Shopify Collabs - Technical Difficulties, or Simply Not a Great App?

[EverLearning88]

Hi, after spending days, and dozens of hours, setting up, activating/verifying, and reading documentation and best practices here and around the net including YouTube, etc., I'm still running into what seems to be a case of plain-and-simple subpar programming and functionality:

1. I cannot search, or filter/arrange, by engagement rate

2. I cannot segment by age, or gender

3. Many Collabs affiliates/influencer accounts don't have "Invite" as an option, while others do

4. There's no method for me to choose 5-10 top prospective affiliate candidates, and message them at once with my personalized and proofed "invite email" using macros like %firstname%

5. Even when I created a special dedicated "list" to save ideal candidates to, and chose "EXPORT AS CSV" right on Shopify Collabs, when I tried to upload that exact file to the "Email Invites" option, I was given an error: "Your List Must Include a Column for Email, and Affiliate Code." --- What's the point of having Shopify generate a literal CSV within the Collabs Recruit, if I can't then use that CSV file for anything within Collabs Recruiting?

I waited for ~20 minutes to speak with Shopify Support, only to find out that "Shopify Collabs" isn't Shopify at all, it's just a marketing name, and the entire platform is owned and operated by a totally unaffiliated developer/company, so the Shopify Live Chat Agent was unable to help me.

When the Agent sent me to a "Shopify Partners" page for Collabs, it was literally dead-end, without any companies listed to choose from.

Finally, when I asked the Shopify Agent "If you can't help me, and there's no method to contact the developer you're telling me can help me... where do we go from here?" At that point, I received a final message that said I'd have to become a partner myself (and go through the long company approval process), in order to even contact the developer in charge of Shopify Collabs.

I've been in freelance and marketing since 2009, worked on hundreds of website and dealt with nearly 1,000 clients/companies in that time, and I've never seen anything like this before.

Is there any redemption for Shopify Collabs, or should I just give up on what is objectively a super-simple basic use-case scenario for my needs, described above? Thanks!

[NeilMaggy]

Hey,

You are not the only one to have issues with Collabs, just look at their app store rating. Lots of folks express frustration here. I myself had issues with influencers on the platform taking free products and not doing anything. 

If you want to simply find influencers, there are lots of apps for that. Just databases of creators.

If you want to easily send product gifts to them, I recommend: https://apps.shopify.com/creator-gift-link

If you want to track engagement from their UGC there are apps for that as well. 

People tend to overcomplicate this process and think theres an app that solves it all for them. Influencer marketing is not easily solved by an "all in one" app as you can see by Collabs

[EverLearning88]

Thanks so much for your great reply, Neil.

Would you have any info on the databases of creators you mentioned? I've even tried Modash, which is $300+ a month, and honestly, it's just not as great as you'd think. I'm not looking for perfection, I just want something, or even the combination of several sites or platforms, that is affordable, where I can find ideal - or even acceptable - candidates to invite into my affiliate program, thanks!

[NeilMaggy · Accepted solution]

No worries. Databases I have heard good things about Afluencer and GRIN (GRIN not as much). 

From my experience though, I have had the best results from DMing influencers from my branded account personally. The ones who list themselves on these databases do this kind of stuff a lot and are not always authentic. I think buyers are smart now a day, and authenticity goes a long long way, especially on tiktok.

If I were you I would:

• Use the discover page on IG/Tiktok to find influencers in your niche (use #, or your competitors and look at their followers
• DM 50 of them with a short message saying u love their content because it aligns w ur brand values and u want to send them some free product
• Use Influencer Gift Form https://apps.shopify.com/creator-gift-link to send the product
• See results from their UGC (also good for product feedback)

[EverLearning88]

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY that people have grown weary of "link in the description" and just want some solid authentic content that is sincere and helpful. Thank you for this! I'll lean more on Afluencer than GRIN since you didn't seem impressed with GRIN, I truly appreciate your insight.

[NeilMaggy]

Yes authenticity is key, buyers are getting smart. 

What is your niche?

[EverLearning88]

I'm managing the launch and growth of a dietary supplement (organic therapeutic liquid format mineral and essential fatty acid matrix) company, that is completely viable for both males and females, irrespective of age, athletic history, or overall goals - it's a full spectrum supplement that provides 6 crucial components that enhance overall health at a molecular level, and work synergistically to amplify the effects of each other when combined in these ratios. It's a very exciting and unique product that overcomes typical deficiencies that should be a daily part of everyone's wellness regimen 🙂 Thanks for asking.

[NeilMaggy]

Nice!

We'll, then I would find influencers who speak about healthy lifestyles, like this girl: https://www.instagram.com/meowmeix/. Find smaller ones and DM them. 

[EverLearning88]

1.6M followers... that's pretty small, right? LOL, I'm only kidding. THANK YOU for your help, it was over expectations, wow. I don't know how this forum works, but if you ever have any cool ideas like this, please DM me if possible, because I could use this amazing kind of help. I'm also eye'ing the $99mo Afluencer program 🙂

[NeilMaggy]

Afluencer is not my app, I just heard good things. My app is https://apps.shopify.com/creator-gift-link, to send the products to influencers. My customers have asked me to integrate with Afluencer, because its for finding, and mine is for sending. 

Best of luck to you. Yes she has a lot of followers, but I am sure you can find ones with 10-50K who talk about certain diseases or healthcare related items (the problem your product solves)

[mrmike]

I totally get your frustration with Shopify Collabs! It sounds like the platform is lacking some essential features and has some major limitations. I'd recommend exploring alternative influencer marketing platforms that can better meet your needs. If you're stuck with Shopify Collabs, try reaching out to the developer directly or seeking help from a Shopify partner.

[EverLearning88]

Hey Mr. Mike, that's what I tried, spent a lot of time on Live Chat, but there's no way to contact Shopify Collabs directly, because ironically, they aren't managed by Shopify, it's a marketing gimmick, and it's totally deployed by an independent company.

Do you have any alternative options I can use, to research and find ideal candidates to contact? After ~4 weeks on Shopify Collabs, and a total of 429 total custom emails (probably 30+ hours of time) I've received a total of ~2 or maybe 3 responses.