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.

[katkat1959]

Under the old program, I use to be able to order my own products that I created and many for customers which I ordered for them as they live in my city. I am no longer receiving the 35% of the sale. I also tried sharing a product on Pinterest like the Ambassador program indicates. I clicked on the link on Pinterest and went to my Store and ordered. I received nothing. I am so confused. Can anyone give me some clarity. 

[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.

[Whoopsidoodle]

Can you please explain step by step how you removed the associate IDs? Thanks!

[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.

[Whoopsidoodle]

What about the links already shared to Pinterest, for instance, over the years? Thanks.

[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.

[Whoopsidoodle]

I also feel overwhelmed, Anne. Thanks for putting the question out there.

[katkat1959]

Hi Anne. I spent hours last night trying to figure out this program and had to leave it. It was so much easier the old way. I am very frustrated. I did a test on my own after reading all they said and I received nothing on a test order. I order my own products a lot for customers that live in my city and have done it for years. They all have huge complaints about the Zazzle ordering platform, so I do that for them as an artist. I was getting 35% on my orders until April 1st when I placed those orders. Now, only 15% if done right. Getting the 35% is very tricky as well if not done correctly by other customers and the general public that comes across my art. I have thousands of my links out there in the social media world and I am not sure if they would carry my Ambassador ID upon a new order. It would be insane if that did not happen. It does not make sense to me to cross promote either. I want to focus on my art and not others. I have done some posting though in the past of artist work that I love. It would be nice to talk to someone, but after calling an Associate, they said they would send me an email and could write my questions. I have done that with no answer. I sent back the email again asking if they forwarded on to the Ambassador team with no answer. I have almost a decade of designing on this platform, and am frustrated again. 

[mylittleeden]

My understanding is existing links will still work. I would ask customers to clear cookies and history on there web brower and then click on your link and order. It still may not work but it should. I am also well over a decade on here and an artist. I think we may have chatted on the old platform before things are always changing sometimes it is for the better but other times not so much. If sell in the real world in galleries a hot tip is to get a QR code next to your work and drive traffic that way! Good luck x

[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?

[prentissbarr]

@Jamesand Zazzle - I'd like to suggest that you re-think the way the self-promotion links and ambassador links work. You have some sellers who have already for years spread thousands and thousands of referral links to their own products into the universe and on their own sites -- now they will only receive 15% on those links unless they go back through and re-link everything. This is unrealistic.

It would be far better, easier and avoid all that re-linking and confusion about what link to use (self-promotion with no referral ID or ambassador with referral ID) if the ambassador/affiliate earnings are a stacked commission always - so no matter what you get the earnings for your products that sell + you get the referral earnings and it just simply stacks instead of having two different ways of doing things. 

I seriously respectfully ask that you consider this and revise it to be stacking and simple. The other thing is my "self-promotion" links are the exact same link as if I went to the product page not signed in vs. signed in. So it is impossible to tell after the fact - did I copy that code when I was signed in or is this just a standard link to the product.

The current situation is a mess honestly! Thank you

[ColsCreations]

You have some sellers who have already for years spread thousands and thousands of referral links to their own products into the universe and on their own sites -- now they will only receive 15% on those links unless they go back through and re-link everything. This is unrealistic.

Existing links that included an RF# will continue to earn 15% on your or anyone else's product.
Existing "clean" PP2 links will continue to earn the promoter rate on your own product, zero on anyone else's.
What's changed is how that promoter referral rate will be calculated.

[prentissbarr]

Thanks! What I mean is - that now that standard seller commissions are being encouraged to drop down to 10% or less and reward creators more for direct links/traffic to their products, that means that unless you modify all those links you previously linked to with REF affiliate links, you will not get the higher self-promotion commission right? It will be limited to 15%? Like on your own website, on your Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, etc.

It causes the need to update all of those to self-promotion links to receive the commission you should be receiving under the new program for promoting your own products. 

[tiffjamaica]

Oof that would be a massive amount of work. I was already in the Promoter Program before I started pinning and such, so I didn't even consider that.  I'm sorry that's the result for some people. 

Just because they're encouraging us to drop rates to 10 (actually they suggest 5% in the FAQ) doesn't mean that's what best for you. That's what is best for them... I wouldn't drop anything to 10 - the excessive royalty fee is teeny. The referral marketing fee is what is causing the big drop in earnings... Raising royalties can help cover your earnings while you work to change your links.  Of course there's the risk that products become too expensive, but I think if you have unique designs and products, customers are willing to pay more.   It's hard right now to make decisions about it all!!  I can't imagine Z is going to change anything - they never have before and I've been here a long time. 

[prentissbarr]

Also @James what happens if I share the self-promotion link (that looks the same as a regular product link) to a product - let's say my Pink Chinoiserie Ginger Jar Monogram Pillow - but then the customer clicks that link and decides they want the purple one instead - technically that is a different product and I did not create the self-promotion link for that. Does that mean I only get my standard seller commission but don't get the credit for the sale referral direct link?

Thanks for your help in understanding this extremely difficult new program, which was simple but has been made complicated.

[prentissbarr]

I am really shocked and surprised but I just got an answer from the help desk that if I generate a self-promotion link to my pink chinoiserie ginger jar pillow and the customer clicks to it from wherever I posted it, but then they select the purple color variation of the pillow instead -- that I would only get my seller commission not the increased traffic/referral commission too. Just a different color variation of the exact same product?

This is astounding to me. The customer is only coming to Zazzle at all because of my link. This new program seems a bit tricky on purpose? (REVISED - the help desk associate says they are going to doublecheck to make sure this is correct)

[katkat1959]

They don't have all their ducks in a row on questions. The algorithms set forth by Zazzle are meant for the customer to add your product to their cart and order. If they decide to leave it there and to back in the morning or another day, all bets are off. I know this because my friends who are customers have told me what they have done. Also, if they add your product() to their cart and continue to shop and see something else interesting, and click on it, you won't get your referral/royalty. 

[katkat1959]

How are you contacting the Help desk. The little link on Zazzle's page? I think it is a robot that answers.

[Anne]

Am I the only one who is not in the "ambassador" program?
And I now get to add all ?RF manually? (or not get a referral at all?)
I feel I continually have to stress that I am a designer, NOT a marketing expert. Is there no place on this platform any more for designers?
Not even mentioning having to install apps to create links or whatever ...

[prentissbarr]

Hi Anne - I'm pretty new here but I'm a designer too -- and I feel you!

The only reason I'm in the "ambassador" program is not to promote others' products but only my own and just make sure that I'm receiving the highest commission on my products if I refer the sale, especially since they are trying to get everyone to lower their standard commissions below 10% + charge a 35-50% marketing fee as a reduction of that. 

I wish it was just super simple and easy - and you get a little more if you refer your own product vs the customer come from Zazzle or someone else, but that all the links were the same/no need to re-do links, etc. 

[katkat1959]

It is very difficult to understand. I have tried ordering a few of my cards with the new link I am understanding should work. It did not.  I use to get 35% ordering my own products under the old program. I am getting nothing now when I placed my test card order. The links they discussed they I should use for my store is not working. I have an extensive email into them from last week with no answer. This is my understanding of the link I should use to login to my store. Again, it is quite difficult to understand.
http://www.zazzle.com/store/kathleenartcreations?rf=238576643140165223

[katkat1959]

Gosh, I hope this is not the cast on installing any apps. I have no clue about that. Change can be good, but not in this case. It seems my products and me have now taken several steps backwards and I don't have a concise and clear understanding. I spend two hours reading all sorts of information on Zazzle's site about it and Googling as well.