Buzzbassador has integrated with Tremendous to allow you to send universal payouts to your members via their email address!
Here's an overview of how it works:
You'll create an account with Tremendous
You'll request access to Tremendous's production API
You'll upload a balance to Tremendous, or choose a payment method to auto-draft from when sending payouts
You need to create a campaign where you (1) select what payout methods you'd like your members to be able to choose from when they receive a reward (PayPal, Venmo, ACH transfer, Amazon gift card, etc) and (2) edit the webpage and email that your members will see when claiming their payouts.
You need to request access to the appropriate payment methods so your Tremendous account can be used for the Buzzbassador integration, with no payout method limits
You'll create API credentials in Tremendous to link to Buzzbassador
You'll copy and paste those credentials, as well as your campaign ID, to Buzzbassador
STEP #1: Set up your Tremendous Account
Create Your Account
Before anything, you'll want to create a 100% free account on Tremendous. Click here to begin creating your account. If you want more information about Tremendous first, make sure to check out their website here.
Note: Once you've created your account, you'll receive an email from Tremendous asking you to verify your email. Please make sure you do this up front, as it can sometimes cause issues with the following steps if your email is not verified.
Request Production API Access
You'll need production access in order to use the Buzzbassador <> Tremendous Integration. The integration will not work without Tremendous providing you this access.
Because Tremendous's APIs (like the one Buzzbassador integrates with) allow you to send money all over the world in bulk, they have to go through a pretty detailed verification process for all customers in order to comply with banking regulations.
Please note that the approval process from Tremendous can take up to a few days. It's important to do this as early in the setup process as possible, which is why it's our recommended first step as soon as your account is opened.
To request Production API Access, in your Tremendous account, navigate to Team Settings > Developers, and then click the "Request production API access" button.
As a heads up, here are all the questions you'll be asked in order to submit your production API access request (updated January 2024):
For the "Program description" question, you can input something like this:
We are using Tremendous to send cash rewards to our customers and community who promote our brand as affiliates, referrals, and social media content creators. We will be using the Production API to integrate with Buzzbassador, a platform that enables this for us.
Add a Balance or Link a Payment Method
Once you've signed up and requested API access, navigate to Billing > Balance from the left navigational menu and click the "Add Funds" button to add a balance to your account.
You'll get the option to load your balance from several different ways. If you're in the US, you can add funds via bank account or credit card. If you're international, you can create an invoice and add funds via bank wire. You can refund this balance at any time with no fees.
Create Your Payout Template ("Campaign")
Once you've added funds, it's time to create a campaign. A campaign essentially acts as a template that will be used when you send any rewards to your members via the Buzzbassador integration. When you're setting up the campaign, keep in mind that this is what your members will see when they go to redeem the rewards you've sent them.
To set up your campaign, navigate to the Campaign templates page from the left navigation menu and click the "Create" button.
You'll now be asked which methods you want your members to be able to redeem their payouts with.
We recommend selecting them all, minus the gift cards of your competitors (if there are any). Use the "Select All" button to do this, then you can deselect any individual rows you don't want to use.
All methods have no fees associated with them, except for physical Visa gift cards, which have a 2.00 fee per transaction (to create and mail the physical card). Feel free to disable that option if you want to avoid the possibility of fees and keep all reward options digital.
Note: you'll notice at the bottom of the list that there are options for PayPal, Bank Transfer and Venmo that are not able to be clicked. That's because you have to request access to those. We will get to that in a later step!
After clicking the blue "Continue" button on the right side of the screen, you will be redirected to the "Edit Your Webpage" step where you can preview and customize the page that your members will be sent to to redeem their rewards.
Here you can edit the brand logo, size of your brand logo, color scheme of the page and buttons, headline, and custom message. Example below:
After clicking the blue "Save" button at the top right of the page, you'll be redirected to the "Customize your email" step, where you can customize and preview the email that your members will be sent when you pay them via Tremendous. This email will direct the member to the webpage you designed in the previous step.
Here, again, you can edit the brand logo, size of your brand logo, color scheme of the email and button, sender name, email subject line, and message. Example below:
Now click on the blue "Done" button at the top right, and you'll be asked to input a campaign name (name it whatever you want - ex. "Buzzbassador Ambassador Rewards"), and that's it! Your campaign is good to go.
Request Payment Method Access (OPTIONAL - USD ONLY)
Now that your campaign and billing is set up, all that's left is to ensure that you have access to all the available payment methods.
If you're located in the US / paying with USD, you can use Tremendous to pay members with Bank transfer, Venmo, and PayPal. However, in order to use these methods, you have to request permission from Tremendous.
Note: Tremendous will not grant this permission until you are approved for the production API Access and your business is verified, so do not proceed with this step until you have received confirmation from Tremendous that your account has been approved/verified for that.
Once you have been approved for Production API access and your business has been verified for Tremendous, navigate back to the Campaign templates page, click "Actions", and click "Edit rewards".
Then, scroll down to the bottom of the Rewards list and locate the row for Bank Transfer, PayPal, and Venmo. For each of those that you'd like to enable, click the blue "Request Access" icon. This will send an email to Tremendous and they will get back to you via the email address on your account with an update.
Note: If you do not see Bank Transfer, PayPal, or Venmo on your Rewards list like the screenshot above, don't worry - this is a known issue with Tremendous and can be easily resolved. Please reach out to clients@tremendous.com and let them know which payment method(s) are missing from your campaign list, and that you'd like to request access to them. If you are eligible to use them, they will be able to manually add them to your account.
Note: The following approval timelines were provided to us by a Tremendous support rep:
"The timeframe for incorporating the PayPal, Venmo, and Bank Transfer options depends on the verification status of the client's account. If the account is already verified, we aim to add these options within a day of receiving the request. However, if verification is pending, clients must undergo the verification process before gaining access to any specialized products."
STEP #2: Connect your Tremendous account to Buzzbassador
Once all of the above steps have been completed, your account is created and verified for production access, and your campaign is setup, it's now time to integrate with Buzzbassador!
Generate Production API Key
Navigate to Team Settings > Developers via the left-side navigation menu, and click the "Generate API Key" button next to the API Keys section.
Note: If you did not request production API access as instructed in step 1, you will not see this option, and you will have to go back and follow the instructions to request that before you can go any further here. As stated previously, production API access is required in order to use the Tremendous <> Buzzbassador integration.
If you've already requested access but have not yet been approved, please wait until you've been approved to proceed here. Keep in mind that the approval process from Tremendous can take up to a few days.
First, name the API Key. You can call it "Buzzbassador" for example.
After clicking the "Generate API key" button, you will be shown a screen where you can copy the API Key directly from the pop-up. Keep your Tremendous tab open.
Once you've copied the API Key, make sure to paste and store it somewhere safe (i.e. 1Password or other company password storage, locked iCloud note, etc.), because once Tremendous shows it to you once, there's no way to see the full key again (for security reasons).
If you don't save it, you'll need to generate a new key next time you need one.
Paste API Key in Buzzbasador
Next, in your Buzzbassador dashboard, go to the Integrations tab and click on the Connect button adjacent to Tremendous to open the integration setup popup.
Once the pop-up appears, paste your Tremendous API Key in the first field ("Private API Key") and keep your Buzzbassador tab open.
Identify Your Campaign ID
Now, go back to the Tremendous tab and navigate to the Campaign templates page. Identify the Campaign you set up previously that you'd like to use for Buzzbassador payouts. Then, copy the Campaign ID you see in Tremendous for that campaign.
Here's where to find the Campaign ID:
Paste Campaign ID in Buzzbassador
Click back to your Buzzbassador tab and now, in the second integration pop-up field ("Campaign ID"), paste the Tremendous Campaign ID.
Then, click the "Update Credentials" button at the bottom of the Buzzbassador pop-up to save the integration -- once done, ensure that your Tremendous integration now shows up as connected (if the integration now says "Edit Connection" instead of "Connect", it's connected successfully).
Now, you can send payouts with Tremendous 🎉
Learn how to send payouts here.
Learn how Tremendous payouts work from the member/recipient perspective here.
Please Note:
When you send a payout, your member receives an email from Tremendous (which you can customize, as shown in Step #1) informing them that they received a reward and allowing them to claim it via their payment method of choice.
Once a member selects a method to receive their reward via Tremendous, the payout is theirs instantly
For example, if they select "Starbucks gift card", they will receive an electronic gift card immediately and can use it right away
Additional Resources:
Turn on W9 form collection for tax purposes
Recipients who receive $600+ in rewards to the same email can be asked by Tremendous to fill out a W9 form when redeeming their rewards, which you will then use to fill out 1099 forms. You can enable this in Tremendous by going to Billing -> Tax Documents.
Activate Low balance email notifications
Tremendous can send you an email when your balance drops below a specified amount. You can enable this by navigating to Billing > Balance in your Tremendous dashboard.
