If you are just getting started with Buzzbassador, you may be wondering how the onboarding process for new members works end to end. This article walks through the four main components that work together, then shows what the flow looks like with a real example.

🔗 Go-Live Checklist

Buzzbassador onboarding is built on four pieces that work together. Each is configurable and most have their own dedicated articles for deeper detail.

Programs are the foundation. Each program defines what members get when they join: whether they have a referral code (and what discount it offers), whether they have an affiliate link (and which type: BuzzLinks, UTM, or Referral Code Link), whether the program offers rewards (commission, store credit, gift cards, or none), and so on. You can run a single program or multiple program tiers depending on how you want to segment your members. Configure programs from the Programs page in your left side menu.

🔗 How To Configure Your Program Settings

🔗 How To Create Multiple Programs for Your Members

Application forms are how new applicants apply to your program. Each form has a Route To setting that determines which program applicants are assigned to upon approval. You can run a single form, or multiple forms (depending on your plan) to segment applicants from different inbound channels or audiences. Forms are accessed from Recruit > Application Form.

🔗 How To Build and Customize Your Member Application Form

🔗 How To Create Multiple Application Forms and Route Them to Programs

Buzzbassador's email system sends automated messages to applicants and members at key points in the lifecycle: when they submit an application, when they are accepted, when their settings change, and so on. Each email template is fully customizable so you can match your brand voice and include the info members need.

🔗 Buzzbassador Email Templates: What Each One Does and When It Sends

🔗 How to customize your emails

The Landing Page Editor lets you build a branded recruitment page describing your program (perks, requirements, expectations, social proof). You can embed it directly on your Shopify site or share it as a standalone link. The landing page is optional; some merchants share their application form URL directly without a landing page.

🔗 Customize your landing page

🔗 Integrate your Buzzbassador landing page with your Shopify website

Let's walk through what happens when a real person, Tasha, joins your program.

1. Tasha sees an Instagram ad announcing that you are looking for creators. She clicks the link and lands on your recruitment landing page (or directly on your application form, if you skipped the landing page).

2. She reads your perks and requirements and decides she wants in. She clicks Apply, which opens your application form.

3. She fills out the form and types her preferred referral code ("Tasha10") in the Referral Code field. She submits the form and sees a Success page letting her know she will hear about her application status by email soon.

4. The form she submitted is configured to route to your default Creator Program. Tasha lands in your Applicants list with that program already showing as her routed destination.

5. You review her application (or your account is set to Automatically Approve All Applicants, in which case the next step happens automatically). You decide she is a good fit and click Approve.

6. Buzzbassador onboards Tasha based on the routed program's settings. Since the Creator Program has referral codes enabled, her code "Tasha10" is created in Shopify. Since the program also has affiliate links enabled (set to BuzzLinks), her unique BuzzLink is generated automatically. The program's rewards settings determine what she earns on every attributed sale.

7. Tasha receives the "Your application was accepted" email you customized, with her code, her BuzzLink, and any other onboarding info you included.

8. Tasha also receives a separate email to set the password for her Buzzbassador member account. She can log in at amb.buzzbassadorapp.com any time to check her codes, sales, and payouts.

Now Tasha has everything she needs to start promoting your brand and earning rewards.

🔗 How To Test Your Onboarding Process from a Member's Perspective

🔗 How To Configure Your Program Settings

🔗 How To Run Programs With Rewards Other Than Commission