Standard percentage commission (paying members a percentage of every sale they generate) is the most common reward structure in Buzzbassador, but it is far from the only option. Whether you want to gift product instead of cash, run a tracking-only program, layer in performance bonuses, or pay members in store credit or gift cards, Buzzbassador's combination of program toggles, campaigns, and payout integrations gives you a lot of flexibility.
Four main ways to reward members in Buzzbassador
Standard commission: a percentage or flat amount per attributed sale, paid out via PayPal, ACH, Venmo, Shopify Store Credit, gift cards, or any of the 800+ payout methods supported through the Tremendous integration.
Discount-only or no financial reward: members earn no commission on their attributed sales. Their value comes from sharing their referral code or affiliate link with their audience, plus any arrangements you have outside the platform (gifted product, exposure, exclusive access, and so on).
Campaign bonus rewards: one-off or recurring bonuses layered on top of (or instead of) standard commission using Sales Campaigns or Post on Social Campaigns.
Mixed program tiers: combine tiers with different reward structures so different segments of your members are rewarded differently.
The rest of this article walks through how to configure each.
Option 1: Discount-only or no-financial-reward programs
If you want to run a program where members do not earn cash commission, disable the Rewards section in your program settings. With Rewards disabled:
Members are still tracked, and attributed sales still appear on their profile and in your reports.
No commission, discount-as-reward, or other monetary rewards are calculated on their sales.
Members can still have referral codes (a discount for their audience) and affiliate links (for tracking and attribution).
This is useful for:
Gifted product programs: you send members free product manually (outside Buzzbassador), and they post about you on social. Buzzbassador handles tracking and code/link management; the gifted product is the "reward."
Pure social or exposure programs: members get the visibility of having their own code or link, and Buzzbassador handles distribution and attribution; no money flows to the member.
Internal employee or VIP customer referral programs: where members are not motivated by commission but by other internal incentives.
Tracking-only or pilot programs: where you want to measure performance before deciding on a reward structure.
[ LINK: How To Configure Your Program Settings ]
Option 2: Pay commission via non-cash payout methods
If you want to reward members financially but not via traditional cash commission, Buzzbassador supports a wide range of payout methods. Commission is still calculated the same way (as a percentage or flat amount per sale), but the actual payout can be issued as:
PayPal cash
Shopify Store Credit (members redeem at your store)
Gift cards (Amazon, Visa, Mastercard, brand-specific cards, and many others via Tremendous)
ACH bank transfer
Venmo
800+ other payout methods supported through the Tremendous integration
This means you can offer members "store credit instead of cash" or "a gift card every quarter" while still using Buzzbassador's standard commission tracking.
[ LINK: How to set up PayPal Payouts ]
[ LINK: How to set up Tremendous Payouts ]
[ LINK: How to issue Store Credit Payouts ]
Option 3: Layer bonus rewards via Campaigns
Beyond standard commission, you can run Campaigns that offer additional bonus rewards for hitting specific goals or completing specific actions. The two campaign types are:
Sales Campaigns: members earn a bonus reward (cash, gift card, product, store credit, or anything you define) for hitting a sales goal during a specific time window. Use these to drive competition, focus members on a specific product, or hit a revenue target.
Post on Social Campaigns: members earn a reward for completing content deliverables (Instagram Reels, TikToks, stories, and other posts). Use these for content-for-product gifting programs, campaigns around a product launch, or any campaign where the deliverable is a post rather than a sale.
Bonus rewards can be cash, gift cards, free product, store credit, or anything you define. Both campaign types work alongside your standard commission; members can earn both at the same time.
[ LINK: How To Run a Sales Campaign ]
[ LINK: How To Run a Post on Social Campaign ]
Option 4: Mix and match across tiers
If you have multiple program tiers, you can configure each tier's reward structure independently. Some examples:
Gifting tier plus commission tier: a gifting tier with rewards disabled (members get free product but no cash) for new or smaller creators, and a commission tier for higher-performing members. Move members between tiers as they grow.
VIP customer tier plus creator tier: a discount-code-only tier for VIP customers who refer friends (no commission, just sharing their code), and a full commission tier for paid creators.
Trial period: import or onboard members into a rewards-disabled tier first. After they prove out, move them to a commission-paying tier.
Use Multiple Application Forms to route different applicant types directly into the right tier.
[ LINK: How do I create multiple tiers for my program? ]
[ LINK: How To Create Multiple Application Forms and Route Them to Programs ]
Notes:
Buzzbassador does not directly handle the logistics of physical product gifting (shipping, fulfillment, and so on); for gifted product programs, you handle the gifting outside the platform and use Buzzbassador for tracking and attribution.
Bonus rewards delivered via Campaigns that are non-monetary (free product, gift cards manually sent, and so on) are also handled outside the platform; Buzzbassador tracks the campaign itself and the rewards owed, but you fulfill the reward as part of your normal operations.
For programs running entirely on Shopify Store Credit, the Buzzbassador Store Credit Payouts integration lets you issue store credit directly from the Payout List with one click.
[ LINK: How To Configure Your Program Settings ]
[ LINK: How to issue Store Credit Payouts ]