Sharing links

[Rachel_E]

Hi All,

I've just tried to share a link as I always do (using the share option) and I notice the link is no longer coming with ?rf=. and our affiliate / ambassador link. Is this correct?  

I know there has just been a change, but I wonder if we need to manual add the ?rf= now or this is just with issues during this transition period.  I am sure I am doing something wrong 😄

Thoughts?

Cheers,

Rachel

[SheaPrints]

From what I understand, the ambassador program will automatically include the correct link depending on whether it's your product or another designer's.
https://www.zazzle.com/my/ambassador/ambassador

Self-Promotion: promote your own products, the link is clean without Ambassador ID.

Cross-Promotion: share other Zazzle Products, the Ambassador ID will be included.

[Sara_H]

@Rachel_E 

I've just tried to share one from my product page and it's not grabbing the rf no. so it looks like the website hasn't fully updated with the functionality

However - if I go to another's designer's product and share - the rf is there so maybe there's a delay with PP2 over to Ambassador program?

Give it a week or two

[Rachel_E]

I believe @SheaPrints is correct. Our link does not have the =rf, only when we share other people's work. The dis-advantage is that, if someone lands on our page, but sees the "related products" under them and decides to buy something else, you don't get anything.

[MOM]

@Rachel_E   Good question. https://www.zazzle.com/my/ambassador/ambassador explains it a bit. I had wondered the very same thing.

[MOM]

Yes. And if you link from your own website don't forget about API (https://www.zazzle.com/api) and declare your domains etc. 🙂

[idraw]

Read my post—-

<https://community.zazzle.com/t5/general-zazzle-discussion/earnings-page-shows-ambassador-link-attent...>

[idraw]

Earnings page shows ambassador link,read the explanation:

(I removed my ref number from this explanation and replaced it with xxxxxx)

Ambassador Center

Self-Promotion — Promote your Products

When you share Products you create, you’ll earn 35–50% of the sale*!

How to self-promote

1. Sign in
2. Visit YOUR Product page, Collection, or Store page
3. Click on the share button  and share via email, social or link.

Share the URL to your Public Product pages, Store pages, Collection pages, your Member Profile pages, or even create a product api pages—and automatically earn Self-Promotion Referral Commissions. Our Ambassador tracking system works behind the scenes without requiring additional parameters or your Ambassador ID.

IMPORTANT
If you share URLs with Your Ambassador ID (i.e. ?rf=xxxxxx) in the Link, it will be counted as a Cross-Promotion Link and you'll only be eligible for a 15% Referral Commission on the sale.

*Net Referral Sales

Cross-Promotion — Share other Zazzle Products

When you share other Zazzle Products, you’ll earn 15% of the sale*! Learn more

Your Ambassador ID:xxxxxxxxxxx

How to cross promote

1. Sign in
2. Visit any Product page, Collection, or Store page
3. Click on the share button  and share via email, social or link.

We’ll automatically include your Ambassador ID in the URL (i.e. ?rf=xxxxxx) if the Product, Store or Collection you are sharing does not belong to you. You’ll earn a Referral Commission when a sale is made through your Cross-Promotion Link.

---

International Referrals

The rules are the same for international referrals. The only difference is that you will have to replace "zazzle.com" with the Zazzle international domain to which you wish to link.

You can find all Zazzle International sites on the Zazzle International Page

IMPORTANT—-read this!!!

IMPORTANT
If you share URLs with Your Ambassador ID (i.e. ?rf=xxxxxx) in the Link, it will be counted as a Cross-Promotion Link and you'll only be eligible for a 15% Referral Commission on the sale.

ATTENTION MODS

@MODS,please verify or deny as to whether I need to remove my ref from all my own links on all my external sites

…..before I engage my coding copy paste delete finger and embark on this removal journey….

so, on my external website,blogs, benable , etc. I have to remove my ref from EVERY confounded link there (or my percentage will only be 15%;less excess fees etc.)and reupload my pages to my server , yikes!!!

[CarlaRolfe]

When I joined the Promo 2.0 program I went through all my external links on my site, and all social media and edited them to remove all associate IDs so I'd get the 35% instead of the 15%. 

Was it a hassle? Yes, absolutely.  Was it worth it? Yes, absolutely.  YMMV.

[idraw]

@CarlaRolfe 

I am not/never was in the pp2 program. I have over 70 webpages with thousands of my ref links, then there are my blogs, and benable, what a motivation killer. I hear what you are saying, but still, it feels as if z is punishing me (and others)to have to invest the next at least two weeks on this, seems that way anyhow. So much for being a highly trained illustrator all my life, which I love and much prefer ,to doing the excruciating coding.

[mgdesigns]

You don't have to remove anything. I just tested it and if I click the "share" button on my own products, it does not include the ref number and there's also a message saying "Share your Product and earn 35-50% on a Referred Sale. Self-Promotion Links are created when you share.". If I click share on someone else's product, it says I can earn 15% and the link has my ref link attached automatically. I think this is great! And it will help our products sold if word gets out that people can earn affiliate income this easily.

[James]

Hi @idraw , the links you have in the wild with the Ambassador parameter will still work (now known as Cross-Promotion links), for 15% on any successful sales (including your items and others). When you are sharing your own products, this is removed as it's assumed you will be sharing your own content to get the higher rates for a Self- Promoter. 

Hope this helps. 

[idraw]

@James 

I just read your reply.... seems to be sort of doublespeak? you said ", the links you have in the wild with the Ambassador parameter will still work (now known as Cross-Promotion links), for 15% on any successful sales (including your items and others)."
I have an external website with only my own rfs on it.  I interpret what you said as meaning that if my own rfs remain on my links, i will only  get 15% since it is read by z as a Cross Promo link. The Ambass peram is the rf link from previous?
Where it becomes fuzzy is this: "When you are sharing your own products, this is removed as it's assumed you will be sharing your own content to get the higher rates for a Self- Promoter."

How can it be both? Which one wins when my own product link is clicked that still has my rf on it.?

Thanks for your explanation, looking forward to clarification.

[ColsCreations]

I think what he means is that if sharing your own product from Z, the RF is removed from the generated link as its assumed you want to use a "clean" promoter link. Existing links you've already posted somewhere should not be effected. So all the thousands of links you've already created with your RF ID, they'll continue to earn you 15% referral.

[idraw]

You said" all the thousands of links you've already created with your RF ID, they'll continue to earn you 15% referral."

Thanks, ColsCreations, but really ,why would I want to only get 15% on my own existing self referred rfs on my own website? I am not creating NEW shared links, my own product rfs already exist on my own external website.

----------
Under Ambassador on the earnings page,it very clearly states:

Self-Promotion — Promote your Products

When you share Products you create, you’ll earn 35–50% of the sale*!
---------------------

That's why I asked @James to clarify. Hoping for an explanation so that I/we all don't have to theorize on the forum as to what Z is proposing.

[ColsCreations]

I don't know? Just going off that you said you had all these links out there with your RF ID in them and you didn't want to have to change them to strip out the RF number. I'm just saying, you don't have to do that. You will still earn the same 15% as you did before from those links. The only difference is that now you have the option to also post/share "clean" links to earn more on sales of your own products but zero on other's products.

[Polenth]

So, our self-promotion links are just the regular URLs with nothing marking them as different in any way. I can copy/paste my store link from my web browser's address bar and it would be the right link. All I need to do for old links is remove the affiliate code part to swap them to the new links.

Which means you're doing it by guessing that any direct link is from the creator. That might not always be true, but it'd be errors in our favour in that case.

Or if this isn't how it works, how does it work?

[SheaPrints]

I understand how Self-Promotion links, using the Zazzle 'Share' button will work. But I still don't understand how it works when we manually create a link on our own website/blog or Pinterest etc. How does Zazzle know that the link has come from the creators marketing efforts? Do we have to register our website/blog etc. with Zazzle, so they recognize the source? I'm confused!

[Anne]

@SheaPrints It is my understanding that Zazzle is then able to set a cookie which will turn your sale into third party (read: Zazzle).

[SheaPrints]

Thanks Anne 😊 Since posting my question, I read in the new Ambassador Q&A:

"When you enroll in the Ambassador Program, we automatically associate your Ambassador ID
with all direct visits to your Products, Stores, Collections, Member Profile, and API pages. Zazzle
automatically credits these Referrals to the correct Creator without needing URL parameters."

So now I'm assuming that any 'direct visit' to our product will be credited with a self-promotion referral, regardless of who created the original link.

[Anne]

Please @James  can the rf be turned back on for those who don't want the Ambassador program? I was "automatically enrolled" and don't like it, so would like to continue to use rf. Do I now have to add these manually? Is this supposed to be user friendly? I feel just so overwhelmed.

[mgdesigns]

If I want to buy my own products and earn a referral too, how do I do this? Before, I had to add my ref number to the link, open another browser, paste the link, add to cart, sign in, and buy. Anyone knows how to do this now?