# How to send free products to influencers on Shopify

Source: https://www.seedinfluencers.com/blog/how-to-send-free-products-to-influencers-on-shopify
Published: 2026-05-15
Updated: 2026-10-25

How to send free products to influencers from Shopify in 7 steps: the manual $0 draft order way, the gift link way, tracking the post, and #ad rules.

To send free products to influencers from Shopify, pick the creators, ask for their address and variant, create a $0 order in Shopify, ship it, then track whether they post and whether they disclose the gift. You can make the $0 order by hand as a draft order, or use a gift link tool that lets the creator type their own address and creates the order for you. The steps are below, and each one says how to do it both ways. For the budget, sourcing, and disclosure steps that come before and after fulfilment, see the [influencer gifting playbook](https://www.seedinfluencers.com/blog/influencer-gifting-program).

## The 7 steps

1. **Pick creators.** Choose a short list of people who already fit your brand. Send one unit each.
2. **Reach out.** Say what you are sending and what you hope for. Ask before you ship.
3. **Get the address and variant.** Collect everything in one message or one link.
4. **Create a $0 order in Shopify.** By hand with a draft order, or automatically with a gift link.
5. **Ship it.** Fulfill like any order and add tracking.
6. **Track the post.** Start watching when the package is delivered, not when it ships.
7. **Check the disclosure.** The creator should say the product was free.

## Step 1: Pick creators

Start with 10 to 20 creators who already post about your category or already follow you. A small, relevant list beats a big scraped one. If you need ideas for where to look, we wrote up [how to find creators to gift products to](https://www.seedinfluencers.com/blog/how-to-find-creators-to-gift-products-to) without an agency, and a separate guide on [finding micro influencers](https://www.seedinfluencers.com/blog/how-to-find-micro-influencers).

## Step 2: Reach out

A DM or an email works. Name the product, say there is no charge, and say plainly if you would like a post (more on that in the FAQ). Keep it short and make it about them. Our [cold DM playbook](https://www.seedinfluencers.com/blog/cold-dm-outreach-on-instagram) has the wording we use. If your list is long, our [free Instagram bulk DM Chrome extension](https://www.seedinfluencers.com/chrome-extension) sends personalized DMs from your own logged-in account, so you are not pasting the same message fifty times.

## Step 3: Get the address and variant

Ask for it all at once: full name, street address with the apartment or unit, city, state or region, postal code, country, a phone number for the courier, and the size or color if your product has options. Asking in pieces over DM turns one send into six messages. There is more on this in [how to collect creator shipping addresses](https://www.seedinfluencers.com/blog/how-to-collect-creator-shipping-addresses), and the full field list plus a copy-paste template is in the [influencer gifting form template](https://www.seedinfluencers.com/blog/influencer-gifting-form-template). For shipments outside your country, mention customs and duties up front so nobody gets a surprise bill for a free product.

## Step 4: Create a $0 order in Shopify

### The manual way: a draft order at $0

1. In Shopify admin, go to Orders, then Drafts, then Create order.
2. Add the product and variant the creator chose.
3. Add the creator as the customer and type in the shipping address.
4. Apply a 100% discount to the item or the whole order. This is a discount on the draft order, not a code, so there is nothing for anyone to share.
5. Mark the order as paid. Per the [Shopify Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/orders/create-orders), a draft order that is paid becomes a regular order on your Orders page.
6. Add a tag such as "gifting" so you can find these orders later.

Budget about two minutes per order once you know the screens. It is free and it is fine for ten sends a month.

### The gift link way: a tool creates the draft order

A gift link tool gives you one link to send to every creator. The creator picks the variant and types their own address, and the tool drops a draft order into your Shopify admin. You skip the address typos and the size questions. The record lives in Shopify, so you can search a creator's handle later and see what they got.

These are the options we know about. Prices are what each app published when we checked them on 2026-08-19, and the full table is in [our comparison of gifting apps for Shopify](https://www.seedinfluencers.com/blog/best-influencer-gifting-apps-shopify-2026).

| Option | What it costs | Good for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Manual draft orders | Free, plus your time | Up to about ten sends a month |
| Google Form plus manual orders | Free, plus your time | Fixing address typos without buying a tool. You still make each order by hand. |
| GiftForm | $29/mo unlimited, with a free plan of 5 orders | Low cost, simple gift links |
| InstaGift | From $1.99/mo for 20 orders | Very small budgets |
| Seed | Starter $79/mo for 50 orders a month, Seed $199/mo unlimited (see [pricing](https://www.seedinfluencers.com/pricing)) | Real $0 draft orders held for your approval, caps, and post tracking |

[Shopify Collabs](https://www.seedinfluencers.com/blog/shopify-collabs-for-creator-gifting) is also free to install, but it is built around affiliate commissions rather than gifting. As of 2026-08-19, Shopify's Help Center said it was not accepting new creator signups. If that closed door is the actual blocker, see our full list of [Shopify Collabs alternatives](https://www.seedinfluencers.com/blog/shopify-collabs-alternatives).

Who should not pick Seed: if you send fewer than ten gifts a month, manual draft orders cost nothing and work. If price is the main thing, GiftForm and InstaGift both cost less than we do. We charge more for the approval step, where no order exists in Shopify until a person approves it, and for post tracking.

## Step 5: Ship it

Fulfill the order like any other and add the tracking number. Shopify can email the tracking details to the creator, which saves you a message. Put a short note in the box saying who it is from and asking them to tag your handle if they post.

## Step 6: Track the post

Start watching when the package is delivered, not when it ships. Instagram Stories disappear after 24 hours unless the creator saves them to Highlights, so a late check misses them. Save the link to each post, not a screenshot, because a link can be verified and reused later. Our guide to [tracking creator posts you never see](https://www.seedinfluencers.com/blog/how-to-track-creator-posts-you-never-see) covers the full routine. A spreadsheet works at small volume. At larger volume, a tool that watches delivery and tags for you saves hours.

## Step 7: Check the disclosure

In the US, a free product counts as a material connection under FTC rules, so a creator who posts about it should say so clearly. "Gifted by [brand]" near the top of the caption or a clear note in the video works, and #ad works on its own. Tell every creator this in your first message and keep that message. Our posts on [FTC rules for gifted products](https://www.seedinfluencers.com/blog/ftc-disclosure-rules-for-gifted-products) and an [influencer disclosure policy template](https://www.seedinfluencers.com/blog/influencer-disclosure-policy-template) go into detail.

## Where the manual way breaks

- Address typos. "Apt 4B" becomes "Apt 48" and the package goes to the wrong unit.
- Variant questions. Every send turns into a small conversation.
- No record. Months later nobody can say whether Maya already got the new launch.
- Duplicate sends. Two people on the team send the same creator the same product.

## Set caps so a gift program cannot drain stock

Once you send to more than a handful of people, set three caps: one unit per creator per campaign, a total unit cap for the campaign, and a per-product cap for the one color or flavor everyone wants. By hand you enforce these yourself and will miss some. A gift link tool such as [Seed](https://apps.shopify.com/influencer-form?utm_source=site&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=how-to-send-free-products-to-influencers-on-shopify) runs the caps in software and closes the link when you hit them.

## FAQ

### How do I send free products to influencers on Shopify?

Pick creators, ask for their address and variant, create a $0 order in Shopify, ship it, then track whether they post and whether they disclose the gift. The $0 order can be a draft order with a 100% discount that you mark as paid, or an order a gift link tool creates for you after the creator fills in their own address.

### How do I make a $0 order in Shopify for a gifted product?

In Shopify admin, open Orders, then Drafts, then Create order. Add the product, add the creator as the customer with their shipping address, and apply a 100% discount. Shopify's Help Center says you can apply discounts to specific items or entire draft orders, and that you can mark a draft order as paid. Once it is paid it becomes a regular order you can fulfill.

### Do I need a separate Shopify store for influencer gifting?

No. Draft orders with a 100% discount are the standard way to do this inside your existing store. Some brands use a hidden product or a $0 discount code instead, but a draft order gives you a clean record and works with your normal fulfillment flow. A code can be shared, so a draft order is safer.

### Do influencers have to disclose free products?

Yes, in the United States. The FTC treats a free product as a material connection, so a creator who posts about it should say so clearly, for example "Gifted by [brand]" or #ad. Tell creators this in your first message and keep a record that you did.

### Do I need to send a 1099 for gifted products?

Usually not for a no-strings gift. If the product was payment for a required post, it can count toward the 1099-NEC threshold, which is $2,000 per creator per year for payments made in 2026. Check with your accountant if a creator's total for the year gets close. We wrote more in [do you need to 1099 creators for gifted product](https://www.seedinfluencers.com/blog/do-you-need-to-send-1099-for-gifted-product).

### Should I require a post in exchange for the product?

It depends on what you are testing. Pure seeding, sending to many creators and seeing who posts, keeps things simple. If you require a post, it is a contract and the post needs to be labeled as an ad. With no payment involved, it is hard to enforce a deliverable anyway. See [can you require a gifted creator to post](https://www.seedinfluencers.com/blog/can-you-require-gifted-creator-to-post).

If you want to try the gift link way, you can see plans on [our pricing page](https://www.seedinfluencers.com/pricing) or install Seed from the [Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/influencer-form?utm_source=site&utm_medium=blog&utm_campaign=how-to-send-free-products-to-influencers-on-shopify).

## FAQ

**How do I send free products to influencers on Shopify?**
Pick creators, ask for their address and variant, create a $0 order in Shopify, ship it, then track whether they post and whether they disclose the gift. The $0 order can be a draft order with a 100% discount that you mark as paid, or an order a gift link tool creates for you after the creator fills in their own address.

**How do I make a $0 order in Shopify for a gifted product?**
In Shopify admin, open Orders, then Drafts, then Create order. Add the product, add the creator as the customer with their shipping address, and apply a 100% discount. Shopify's Help Center says you can apply discounts to specific items or entire draft orders, and that you can mark a draft order as paid. Once it is paid it becomes a regular order you can fulfill.

**Do I need a separate Shopify store for influencer gifting?**
No. Draft orders with a 100% discount are the standard way to do this inside your existing store. Some brands use a hidden product or a $0 discount code instead, but a draft order gives you a clean record and works with your normal fulfillment flow. A code can be shared, so a draft order is safer.

**Do influencers have to disclose free products?**
Yes, in the United States. The FTC treats a free product as a material connection, so a creator who posts about it should say so clearly, for example 'Gifted by [brand]' or #ad. Tell creators this in your first message and keep a record that you did.

**Do I need to send a 1099 for gifted products?**
Usually not for a no-strings gift. If the product was payment for a required post, it can count toward the 1099-NEC threshold, which is $2,000 per creator per year for payments made in 2026. Check with your accountant if a creator's total for the year gets close.

**Should I require a post in exchange for the product?**
It depends on what you are testing. Pure seeding, sending to many creators and seeing who posts, keeps things simple. If you require a post, it is a contract and the post needs to be labeled as an ad. With no payment involved, it is hard to enforce a deliverable anyway.