How to post affiliate links & discount codes on Instagram

Posting affiliate links on social media isn’t the same as sending a link on WhatsApp. Without the right guidance, you’ll end up with a random URL in your post or reel that can’t be clicked. In this article, we’ll guide you through all the different ways you can post affiliate links and discount codes on Instagram. 

Hey, why do I need to post an affiliate link?

Posting an affiliate link allows us (Avelon) to track the user who has clicked your link until they make a purchase. 

If you post about a brand and don’t provide an affiliate link, then we (Avelon) have no way to tell where the potential purchaser has come from – and therefore would have no way to attribute the sale back to you.

The same applies for a discount code. If you do not post the discount code that has been assigned to you, then we have no way to tell if the sale should be attributed to you. 

We’d recommend our handy Affiliate 101: frequently asked questions in affiliate marketing for a full breakdown on affiliate links, discount codes and getting paid your commission. 

Or, check out our How to post on Youtube guide for a full rundown on the best way to post affiliate links and embed QR codes into your Youtube content.

Firstly, where can you not post affiliate links on Instagram?

Contrary to what some people may think, you can’t post affiliate links (or any link, for that matter) in your captions / post description. Well, you can but it won’t be clickable and people will have to literally type out the url for it to work. I’ll save you some time: they won’t do it.

Why? Because it’s 2026 and there are tools built specifically for this. Enough said.

It’ll also look like this:

Instagram is all about data, so they like to control and track where you post links to take people off app. Posting in any random place just isn’t allowed – so you’ll need to post links where they designate you to post links.

  • How to post affiliate links on Instagram

Posting affiliate links on Instagram is simple. Here’s how you do it: 

Option one: use Instagrams 'external link' tool

Instagram allows up to five links through their ‘external link’ tool, so it’s perfect for adding a few affiliate links. Plus, it’s free. 

To add external links into your profile bio, simply:

  1. Go to your profile
  2. Click Edit profile
  3. Click Links
  4. Click Add external link
  5. Paste the URL
  6. Give the link a name
  7. Press Done
When giving the link a name, just be aware that this name shows up to the viewer. You can change the name or link as many times as you like, so you can get it just right before showing anyone.

Option two: use a 'link in bio' platform

Link in bio follows the same idea as Instagram’s external link tool, but instead of one link, it opens up a microsite which you can customise and add as many links as you like.

This is the most popular way of linking to external links on Instagram as you get to customise your microsite to your liking. You also get some pretty impressive analytics to check how well your microsite is performing. Our top link in bio companies are below:

Our favourite Link in Bio companies

We always recommend using the most trusted company when it comes to social media integrations. Linktree is used by millions of creators around the world because of its simplicity, and is our top choice.
  1. Linktree – the OG and arguably the best. Incredibly affordable and with great analytics. Highly recommended. There’s a free version but for full customisation we recommend grabbing the Pro version for £4.00 per month.
  2. Later – a social scheduling platform that also had a link in bio. Pretty much the same as Linktree, but you get a social scheduling tool included in the price. You can also add videos and photos, which is pretty handy. Prices start at £14.99 per month.

Option three: add links to your Instagram story

Instagram retired the ‘swipe up’ feature in 2022 and replaced it with customised links through stickers. In our opinion, sticker taps offer much better customisation and also provides you with analytics of how many clicks you actually got. You’ll need to have already taken or uploaded a photo into your story prior to adding a sticker link. 

One thing to be aware of: if you are solely posting affiliate links in your Instagram story, your story will disappear after 24-hours. You’ll need to keep posting your story or add it to a highlights on your profile to ensure it doesn’t vanish.

We’ll show you exactly how to add sticker links to your story in the below guide:

How to add links and stickers to your Instagram story

Step one: click the smiley sticker emoji

Step two: click ‘link’ and it’ll open up the Add link page

Step three: paste the URL and add custom sticker text

Step four: move the sticker to to your liking on the story

If you have been given a discount code by the brand you’re working with, we recommend adding the sticker text as that discount code. For example, 20% off Gymshark with code AVELON20. You cannot capitalise on Sticker Links.

Option four: use Instagram Broadcast to start a one-way community

Instagram creators can create an Instagram Broadcast channel to share messages like announcements, discount codes and behind the scenes content with your followers. It’s like a one-way community where you can post and update your followers, but they can only interact with your content through likes or voting on polls – cutting out the need for responding to comments.

It also acts like a personal message to your followers. So, instead of posting and hoping they see it on their explore page, you can message your followers directly, all in one go. Like a BCC (blind carbon copy) on an email.

You’ll need 10,000 or more followers to create an Instagram Broadcast channel at this time, but this will slowly get reduced over the next 6-12 months.

How to create an Instagram Broadcast channel

1. Open your Instagram app on Android or iPhone
2. Tap the  or   in the top right of your feed
3. Tap  in the top right
4. Tap Create broadcast channel. Once you’ve created your broadcast channel, you can:

  • Enter a channel name, for example ‘access to discounts’
  • Choose an audience for your channel
  • Choose when your channel ends
  • Choose to show your channel on your profile
5. Tap Create broadcast channel at the bottom.
 
You can find your broadcast channel you’ve just created by  or  in the top right, then tap channel at the top.

How to invite people to join your Instagram Broadcast channel

When you first set up Broadcast and send your first message, Instagram will immediately alert all of your followers to join your channel. You can also invite others to join your channel at a later date by sharing an invite link to your channel or adding the channel to your stories. 

For the full guide on how to create an Instagram Broadcast channel, just click here.

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