Every major platform gives you basically one clickable spot in your bio. Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube each cap or gate how many links you can add and where they show up. The creators who actually earn from affiliate content aren't fighting that limit — they route that one spot to everything they recommend. This is a practical, current guide to putting affiliate links in your bio across all three platforms, staying on the right side of the rules, and doing it without paying for yet another tool.
Here's the core problem in one sentence: each platform restricts your bio links differently, so you need a single hub link that points to all your products — plus disclosures that keep you legal. Let's go platform by platform, then fix it.
Instagram: up to 5 bio links, but only one shows
Since April 2023, Instagram lets you add up to 5 links in your profile bio. The catch: only the first link is displayed prominently on your profile. The rest sit behind an "and [number] others" prompt that people have to tap to expand. So in practice, most people still tap one thing.
To add them: go to Edit profile > Links > Add external link, paste the full URL (include https://) and give it a title. You can drag to reorder them. Put your most important destination first, since that's the one people see without tapping.
For Stories, Instagram's link sticker is now available to all accounts — the old 10,000-follower/swipe-up requirement was retired back in 2021. One limitation remains: you get only one link sticker per Story slide. The workaround is to use a different link sticker on each slide in a sequence.
TikTok: one bio link, and you have to earn it
TikTok is the strictest. You get exactly one clickable link — the Website field — and you can only add it through the mobile app (Edit profile > Website). The URL must start with https:// or it won't be clickable at all.
Eligibility is where it gets messy. The reliable path to unlocking the Website field is switching to a Business account, which gets link access regardless of follower count. Personal-account access has historically depended on follower count and region, and the widely cited 1,000-follower threshold is reported inconsistently for 2026 — some sources say it was scrapped, others say it still applies. Rather than trust a specific number, check TikTok's Help Center for your region and treat the Business account as the dependable route.
One trade-off to know: switching to a Business account limits access to TikTok's full commercial music library, which restricts your use of some trending sounds. If sounds are central to your content, weigh that before flipping the switch.
YouTube: the most generous of the three
YouTube permits affiliate links in video descriptions and pinned comments. Any full URL starting with https:// is automatically turned into a clickable hyperlink — no special setup.
The catch is placement. Most YouTube viewing happens on mobile, where only the first line or two of a description shows before the "Show more" fold. Put your most important links in the first 2–3 lines, above that fold, or most viewers will never see them. A pinned comment is a second reliable slot — it stays visible at the top of the comments even on mobile.
The FTC rules you can't skip
Affiliate links come with a legal obligation. The FTC requires you to disclose any material connection — payment, free product, discount, or affiliate commission — clearly and conspicuously, close to the endorsement or link, every single time it appears.
A few specifics worth memorizing:
- Use plain wording. The FTC has said "paid link" can be an adequate disclosure, but simply labeling something "affiliate link" may not be, because many consumers don't understand it means you earn money on their purchase.
- Platform labels aren't enough on their own. The FTC has said it isn't always sufficient to rely only on a platform's built-in tool, like Instagram's "Paid partnership" tag — add your own clear disclosure in the content, near the link.
- Never bury it. A disclosure hidden behind a "Show more" link or dumped at the bottom of a description doesn't count. On mobile, that means it needs to sit within the first few lines, before the fold, where it's hard to miss.
The fix: one link-in-bio page for all three platforms
Notice the pattern — every platform gives you one primary, clickable spot. So make that spot a single hub that leads to everything. On MakerManifest, your public profile includes a bio links page (list or grid view) that becomes the one URL you drop into every bio: Instagram's first link, TikTok's Website field, and the top of your YouTube descriptions.
Because it's one URL, you update the destination once and it's current everywhere. No editing five different bios every time you launch a new product list.
Branded short links that you can edit later
Every link you add gets a branded mkr.ms/<code> short link. Clicks are tracked, and — this is the useful part — you can edit the destination later without breaking the URL you already shared. If an affiliate program changes its landing page or a product goes out of stock, you repoint the same mkr.ms link instead of chasing down every place you posted it.
Product lists with automatic affiliate tags
Build your product lists once. Enter your Amazon Associates tag and other network IDs a single time, and your tags inject automatically across 50+ stores. It supports wrapper and param rules for networks like Amazon, Howl, AWIN, Impact, CJ, and Rakuten. The free tier gets all the param and wrapper rules — only the generic catch-all wrapper is a paid feature — so most makers get full tagging at no cost.
That means you stop hand-editing affiliate tags into every URL and hoping you didn't miss one. Add a product, and the tag is applied for you.
Bonus: program links, a directory, and analytics
Your profile also has an affiliate program links section — add direct links to the programs and brands you promote, and each gets its own mkr.ms code and a spot in your profile navigation. Not sure which programs to join? The Affiliate Program Directory lists thousands of programs from CJ Affiliate, ShareASale, Impact, AWIN, AvantLink, and Rakuten — searchable, with commission rates and cookie durations shown where available, plus apply links. And built-in analytics show you which links are actually getting clicks and earning.
Step-by-step recap
- Build your MakerManifest profile and product lists, and enter your affiliate tags once.
- Grab your bio links URL (and mkr.ms short links for individual products).
- Add it to Instagram as one of your 5 links (make it the first one), to TikTok's Website field (with
https://), and to the top of your YouTube descriptions above "Show more." - Add a clear FTC disclosure everywhere the links appear — plain wording like "paid link," near the link, never buried.
One hub, tagged automatically, tracked, and editable — pointed at from every bio you have. MakerManifest has a free tier. Create your profile and start building your lists, then drop one link into all three bios.