Opportunities Ahead: New Ambassador Program & Important Terms of Use Changes

[Heather]

Hi Creators,

First and foremost, we want to express our sincere gratitude for your valuable feedback and insights. We truly appreciate the time you’ve taken to submit your questions and feedback through our form regarding the updates to our Terms of Use, which are effective today, April 1st. We’ve carefully reviewed each of your questions and, based on your feedback, have put together a comprehensive Creator FAQ and Ambassador FAQ to help clarify the changes and provide more detail. 

As we all know, the world around us is constantly evolving. Marketing costs are rising, and competition for Customer attention is higher than ever. In order to keep up with these changes and continue thriving together, we too must adapt and grow. We understand that change can be challenging, but it's essential for us to stay dynamic and align with the ever-evolving landscape.

For almost 20 years, we’ve been proud to be a marketplace where Creators from all walks of life can sell their Content, and many have even built a sustainable income doing what they love. Creators are the heart and soul of our platform, and we truly appreciate the partnership we’ve built with all of you. 

With the launch of our new Ambassador Program, we want to ensure that Creators who actively promote their Products and drive traffic are properly rewarded. The new program simplifies the Earnings model, ensures a fairer fee distribution, and aligns financial incentives with Creators’ success. Whether you’re actively promoting your Content or allowing us to handle it, we’re here to support your growth. 

We’re hopeful about the new opportunities this opens up for you as a Creator. This update means you’ll have the chance to earn what we would pay those “other guys”—and we hope you see it as a way to grow your Earnings in meaningful ways. 

To keep the discussion and questions for us organized, please reply below and we ask you to continue to submit your questions to the form. We also opened an “Ambassador Program” board for Creators to discuss specific topics together. 

Once again, thank you for your continued contributions to our community. We can’t wait to see what the future holds as we continue to evolve together in our marketplace.

Warmly,

The Zazzle Team

UPDATE - 4/2/25

Hi Creators,

We’ve heard some common questions that we’d like to address and clarify. We've added these questions to our FAQ and will be addressing more questions soon. 

1. Why does it seem like the Excess Royalty is taken out twice for the Self-Promotion?
2. Why am I being charged a Marketing Royalty Fee for Self-Promotion Sales?
3. Why in some cases did I make more money in the Promoter 2.0 Program? 

Q: Why does it seem like the Excess Royalty is taken out twice for the Self-Promotion example below? 

Example 1: Self-Promotion Link (own Product) in Clothing & Shoes with Your Royalty Rate set at 12% 

• Product Price (= Net Referral Sales for this example): $100
• Your Royalty Rate: 12% → $12 Gross Royalty
• Excess Royalty Fee: → 5% of $12 = $0.60
  (applies because Your Royalty Rate is above 10%. The fee is 5% of your Gross Royalty) 
• Marketing Royalty Fee: → 35% of $12 = $4.20
  (applies to all Referred Sales. For Clothing & Shoes, it's 35% of your Gross Royalty) 
• Royalty: → $7.20
  (after deduction of Royalty Fees)
• Referral Commission for a Referred Sale via a Self-Promotion Link
• Department Rate: → 35% of Net Referral Sales
  (Clothing & Shoes)
• Self-Promotion Earnings Goal: → 35% of $100 is a $35 Goal.
  (from this $35 goal, you’ve already earned $7.20 in Net Royalties and the $0.60 Excess Royalty Fee applies)
• Referral Commission from Self-Promotion Link: → $35 - $7.20 - $0.60 = $27.20
• Your Earnings = $34.40
  ($7.20 paid via Royalty, $27.20 paid via Referral Commission).
• Note: Because Your Royalty Rate was above 10%, the Excess Royalty Fee slightly reduced the total Earnings you could have received from the Referred Sale via a Self-Promotion Link.

A: If you look at Example 1, the Self-Promotion Earnings Goal is $35, and the Excess Royalty Fee is $0.60. Your Earnings are $34.40 ($35 - $0.60). So while we need to deduct the Excess Royalty Fee from the Gross Royalties to help calculate the Royalty - which we then use to calculate the Referral Commission by deducting it from the Self-Promotion Earnings Goal - it is more to do the math to figure out the amounts you’ve earned rather than actually being taken out twice.

Q: Why am I being charged a Marketing Royalty Fee for Self-Promotion Sales?

A: The Marketing Royalty Fee applies whenever a sale is referred, whether by you, another Ambassador, or Zazzle. This structure helps our systems run smoothly across all types of Referrals.  So in order to make sure your Earnings hit the Self-Promotion Earnings Goal (which is based on the Department Rate), we calculate your Referral Commission to make up the difference between the Self-Promotion Earnings Goal and your Royalty.  The math can be a little bit complicated, but the end result is the same - your Earnings for that sale do not change.

Q: Why in some cases did I make more money in the Promoter 2.0 Program? 

A: Promoter 2.0 was originally a "beta" program, and we're now expanding it to all Creators. The Ambassador Program is designed to serve a wider population of Creators, while reflecting current marketing costs, so while there were situations where former Promoters benefitted more, this new program is designed to benefit the whole Ambassador community more overall.

[tiffjamaica]

Q: Why am I being charged a Marketing Royalty Fee for Self-Promotion Sales?

A: The Marketing Royalty Fee applies whenever a sale is referred, whether by you, another Ambassador, or Zazzle. This structure helps our systems run smoothly across all types of Referrals. 

For clarification, is this saying the reason we are charged a marketing fee on sales that we promote ourselves is because it would be too hard for "the system" to differentiate self vs. third party?  

[Connie]

This is just total greed! They've ALWAYS been able to differentiate between self-referrals and third party! It is also very unethical to charge us a Marketing fee when WE are doing the marketing!

[Zorinda]

“Q: Why in some cases did I make more money in the Promoter 2.0 Program? 

A: Promoter 2.0 was originally a "beta" program, and we're now expanding it to all Creators. The Ambassador Program is designed to serve a wider population of Creators, while reflecting current marketing costs, so while there were situations where former Promoters benefitted more, this new program is designed to benefit the whole Ambassador community more overall.”

For those of us who were in the Promoter 2.0 program it seems like the only “Opportunities ahead” are negative on all levels.

[Connie]

I totally agree!

[klstock]

Suggesting that designers devalue their work by reducing their royalty to an insultingly low 5% (as per the 'Pro Tip' in the Ambassador Program FAQ 'real world examples' section)  to avoid being charged more for the Marketing Royalty Fee - on self-promoted items no less - is wrong. Charging a marketing fee to the designer for a self-promoted sale is wrong. 

With self-promoted products, designers are doing all the extra work to bring that customer, not Zazzle. Basically what Zazzle seems to be saying is, "Hey designer, make your rates as low as possible, work ten times harder to self-promote and bring us a customer and we will reward you with a Marketing Fee and significantly less earnings!"

Even if, by some 'complicated math' a designer could somehow make more on self-referrals by setting a 5% royalty - that would be undermined by how little they would make on 3rd party and 'none' sales and when there are 50% off sales for example. 

[nikkileigh]

It really makes me want to just quit. I don't think the amount of time I put into this is going to be worth it anymore. And I made really good money before .. now almost nothing.

[tiffjamaica]

Same.  I think the worst part, for me, is the fact that this company that I want to be proud to work with is spinning the changes as positive and not acknowledging that we are all going to be getting a pay cut. Nothing is "offset". No fees are "applied in the background".  The language is so off-putting and this no longer feels like a good partnership. 

[Malissa]

I don't even know how a fee can be "applied in the background".  What does that even mean? Either it comes out or it doesn't.  There isn't a wizard behind the curtain taking out a fee that magically does not change our payout. 

[Lea]

Yes - incredibly resentful of the use of "opportunity" and "hustle." At the very least shoot straight here instead of this insulting spin. Zazzle needs or wants to take a bigger cut. OK just say it and spell it out clearly. Everything should be more straightforward here.

[Malissa]

They have made it very clear in the TOUs that this is in no way a partnership or a symbiotic relationship.  There is a clause to that effect.

[Connie]

Yes, it is totally insulting and sounds very unethical. Just be up front and honest with us! We can SEE that it isn't an "opportunity," so don't belittle us with propaganda that is obviously false.

[MissPaperFarm]

Question: Do we not need to put our affiliate ID at the end of our store url anymore when we post the store link online?   

For example if I wanted to promote my store and tell people to go shop at http://zazzle.com/littlepaperfarm 
Do I no longer need to add my affiliate ID at the end of that? 

[Anka_n]

Yes, you don't need to add any rf code to self-promote your store. By the way, your shop is gorgeous! Lovely illustrations!❤️

[MissPaperFarm]

Oh thank you so much! I’ve been working hard on it for years 🥵

[gravityx9]

Maybe I'm doing the math wrong but, to me, looks like less than around 8% is the $ I've earned on these items.

Is the new 10% commission off of the subtotal price of the sale?

Is there another fee coming out of the 10% and if so, what is it for?

Or did I miss something in the commission change?

 

[ColsCreations]

Those three 3rd Party referred sales in March accurately reflect your 10% x order total for gross royalty, less 20% of that gross royalty amount as the "carve-out" fee applied to all referred sales.

The sale from April 1st accurately reflects your 10% x order total for gross royalty, less 40% of that gross royalty as the "carve-out" applied.

Instead of 20%, the new carve-out is now 35, 40, 45, or 50% depending on the product category.

[gravityx9]

Thank you for the clarification, ColsCreations!

[Deseades]

Hello, 

I was quite optimistic about the new changes etc. until I saw my earnings yesterday;) Basically, most of my sales come from referrals (probably by Zazzle) and now I earn half... That was a fear of many creators, especially the big ones, while most of us focused on the small excessive royalty fee which doesn´t have much of an impact. I wonder how will creators deal with this change? 

[nikkileigh]

well I won't be able to pay my bills anymore, that's for sure. I really can't believe Zazzle has done this to us. I feel like all my years of hard work are just gone overnight. 

[Connie]

Absolutely, I totally agree! I was wondering why so many creators were fixated on the excess royalty fee, when it is barely a drop in the bucket compared to the Marketing fee!

[jophb]

Totally! The marketing fee was always my biggest concern!

[Lea]

I asked a question previously before I had a fuller understanding of how this plays out. But now I have a new updated question -
If a 3rd party ambassador gets a 15% referral commission on the sale of one of my products, why is 35-50% deducted from my commission for the marketing referral fee? Why not just that 15%?

[LJ]

Referral commission is 15% calcluated from sale price ($15 for a $100 order). Marketing fee is calculated from your royalty ($10 for a $100 order if it’s set to 10%, that’s a $3.5-5 fee)

[Lea]

Thank you. My brain is really struggling to process all of this (I’m an intelligent person but I’ve never felt dumber honestly) and just when I think I get it I find I’m actually more confused. I hope our reports update soon so we can see it real life broken down and not just these examples.