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Creator Desk
For creators
Written for the person choosing which programme to join and what to post. Rates and terms come from the networks’ own published figures, dated, with the awkward parts left in.
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What happens to your links when you leave a platform?
A storefront is a list plus a set of redirects. Only one is portable. Terms quoted, the untested part named, and the precaution that works everywhere.
8 min read · Read the guide →What happens to your balance if a programme terminates you?
Published terms give two answers: a hold for returns, or a permanent right to cease payment. Plus the 3-year dormancy clause almost nobody reads.
8 min read · Read the guide →What a W-8BEN is, and why a US network asks for it
The IRS calls it a Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner. Why a US network may hold your payment until you give one, and where the 30% default rate comes from. Sources read 7 September and 10 October 2026.
13 min read · Read the guide →The photo you need before you can link a product
We fetched 200 affiliate product images: 89% load, the median is 800px, and one retailer's CDN returns a placeholder at HTTP 200 when you ask for more.
11 min read · Read the guide →The link you were given already has a query string
62.4% of 5,111 live product URLs already carried a query string before any tracking was added, and 815 of them arrived malformed. Measured 7 September 2026.
11 min read · Read the guide →The claims you cannot make about a product you have not handled
372 of 5,040 live listings carry a claim a creator would be repeating, not reporting. What 16 CFR 255 says, and what to write instead of copying.
10 min read · Read the guide →Should you link the cheapest retailer?
Only 4% of 2,536 product titles appeared at more than one retailer, and the median gap between them was 6%. Measured on 5,111 US listings, 7 September 2026.
9 min read · Read the guide →Price-check a product before you recommend it
A feed carries two prices and the big one is not what a shopper pays. 1,805 listings measured, a 50% median gap, and the check that catches it.
10 min read · Read the guide →How to pick a product that will still be in stock next month
Four signals you can read before posting, measured on 5,111 live US listings on 7 September 2026 - including one that is worthless on resale marketplaces.
10 min read · Read the guide →How do you chase a commission that never appeared?
Four documented reasons a sale is disqualified, the evidence you actually hold, and why most feed links already carry a parameter you can break.
8 min read · Read the guide →Getting paid as a non-US creator: the methods, and what they cost
Receiving fees, conversion and 30% withholding are three separate charges. Published rates read 7 September 2026, plus our own currency measurement.
11 min read · Read the guide →Can a network change your commission rate after the sale?
Published terms make a rate cut prospective with two business days' notice - and leave four other ways the money on a completed sale still moves.
9 min read · Read the guide →Amazon Associates or a creator storefront?
Amazon's own terms, quoted: the 24-hour session, the 89-day cart clause, 60-day payment, the 24-hour image rule, and where Amazon is simply better.
9 min read · Read the guide →What to do when a brand pays late
Four reasons a payment stalls, an escalation clock from the due date to day 45, what each message should say, and an honest read on the leverage you have.
8 min read · Read the guide →What a crawler actually reads on a creator page
A crawler reads the HTML your server sends, not the page you see. The fields it records, the four patterns that render empty, and a three-minute check.
9 min read · Read the guide →What a 1099 means for a creator
The 1099-NEC threshold is $2,000 in the instructions published today, not $600. What each form reports, who sends it, and why no form is not no income.
10 min read · Read the guide →W-9, and why a network holds your payment
The IRS publishes the reason: no correct taxpayer ID means backup withholding at 24 per cent. The two forms, and the five field mismatches that stall a payout.
8 min read · Read the guide →Should your creator storefront be indexed by Google?
Both sides of the decision, argued from Google's own documentation: what indexing does not promise, why removal is slow, and who should keep a storefront out.
8 min read · Read the guide →Paid partnership labels are not an FTC disclosure
We read all 106,357 bytes of 16 CFR 255 and it never mentions a platform label. What the toggle does, the four gaps it leaves, and why to use both.
8 min read · Read the guide →Keyword research for creators without a paid tool
Six creator seeds run through Google and DuckDuckGo autocomplete on 4 September 2026, the results in full, and an honest list of what the paid tools sell.
10 min read · Read the guide →Keeping a disclosure record that survives an audit
16 CFR 255.5 says what to disclose and nothing about proving it. The eight fields to record, how to capture Stories and Live, and a routine that holds.
9 min read · Read the guide →How many pages does a creator need before Google notices?
Google sets no page-count threshold and warns against publishing lots of content in the hope some of it performs. What to measure instead, and in what order.
8 min read · Read the guide →