New Referral Program update

After months of hard work, we’re proud to announce that the beta version of our Referral Program is now live. We rebuilt our existing program from the ground up based on feedback from people like you. 
 
At this time there are some known bugs that are being worked on. In the meantime, we are doing some rigorous testing on our end before we formally launch the program in the next few weeks.

We will send a formal announcement when the program is ready for prime time, so keep an eye on your email (and make sure you are opted in!) to find out when you can start earning with our new referral program.

We will provide an update on the known bugs in this thread.


We realize that there's lots of question out there still, so we have collected the ones posted in this forum and have answered them as clearly as possible for you.


If there is a question outside of this list that you require an answer to, please send an email to artists@istockphoto.com


Q. So if I understand it correctly, referral earnings are not simply added to our account balance but instead kept in a separate 'referral account' that can only be cashed out when it reaches $100

A. No. All earnings will be added to the account balance.

Q. Can anyone tell me how to embed one of the generated links into an existing lightbox link?

A. Referral links should not be used on our site. The idea of referral links is to draw new people to our site, not ones that are already there. They are intended to be used in other locations on the web. If you wish to generate a referral link to point to one of your lightboxes on an external site, we recommend going to the 'Links' section and creating a new link.

Q. I'm questioning why there is an image tag in the referral link if it doesn't do anything.

A. This is what allows us to do the tracking and provide you with data on views, clicks, sign-ups and referrals.

Q. I see my referred 'friends' list is gone from my profile page now. Is that intentional?

A. Yes. This was done for privacy reasons. However, you are still able to see who you have referred in your referral details.

Q. Is there going to be a 'share on Google +' option?

A. We are working on this. Unfortunately, we don't have an estimate on when this will be released just yet.

Q. Any info on how referrals will work with iStock business cards and whether we should hold back on ordering new cards?

A. We are working on creating a better Exclusive Business Card program but don't have a timeframe on when we will be offering bonuses or any other benefits through the exclusive business cards. We will update you when we have more information. For now, the exclusive business cards are not a part of the referral program.

Q. Copied code to my website to replace old banner and now it shows nothing.

A. Please send an email (artists@istockphoto.com) with the URL of the page that contains your link. We may then be able to provide assistance.

Q. I haven't seen an answer for this yet: will we continue to get passive referrals? I never gave out cards or referral links and still had about 10 referrals, will these still happen?

A. At this time, we can't guarantee that you'll earn the same number of passive referrals as you did last time since the tracking and underlying technology has completely changed. You are better off pro-actively creating referral links, banners and sending emails to increase your potential to earn money from the referral program.

Q. So the recently established new formats don't work anymore? (et. http://www.istockphoto.com/search/lightbox/6232806/?refnum=ceneri#336edbd) I agree the new link formats are soooo long. Is someone going to shorten it before we attempt to mass update everything? And the previous system we had was really the $20 flat rate, not the 20 free credits, is that correct? I just don't see why that one is recommended by stock…..And can someone explain to me why the 20% commission will even be desirable when client can just buy 26 credit pack (20% of $30 is $6)?

A. The old referral URLs no longer work. To earn referral bonus payouts, you will have to use the new referral links that are generated in the banners or links sections of the new referral program.
Yes, the new referral program introduced the 20% and 20 credit payout plans. 20 credits are best for people who buy stock from iStock and 20% is best for people who refer customers who buy smaller packs than 26 or very large credit packs since there is no minimum purchase requirement and no maximum on the bonus payout for this specific payout plan.

Q. Do the free credits received by the new customer have an expiration date? If yes, how long do they last?

A. Yes, they expire 30 days after sign up.

Q. If the new client joins and then deletes the cookies for whatever reason, will stock still be able to track the referral?

A. Yes.

Q. Could we have a link to the 'sign up' page added to the drop down menu on the 'generate referral link' page?

A. Unfortunately no, because sign-up is not a 'page' on our site, it's a pop-up.

Q. I tried generating a unique banner and saved it. However I don't see it saved in the list as I was expecting. Does this mean the unique code I generated is lost? I then tried to generate a custom link, same thing happened. This list is empty….how am I supposed to recover that code in the future?

A. All generated banners will be saved. Clicking 'Banners' (/my-account/referral-program/banners) in the left nave of the 'My Account' section will show you all the banners that have been generated. Clicking on the name of the banner will show you the details of it, including the generated link.

Q. I have a few clicks but zero views. I'm not sure how that works.

A. Some of the data populates in your dashboards automatically and some of it takes some time (up to an hour or more) to populate. Typically, the clicks come in right away, but the views can take a little longer. Please note that the social sharing features cannot track views.

Q. I would like to know how iStock will calculate those free credits on our royalties? $0 credits x any% royalty = $0?

A. We still pay royalties on free credits as we always have.

Q. So, are we not getting the referral bonus for any sign ups right now? Either through the old way or the new way?

A. We never offered bonuses on sign-ups to referrers. The bonus was only ever paid if someone signed up and purchased. So this hasn't changed.

Q. Am I right in thinking the Facebook button is now broken? It only shows links rather than your image.

A. There is a known bug with the Facebook social link. It has been fixed and will be available shortly.

Q. So do I understand this right? If I use the social network buttons on my profile page and image pages, there links are classed as referral links? Can it be made for a specific portfolio image to be a linkable referral link with the code available on the image page?

A. Yes. If you are opted into the referral program, anything you share through the social links on our site will include your referral tracking in it so that you earn a bonus payout. If you want to share your portfolio, create a link in the 'links' section of the Referral Program and share that on your Facebook wall. But, as mentioned above, there are some known issues with Facebook sharing that are being fixed.

Q. Who is paying the 10 free credits for new customers? Do contributors get a royalty when these free credits are used? And why do contributors pay for that kind of marketing?

A. iStock is giving these credits to new customers and yes, artists will be paid for the royalties on these free credits.

Q. I've had 3 'sign-ups' from my referral link and 2 from my banner. Does that mean they registered and got their free credits? Does 'referral' mean they bought a certain number of credits? what does 'referral' mean on the link stats page? Note, the 'views' are not working on the banner referral link. Still have 0 views and 7 clicks with 2 sign ups.

A. 'Sign-ups' indicates someone who has signed up and got their 10 free credits. A 'Referral' is someone who has signed up, got their 10 free credits and made a qualifying purchase that has generated a bonus for the referrer.
Our stats were being delayed, however this has been resolved and they should now be showing up.

(Edited on 2011-11-03 16:45:05 by iStockHQ)

Thanks

iStock is running for president with the 20/20/20 plan.

If we were already opted in should we do it again?


 

I'm sure it can't hurt.

As Joyze mentioned in the other thread,


"For those of you who are currently using referral banners or links, please note that you will be required to update all of your referral links once the new program launches."


When will we have access to the code for the external links?


Will that be when it is lauched formally?

Wow... Looks great! Many options of bonus, and good options for buyers!!


The track information is awesome!  Facebook, twitter, e-mail...  


Looks like it will be a success!


Thanks guys!

Where are you seeing this?


 

On your profile... bellow the view portfolio" link."


and here...  http://www.istockphoto.com/my-account/referral-program/how-it-works


 

Now you have a lot of options!

So if I understand it correctly, referral earnings are not simply added to our account balance but instead kept in a separate "referral account" that can only be cashed out when it reaches $100?

This doesn't seem to be working for me.  I signed the agreement and all that, and it took me to a page where you choose your payout plan.  By default, it says my current payout plan is 20 credits.  I changed (tried to change) it to $20 flat rate (since I don't buy photos, credits would do me no good).  But when I click on the flat rate, it does NOT change it and it takes me back to the "Preferences" pages, "Site Setting" tab.  When I go back in, sure enough the 20 credit option is still checked, and there's no way to change it.  

ETA Oh never mind -- I found that the only way to change it is to go to the "Referral Program" tab on the "Preferences Page".  That's a little confusing.  Because the other page at "How it Works" gives you a link to choose the plan, underneath each plan -- but it won't actually change it there.  Perhaps if it is going to redirect to the "Preferences Page", it might be more helpful of it opens up the "Referral Program" tab on that page?  I don't know how difficult that would be to do. 

(Edited on 2011-10-27 20:04:03 by karenhermann)

^ Yeah karen it confused me too. As for the $20 vs 20% it is helpful to notice you only gt $20 if they buy more than 26 credits. If they buy less than 26 credits you get nothing. With the 20% you get 20% of whatever they buy which means you get less if they buy 26 credits but if they buy less than 26 credits at least you get something. Also if they buy more than 26 you get 20%. Imagine if someone saw you link, went crazy and bought $1000 worth of credits (which seems to be the most you can get without ringing iStock directly). Incidentally can someone comment on whether or not you still get the 20% for ring in vs buy online credit purchases?

Can anyone tell me how to embed on of the generated links into an existing lightbox link? I'm confused.

Also, what happened to the little, more subtle banners you used to be able to get. Now it seems like all of the banners are huge

No. I was hoping for something that would provide ongoing benefit from buyers continued loyalty. This doesn't really seem much different from what we already have.

I don't get the credit option. Why not take the cash, since we can convert cash to credits at a dollar a credit? This: "20 credits (a $30+ USD value)" isn't true, unless you're taking away our conversion option.

WTH, I just tried to join and clicked on $20, and it now says I'm on the 20 credit plan. How do I change this to get the right option? Ah, I had the same thing Karen did above. I clicked my choice, and it brought me to my preferences, where I had to click again, and got a warning about 30 days or something.

I tried to generate a referral link to post to my blog. It isn't UBB, so I had to much with it. There is reference to an image in there, but no image shows up. Is that correct?

Thanks for the replies on where the info is, I'll continue to do nothing and hope I get a few referrals since it seems nothing has changed.


 


Edited:  Reading through the new referral program terms am I to assume that all the passive referrals I got before are no longer going to be counted?

(Edited on 2011-10-27 20:35:38 by traveler1116)

Try the banners, they have images