Quick Start Guide
BrandChamp Quick Start Guide
Welcome to BrandChamp! We’ve created this Quick Start Guide to help you with the most commonly asked questions:
- How do I add a new member to BrandChamp?
- How do I approve applicants?
- How can I create activities?
- How do I review and approve activities?
- How can I create rewards?
- How do I issue rewards?
- How can I create referral links?
- How can I create discount codes?
- How do I message my BrandChamps?
If you have a question you don’t see here, be sure to visit our Knowledge Base for support on many other topics!
How to Add a New Member to BrandChamp
New applicants apply to your program via your application form. Once they complete the form, you will find all new applicants in the administrators’ portal under the “BrandChamps” area.
How to Approve Applicants
How to Manually Add a New BrandChamp
In some cases, you will want to directly add a new ambassador or influencer to your program, without going through the application process. To do that, simply click on the “Add” button at the top right of the “Applicants” tab.
The following pop-up will appear:
Fill out the information, then hit "Confirm" to add the new ambassador.
Bulk Import Ambassadors
You can also bulk import a list of ambassadors from a CSV file. To do so, simply click on the “Import” button at the top right of the “Applicants” page.
You can import a CSV with the information of the ambassadors you want to add to your program.
Be sure to select “Approved” and check the box to send the decision email to the new member.
Visit our Knowledge Base for more info on adding new applicants.
Add Yourself as a Test User
Want to see how activities and rewards appear to your ambassadors? Creating a test ambassador gives you the opportunity to explore the portal as a BrandChamp would and make improvements as needed.
Here's how to add yourself as a test user:
- Step 1: Navigate to the "Applicants" area, and select the "Add" button in the top right-hand corner, Note: When adding the email for your ambassador account, you'll need to use a different email from your admin login
- Step 2: Ensure that you have checked the "Applicant is a test user" box, and that you check the "Approved" box to approve your application, then hit "Confirm" to approve your application
- Step 3: Next, check your inbox. You should receive an email asking you to register your account. Click the link and create your password for the test account
- Step 4: Once you log in to the BrandChamp portal, you'll be prompted to complete your profile
Visit our Knowledge Base for more info on setting up a test user.
Create an Activity
Activities can be created under the “Activities” area in the admin portal. Click on the "Activity Types" tab and locate the “New Activity Type” button at the top right.
A pop up will appear (see below) that allows you to customize new activities for your ambassadors to complete - Just click "New Custom Activity Type" on the right. Alternatively, you can start from one of our existing templates on the left side of the pop-up.
When creating a new activity, be sure to complete the necessary details:
General settings:
You can share links, text, images, or other resources with your ambassadors within the activity type.
Tasks:
Give your activity a title and include a description of the task (or tasks) for your BrandChamps. You’ll want to make sure the requirements are clear.
Rewards and Limits:
Under the “Rewards and Limits” tab for the Activity Type, specify what type of reward will be given and any limits on completing the activity (ex. cash, activity reward tokens or or points). Fill in how many times can this activity be completed within the given period.
Availability:
Be sure to mark the activity as "Available" under that Availability tab so that ambassadors can see it.
Growth and Community Plans have the option to include a start and/or end date for each activity under the Availability tab. Tags can also be used to mark activities for select groups.
Preview and Save:
Review the preview on the right side of the screen and click the save button at the bottom. Your activity will now be visible to BrandChamps when they login to their portal.
How to Review and Approve Activities
BrandChamps will submit activities in the BrandChamp portal. You can review and approve them under the “Awaiting Review” section of the “Activities” tab (see below). Be sure to check here often so your BrandChamps receive notification and continue completing activities.
When you reject a task or activity, be sure to leave a comment to let your ambassador know why. (For ex. “Please use the correct hashtag.”)
Visit the Knowledge Base for more info on activities.
How to Create Rewards
There are two ways for BrandChamps to get rewards:
- By using the points they’ve accumulated to select rewards from the rewards’ catalog.
- By completing an activity that is linked to an activity reward.
Point Rewards
When ambassadors earn points, they can redeem them in the Rewards Catalog, which is made up of point rewards you create for them. Here are some examples:
- $10 off select products
- 20% off total purchase
- Free items (from your store or swag items)
- Gift cards
How to Create a New Points Reward in BrandChamp
From the “Rewards” area, select “Reward Types.” From the “Points” tab, click the “New Points Reward” button at the top right.
From the dropdown menu, select the type of reward you want to create. Note: for non-ecommerce rewards, select the “Custom Reward” option.
Next fill in the description and the number of points required to claim this reward. You can use one of our icons for your reward or upload your own.
Please Note: You can select “Auto issue this reward” if you want to automatically issue a discount code, gift card or other reward directly from your store when a BrandChamp selects it (see below). When you leave this box unchecked, it means an administrator will need to review the reward request.
You’ll also want to check if this reward is limited or unlimited, and check the box under “Availability” if it is currently available (see below).
When you finish filling in the details of your new reward, click "Save” at the bottom. Your reward will now appear in the BrandChamps reward catalog.
Activity Rewards
Activities rewards are rewards you create for BrandChamps to redeem upon completion of a specific activity. For example, you may wish to offer a $20 gift card as a reward for ambassadors who create a product testimonial.
How to Create an Activity Reward in BrandChamp
From the “Rewards” area, select “Reward Types,” then click on the “Activity Rewards” tab. You can create a new activity reward by clicking on the button at the top right (see below).
Please note: Once you’ve created an Activity Reward, you’ll need to link an “Activity Type” to that reward.
Visit the Knowledge Base for more info on:
- Activity Rewards
- General Rewards Overview
- Point Rewards
- Reward Types (including Shopify and WooCommerce rewards)
How to Issue a Rewards
You may choose to issue rewards manually or automatically.
Manually Issued Rewards
Manually issued rewards require an administrator to review them. To view the list of unissued rewards, click "Rewards" in the navigation bar and select the "Rewards" tab (see below).
From here, you can enter a reference (such as a discount code, gift card number or other information) if needed and then click to issue the reward (see below).
The BrandChamp will receive an email after the admin issues the reward, including any references you’ve added.
More information on manually issuing rewards.
Automated Rewards
Auto-issued rewards are issued automatically by the system as soon as a BrandChamp selects them in the BrandChamp portal.
As such, they are only suitable for reward types which can be created automatically by the BrandChamp system such as Shopify discount codes or gift cards.
How to Create Referral Links
Referral link templates allow you to set up a trackable link that you want people to visit, such as the home page of your e-commerce store.
The system then uses that link and, for each BrandChamp in the system, adds a unique "referral code" onto the end and shortens the URL so it’s easy for them to share with their followers.
When one of their followers clicks on a referral link, the system drops a cookie so that any purchases detected in the next 30 days will be credited back to the BrandChamp associated with the link.
How to Create Referral Links for Your BrandChamps
Before creating your referral links, please set up the commissions you will offer to your BrandChamps. You can do this by clicking “Referrals” in the navigation bar and then selecting the “Commissions” tab.
Commissions can be a percentage of sale or a fixed amount per order. You can also create tiered commissions for different groups of ambassadors if you wish to do so.
Once you’ve saved your commissions, navigate to the “Referral Link Templates” tab under “Referrals.” To create a referral link, click the “Add Template” button at the top right of the page (see below).
A pop-up will appear asking you for some information (see below).
Template Token
The "Template Token" field is what will be used to refer to this particular tracking link template when inserting a referral link into an email or other communication.
So for example, if you have a template with the text "Check out this awesome store! {{TL:SHOPIFY-REF-LINK}}", when a BrandChamp views it the "{{TL:SHOPIFY-REF-LINK}}" text will have been replaced by the unique short URL generated for that BrandChamp for this particular tracking link template.
Destination URL
This is where we want to send people when they click on the referral link. This would normally be a link to your online store.
Adding additional URL parameters is optional. After defining your commissions, click the “Save” button at the bottom of the page.
Visit our Knowledge Base for a detailed explanation of each field if you need more assistance with referral link templates.
How to Create Discount Codes
Referral discount codes are store discounts (ex. 15% off) created uniquely for each BrandChamp. They typically contain part of the BrandChamp’s name, and are set up for multiple use so that the BrandChamp can share the discount code with their followers.
Note: Before creating discount code sets, please set up the commissions you will offer to your BrandChamps.
To create a discount code set in BrandChamp, go to "Referrals" > "Discount Code Sets" then click the “Add Set” button at the top right to add a new discount code set.
A “Details” screen will appear, allowing you to fill in some general information about your codes (see below).
Here you can choose to “Manually add or import codes” or to “Automatically create one code per BrandChamp in this set,” you can find more information about automatic discount code sets and how to create them in our Knowledge Base.
Once you’ve filled in the details and hit “Save,” click on the “Discount Codes'' tab. From here, you can click the “Add” or “Import” button (see below). You can add one by one or import in bulk.
Automated Discount Code Sets
An automated discount code set creates a referral discount code in your eCommerce platform for every BrandChamp included in the set. This saves you time by quickly creating unique discount codes for all your BrandChamps, or for segments of BrandChamps.
Discount codes will also be created for any future BrandChamps who join your program and match the set targeting.
Visit our Knowledge Base for more information on:
- How to Create a New Automated Discount Code Set
- Setting up discount codes
- Differences between automated and manual discount codes
- Moving from manual discount codes to automated
How to Email Your BrandChamps
To send emails to your BrandChamps, select “Emails” in the navigation bar and then click the “Compose” button at top right.
A new screen will appear (see below). You can use our standard layout or upload your own HTML code.
In the recipients field, choose to send an email to all of your BrandChamps at once or to selected recipients.
When you’ve filled in the body of your email, a preview will appear on the right side of the screen. Once you are satisfied, click “Send.”
More information on composing an email.
Email from Filtered Search
We’ve recently added a new feature that allows you to email selected BrandChamps directly from search filters (see screenshot below). Here are a few examples of how you can use this feature:
- Using the “Registration” filter, search and select all unregistered users and send them a follow up reminder
- Search for individuals who haven’t completed an activity in the last 90 days and send them an email to. try and reengage them
- Search for members who’ve made recent referral sales and send them an email with a special thanks
Questions?
Have questions? Feel free to email us at support@brandchamp.io!