by Guest Collaborator, Nicole Tollefsrud of ShopStyle Collective

Hi, I’m Nicole Tollefsrud, Head of Influencer Development at ShopStyle Collective!  I help influencers and entrepreneurs of all sizes grow and monetize their businesses by creating exclusive opportunities for them to build affiliate revenue and garner brand partnerships.  Before joining SSC, I spent years on the brand side of the industry, creating and overseeing execution of large-scale digital influencer collaborations and ambassador programs with brands such as American Express, Audi and Sole Society.  In what feels like another lifetime before Instagram feeds were our runways, I worked on the real-life runway, styling and producing Designer fashion shows for Nordstrom.  I’ve always been quite obsessed with fashion, and love finding a good deal. Since I’m constantly asked where I find these great deals or finds, I co-founded a Facebook Group and Instagram account called The Young-ish where my Biz partner and BFF Sandy and myself share our favorite finds and tips in fashion, clean beauty and home.  If you haven’t already noticed, Amie and I share the same last name - but no we’re not related.  I randomly saw her name in a Facebook group and thought, well this is strange, so I reached out to say ‘hello.’  After discovering she wasn’t a weirdo, we found out we both had recently traveled to Paris and were currently living in LA.  The rest is history!  I’ve told Amie about how the entrepreneurs she works with can earn quite a bit with ShopStyle Collective, so she wanted me to come on the podcast and share with all of you! 

So, what really is Shopstyle Collective?

ShopStyle Collective is the premier influencer affiliate network, giving influencers one platform to easily monetize their original, shoppable content with our powerful tools and resources. We build the tools, relationships and distribution channels to drive affiliate, paid content, collaborations and other revenue streams.  We have over 20,000 influencers that connect with the thousands of brands and retailers in our network to create sponsored and affiliatized content across all verticals from fashion and beauty to fitness, family, travel, home, and more.

I’ve heard of other affiliate providers.  Why should I choose ShopStyle Collective?

Well that depends on what you’re looking for from a provider.  Personally for me, I’m a business-minded person and I imagine a lot of you all reading are too - and with a business mindset, I’d prefer to work with a network who puts me and my business’ needs first, rather than adapting me to be what they want.  In that respect, here are a few things our users appreciate most:

• The Transparency they get from ShopStyle Collective. We actually provide more data and insights on what is performing well in their content and how influencers are getting paid, than any other platform. The reason being that we want our influencers to be informed and empowered by knowing their worth.

• Robust and Exclusive Tools. As innovators in the space, we are committed to building easy-to-use tools to enable our influencers to effectively monetize their original content across all channels. You can even create links and post right from your phone!

• We put influencers FIRST. We approach our platform development from their POV and we have support teams that are there to help them scale their business, provide in-depth analytics, key information, and support every step of the way. Yes, you can speak to a live person!

Can anyone sign up?

Yes!  ShopStyle Collective is a Diverse Platform that supports influencers and content creators of all sizes, backgrounds, categories and content types. Our only requirement is they must be producing original content. We encourage you to - apply here!

How to get approved with a small audience?

We have two programs, the Standard PPC and the Advanced CPA.  In the Standard Pay-Per-Click program you only need 500 Instagram followers and of course you must be creating original content, not repurposing others.  There, you’ll get paid a fee based on how many clicks you drive.  In the Advanced CPA (cost per acquisition) program, you need 10k Instagram followers, and there you’ll earn commission for every sale that’s made through your links.

Let’s say someone has 500 IG followers. How can they use ShopStyle to make money?

They can use the standard Pay-Per-Click program!  Even though they can’t use swipe-up links yet on Instagram, they can direct their audience to the link in their bio which can take them to their own blog/website or ShopStyle Shop page where you can host clickable links!  Every user gets their own ShopStyle Shop page in case they don’t have their own website.

Best tips for getting started? 

Some people are hesitant to introduce links into their content because they’re afraid to sound too sales-y, but remember this is just simple word-of-mouth advertising.  Don’t change anything about the type of content you’re already sharing, just start incorporating links to the products you’re already sharing anyway and let them know how to find it whether it’s in your highlights or in the link in your bio.  For example, if you’re sharing your daily smoothie every morning, include a link to that immersion blender or protein powder.  Believe me, they want to know where you got it.  I’m personally frustrated when I can’t find a link to that cute pair of boots I saw an influencer wearing that I must have!  Most importantly and at the risk of overusing this word - remember to be authentic.  Just be you, be relatable and share the things you ultimately love and post about anyway!  That’s what your audience loves about you and why they trust you. 

In terms of learning how to actually use the platform, we actually just launched The Collective Academy which is step by step tutorials of how to use the tools.  You’ll have access once you get approved on shopstylecollective.com!

Which social platform performs best to drive sales?

There is actually no right answer here, it just depends on where you see the most engagement from your audience.  Every business is different.  Right now for The Young-ish, my partner Sandy and I see more sales from our Facebook Group than from our Instagram.  Amie, on the other hand, might see Instagram as more lucrative because she has more followers and engagement there.  While others might see more success from their YouTube channel or Blog. The best way to choose a platform for sharing your content is to share where you genuinely already enjoy sharing! And again - you’ll just want to start incorporating links to the original content you are already, naturally sharing.

Should you pick a niche when starting out? 

It’s great to have a focus or hone in your expertise, but you’re not confined to that.  You’ve already formed a community when you created a platform where you can all relate and share in a common lifestyle or interest.  That topic could be fashion, nutrition, beauty or even just finding great deals in general.  But remember, you’re a multi-faceted person and so is your audience and they appreciate it if you want to talk about something else you’re experiencing in life.  Like for me, I’ve always been personally interested in Fashion and built my career around it, but it’s not all I’m about.  I care about clean beauty, travel and I’m a fitness instructor and so I’m allowed to share my findings in those categories or anything I’m discovering as well.

What type of content is best to share?

We have lots of tips and trends that can steer you in the right direction and the tools that can help you create it so it’s visually pleasing and shoppable, but the best advice I can give is keep your content in line with the ultimate story you’re telling and don’t let the product dictate the content - that’s when it can feel fake.  When the product fits into your lifestyle and the message you’re trying to get across it does so much better than just sharing a review solely about any old item.  For example, on The Young-ish we share products that fit into our lifestyle of remaining young-ish.  So that can be skincare, fashion, meditation, fitness gear, books, cookware for healthy recipes or things that simply make us feel good.  As long as it fits into our story and lifestyle it feels authentic and our audience is here for it.  

When it comes to content forms, you can share any type of content that you prefer, static posts, short-form videos like reels or TikToks, YouTube tutorials or conversational Instagram stories. There’s always a way to organically include your links into what you’re already sharing.  Just remember to keep it original and relatable and your audience will appreciate it.  In fact, they’ll come to expect it from you.  

I would also love you to share some of your skincare/beauty tips and tricks since you have amazing skin!

Well first of all, thank you!  I’m sorry to say I’m not going to have any big revelations to share, but at 38 years old I can say that simplicity and consistency has always worked well for me.  Here’s what I swear by:

• Drinking 64oz of water a day. It’s not that hard if you have a big water bottle!

• Eating nutritious food, but you all know that. I still have my occasional pizza and potato chips, but it shows up on my face like the scarlet letter when I do. Also, incorporating supplements like collagen is now a habit of mine. I’m pescatarian so I use the fish collagen.

• Always washing off my makeup no matter how tired. I mean, duh.

• Using a daily face-roller, gua-sha or NuFace to stimulate collagen and elastin. It’s like a nice massage too!

• I’ve never worn heavy makeup, but I switched to Clean, non-toxic beauty and skincare products and I’ll never go back. Credo is a great place to start. Here are my must-haves.

• Ok and this one is maybe that miracle… these little stickers that prevent your face from creasing at night. This is my natural alternative to Botox.

• If you want to know more about Integrative Beauty, reach out to my Young-ish partner and skincare/beauty expert, Sandy Thinnes.

It was so fun hanging out with Amie on the podcast and I hope I was able to answer some questions about ShopStyle Collective and how to earn revenue through affiliate links.  Make sure to sign up for an account at www.shopstylecollective.com to start earning! You can also email me directly at NTollefsrud@shopstyle.com if you have any questions.  I also hope to see you all in our Facebook Group at The Young-ish Deals and On-Trend Finds and on Instagram at @TheYoung_ish. I bring my expertise in style, travel and fitness, while Sandy who is a professional makeup artist and skincare coach, brings her expertise in all things beauty, kids and home, but we both bring good deals and LOTS of 90’s references! 

I highly encourage you to give our full conversation a listen on the Wealthy, Worthy and WILD podcast - you can listen to our episode below!

>> P.S. - If you are interested in learning how to engage + inspire your *ideal* audience, grow your following, reach more people online and increase your sales… I invite you to check out the Daily Digital Nutritionist™️ Membership!