LTK Brand Partnerships, Ads and Content Licensing (2027): A Guide for Brands and Beauty Bloggers
Brands put $450 million into LTK creators in a year. Here is how LTK brand partnerships, Boost ads, connected TV, Quick Collabs and creator content licensing work, and how beauty, skincare and fashion bloggers choose between LTK and ShopMy for their favorites.
How LTK brand partnerships, LTK ads and creator content licensing work, what brands spend ($450M a year on LTK creators) and LTK vs ShopMy for bloggers.
Quick answer: LTK brand partnerships are the ways brands pay LTK's creators to feature their products: commission on sales, gifting, flat-fee collaborations booked through Quick Collabs, and paid amplification, where LTK boosts creator posts as ads from the creator's own Instagram, Facebook or TikTok handle or turns them into shoppable connected TV spots. Creator content licensing is the permission behind those ads, usually granted with an Instagram partnership ad code or a TikTok Spark Ads code. Brands invested $450 million in LTK creators in the 12 months to September 2026, and the core LTK Brand Platform has been free since September 2025. For beauty, skincare and fashion bloggers, ShopMy is the main alternative, and creators there keep 82% of commissions. At Make An App Like we track these platforms because brands and agencies ask us to build their own versions.
Key takeaways
- Brands work with LTK creators through commission on sales, gifting, flat-fee Quick Collabs, campaigns in the LTK Brand Platform, and paid amplification through LTK Boost and connected TV.
- LTK Boost puts paid spend behind creator posts from the creator's own handle on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok; LTK reported up to 4X sales growth in its 10-brand beta.
- Creator content licensing is the permission to use a creator's post in ads. On Instagram it is a partnership ad code; on TikTok it is a Spark Ads authorization code.
- 92% of brands use creator content in social ads and 20% of creator marketing budgets go to boosting it, according to LTK's 2025 study with Northwestern University.
- US creator ad spend grew from $13.9 billion in 2021 to a projected $37 billion in 2025, according to IAB.
- ShopMy suits beauty and skincare bloggers well: creators keep 82% of commissions, and brands gift through Lookbooks and pay bonuses through Opportunities.
- Since 1 February 2026, brands in the UAE must check that any creator they hire holds a UAE Advertiser Permit.
What are LTK brand partnerships?
LTK brand partnerships cover every paid relationship between a brand and LTK's creators, from a commission on one sale to a campaign that ends up on connected TV. If you are new to the platform, start with our guide to what LTK is and how the app works; this guide covers the brand side and the choices bloggers face.
The money involved is large. LTK says brands invested $450 million in its creators in the 12 months to September 2026, and that it supports more than 60,000 creator-brand collaborations a year, per NetInfluencer. More than 3,700 brands use the LTK Brand Platform, according to an August 2026 report. These are the six main ways they work with creators:
| Partnership type | How it works | Who pays the creator | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commission | The creator tags products and the shopper buys at the retailer | The retailer, per sale | Always-on sales |
| Gifting | The brand sends free product through the Brand Platform | Product, not cash | Seeding a launch |
| Quick Collabs | The brand posts a flat-fee offer and creators opt in | The brand, a fixed fee paid 48 to 72 hours after posting | Fast campaigns without long contracts |
| Campaigns | The brand posts campaign opportunities in the Brand Platform | The brand, a negotiated fee | Launches and holiday pushes |
| LTK Boost | LTK puts paid spend behind creator posts from the creator's handle | The brand funds the media | Scaling posts that already sell |
| LTK CTV | Creator content becomes connected TV ads, shoppable from the creator's LTK shop | The brand funds the media | Reach beyond social feeds |
How do LTK ads work?
LTK's ad product is LTK Boost, launched in March 2023. LTK picks creator posts and puts paid spend behind them with the platforms' own boosting tools on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. The ads run under the creator's handle and send shoppers to the creator's LTK shop, so the creator still earns from affiliate links as well as from the boost program, Glossy reported. Brands can boost every commissioned post at the start of a campaign or wait to see which posts take off.
The pitch is that shoppers trust a creator more than a brand. "When it's coming from the creator's handle, it's in their authentic voice," LTK's VP of brand partnerships, Stephanie Sandbo, told Glossy. In the 10-brand beta LTK reported up to 4X sales growth, and two years later its 2025 study with Northwestern University said brands using LTK's boost capabilities saw 2.1x program click growth and 1.4x program sales growth year over year against competitors that did not boost. Both are LTK's own numbers, so test them against your own results.
What is LTK media buying and creator content amplification?
Creator content amplification means paying to show a creator's post to more people than follow them. LTK media buying is LTK doing that buying for the brand: choosing the posts, running the spend and reporting what it returned. It now goes beyond social feeds. Since March 2024, LTK CTV has let brands turn creator content into connected TV ads that viewers can shop from the creator's LTK shop, and LTK 360 measures the path from awareness to purchase, including earned media value, per Destination CRM.
Brands already spend heavily on amplification. LTK's 2025 study with Northwestern University found that 92% of brands use creator content in social media advertising and that 20% of creator marketing budgets goes to boosting it, per NetInfluencer. Instagram is the most common place to boost:
The same study found creator content in display advertising (46% of brands), content marketing (44%), user-generated content programs (41%), affiliate marketing (38%) and connected TV (35%). In other words, one good creator video now works as a social ad, a TV spot and a product-page asset, which is why the licensing terms behind it matter.
What is creator content licensing?
Creator content licensing is the permission a brand needs to use a creator's photo or video beyond the creator's own organic post. It is a separate right from the post itself, so put it in writing: which platforms, for how long, organic or paid, and whether the brand may edit the content.
| Right | What the brand can do | How it is granted |
|---|---|---|
| Organic repost | Share the post on the brand's own pages, unpaid | Written permission from the creator |
| Paid usage on the brand's handle | Run the content as an ad from the brand's account | A licence in the contract with an end date |
| Creator-handle ads | Run ads that appear from the creator's account | An Instagram partnership ad code or a TikTok Spark Ads code |
| Exclusivity | Stop the creator promoting competing brands for a period | A contract clause, priced separately |
On Instagram, the creator tags the brand with the Paid Partnership label, opens the post menu, chooses Partnership label & ads and turns on the option to get a partnership ad code. The brand can then turn the post into a paid ad on Instagram or Facebook, and the creator can revoke the code later, per Billo's creator guide. On TikTok, the creator turns on ad authorization for the video, sets how long the brand may use it (TikTok defaults to 30 days) and generates a code that lets the brand run the video as an ad directly from the creator's profile, per Billo. Neither code hands over ownership of the content; each is a permission the creator can limit or withdraw.
What to put in a creator licensing agreement
- The platforms the brand may use, named one by one, not "all media".
- Organic only, paid on the brand's handle, creator-handle ads, or a mix.
- The start date and the length of the licence.
- Whether the brand may cut, crop, caption or translate the content.
- Any exclusivity, with the product category and the time period.
- The fee, when it is paid, and who adds the paid partnership label.
How much do brands spend on creator partnerships?
US brands put about $37 billion into creators in 2025, up 26% and roughly four times faster than the media industry overall, according to IAB. That figure counts sponsored content and amplified sponsored content from direct partnerships; it leaves out affiliate commissions, which is where most LTK income starts. Nearly half of ad buyers (48%) now call creators a "must buy".
LTK sees the same trend from inside its platform. More than 1,200 brands joined the free Brand Platform between September 2025 and March 2026, and LTK's 2025 study with Northwestern University ranked creator marketing as the number one area where CMOs plan to increase investment in 2026, with 97% of marketers expecting a bigger budget or role for it. LTK ran that study with Northwestern, so treat it as an industry signal rather than independent research.
How do brands start working with LTK creators?
- Join the LTK Brand Platform. Since September 2025 the core is free: multiple user seats, creator content, analytics, direct messages with creators, gifting, Quick Collabs and campaign postings. Custom campaign management and advanced analytics are paid, NetInfluencer reported.
- Find creators who already sell your category. Use the platform's discovery tools and your own affiliate sales data, not follower counts alone.
- Gift before you pay. Product seeding shows which creators actually like the product.
- Book flat-fee posts with Quick Collabs. Brands post an offer, creators opt in, and creators are paid 48 to 72 hours after posting, per NetInfluencer.
- Boost the posts that sell. Use LTK Boost, or your own partnership ads with a licensing code, and add CTV when you need reach.
- Measure clicks, sales and earned media. LTK 360 covers this inside LTK; check it against your own analytics.
LTK is also adding an AI agent to the Brand Platform that drafts campaign plans and suggests creators. LTK said a limited beta would start in September 2026 with beauty, luxury fashion and apparel brands, with wider availability planned for the fourth quarter of 2026, per NetInfluencer.
LTK vs ShopMy for brands
ShopMy is LTK's closest rival, and the two have clashed. LTK sued ShopMy in May 2024 over a comparative ad and use of its mark, Bloomberg Law reported, then dismissed the case without prejudice on 26 August 2024 after ShopMy stopped the disputed activity, RetailBoss reported. ShopMy raised $70 million at a $1.5 billion valuation in October 2025, in a round led by Avenir, per Latham & Watkins.
| For brands | LTK | ShopMy |
|---|---|---|
| Platform cost | Core Brand Platform free since September 2025; premium tools paid | Dashboard subscriptions of roughly $1,000 to $7,000 a month (March 2025) |
| Fee on sales | A transaction fee paid by the retailer | A revenue share on commissions or about 2.9% of transactions |
| Gifting | Gift sending in the Brand Platform | Lookbooks: creators choose products and a $0 Shopify order ships them |
| Paid creator work | Quick Collabs flat fees and campaigns | Opportunities: a brand-funded budget pays bonuses for completed shares, and unused funds return |
| Scale | 8,000+ retailers and 3,700+ brands on the Brand Platform (2026) | About 50,000 brands with commission rates and 650 using its dashboard (March 2025) |
ShopMy's figures come from its interview with Beauty Independent in March 2025; LTK's come from its own 2026 announcements. Pick LTK when you sell through big retailers and want LTK to run paid amplification for you. Pick ShopMy when you sell direct to consumers on Shopify and want gifting and creator bonuses tied to your own store.
How do beauty, makeup and skincare bloggers use LTK and ShopMy?
Beauty is where ShopMy is strongest. In March 2025 ShopMy told Beauty Independent that about 100,000 creators used the platform and that brand commissions there probably range between 15% and 30%. Its examples are beauty-heavy: Saint Jane saw a 600% traffic spike and a 50% jump in lip oil sales after its Luxury Lip Oil appeared on Meghan Markle's ShopMy page, and Dr. Diamond's Metacine netted $30,000 in sales from one Opportunities push.
LTK reaches beauty shoppers through retailers and its app. Sephora and Ulta were among the first brands with Brand Profiles in the LTK app in October 2025, so a creator's haul sits next to the retailer's own page, in an app with more than 44 million monthly users. Whichever platform you use, the post that sells best in beauty is the favorites post.
How to build a favorites post that sells
- Choose a format readers come back for: monthly favorites, empties, a skincare routine step by step, or a shade-matched makeup edit.
- On ShopMy, add a Section (the tabs across your shop) such as Skincare, then a Collection inside it such as "November favorites", and add product links from the catalog or a retailer URL. Adding the same product to two collections creates a separate link for each, per ShopMy's help center.
- On LTK, post the photo or video and tag each product so it appears in your LTK shop and in the LTK app.
- Say why each product made the list: skin type, shade range, finish or price. Favorites sell on reasons, not on links alone.
- Disclose that you earn commission in the post itself, not only in your bio.
- Update the list when products sell out or are reformulated, so old links keep earning.
LTK vs ShopMy for fashion and lifestyle bloggers
For fashion and lifestyle creators, the choice comes down to where your shoppers buy and who pays your rate:
| For creators | LTK | ShopMy |
|---|---|---|
| Where shoppers find you | Your social posts plus the LTK app, with 44 million+ monthly users (February 2026) | Your social posts and your ShopMy shop page |
| Who sets the commission | Each retailer | Each brand or retailer; ShopMy said in 2025 that rates probably range from 15% to 30% |
| Platform's share | A transaction fee paid by the retailer | 18% of the commission; you keep 82% |
| Flat-fee work | Quick Collabs, paid 48 to 72 hours after posting | Opportunities bonuses for completed shares |
| Commission payouts | Weekly since August 2024 | Check ShopMy's current terms |
ShopMy publishes its split in its creator guide, and LTK approves creators by application. Creators who sell big-retailer pieces from stores such as Nordstrom, Abercrombie & Fitch and Quince fit LTK's retailer network and app. Creators with a tight beauty or niche-brand audience may earn more per sale from brand-set rates on ShopMy. If you qualify for both, test each for a few months and compare what you earn per click before you commit your best content to one.
What disclosure rules apply to LTK partnerships and ads?
In the US, the FTC's Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers guide says any financial relationship with a brand must be disclosed with the post itself, not only on a profile page, and that a platform's disclosure tool is not enough on its own. Commission, free product and flat fees all count. For creator-handle ads on Instagram, the usual process starts with the Paid Partnership label, but the caption should still say it plainly.
Brands share the risk. If a creator hides a paid relationship, the campaign can mislead shoppers, so put the disclosure wording in the brief and check posts before you boost them.
Can brands run LTK partnerships with creators in the UAE and Dubai?
Yes, with one legal step first. Since 1 February 2026, anyone promoting products on social media in the UAE, paid or unpaid, needs an Advertiser Permit from the UAE Media Council, and organisations must verify that any advertiser they work with holds a valid permit, Gulf News reported. Visiting creators need a 3-month visitor permit through a licensed UAE agency.
| Rule | United States | UAE |
|---|---|---|
| Main requirement | FTC: disclose any financial relationship in the post | UAE Media Council: an Advertiser Permit for paid or unpaid promotion |
| Brand's check | Brief creators on disclosure and review posts | Verify the creator's permit before the partnership starts |
| Visitors | No permit | A 3-month permit through a licensed UAE agency |
| Penalty for no permit | Not applicable | AED 10,000 for a first offence and AED 40,000 for a repeat |
LTK's own audience in the Gulf is small: its shopper app had 180 ratings on the UAE App Store on 8 November 2026, against more than 460,000 in the US. For Gulf shoppers, LTK's app adds little reach on its own; direct creator deals and your own ad accounts carry most of the weight, which is why some Gulf brands ask us about running their own creator platform.
Can you build your own creator partnership platform?
Retail groups, agencies and Gulf brands sometimes want their own version: a private creator program for one retailer, a regional network with Arabic content, or an agency tool that runs gifting, flat-fee posts and boosting in one place. The software is buildable. The hard part is supply, meaning creators who post and retailers that pay commission. Our social commerce app cost breakdown compares the main business models and what each adds to the budget.
How much does it cost to build a platform like LTK or ShopMy?
By our estimate, an LTK-style platform with the brand tools covered here costs about $84,960 to $169,920 (AED 312,000 to AED 624,000) and takes 10 to 20 weeks. The core matches the MVP in our LTK explainer; the brand dashboard, paid amplification and measurement come on top.
| Module | Hours | Cost, including design, QA and contingency |
|---|---|---|
| LTK-style core: shopper app, creator shops, affiliate tracking, payouts, admin | 860 to 1,720 | $61,920 to $123,840 |
| Brand dashboard: discovery, gifting, flat-fee offers | 120 to 240 | $8,640 to $17,280 |
| Paid amplification: boosting creator posts through ad accounts | 120 to 240 | $8,640 to $17,280 |
| Measurement: clicks, sales and earned media reports | 80 to 160 | $5,760 to $11,520 |
| Total | 1,180 to 2,360 | $84,960 to $169,920 |
How we estimated these costs
We priced each module in engineering hours at a $50 blended hourly rate, then added 20% for design, QA and project management and another 20% for contingency, the method from our app development cost guide. A team of three or four ships about 120 hours a week, which sets the timeline. To price your own feature list, try our app development cost calculator.
Price your own creator platform
Choose features such as creator shops, affiliate tracking and a brand dashboard, then get a budget and timeline range in two minutes.
Build from scratch or launch a white label LTK clone?
Make An App Like sells a white label LTK clone, so weigh this section with that in mind. Our white label LTK clone costs $16,850 one-time and goes live in about 15 days, with shopper, creator, brand and admin sides, so you can test a niche or a region before paying for a custom build. It gives you the software, not the network: recruiting creators and signing retailers is still your job, whichever route you take.
Launch your own creator commerce platform
See the features, demo and terms of our white label LTK clone: $16,850 one-time, live in about 15 days.
Sources
- LTK ads and media: Glossy on LTK Boost (31 March 2023) and Destination CRM on LTK CTV and LTK 360 (14 March 2024).
- LTK brand tools and data: NetInfluencer on the 2025 CMO study, the free Brand Platform, Quick Collabs, the brand AI agent and the 2026 LTK Awards.
- Market data: IAB on 2025 creator ad spend (20 November 2025).
- ShopMy: Beauty Independent (28 March 2025), ShopMy's commission split, ShopMy's shop setup guide and Latham & Watkins on the October 2025 round.
- LTK v. ShopMy: Bloomberg Law on the filing (30 May 2024) and RetailBoss on the dismissal.
- Licensing and rules: Billo on Instagram partnership ad codes, Billo on TikTok Spark Ads codes, the FTC's Disclosures 101 for Social Media Influencers (ftc.gov) and Gulf News on the UAE Advertiser Permit. All checked on 8 November 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
#What are LTK brand partnerships?
LTK brand partnerships are the paid relationships between brands and LTK creators. They include commission on sales, gifting, flat-fee Quick Collabs, campaigns run through the LTK Brand Platform, and paid amplification through LTK Boost and connected TV ads. LTK says brands invested $450 million in its creators in the 12 months to September 2026.
#How do LTK ads work?
LTK ads run through LTK Boost, launched in March 2023. LTK selects creator posts and puts a brand's paid spend behind them using the boosting tools on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. The ads appear from the creator's own handle and send shoppers to the creator's LTK shop, where purchases still earn the creator commission.
#What is creator content licensing?
Creator content licensing is the permission a brand needs to use a creator's photo or video beyond the creator's organic post, for example as a paid ad or on the brand's own pages. A good licence names the platforms, the duration, organic or paid use, editing rights, any exclusivity and the fee. On Instagram and TikTok it is often granted with an ad code.
#What is LTK media buying?
LTK media buying is LTK running paid media for a brand using creator content: choosing which creator posts to boost, placing the spend on social platforms and reporting results. Since March 2024 it has also included LTK CTV, which turns creator content into connected TV ads that viewers can shop from the creator's LTK shop.
#Is the LTK Brand Platform free for brands?
The core LTK Brand Platform has been free since September 2025. The free tier includes multiple user seats, creator content, analytics, direct messages with creators, gifting, Quick Collabs and campaign postings. Custom campaign management and advanced analytics are premium features, and LTK has not published their prices.
#How do brands pay LTK creators?
Brands pay LTK creators in three main ways. Retailers pay commission on sales made through creator links, along with a transaction fee to LTK. Brands pay flat fees for collaborations such as Quick Collabs, where creators are paid 48 to 72 hours after posting. Brands can also fund paid amplification of creator posts through LTK Boost.
#Is LTK or ShopMy better for beauty and skincare bloggers?
It depends on where your audience buys. ShopMy is strong in beauty, with brand-set commissions that ShopMy said typically run 15% to 30%, and creators keep 82% of what they earn. LTK suits creators whose followers buy from big retailers such as Sephora and Ulta, and it adds reach through an app with more than 44 million monthly users.
#What is a partnership ad code on Instagram?
A partnership ad code is how an Instagram creator lets a brand turn a post into a paid ad. The creator tags the brand with the Paid Partnership label, turns on the partnership ad code option under Partnership label and ads, and shares the code. The brand can then run the post as an ad on Instagram or Facebook until the creator revokes it.
#Do brands in the UAE need anything to work with creators?
Yes. Since 1 February 2026, creators promoting products on social media in the UAE need an Advertiser Permit from the UAE Media Council, whether the promotion is paid or not, and organisations must verify that any creator they work with holds a valid permit. Working without a permit can bring fines of AED 10,000 for a first offence.
#How much does it cost to build a platform like LTK or ShopMy?
By Make An App Like estimates, an LTK-style creator platform with a brand dashboard, paid amplification and measurement costs about $84,960 to $169,920 and takes 10 to 20 weeks to build. A white label LTK clone costs $16,850 one-time and can go live in about 15 days, which lets you test demand before a custom build.
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