How to Get Accepted into the RewardStyle & LIKEtoKNOW.it Affiliate Program

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Updated: 7/30/2024 | How to Get Accepted to RewardStyle and LIKEtoKNOW.it

Now if you’re a blogger or Instagram influencer, it’s likely you’ve heard of the RewardStyle affiliate program (also known as LIKEtoKNOW.it or rStyle). These affiliate platforms allow bloggers and influencers to make a small commission off of items bought through their links. Generally, you earn cents on the dollar, but anything is better than nothing. In this post, I’m sharing how you can get accepted into the LIKEtoKNOW.it & RewardStyle program.

What are RewardStyle and LIKEtoKNOW.it?

RewardStyle, often referred to as rStyle, is an invitation-only, exclusive affiliate marketing platform that allows members to generate links to monetize their blogs or social accounts.

rStyle was founded by Dallas-based blogger Amber Venz and the program has become a significant part of fashion and influencer marketing. 

LIKEtoKNOW.it (more commonly abbreviated as LTK) is part of RewardStyle and is their app-based platform that allows users to use RewardStyle links and attach them to images so members and followers can purchase recommended products.

RewardStyle links are fed through the LTK App. So essentially they are the same product but are displayed on two different platforms in different ways.

Benefits of Using RewardStyle

RewardStyle partners with more than 5,000 brands around the world! So the chances are that you can link to almost any brand you can think of and not have to hunt for and apply for each brand’s affiliate program individually.

You’ll find a lot of luxury brands such as Gucci, Prada, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, and more. But not all retailers participate on the platform and some don’t participate in affiliate or referral marketing at all.

A quick way to find out if a brand is on rStyle is by heading to a product page and using the Link Ninja button (more on that here). A pop-up window will appear and let you know if you can create an affiliate link (with the link button) or a button to “request brand” integration, which means they are NOT part of the rStyle advertiser network and will trigger a notification for the rStyle team to start pitching to them.

How I Got Accepted to RewardStyle

RewardStyle is super exclusive. And honestly, I don’t think it really should be. The platform offers no other benefits to me other than to make income that I can easily make on other platforms such as ShopMy (HIGHLY recommend) or Magiclinks.

Related: ShopMy Review

I’ll explain how I got accepted to RewardStyle so that you can get an idea of how to get onto their platform.

I first applied on my own and was rejected within a day. Ouch! My blog stats were great and I was already monetizing over $3,000 a month in affiliate income. Why the heck didn’t RewardStyle want me?

I was then referred by a current member and was accepted within 24 hours. At the time, I had at least 10,000 followers on Instagram and over 140,000 visitors per month to my blog.

The biggest secret to getting accepted is via referral. 

But even with a referral, that doesn’t mean you’ll automatically get accepted. 

Note: I would not recommend signing up for RewardStyle if you have less than 2,000 followers. Instead, sign up for Magiclinks. It’s practically the same thing and their support team is so much more responsive than RewardStyles. You also get access to their gifting opportunities if you perform well.

How to Get Accepted to LIKEtoKNOW.it & RewardStyle

Aside from a referral, there are a few other things you should do prior to applying.

Everyone’s acceptance process is different, but here are some tips to help you get accepted to RewardStyle. 

#1 Make Sure Your Instagram Feed Looks Professional and Cohesive

One condition of getting accepted into RewardStyle is that you need a cohesive and professional-looking Instagram feed. 

This doesn’t mean that you need to have a professional photographer following you around or invest in expensive camera equipment. Instead, a feed that looks cohesive with images that pertain to your niche. This will help the team at RewardStyle easily see that you are serious about working with them and growing your brand.

My feed on Instagram is mostly about travel, food, and fashion, so I make sure my posts focus on precisely just that. I also use both a digital camera and my iPhone 13 Pro to take all my images. I am never afraid to ask a stranger to snap a photo of me and then make edits later.

If you want to take it a little further, you can purchase presets that can be used in Lightroom to give all your photos the same aesthetic. I love colors and will edit my photos individually to how I think they look best yet still resonate with my style.

#2 Have a Clear Niche

For those of you who may not be sure what a niche is, a niche in simplest terms is a “small, specialized section of the population.” When it comes to RewardStyle, the four main niches include fashion, beauty, family, and home (lifestyle).

RewardStyle even has specific hashtags for each and specific pages for fashion, home, and family. Make sure you establish yourself in one or two of these niches. I am a fashion and travel niche account.

And if you feel comfortable, start tagging LIKEtoKNOW.it in your hashtags and in your photos prior to being accepted. Chances are they can see how serious you are about wanting to be part of their affiliate program and improve your chances of getting accepted.

#3 Engagement Matters

Getting likes and growing a following on Instagram is harder in 2022 than EVER. Prior to 2021, I would get over 200+ likes per photo. Now Instagram is fixated on Reels and competing with TikTok. Now it takes way too much effort to get even 100 likes.

Engagement is more important than Instagram followers. I’ve seen people with around 2,000 followers get accepted while those with over 20,000 have been denied. There is no special number of Instagram followers you need to get approved by rStyle. 

rStyle will look at your engagement to see if it’s healthy, meaning you haven’t purchased followers or likes to inflate your numbers. These vanity metrics are silly anyways since they do not necessarily correlate with actual conversions.

So don’t worry about follow rates. rStyle is looking more for authentic interactions versus percentages of likes per number of followers. 

#4 Create Consistent Content for (at least) 3 Months

This is a big one. I think at one point RewardStyle wanted six months of consistent content, but now it’s around three. The more history the better because they can see your growth.

I read A LOT of Pinterest articles on posting frequency, and trying to do one post a day is usually sufficient. Now, I KNOW this is hard to do. Right now I generally do 3-4 posts a week instead of all seven which is totally fine. Just show RewardStyle that you post often and that you post great content.

#5 Tag Brands in Your Instagram Posts and Reels

RewardStyle isn’t a fashion ONLY affiliate program, but it is their main category. It’s good practice to tag brands in your post. If you’re not currently working with them now, it makes your posts visible so that they may eventually want to work with you in the future.

Another good idea is to tag relevant brand hashtags so that you can make your posts visible to their marketing team.

The picture below is an example of how I tag brands along with relevant hashtags.

#6 Start a Blog [OPTIONAL]

I put this as an optional tip because I know influencers who don’t even have a blog yet have gotten accepted to RewardStyle and are doing REALLY well. But a blog does help with your application.

Did you know that most of the sales driven through RewardStyle come from blogs? Not from the LiketoKnow.It App.

I’ve only posted a handful of times on the LTK app but have a consistent daily income from my blog with links I’ve generated through rStyle.

And if you do have a blog, make sure that it has a nice theme that can easily be navigated and that your blog niche matches your Instagram niche.

Don’t have a blog? No worries! You can still apply and get accepted.

If you don’t have a blog, on the “Blog URL” section of your RewardStyle application, add your Instagram URL instead. Example: https://www.instagram.com/schimiggy

If you’re interested in creating a blog, read my guide on how to create a blog to get started. In the blog post, I give you ALL THE INFO you need on how you can get a blog started from start to end. And all for free!

And once your blog is up, I highly recommend having your blog up for at least 3-4 months before applying to rStyle.

#7 Get Referred by a Current Member

Now that you’ve completed steps 1-5, it’s time to get that referral!

PRIOR TO APPLYING TO RewardStyle, add me on Instagram and send me a message with your full name and email. I’ll be more than happy to send you a referral.

To date, I’ve referred over 12 people and 6 have gotten accepted!

If you happen to get denied by RewardStyle, they will require you to wait for three (3) months before applying again. So please do the steps above to prepare your account prior to applying.

Get a rStyle Referral

Things to Avoid Doing

And if the list above was not helpful enough, here is a list of absolute no-no’s that will get you denied:

• Using stock images or images from other bloggers/influencers.
• Making your feed look like a personal account by posting pets, boyfriends/girlfriends, family, and things that aren’t related to your niche.
• Anything x-rated or profane. This can also get you banned from Instagram, so be careful!

What to Do Once You’re Accepted to RewardStyle?

If you applied using the tips above and got accepted, a big CONGRATS is in order! I am so happy for you!

Now, how do we use this darn thing? RewardStyle offers tutorials but they’re not always straightforward with images and etc. I dug around and eventually learned how to use it. 

So, I created an entire guide on how to use RewardStyle. This guide shows you step by step instructions on how to use RewardStyle’s most useful features. And there are a lot of features I don’t use but glad that it’s available to members.

It can be a bit overwhelming at first, but if you use this guide to learn how to use RewardStylem you’ll be monetizing in no time.

What Happens If I Get Rejected from RewardStyle?

No worries! Just wait three months, work on improving your feed and/or blog, and request another referral from me to apply. 

And if you don’t want to deal with rStyle ever again, you can also apply to these other affiliate network programs:

• ShopMy – I am OBSESSED with ShopMy! It’s a great affiliate platform for any type of content creator. AND you get approved automatically. Read our ShopMy review here to learn more and sign up!
• Magiclinks – Works similarly to rStyle and their influencer/blogger support is amazing. There are also gifting opportunities if you perform well, but lately, those opportunities seem to have lessened.
• Amazon – Amazon is great because conversation rates are typically high (10% and above), but your cut will be pennies. It sucks, but it’s better than nothing.
• Skimlinks – I absolutely love Skimlinks! It was the first affiliate marketing tool I used to monetize my blog. With Skimlinks, you can add a simple line of code to the header of your blog and all the links you add to your site will automatically convert to affiliate links. They make it super easy!

Supposedly, RewardStyle has a cap on the number of times someone can apply. It’s rumored to be 6 but we’re not sure. RewardStyle is super secretive with its application process.