So.. I sold 2 things on Benable in less than a week

[mgdesigns]

I was not expecting to get any sales. I still think no one knows about Benable but I think I might be wrong and this is one of the biggest opportunities for us Zazzle creators to make extra income and promote our stores!

Pics and more info below

I just learned about the page here 10 days ago. Opened an account and created 2 lists on April 2nd. My gifts one was optimized in a few hours (which I guess is what they always do if you follow the first instructions), then the mermaid one was optimized when it had about 30 items but once I added more my "list optimized" badge was removed and I have not been able to bring it back. The tune-up page says everything is correct. The thing is, I forgot about it until today and when I checked I  got 2 affiliate sales from this not optimized list! Once 4 days and one 6 days after creating the list. Woah!!

So yes, it works!!! If you were doubting about using it, I say do it. People actually check them out and see your products, even if they end up buying something else you also add to the list. Just wanted to share because I'm still in shock and it can help all of us.

If you don't have an account, you can skip the waiting list with my invitation here: https://benable.com/i/MHB53
or here: https://benable.com/i/5K7C1

[mgdesigns]

Forgot to add that you can follow me here https://benable.com/itsmarina and I'll follow back 😊
Or on my weddings account: https://benable.com/wedding

If anyone has any tips please feel free to share so we can help each other! 

[PenguinPower]

You might want to go into all of your zazzle items and switch the Benable links off.. if you don’t you’ll get 3rd party sales at Z and Benable will only give you a small percentage of the referral… you are much better off getting your promoter referral from Z… By all means leave the Benable links for non-zazzle items, but don’t give away your z profits…

[mgdesigns]

Thanks! Thankfully, I do that already so I'm good 😄

[Anne-Marie]

And how do we switch off the Benable links?

[mgdesigns]

If you have created your products already  just click on it, then the 3 dots on top of the image > edit and click the button I show you here

[Anne-Marie]

Ok. I did that but wasn't sure if that was enough. Thanks! 

[mgdesigns]

yes, that it! So simple we think we're missing something 😄 Hope you get a lot of referrals now!

[Anne-Marie]

Right back at you! 🙂

[Echo]

I followed you. I really like Benable so far. I just joined a week ago and have already got verified as well as making a few sales. I think now is a good time to join in for those that hasn't before things become more difficult.

[mgdesigns]

Thanks! Followed back. I'm surprised at the sales. I just checked and have 2 more. I agree with you that we just join at the perfect time before it gets saturated. Wishing you many sales!!

[Echo]

Thank you! Wishing you many sales as well!

[tiffjamaica]

I've also made several sales on non-zazzle items there! As you said, I didn't expect it.  There aren't many good surprises these days, so this was a nice one!! Just followed you! https://benable.com/designsbytiffanyduffy

[mgdesigns]

Followed back! I really don't get how we are found as there's barely any info about the website out there but I won't complain 😄 Maybe it's a big thing going around in social media on how to get extra income? and these people wanting to earn end up spending too

[mgdesigns]

Some extra tips I can share:

- I can't remember the youtube channel it was but one woman said to add "affiliate link" (or similar) in all of the products you create that are not from your own shop. This is regular practice on social media and I think it can save all of us. Since benabe is already an affiliate page and it's them that earn the referral but then give us a share, I'm not sure of the legalities but it won't hurt to start adding it from the start.

- I write the notes myself but for list names and the description, chatgpt helps a lot.

- Hide the list if you don't plan on adding at least 15 items at once

- After the first 15, don't add too many products as I did or you won't know when the "optimized list" badge will disappear and you don't want to have to delete items at random and start adding them again one by one leaving some time in between

[Barbara]

@mgdesigns 

I also saw that comment to add a disclaimer about earning as an affiliate, but two thoughts came to mind, one being that the person was saying this based on assumption. The other thought was that Benable would surely instruct us to do this if it was needed, given that the site is one built on affiliation. My conclusion is that we need not worry about it.

Colorwash's Home

[mgdesigns]

In my opinion, it's better to be safe than sorry. If I'm earning a referral, I always post it as I would on any social media. Especially for Amazon links, your account can be closed if they notice you don't add a disclaimer.

[Cat]

Can somebody give me the kindergarten level explanation of what Benable is? I get that it's a place you can share links, but I don't understand how their system works. They pay you for posting links, but somehow you don't get a Zazzle referral? I'm confused.

[mgdesigns]

I see it as a way for influencers to get more affiliate referrals. They create a list and share it with their followers. If you see it like that it makes more sense than thinking about it as the new Pinterest. It's completely different. I think people like to see what others actually use so maybe they find the page through an influencer and then start using it to search for things to buy. For us creators, we can create lists that include our products but not exclusively so it feels more natural to promote. 

They don't pay you for posting links. Not exactly. You post a link and if it sells you get a referral just as you do if you promote another Zazzle shop with your referral number on social media. To promote Zazzle products now that Zazzle has the new ambassador program, you just click the share button of your product or another shop's product and for your shop is a clean link you paste on Banable and just make sure to unclick the referral button, and for other's shops, Zazzle now gives you the link with your code so you just pase that and also make sure to unclick the referral button.

When you promote a product from let's say sephora, etsy, or target, you just copy the URL, paste it in the list page, and leave the referral button on so you get the Benable referral. It's less than if you apply for each page's affiliate program but it's easier to use and you have thousands of shops to use. Hope it helps!

[Cat]

OK I think I get it now! So essentially, Benable is an affiliate on a variety of platforms, so they get paid by Amazon or Etsy or Zazzle, or whatever the platform is when a referral coming from them results in a sale. Then they pass on a portion of the referral to whomever it was that posted the link on Benable. But if you're signed up as an affiliate with Zazzle (or whatever platform) you can bypass their referral system and use your own link so that you get paid directly (by Zazzle or Amazon or whatever). Is that it? 

[ColsCreations]

Yes.

[mgdesigns]

Yes, exactly that!

[PenguinPower]

Very basically they are an affiliate aggregator... they have thousands of companies that are contracted with them to pay referral fees. They then have people like us make lists that look a lot like Pinterest pins with links to products in them and give us part of the referral fee if someone clicks through and buys. They make money, you make money and you don't have find and sign up for thousand upon thousands of affiliate programs, keep track of them and make enough from them to actually collect... They do allow you to switch off their affiliate link whenever you'd like - they get it that some people may already belong to affiliate programs elsewhere and wouldn't care to give up a portion of their fee - so all you have to do to not have them skimming of part of your Z referral is turn off their automatic affiliate link. 

[Connie]

I don't understand how it works either.

[ColsCreations]

Just think of it as another platform to share things on. In my head, Benable is like a cross between Pinterest and a blog. You can create different boards ("Lists") and write up posts/pins ("list items") to go in each. The twist is it's product centric, it's expected that you're writing about & recommending something others can buy. If they buy, you get a small affiliate commission from Benable without having to sign-up independently on a bunch of other sites to be an affiliate for them. In the case of Zazzle items, you can use your own Ambassador link instead of Benable's auto link, so that you get the full referral direct from Zazzle, instead of just a small percent of it through Benable.

Even if you don't get any sales from it, you can use it as another way to create "link juice" for your Z items, as adding them to Benable is creating more links for the searchbots to find & crawl.

[kashmier]

I just joined using your invite link. I do not know what it is all about yet but will be working toward figuring it out. I did get an invite code and should probably start a new thread to get people to join. So far it seems interesting and easy to follow. I am heading back now to see how to list items and perhaps not worry about spending money to advertise right now. If anyone is interested please feel free to join using my invite code and good luck  Benable is a tool to create shareable lists of things you recommend! You can skip the waitlist and create your own shareable lists by signing up using my invite link:  Benable is a tool to create shareable lists of things you recommend! You can skip the waitlist and create your own shareable lists by signing up using my invite link below: https://benable.com/i/6TBR7

[mgdesigns]

Awesome! Good luck!

[Badeesie]

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@kashmier wrote: I did get an invite code and should probably start a new thread to get people to join.

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Please don't. This forum is already flooded with way more Benable threads than needed. Just leave your link, like you did here, and share anything informative about your experience on one of the already existing threads.

[MissPaperFarm]

I'm thinking about trying it out, but how much data do you have to give? What system do they pay through? (PayPal, bank direct deposit?) I'm extra cautious these days because of so many data breaches. I have to think about that 😕 

[mgdesigns]

I don't remember what they asked to join but I think it was just creating an account with an email.

I have not added any payment info yet but you can request a payout when you reach $80 and right now it shows 3 payment methods: paypal, venmo or payoneer. 

Hope it helps!

[Karen_H]

Decided to take the plunge and try it out. Busy working on my first list so we will see how things go.  

Here is my link if anyone would like to use it to join -  https://benable.com/i/NSXVK

Thanks :))

[mgdesigns]

Awesome! Good luck!

[kashmier]

After opening a page for my wedding suites I found this to be an excellent place to add items. I am going to open a second account for all my other products. The wedding stuff needed a separate page, Thank you for introducing this. It is almost like a cross before what was once Polyvore and Pinterest 🙂 

[mgdesigns]

Good luck! I also did the same and created a separate one for weddings. I sold 2 invitations from another site there already but for some reason none of my wedding lists have the optimized badge. 

[Danny_t]

The platform is great with opportunities to promote your Zazzle products. I earned the optimized badge on my two lists on Benable.  You can view my lists to get inspired on how to secure the optimized badge to drive traffic to your page.

Here is my link if anyone is interested in using it to join - https://benable.com/i/4Q1GS

[Danny_t]

Forgot to add the link to my page, in case you want to follow me there - https://benable.com/catsapparellovers

[mgdesigns]

Just followed you. Good luck!