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You already have an account on IFTTT (If This Then That) and you know how to create an applet there which uses an RSS feed as the If This part and a Pin as the Then That part.
So here's a bunch of best practice tips that will make things easier, quicker and more useful. Take the brain ache out and insert the easy life 😎
Tip 1
EDIT: I've now made the update as per below, so you can ignore this tip now!Include a date in your tracking code when preparing your scheduler setup. I'm thinking about adding the current date to the tracking code automatically whenever the scheduler pins a product on Pinterest. In the meantime, add your own.
This way, when you make a sale, you'll know how long the pin had been around for. Anything that helps you learn more about your promotion efforts is a good thing!
Tip 2
When you're naming your applet in IFTTT, include:- the source
- the page number
- the board name
When your applet runs out of things to post, this makes it easy to remember where you got to, so making the replacement app becomes much easier.
Tip 3
If you're using the nIFTTTy Pids scheduler, for the source, instead use the Zazzle url (from the address bar) like this
Notice that I didn't bother to include the initial https://www.zazzle.com/ part. When you name it as suggested, it's so easy to move to the next page when the scheduler runs out of items to post.
All you have to do is:
- open the existing applet on IFTTT
- change the source part to the next page number
- once you've done that, copy the source from the applet
- get to somewhere on Zazzle and change everything after the https://www.zazzle.com/ to what you just copied
- if you were on the home page, put in the / after the .com before you paste
Doing it this way, you can save yourself a good few clicks, a bit of brain ache and a couple of minutes - and there's far less of a chance of making mistakes.
Isn't that great?
Tip 4
This one's an advanced one and requires messing with an exisiting applet's feed url. You use this tip when your (nIFTTTy share scheduler) applet runs out of things to post.It saves you having to create a new applet each time and can save you 5-10 mins.
If you haven't messed with url parameters before, be brave - all you have to do is to change some numbers for others.
Here's an applet of mine. Let's say it's run out of products to pin and now needs to pull from Page 2 of Zazzle's rss feed.
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| I've highlighted the bits that need changing |
I've highlighted the two bits you need to find and change. Don't worry about the goobledigook and what it means, all you need to be able to do is to find them in the Feed URL
Rectangle highlight: &cdt={a number}
This is the starting date and time for the scheduler. It's used internally to work out which product to use in Zazzle's rss feed.For the curious: The number is the number of seconds since a rereference dat
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| Copy the number in the highlighted grey box |
You get it from here: https://www.epochconverter.com
Oval highlight: %26pg%3D{a number}
This is the Zazzle rss feed's page number to use. In the example given, I want the second page, so I change the exisitng digit 1 to 2, so it ends up looking like this:
%26pg%3D2
For the curious, when url parameters are used within another url parameter, as they are here, they have to be encoded. The %26 is an encoded & and the %3D is an encoded =
...so behind the scenes the whole thing ends up being &pg=2
Editing when in the applet
IFTTT doesn't make it easy to see what you're doing when editing, so it might be easier to copy the whole Feed URL and paste into your favourite editor and make the changes there.Once you've made the changes to the applet, just save it.
Tip 5
Due to an impossible-to-code-around effect, the first few items in the feed can be missed. It happens the first time the applet runs. Behind the scenes, when you make the Feed URL in the scheduler, the starting date/time of the applet is noted - that cdt thingy in Tip 4.If some time slots have already past, then they'll still be counted in working out which product in the Zazzle rss feed to use.
So the tip is to create the applet while it's still the morning, according to internet time (GMT) and use time slots only after 12 mid-day (spread evenly pm option in the scheduler).
Or you could wait until midnight (again using internet time - GMT), and use the spread evenly over 24 hours option. Finally, changimg the first time slot from 12:00am to 12:30am to make sure the applet is saved with plenty of time before the start of the first timeslot.
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| Wait til 12midnight GMT and set your timeslots as shown |
Tip 6
Have some boards for specific subjects / themes and some for specific products / product groups.Tip 7
You can only have 10 active applets (ie switched on) at any one time. So focus on a few boards at a time, moving on when you feel each has enough products. Then cycle round again when you've done all boards.With up to 12 per day per applet, it won't take long til you have well-filled boards across many subjects - just make sure they'll appeal to your followers :)
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If you've got any questions or you want to share your own tips, the Facebook NiftyToolz, Tips and Support group is the place to go to ask.
