Why most creators say no
Commission only transfers your business risk to someone with no control over it. The creator cannot fix your landing page, your price, your delivery times or your checkout. Asking them to bet their working day on your conversion rate is a hard sell without evidence.
The exception is a creator who has sold your category before and can estimate their own earnings. Show them real numbers from comparable creators, including views to click rate and click to purchase rate. The conversation becomes reasonable once the earnings are credible.
Structures that actually get accepted
A base fee plus commission works best. Pay enough to cover their time, roughly half their normal rate, then 10% to 20% of tracked revenue for 30 days. The creator keeps the upside and you keep a ceiling on downside risk.
TikTok Shop affiliate changes the picture, because commission is native, tracking is automatic and creators can see your product’s existing conversion data before agreeing. In that environment commission only is standard and creators approach you rather than the other way round.
Make commission worth chasing
Set the rate high enough to matter. Below 10% on a low value product, a creator earns pennies per post and stops. Sample maths, a £40 product at 10% pays £4 a sale, so thirty sales earns £120, which is under most day rates.
Also give creators a reason to keep posting. Rising commission tiers, early access to launches, a real code their audience recognises and prompt monthly payment. Creator affiliate income compounds when the same person posts repeatedly, so retention is the whole game.