Product seeding · Shopify Draft Order flow

Before you start

Confirm: (1) the creator agreed to the seeding terms, (2) you have their full shipping address, (3) the campaign tracker is updated with their handle and brief, (4) you’re logged into the brand’s Shopify admin as a staff account with Orders + Customers permissions.

The flow

1. Open Shopify admin → Orders → Drafts → Create order Path in Shopify: /admin/draft_orders/new. Bookmark per brand.
2. Add products — search and add each item you’re seeding to this creator. Use variants (size, color, flavor) that match what they requested or what fits the campaign. If the brand has a dedicated “seeding bundle” product, prefer that — cleaner attribution and inventory tracking.
3. Discount the order to $0 — click Add discount, choose Amount, set 100% or the dollar value of the full subtotal. Reason: Creator seeding. Shipping is also free for seeding — set shipping rate to Free shipping or override to $0.
4. Add or find the customer — in the Customer sidebar, search by email or name. If they don’t exist, click Create new customer and enter first name, last name, email (creator’s), phone (optional). Address goes in the next step.
5. Tag the customer — on the customer record (open in a new tab via Edit customer), add the customer tags:

   Required customer tags

   • creator-seeding
   • creator

   These two are the minimum. The creator-seeding tag isolates seeded creators from organic creators; creator keeps them inside the broader creator audience for retargeting.

   Optional contextual tags

   • creator-tier-[micro|mid|macro]
   • creator-platform-[ig|tt|yt]
   • campaign-[campaign-name]

   Add when the brand runs creator segmentation in Klaviyo or for Partnership Ads audiences.

6. Add the shipping address — back on the draft order, click Add shipping address. Enter the creator’s full address. Double-check the country — the most common seeding error is wrong country defaults.
7. Add an order note — include: Creator handle (@creator), campaign name, content deliverable expectation (e.g. “1 IG reel + 3 stories within 14 days”), and the brief link if separate.
8. Add order tags — in the right sidebar under Tags, add the order tags:

   Required order tags

   • seeding
   • creator-[handle]

   The seeding tag is the canonical filter for all seeding orders — reports, exports, and the affiliate dashboard pivot on it. The handle tag lets us link the order back to a specific creator without an SQL join.

   Optional order tags

   • campaign-[campaign-name]
   • q2-2026 (or current quarter)

   Use these when the brand runs quarterly seeding budgets or multiple concurrent campaigns.

9. Mark as paid — click Collect payment → Mark as paid. (Total should be $0 after the 100% discount, but Shopify needs the payment state to close the draft.)
10. Convert draft to order — click Create order. The draft becomes a real order and enters the brand’s fulfillment queue. If the brand uses a 3PL or ShipStation, confirm the order syncs through. Some brands route seeding orders to a separate fulfillment lane.
11. Notify the creator — send the agreed message via the brand’s outreach channel (DM, email, affiliate platform). Include the tracking number once Shopify generates it. Standard message lives in the campaign tracker.
12. Log it in the campaign tracker — record: Shopify order #, creator handle, products sent, ship date, deliverable due date, and Partnership Ads code if applicable. The affiliate-dashboard agent pulls from Shopify nightly and surfaces seeded orders on the brand’s dashboard automatically — but the campaign tracker is the source of truth for deliverable expectations.

What happens after the order ships

1. Tracking number captured — copy from Shopify into the campaign tracker the same day fulfillment ships.
2. Delivery confirmation — Cusrich.AI pings the Creators Manager when the carrier marks “delivered.” That starts the deliverable countdown.
3. Deliverable check-in — 7 days after delivery, message the creator if content isn’t up yet. 14 days = follow-up. 21 days = escalation to Pod Lead.
4. Content review — once live, capture the post URL in the tracker. The affiliate-dashboard agent will pull engagement metrics over the next 30 days.
5. Whitelist consideration — if performance is strong, loop in the Media Buyer for Partnership Ads / Spark Ads.