Affiliate Marketing Without Links: Creative Ways to Sell on Instagram

Modern users spend almost 3 hours a day scrolling through social media. Therefore, most businesses opt to leverage this channel to reach their target audience, who browse social media regularly.

However, most social media have one common issue: it’s pretty hard to use referral links there. Therefore, it becomes challenging to establish an Instagram affiliate marketing business, as you must post a tagged URL to measure the performance of referred users. At the same time, the social platform itself doesn’t have much space to place them.

So, advertisers and affiliates who want to promote multiple products on social media need to get creative. Thus, they are starting to implement pay-per-call affiliate marketing, where the focus shifts from clicks to phone calls. In this article, you’ll have a deep dive into how to creatively advertise and sell on Instagram without heavy reliance on clicks.

What Is Pay-Per-Call Affiliate Marketing and Why Use It On Socials?

It’s a business model in which affiliates earn a commission when a lead makes a qualified call to an advertiser. Qualification criteria in pay-per-call affiliate programs vary, but typically include a conversation of at least 30-40 seconds. Some merchants may consider a call qualified only if the lead purchases the product during the call, while others require only a brief conversation or booking a free service.

Social media platforms have strict limitations, which make traditional affiliate marketing challenging. Pay-per-call marketing addresses this by allowing publishers to promote products without relying heavily on links, encouraging users to call the advertiser instead.

Benefits of Pay-Per-Call Advertisement on Social Media

Pay-per-call affiliate marketing is uniquely suited for social media, as you don’t need to worry about where to put links. Typically, Instagram affiliates can share links only in two places: the profile bio or stories.

However, it can be challenging to encourage followers to open the profile and follow the link in the bio. Instagram influencers can’t even use a QR code, as this action may result in lower views, since social media platforms deter creators who use this tricky way to display links.

Meanwhile, with pay-per-call affiliate marketing, you don’t need to put any links in your content. At the same time, callers are typically ready to take immediate action, so advertisers have a better chance of converting them into clients.

One of the biggest advantages of this promotion is that it works perfectly across both organic content and paid campaigns. You can share a phone number in posts, stories, or reels, and also scale your reach through pay-per-call Facebook ads to target users who are ready to convert. This dual strategy allows you to combine authenticity with precise targeting.

5 Creative Ways To Sell On Instagram

At first sight, Instagram affiliate marketing may seem impossible without using tagged links everywhere. However, there are many proven ways to successfully sell any product, even if you don’t want to spam with URLs.

The key is to build a trustworthy atmosphere. By using storytelling, personal branding, and smart tools like chatbots, you can gently guide followers toward the target action. In this section, we’ll explore five practical and creative ways to sell on Instagram while keeping your promotions engaging.

Tell a Story Around the Product

Modern users have a built-in “mental adblock”. If your content even remotely resembles a traditional ad, they are most likely to skip it. So, if you want to grab followers’ attention, you don’t need to promote a product. Advertise the lifestyle and show how the specific item benefits you in it. Demonstrate how the item you are selling solves all the current problems your target audience faces.

This Instagram affiliate marketing tip is effective in any niche, from beauty to technology and education. Here is an example of how Pierre Crespeau uses storytelling to gently nudge followers to purchase a promoted item without a link in the post, highlighting how proper skincare helps him maintain a youthful appearance.

You can also use storytelling both on your posts and stories to warm up users’ interest in the product. If it’s a pay-per-call promotion, remind them to call the dedicated number you are sharing.

If you are still looking for a way to add links to your Instagram affiliate marketing, create your custom Linktree, add it to your bio, and encourage followers to open it and click on the desired item. That way, you still avoid posting any links in posts or stories.

Build a Strong Personal Brand

If you want to succeed with Instagram affiliate marketing, especially without relying on links, your personal brand becomes your most powerful asset. People follow people, not ads. When your audience trusts you, they’ll buy what you recommend simply because you said it works.

Since you are reading this article, you most likely already know your niche and are now looking for ways to solidify your brand voice. So, do the next practice, which is called “elevator pitch”.

Imagine you have a brief elevator ride with an investor and want to tell them about your blog in 10-15 words or fewer. What would it be? Is it a “wellness blog for people with PCOS”, “style blog for POC,” or something else? You need a compelling brand identity on Instagram so people will believe in you enough to share your posts with their friends.

Funnel Traffic Through DMs by Using Chatbots

When you can’t attach multiple links to a single Instagram story, your DMs can become an alternative way to share them by using tools that benefit affiliate marketers.

Just connect the chatbot (such as ManyChat or Chatbase) to the Instagram profile and set it up. That way, it can automate the communication in direct messages. Let’s imagine one of the most common situations where these bots may help you in Instagram affiliate marketing:

1. You launch the chatbot and set the trigger word (it can be anything related to your topic), which will trigger the chat and send the lead magnet PDF with an affiliate link, promo code, or phone number.
2. You make a post where you ask followers to write the trigger word in the comments to receive a lead magnet.
3. Users comment on your post and receive a lead magnet tailored to their interests.

You can create multiple funnels with different trigger words simultaneously. That way, you can segment your audience and create a separate sales funnel for each group. It benefits your Instagram affiliate marketing by creating a seamless experience that gently guides users toward conversion. Instead of scattering links across stories, you move followers into a controlled, personalized chat environment.

DMs also let you guide interested followers from public curiosity to private in-depth consultation, where you can share more details, answer questions, and provide direct next steps (like a phone number, code, or CTA).

Use Story Highlights as a Mini Shop

Instagram stories are the only place on this social media where you can place links with every new publication. Unfortunately, they disappear from your main profile after 24 hours.

However, you still use them in your Instagram affiliate marketing by adding old stories to highlights. It creates a sort of “mini store” where each highlight is dedicated to a specific category, brand, or theme. For instance, you can name them “My Faves,” “Morning Routine,” or “Gift Ideas,” and showcase products with quick reviews.

Add short captions, pricing info, or call-to-action (CTA) like “DM me for details” or “Tap to ask where to get this.” Pay-per-call affiliate marketing publishers may ask followers to call the specific number or provide their promo code while leads speak with representatives.

Keep in mind that Instagram has already begun converting old video stories (before 2020) to photos. Unfortunately, nobody knows when they will start converting more recent content, so check your highlights from time to time to ensure they look as you expect.

Invest in Paid Ads

While organic reach is valuable, Instagram’s algorithm can be unpredictable. Running paid ads enables affiliates and businesses to scale their efforts while maintaining the linkless strategy.

Unlike traditional Instagram affiliate marketing campaigns that rely on link clicks, pay-per-call ads assume the user is ready to call the dedicated number immediately. Paid ads let you include call-to-action buttons such as Call Now or Send Message. This makes it easier for potential customers to take immediate action without having to hunt for a link.

Through advanced targeting, you can show your paid Instagram ads to users most likely to need your product or service. Paid ads perform best when they resemble authentic posts. So, you can repurpose your videos, use testimonials, or product demos as ad creatives. The goal is to make them blend naturally into users’ feeds while carrying a clear CTA.

Users who tap on a “Call Now” button are already motivated to take immediate action. They are ready to ask questions and purchase the product. This translates into a high ROI of such promotions.

Conclusion

Instagram affiliate marketing doesn’t have to rely on links. When you combine storytelling, DMs, organic posts, and best practices of paid campaigns on Instagram, you create a genuine connection between you and your followers. They begin to see you as the expert who genuinely wants to help them.

The key to success is to become consistent by regularly posting content in the chosen niche, so users view you as the expert. It increases the likelihood that they will take that extra step, whether it’s calling the number, opening your LinkTree, or browsing your highlights.