New Video Aimed at Buyers (And maybe helpful for Creators, too? *I hope so.* :D )

[Amanda23]

Hello!

I have been quite delinquent in creating videos, and this one has been in my brain since spring! With Black Friday NEXT WEEK?!, I decided it was time to get serious. lol

I have created a video with three big tips on how our customers can save money on Zazzle. I know this might be a little controversial for some creators, as obviously if they save money, we make less... BUT ... I started the video with a big request on behalf of all us creators. 

If you find the video helpful, for you or your buyers, I would love your feedback. You are free to share my video with your own customers if you would like, as I know this holiday season is tough and some have been seeing fewer sales than perhaps in the past. 

I wish you all the best during this important creator season. 

The video: 

https://youtu.be/mlb11Sno2gE

P.S. I had a few more tips I didn't include because I needed to be finished. lol If you would be interested in a Part Two, please let me know! 😄

Amanda

[Cat]

I'm not an expert in terms of how the referral program works, but my understanding is that if the customer goes back and clicks on your link on social media or whatever before buying your product (around 0:53 in your video), it won't necessarily give you the referral. I think in order for that to work, they have to first clear the cookies from their browser cache or some other set of gyrations because there's a complicated set of rules in terms of where cookies get set and how long they last before they can be overwritten by another cookie. I'm sure others who are more knowledgeable than I am can probably tell you more about how it works.

But honestly, I have very mixed feelings about trying to game the referral system in this way, and I personally would NEVER ask a customer to do anything like that because I just feel that it's unprofessional, and in some situations it can actually be quite unfair to other Zazzle affiliates whose cookies might get overwritten - which can serve as a real dis-incentive for folks to want to publicize your work. 

I'm not saying you're doing anything wrong by suggesting that customers do that, I just feel that it crosses a bit of an ethical line that I'm not personally comfortable with. Just my 2 cents!

[Amanda23]

Hi, Cat. 
I appreciate your feedback, though I’m afraid my intent has been massively misunderstood! 😞

I put the request at the front of the video because I was afraid other creators would be mad at me for teaching customers how to shop the sales because it would affect their bottom line. I shared the info about making sure the link was recent so they could get the most money as possible. I didn’t intend for them to come to MY links. (Unless they are my regular customers who pretty much just visit my shop.)

In terms of cookies and all the craziness that goes into that, I decided that was way too much to get into. I tried to find out at what point the tracking breaks (ie. If there’s a specific timeframe, but I was unsuccessful). I did want to share that if people favorite things and go straight to that, the creator won’t get the referral credit. I had a friend who had been watching my store for back to school and favoriting items to show her son. Once he looked and picked, they shopped from the favorites (ie. They went straight to the site instead of going from one of my links.) It was a large order and I did receive the royalties, but I generally keep those low in my second shop, which is where they primarily shopped, and I received none of the referral rate and the extra income stayed with Zazzle. I never told her. lol But it was a little bit of a bummer…Zazzle already gets a good cut! 🙂

I hope this makes sense. I am not trying to game the system or do something immoral. I am very upset it came across this way. 

Amanda

[tiffjamaica]

Cat is right that the referral links don't always work out that easily - OH how I wish it was as simple as clicking on the link and it registered!  But I understood your intent in explaining that and honestly, I wish customers understood the referral systems better.  Good job on the video - videos are so hard to make! 🙂

[Amanda23]

Thank you for watching and for taking time to share your thoughts! 😊

I know that many have talked about the (seemingly) 10-point checklist on making sure referral links work! 😂 I didn’t go through explaining all of this in the video for a few reasons. 
1. I thought it was already a large ask to have them go somewhere else before just going directly to Zazzle when they’re ready to buy.

2. It would add a lot of confusion and a lot of length, and I already thought the “favor” portion might put off anyone else other than creators themselves.

3. I’m not actually sure all of the cookie clearing is necessary. I’ve had a lot of friends and family members use my links and I’ve gotten credit (at least as far as I know from anyone who said they bought from me) from every sale except two. (For reference, I’m in the Promoter 2.0 program.) The two instances were the bookmarked favorites mentioned in the video, which is why I highlighted that. The second was because my friend’s computer has some buffed up cookie blocker that is constantly up, so the system just didn’t work. I decided not to tell people to turn this off, even though I thought about it! Lol

i did consider as I was creating this making a video that explains the basics of the differences. I explained and recorded it multiple times for this video, but I ultimately decided to cut it in favor of perhaps doing a video about it later. If I do this, I will investigate a lot deeper and probably even contact Zazzle to see if I can get some of the mythical advice and guesses solidified on EXACTLY what we need to do! 🙂

Thanks again for watching and commenting. I’m glad it seems you understood my intent was not to hoard referrals for myself. I was very concerned my message did not come out clearly or with the intent with which I made it. 

Amanda

[MOM]

@Amanda23 @Cat 

I haven't found any information on the Promoter 2.0 program (yet) but the Cookie Length for the common Associates Program is 45 days (see https://help.zazzle.com/hc/en-us/articles/226336108-How-to-Join-the-Associates-Program) which is in most cases pretty sufficient I believe for a customer to finish up his/her shopping coming from a referral entry point.

[Amanda23]

Ohh! Thank you. That’s helpful, and longer than I expected! 😊

I just hope they aren’t like me and click too often on the Zazzle ads that show up in my Facebook feed. 😅 Though I’m pretty sure I’m not the typical Zazzle shopper!

Thanks again for commenting and for all of your support!

Amanda

[Cat]

My understanding is that the Promoter 2.0 program works with a lack of cookies rather than a cookie. Basically, if the customer can't be traced back to another source (ie: no referral cookie and not from another page on the site) then the promoter/designer is credited with the referral. I'm not sure how it works if someone clicks on your promoter link and browses a bunch of other stuff before ultimately returning and buying the original product - or if they click on your link and then end up buying a different one of your products. But I do know that I've gotten Promoter 2.0 referrals for multiple products in a single sale - so there's at least some mechanism for dealing with that.

There was a post on the forum some time ago when Zazzle changed how long it was before a cookie could be overwritten by another cookie. I can't remember the details, but I think that the time when the cookie couldn't be overwritten was significantly less than 45 days. I remember the post because it ended up being a bit contentious with designers feeling like they should be able to more easily overwrite cookies to grab a referral for themselves (like when they were doing custom work for a customer) and associates crying foul because it was their link that brought the customer to the site in the first place, and therefore their cookie that was being overwritten.

Ultimately, I think what it comes down to is that referral income was intended to be a reward to the entity (whether it be the designer, an associate, or a Zazzle paid ad) that brought a new customer to the site in the first place, but designers have come to rely on it as a method of getting extra compensation in various situations. Therein lies the conflict and the ethical messiness.

[Amanda23]

Thank you for this reply! I agree: I definitely count that referral as part of my income and somewhat rely on it to keep my royalties lower. 

I can see how that change, and the topic in general, would be contentious. It is definitely a tough line to walk. 

The lack of cookies is an interesting point. I know that we use a “naked” link for that. Lol And your explanation above would make sense for the referral I didn’t receive when my friend purchased from her favorited items. I’m sure she went directly to those rather than going to my Facebook posts first. Why would she if she knew what she wanted? (She is the type that would absolutely want me to get the referral, though, so I’m sure is she watches the video she might take the extra step next time.)

The reason I presumed there’s some sort of tracking is because I received no referral when my friend who has a robust blocker purchased my items. I’m pretty sure she clicked from a link I sent her, but it has been awhile. 

Definitely a “can of worms.” I’m just going to hope that the advice I provided is overall a net gain for creators. At the very least, I’m hoping viewers understand referrals exist, it’s good to use our links, and liking posts makes a difference! 😊

[Cat]

I didn't mean to imply that you were doing something immoral - I don't think that you were. I mostly just wanted to point out that your suggestion wasn't necessarily going to work in terms of referrals because I see frequent complaints on the forum that somebody didn't get a referral that they think they were entitled to.

The thing that makes me ethically queasy is when people coach their customers to clear their cache and go through other gymnastics to ensure that they get a referral. I think it's more of a personal pet peeve than anything. Like when someone asks me to "like and share" it pretty much guarantees that I won't, or when some company offers incentives for good reviews, my response is to go write a negative review expressly pointing out that the company is trying to buy good reviews so you shouldn't trust the reviews. If I was a customer and someone asked me to do anything like that, it would tick me off to the point that I would go choose a different design and never support that designer again, but that's just me.

I know I'm spitting into the wind here because this is simply how our algorithm-fueled world works now - so I guess I'm just a curmudgeon.😁 It just bothers me that systems that were ostensibly designed to ensure that "good content" (whatever that means) would organically float to the top get twisted into a game of chasing clicks and outsmarting the algorithm to the point that the whole thing is utterly corrupted. I don't mean that in terms of Zazzle specifically - it's more a comment about the inherent untrustworthiness of the digital world in general. But people are gonna people, so I guess that's just how the world works now. 

OK, rant over. And please accept my apologies - I didn't mean to be accusing you of anything, you just inadvertently pushed one of my buttons! 

[Amanda23]

Hi, Cat. 

Ahh. I think I understand where you're coming from a bit better now. The comment "I'm not saying you're doing anything wrong by suggesting that customers do that, I just feel that it crosses a bit of an ethical line that I'm not personally comfortable with" in the last paragraph of your comment really surprised and saddened me. 

I appreciate you returning to further explain. 

Amanda

[PLdesign]

Great job! Very informative video! 

[Amanda23]

Thank you so much! I have been thinking of the ideas in the video for a long time. I know it's geared more for buyers, so I'm glad you found it informative!

Thanks for watching and for your support. 🙂

Amanda