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How to set up and track influencer sales with a tracking plan

Setting up tracking plan and run affiliate campaign

Updated today

What are tracking plans?

Tracking plans allow you to monitor sales generated by influencers using discount codes or affiliate links. They work with platforms like Amazon Ads, Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Magento, or via Agnostic Sales Tracking (AST) settings.

Once your tracking plan is set up, Upfluence automatically generates discount codes and links for each creator — helping you track performance and manage commissions with ease.

1. How to set up a tracking plan

You can set this up during or after campaign creation:

Option 1: During campaign setup

  1. Go to Step 2 – Information > Track orders & sales performance

  2. Toggle the tracking feature on and follow the setup steps

Option 2: After campaign creation

  1. Go to Campaign Settings > Track orders & sales performance

  2. Toggle the feature on and start creating your tracking plan

To create a new tracking plan:

  1. Go to Campaign > Settings > Sales & activity tracking

  2. Click + New tracking plan

  3. Fill in the following:

    1. Plan name: Choose something unique and recognizable

    1. Tracking provider: Select your platform (e.g., Shopify, Amazon Ads)

    2. Discount value: Set a % or fixed discount

    3. Code pattern: Customize the format (e.g., influencer username)

    4. Click-through URL (optional): Choose a landing page

    5. UTM parameters (optional): For Google Analytics tracking

    6. Usage limits: Set code limits or one-time use restrictions

      1. (Shopify only): Set a minimum purchase requirement

    7. Select specific products or categories (optional): Restrict the discount code to certain products.

    8. Active date (optional): Add start and end dates

  4. Click Create to save and link your plan to the campaign

    Don’t forget: If you're setting this up after your campaign is live, click Update Campaign to save changes.

  5. When to generate codes and links

    You can choose:

    • When I Approve creators’ application to my campaign

    • When creators are added to my campaign

  6. Set up your tracking plan visibility to creators (can be modified at any time):

    1. toggle on: influencers will be able to download their sales performance report for their campaign from their creator portal: https://help.upfluence.co/en/articles/9215983-creators-how-to-download-your-sales-performance-report

    2. toggle off: the download button will grey out so influencers can't click and download the report.

2. Changing the linked tracking plan before launch

If you ever need to update the tracking plan before your campaign goes live, here’s how to do it:

  1. Go to Campaign > Settings and select a new tracking plan from the drop-down menu.

  2. Click Update Campaign to link the new plan.

Important Notes:

  1. Do not link the same tracking plan to multiple campaigns to avoid tracking errors.

  2. Once outreach starts, you can NOT change the tracking plan. Contact support via live chat if changes are needed before sales are recorded.

3. Tracking sales performance

To monitor influencer-driven sales:

  1. Go to the Performance tab in your campaign.

  2. Open the Conversions section to view sales attributed to each influencer.

  3. Check detailed reports on sales, discount code usage, and affiliate link conversions.

Frequently asked questions


1. What is the difference between Shopify affiliate links and Shopify discount codes?

Shopify affiliate links and discount codes function the same way in Upfluence.

  • Affiliate links: URLs that automatically apply a discount at checkout when clicked.

  • Discount codes: Customers manually enter the code at checkout.

Both methods ensure accurate sales tracking as long as a valid Upfluence-generated code is used during checkout.


2. What is the difference between affiliate links and click tracking links?

  • Affiliate links: Track sales generated by an influencer. These links can be linked to discount codes.

  • Tracking links: Measure the number of clicks an influencer generates. Useful for tracking website traffic.

📌 Upfluence AST (Agnostic Sales Tracking) affiliate links do not require a discount code, offering more flexibility.


3. Why don’t I see affiliate links when I create my discount offer?

Affiliate links are unavailable for WooCommerce, Magento, and BigCommerce due to platform limitations.
💡 Solution: Use Upfluence Agnostic Sales Tracking (AST) as a workaround.


4. Can I add the same tracking plan to different campaigns?

Technically, yes, but it is not recommended due to sales tracking issues.

  • If an influencer participates in multiple campaigns using the same tracking plan, sales data will be recorded for both campaigns simultaneously, risking duplicate payments.


5. Can I set up active dates for WooCommerce discount codes?

No, WooCommerce does not support active date settings for discount codes. You must update them manually in WooCommerce. For more capacity limitations, please check CMS Integration Capabilities.


6. What should I do if a discount code didn't generate?

Follow these troubleshooting steps:

  1. Check for missing profile information

    • Ensure the influencer's first name, last name, and email are filled in.

    • Update missing details and click "Retry" to generate the code.

  2. Verify social media variables

    • If the discount code setup includes a social media username, but the influencer has no linked social account, the system may fail.

    • Contact our support team via Live Chat and provide url of the missing social media to resolve this.

  3. If the issue persists

    • Send a screenshot of the error and the Campaign URL to the Upfluence support team for further investigation.


7. Do archived campaigns continue to track sales?

Yes, Upfluence continues tracking sales from archived campaigns.


8. Are Upfluence-generated affiliate and tracked links permanent?

The validity depends on the tracking plan settings. If the tracking plan had an expiration date, links will stop working accordingly.


9. Can I use the same discount code for an influencer in multiple Shopify stores?

  • Yes, if the stores are completely separate integrations.

  • No, if they are part of the same Shopify integration, as the system prevents duplicate codes.


10. Can multiple influencers use the same discount code in a Campaign?

  • No, your CMS cannot differentiate sales between influencers if they share the same discount code, so Upfluence cannot either.

  • Each influencer must have a unique discount code for accurate tracking.


11. Can I track affiliate links via Zapier if my CMS isn’t integrated with Upfluence?

  • No, Zapier does not support affiliate link tracking.

  • Solution: Use Upfluence AST to track sales even if your CMS isn’t directly integrated.


12. Why do random letters get added to discount codes?

  • If a discount code already exists in your store, Upfluence automatically adds an random character to create a unique code.

  • Solution:

    1. Change the existing code in your store.

    2. Manually edit the discount code in Upfluence to match your preferred format.


13. If an influencer releases a promo code and gets sales from different countries, how would it show in Upfluence?

  • All sales are tracked, regardless of the country of purchase.

  • Every single order completed through a generated coupon code will be tracked and included in the performance tab without differentiation by country.


14. Can I track sales in Shopify without offering a discount?

  • Yes, but Shopify requires a discount code for tracking.

  • Solution: Use Upfluence AST, which allows tracking without discounts.


15. Can you ensure that a discount code doesn’t end up on a third-party website?

Unfortunately, it's not possible to prevent a discount code from ending up on a third-party website, as controlling people's behavior is beyond our capability.

One solution to consider is using the Upfluence Agnostic Tracking (AST) system, which strictly tracks the sales of those who clicked through your links, offering a more controlled tracking environment.


16. What happens if I change the code generation setting?

  • Switching to “When creators are added”: Codes will be generated for all existing creators without one.

  • Switching to “When I approve”: New creators won’t receive codes until approved.

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