Hey everyone,
I just set up my Shopify Collabs program for my home security brand and would love feedback from merchants who’ve been through this.
What I’ve done so far:
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Created a program with 25% creator commission + 10% customer discount
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Updated my homepage with product videos to make it more appealing for creator traffic
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Sent my first invite to a home/lifestyle creator with strong engagement (3.65% IG, 4.51% YouTube)
My questions:
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What response rates should I expect from cold invites?
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How many creators should I invite before I start seeing traction?
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Any tips for improving my outreach messaging?
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What’s worked best for you in finding quality creators?
Thanks!
Hello @HomeSecurePro1,
Congrats on setting up your Collabs program! A few tips from experience:
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Cold invite response rates are usually low, around 5–15% for first outreach. Don’t be discouraged.
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To see traction, start with 50–100 invites; quality creators take time to onboard.
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Personalize your outreach: reference a creator’s past content, highlight why your brand fits their audience. Generic messages get ignored.
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Focus on engagement over followers, high engagement rates (like the ones you mentioned) are much more valuable than large audience size.
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Use multiple touchpoints: email + DM on Instagram/YouTube, and follow up politely after a week if no response.
Consistency and personalization are key, it usually takes a few waves before the first collaborations start converting.
1 Like
Thanks so much for this advice! Really helpful to know 5-15% response rate is normal - I was starting to wonder if I was doing something wrong.
Your point about engagement over followers is spot-on. I just filtered out a 75k follower account that was getting literally 10 likes across 8 posts. They wanted upfront payment instead of commission, which confirmed they knew their audience was dead.
Quick follow-up questions:
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For the 50-100 invites, do you recommend batching them (like 10-20 per day) or sending all at once?
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When you say “multiple touchpoints,” what’s the ideal timing? DM first, then email a week later, or vice versa?
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Any red flags to watch for beyond low engagement rates?
Appreciate you taking the time to share what’s working!
Hi Ayse,
Yes, I’d love to see how other stores structure their programs! That would be incredibly helpful.
My current setup:
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25% commission on all sales
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10% discount code for creators’ followers
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Products: Premium security (cameras, smart locks, GPS trackers) - $40-90 average order value
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No subscription fees (one-time purchase model)
Main friction points I’m seeing:
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Creators with fake/bought followers demanding upfront payment instead of commission
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Hard to identify which creators have real engaged audiences vs. ghost followers
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Want to make sure my commission structure is competitive enough to attract quality partners
If you can share examples of commission rates, program structures, and how top stores filter for quality creators, that would be amazing.
Thanks so much for offering to help!
Hi Ayse,
Yes, I’d love to see how other stores structure their programs! That would be incredibly helpful.
My current setup:
-
25% commission on all sales
-
10% discount code for creators’ followers
-
Products: Premium security (cameras, smart locks, GPS trackers) - $40-90 average order value
-
No subscription fees (one-time purchase model)
Main friction points I’m seeing:
-
Creators with fake/bought followers demanding upfront payment instead of commission
-
Hard to identify which creators have real engaged audiences vs. ghost followers
-
Want to make sure my commission structure is competitive enough to attract quality partners
If you can share examples of commission rates, program structures, and how top stores filter for quality creators, that would be amazing.
Thanks so much for offering to help!