How to Make 100 Dollars Online as a Creator on a Free Plan
The invite cash offer has ended. Here is how creators earn a first $100 from tips, print-on-demand merch and products they already sell, plus how to promote them and what the fees are.
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If you came here for Linkme’s old offer of cash for inviting friends, that offer has ended, and Linkme no longer pays for invites. You can still make 100 dollars online from an audience you already have. That money comes from people choosing to pay for something you offer: a tip, a shirt with your design on it, or a product you already sell. This guide covers three ways to start on a free plan, how to promote them without spamming your followers, and which fees come out of each sale.
The invite offer has ended
Linkme used to reward people for bringing friends onto the app, back when it was a networking app. That program has closed. There are no cash rewards, prizes or milestones for invites, so treat any message claiming otherwise as suspicious.
Linkme does run a brand ambassador program. It is invite only, and you can apply at ambassador.link.me. It involves working with the Linkme team. It is not a referral payout.
What $100 actually takes
Start with the arithmetic, because it shows how much promotion you need. The figures below are examples, not predictions.
| Route | What the buyer pays for | Example path to $100 | Stock you hold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tips | Supporting your work | 20 people tip $5 (before fees) | None |
| Print-on-demand merch | A product with your design | 10 orders if you keep about $10 on each after base cost and fees | None |
| Products sold elsewhere | Something you already make or sell | Depends on your price and margin, paid through your own store | Whatever you already hold |
Only a small share of the people who see a post will tap the link, and fewer still will pay. So a few hundred engaged followers can be enough for a first $100 if you ask clearly and more than once. A large but disengaged following may produce nothing. None of this is guaranteed. Treat the first $100 as a test of what your audience values.
Way 1: Take tips
Tips suit creators whose followers already get value from them for free, such as tutorials, reviews, live streams, recipes or advice.
Set it up:
- Turn on tips on your Linkme page so fans can tip from it.
- Connect a Stripe payout account. Tips are paid out to your bank by Stripe.
- Put your Linkme page in your bio on every network.
Ask with a reason. “Tip me” rarely works. “If this guide saved you an afternoon, there’s a tip jar on my page” works better, because it ties the ask to something the follower just got from you. Make the ask straight after your most useful posts and at the end of live streams, when goodwill is highest.
Say thank you. A short thank-you story, or a reply to each tipper if they’re happy to be named, shows that tipping is normal and that the money is noticed.
Way 2: Sell merch with no stock to hold
Print on demand means you create the design, a buyer orders and pays, and the item is printed and shipped for that single order. You hold no inventory and pay nothing upfront.
On Linkme, merch is available on every plan, Free included. According to the Linkme merch guide, you:
- Go to Edit Profile in your dashboard, then Merch.
- Design the product with Linkme’s built-in AI design tool, or upload your own artwork.
- Set your price above the base cost. Linkme handles production, shipping and fulfillment.
- Connect your payout account and go live. Whatever you charge above the base price is yours after fees.
The merch fee is higher on the free plan and lower on Plus and Pro. Linkme covers misprinted, damaged or defective items reported within 30 days.
What sells first: designs your audience already recognizes, such as a catchphrase, an inside joke from your streams, your logo or a drawing that comes up in your content. Start with one product in a few sizes rather than a full catalog. When you have only one item, every post about it points to the same link.
Way 3: Link to products you already sell
If you already sell something, such as prints, handmade goods, a book or a service, you don’t need to rebuild your store. On the free plan you can add it to your Linkme page as an external product with a title, price, photo and link. Buyers tap it and check out on your existing site.
This is often the quickest way to a first $100, because the product, the price and the checkout already exist. The work left is getting it in front of followers.
Promote it without spamming
One post with a link rarely sells anything. A short, repeated plan works better.
- Put it on your page. Add the tip jar, the merch item or the external product near the top of your Linkme page, and keep the page in every bio.
- Use a keyword DM. Post the product on Instagram or Facebook and write “Comment SHIRT and I’ll DM you the link.” DM automations reply to every matching comment with your text and link and count the clicks. The free plan includes up to 3 keyword automations.
- Post it everywhere at once. The free plan includes 10 lifetime posts with Post to All, which sends one post to your connected accounts. Save them for launch day and the last reminder.
- Show it in use. Wearing the shirt, unboxing the first order or showing how you made the design is content in its own right, not just an ad.
- Ask three times. Post an announcement, a reminder midweek and a final “last chance this week.” People miss posts, and seeing the ask again often prompts them to act.
If you link to someone else’s products and earn a commission, say so clearly. The FTC’s guidance for influencers asks for disclosures that are hard to miss.
Fees and payouts
Each sale that checks out on your Linkme page carries two fees:
- A Linkme platform fee set by your plan. Merch fees are higher on Free and lower on Plus and Pro.
- Stripe’s processing fee on every payment.
Transaction Fees & Earnings shows what you will earn on a sale before you publish, and every order in Sales shows its total, the fees and what you receive. Each Linkme page connects its own Stripe account, and Stripe pays out to the bank you connect. You can also export buyers’ emails from Sales. Products you link to elsewhere check out in your own store, so that store’s fees apply instead.
Keep a simple record of what you earn. Depending on where you live, this income may need to be reported for tax.
When to go beyond the free plan
If your first $100 comes in and people ask for more, digital downloads, pay-to-unlock posts and courses start on Linkme Plus, and Plus also lowers the merch fee. The monetization overview covers every way to sell from your page and shows which plan includes what.
Frequently asked questions
Does Linkme still pay $100 for inviting friends?
No. The invite cash offer has ended, and Linkme does not pay cash or prizes for invites. The ambassador program is separate and invite only, and you can apply at ambassador.link.me.
Can I make 100 dollars online with a small following?
It is possible, but not guaranteed. A small group that trusts you and engages with your posts often buys more than a large following that doesn’t. Start with tips or a single merch item, ask clearly after your most useful posts and repeat the ask a few times.
Do I need to buy stock to sell merch?
No. With print on demand, each item is printed and shipped when someone orders it. On Linkme, you set your price above the base cost and keep the difference after fees.
How do I get paid for tips and sales on Linkme?
Connect a Stripe payout account to your Linkme page. Tips and shop sales are paid out to your bank by Stripe, and each order shows the fees and what you receive.
Your first $100 is less about the amount than about learning what your audience will pay for. Set up one route on your Linkme page, promote it for a week and use what you learn to decide on the next step.
