Shopify is increasingly giving creators cool tools for working. The leading e-commerce platform announced the launch of Shopify Collabs, a new offering aimed at connecting creators with merchants and helping them make money. With this new update, Shopify says it will now be easy for creators to discover and partner with independent businesses.
Creators can get started by applying for a Shopify Collabs account and browsing for brands that align with their audience. Once they find some brands, they can partner with them and share a curated list of their products to share on social media. This can be done using Linkpop, Shopify’s link in bio tool. When someone purchases a product using the link that the creator has shared, they will receive a payment.
Collabs’ pay structures vary depending on the merchant, but creators can receive their funds directly through their PayPal accounts. So, if you’re new to Shopify and want to learn more about the app, here’s a great guide to get you started.
1. What is Shopify?
Shopify is an easy-to-use application for online retailers, giving merchants the ability to create a multi-channel experience that helps highlight their brand. With this subscription-based platform, you can create a website and use their shopping cart solution to sell, ship, and manage your products.
It comes equipped with a variety of helpful tools that allow you to analyze every aspect of your online store. These tools allow you to design customized online experiences for customers and maximize the return on your marketing spending. The technology also helps reduce costs across the board by automating customer relationship management, inventory management, transactions, and more.
2. What can you sell on Shopify?
Branded merchandise is something that you have put your brand on. It can be unique to you, or it can be a pre-existing good, like a blank t-shirt, a hoodie, or a mug. As we said, choosing a product your audience wants is as important as branding — so do not hesitate to get creative.
By and large, you have a wide range of possibilities. You can sell almost anything you want, as long as your audience finds it fascinating and appealing enough to be willing to buy it.
You may not want to put your brand on a tote bag, and that is fine. But that doesn’t mean you cannot use Shopify for Creators to sell non-physical products, like:
- Courses, group access, or content (Stick your logo on these if you can)
- Art (Music, photos, digital paintings, animations, you get it)
- Memberships and subscriptions (Daily writing prompt? Weekly selfie? You do you)
3. Shopify Collabs: a big move into influencer marketing
Earlier this year, Shopify announced one of its biggest investments to date in the creator space. It has acquired Dovetale, a software startup that helps brands manage their influencer marketing programs (Shopify declined to disclose the price of the acquisition). As part of the purchase, Shopify will make Dovetale free for all of its merchants.
To market itself as the go-to e-commerce platform for the creator economy, Shopify is taking a multi-pronged approach, building out a variety of tools to help influencers depending on what stage they are at. Dovetale is geared toward helping the influencers who are not ready to launch their own brands but want to promote products from other companies.
Last month, Shopify also launched a link-in-bio tool called Linkpop, designed for influencers who want to promote multiple lines of business. Then, for the biggest celebrities, Shopify’s 10-person creator program team will help manage and fund the entire creation of their business, from designing the website to assisting them in finding a manufacturer, working with celebrities like Butler, Pharrell, and record executive Steven Victor.
4. Why is Shopify Collabs so important for creators?
Collabs make it easier for creators to monetize while also giving independent businesses a current sales and marketing channel. Merchants can opt-in to the new Collabs’ offerings and make their store and products discoverable, after which creators can apply to join that merchant’s community. Then, a new level of relationship management can be initiated between the creator and the merchant.
Creators now will have unique links and discount codes while being given access to inventory, orders, and customer information all in one place. Since Collabs is built on Shopify, the process is managed from the merchant’s Shopify admin, which makes it easy for everyone involved.
5. What else is coming?
Shopify Collabs is available to all merchants in the United States and Canada starting today. Creators in the United States and Canada can apply today for timely access to the company’s website.
Here is what is new in the upgraded experience:
- Name and look. Dovetale, a platform for content creators to sell their goods and services, is joining the Shopify family. The former Dovetale will now look like the rest of Shopify admin.
- Shopify login: As of August 16th, 2022, you no longer need a separate login for Dovetale and can instead use your Shopify login to access Shopify Collabs. You can find it in the left-hand panel once you install the app.
- Staff accounts: Until recently, Dovetale had a team manager that let you add members to manage your creator partnerships. Shopify Collabs does not have a similar tool. You will need to issue a staff account to every team member to grant them access.
- Shopify email: Dovetale used your login email for news, updates, and other essential information. You can change this at any time in your profile settings. Shopify Collabs will send all communication through the email tied to your Shopify Store.
- Creator discovery: The fun part is you no longer must share your application page manually to get creators to apply to you. You can reach them on a separate platform, where they can discover brands and apply for partnerships.
- New page link: All the old links you have posted will redirect to this new page automatically, and no action is required on your part.
The Wrap
With these latest updates, you can sell and find new collaborators faster than ever. Shopify makes work for creators a piece of cake! Shopify’s goal is to bring economic independence to this new generation of entrepreneurs. Despite the size of the total creator economy, estimated to be worth over $100B, most creators struggle to make money and become independent.
As a solo creator, discovering new brands to partner with is tedious. But this is part of the journey. So don’t stop doing what you love; you’ll see the results of your efforts when you least know it. And while you are at it, you may want to get your work even more protected with Creators’ Legal.
Creators Legal is the first and only legal platform for content creators. It is designed just for content creators to craft simple, straightforward, and trustworthy contracts in a fast, easy-to-use platform. With a powerful form builder, a secure e-signature system, and your own personalized dashboard to store and organize all your contracts, you can get yourself protected in minutes without the need for expensive entertainment lawyers!
