tools, you might be wondering whether LTK is worth adding.
A few quick context points
• LTK is heavy on fashion, beauty, home, and lifestyle retail, with a wide range of big name and boutique brands.
• Amazon Influencer storefronts are great for Amazon focused shoppers but limited to the Amazon catalog.
• ShopMy and similar tools focus more on link organization and curation, with different brand mixes and features.
Many full time creators use more than one affiliate platform, depending on the brand mix, their audience habits, and which programs pay best in their niche.
Where To Place Your Affiliate Disclosure
If you run a blog, you already know disclosures are not optional.
Whenever you link to your LTK shop or drop individual product links, you should include a clear note that you may earn a commission if readers buy through those links, at no extra cost to them. The exact wording is up to you, and you should follow FTC guidance and any requirements in your region.
A simple example you can adjust
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links through LTK or other programs. That means I may earn a small commission if you choose to purchase through them. It does not change your price, and it helps support my work.
Place that near the top of your post, then you are covered when you drop LTK links throughout your content.
Final Thoughts
LTK is not just a random link in someone’s bio. It is a full shopping ecosystem that connects real people, real products, and real money all in one place.
For shoppers, it makes it easier to buy the exact piece you fell in love with on a creator.
For creators, it turns product recommendations into a real revenue stream.
For brands, it is a way to tie sales directly to creator content.
If you already shop from your favorite creators’ recommendations, or you are a creator yourself trying to build multiple income streams, understanding LTK is worth your time.
You do not have to use every feature on day one. Download the app, follow a few creators you trust, poke around, and decide whether it earns a spot in your daily scrolling routine.
And if you are building a fashion, beauty, or wellness life over fifty, platforms like LTK can support that journey. The key is staying intentional so you use it as a tool, not as another way to drown in stuff you do not need.
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