Empowering Template Creators: A Game-Changing Affiliate Program Proposal

[anas]

I started sharing my templates with the community and doing my best to get them approved. Everything went smoothly, and the feedback from the templates team was great, helping us creators improve our templates. However, I believe that the affiliate program is unfair in supporting the creators.

We need something that can support us in creating templates faster, such as unlocking the paid features of N8N, like debugging and workflow history.

Additionally, you can use us in action to promote your paid features. For example, if you allow us to use something like global variables, we will start using them templates and toturials that rely on global variables or external secrets. When we share these useful templates that utilize these unlocked features, people will be compelled to purchase your license or cloud version in order to access these features.

This would be a win-win situation for N8N. It would provide creators with something special to speed up their work and motivate others who have kept their templates private to share their templates in exchange for access to unlocked features. At the same time, the sales of paid plans will improve since creators will be actively promoting the paid features in action within their templates, rather than just providing a link with a description.

Furthermore, we could have a hidden affiliate system where you count referred users based on template usage. For example, as a creator, all I need to do is come up with an idea, build a workflow for it, and share it with others on N8N. Any user who visits the template on n8n workflow templates and clicks on “use this workflow” would then be counted as a referred user after they subscribe or purchase a license.

This way, we wouldn’t need any third-party affiliate partners that charge fees or use domains that are often blocked by ad-blocking extensions, apps, and browsers.

For instance, N8N could offer one free license of N8N self-hosted, which unlocks features that help creators improve their work, after they have submitted at least a certain number of approved templates (let’s say 10). You could restrict the license to only work in non-production mode, automatically disabling the ability to activate the workflow. Alternatively, you could implement other measures to prevent creators from reselling this license and negatively impacting your market.

[Niklas_Hatje]

Hey @anas,

thanks so much for your great ideas. I really like the thought of giving addional perks to creators that have reached a certain level. We will discuss that internally.

On the affiliate program: What exactly do you think is unfair about it? With our 50/50 split we’re probably sharing more revenue than any other automation tool out there right now.

We’re currently working on a new implementation of the affiliate solution that will guarantee that conversions are tracked, even when users have tracking blockers. Additionally, we will also make sure that conversions are tracked even when users don’t come via your affiliate link but for example via SEO. Your template must be the first n8n page of the user for this to work though.

Hope this helps. Excited to hear your thoughts!

[anas]

Hey Niklas,

I really appreciate you taking the time to consider my suggestions. It’s great to hear that you’re open to discussing additional perks for dedicated creators.

Regarding the affiliate program, I feel that it might be limiting its own potential for N8N’s future growth. While a 50/50 revenue split is indeed quite generous, it’s not just about the profit share; it’s about empowering affiliates to maximize the network’s expansion. With my previous experience with other SaaS companies, affiliates often have access to product tests and can reinvest their commission into exclusive discounts for their audience. This is crucial because it enables us to promote N8N more effectively, as we can showcase the full spectrum of features, including those that are typically behind a paywall.

Currently, I have access to the self-hosted version of N8N, but I lack insights into the cloud version or even the advanced features of the paid self-hosted edition. This gap in knowledge makes it challenging for me to advocate for these offerings genuinely. If affiliates and creators had access to these features, we could create more informed content highlighting the advantages and addressing any potential drawbacks, which would likely steer users towards considering the cloud version as well.

the current program is more like A referral program that’s only open to paid users seems more like a loyalty reward than an affiliate strategy aimed at broadening market reach. The current setup may not fully leverage the power of affiliates who could be creating detailed reviews, feedback, and targeted promotions that offer special discounts or trials tied to regional events, which would significantly boost sales.

Speaking of regional events, they are a goldmine for tailored marketing efforts. For example, an affiliate based in India might recognize the sales potential of Diwali – akin to Black Friday in the US – and could capitalize on this by offering time-limited discounts using a unique promo code shared within their community. This not only increases sales but also provides valuable market insights for N8N, helping you tailor future marketing strategies to various cultural contexts across the globe.

Imagine expanding this model to incorporate 195 countries’ unique events and celebrations. You’d be harnessing the full potential of “Deep Linking” in your marketing approach:

• Creators amplify N8N’s reach with a “Deploy on N8N cloud” button within templates.
• Affiliates, YouTubers, Tiktokrs and content creators drive engagement with promo codes offering discounts or trial invitations when they share a real content feedback.
• Node creators are rewarded based on the active use / interest of their nodes within workflows.
• The traditional affiliate link remains an option alongside these more targeted strategies.

In summary, as someone deeply invested in N8N as a creator and affiliate, I believe the current model could be significantly improved by unlocking features for creators and affiliates. This change would not only benefit us but also enhance N8N’s market presence and sales – a true win-win scenario.

Lastly, I was under the impression that verified creators might receive an N8N license to access locked features like “Debugging,” which would greatly aid in template development and refinement.

I’m looking forward to your thoughts and continuing this constructive dialogue.

[anas]

FYI: There are 722 templates in the n8n library, yet only 3 of them contain facebook workflows. Considering Facebook has over 3 billion active monthly users, the library should include more Facebook use cases.

One of my fans provided feedback on n8n self-hosted:

In production, if I chose n8n, I would go with n8n cloud because it has built-in apps for Google and Facebook, saving me time on integration and updating. Google locks out users every 7 days to reauthenticate tokens for tester accounts.

This is a HUGE reason for n8n cloud to promote these locked app templates into the templates library. Providing more workflows for Google & Facebook will give users more incentive to use the cloud version with everything pre-made: nodes, apps, templates.

And how to do that when the creators themselves are locked out from these features?

The point is, creating or giving creators the ability to use the cloud version for “Testing” and building workflows will lead to more templates based on cloud-only stuff, like Facebook and Google use cases…

If we check a competitor’s top templates, they have:

More than 1k active workflows use Facebook workflows that contain just two nodes. Imagine with n8n when creators make complex workflows that contain more features, for example Advanced Telegram Bot, Ticketing System, LiveChat, User Management, Broadcasting | n8n workflow template, with Facebook or Google it is way easier to run and configure on the cloud version.

[Niklas_Hatje]

Some of the things you mention - like being able to distribute discounts etc. sounds more like a reseller program than an actual affiliate program. In addition to that, affiliates only work on Cloud revenue, so handing out a paid licence for self-hosted instances would not really make sense. I do get your point about offering Cloud incentives, however. So far we considered than an affiliate who’s potentially earning a full-time salary with his actions would be willing to invest the 20 to 50€ per month for a Cloud account. Do you feel that burden is too high?