What are the benefits of being an Ambassador?
As well as getting to hang out with your fellow Ambassadors, you get to talk to some of the folks who help run and maintain Wattpad too. It's always fun to see behind the scenes, and Ambassadors often help test new products, work on projects with staff, and see how things work. You'll also get to learn new skills and being an Ambassador counts as voluntary work which is always good on your resumé/CV.
Once you've been on the team for a year we'll send you some unique swag too, and that's something that's repeated every additional year you stay on the team.
What happens if an Ambassador abuses other users, or uses their position to denigrate, belittle or bully other members of the community?
Abuse of power is not tolerated within the Ambassador team in the same way that we do not condone bullying in the Community. If you consider an Ambassador is abusing their power you can Report them and/or contact the Ambassador program manager. (How to report a user on Wattpad)
Will my account get penalised or black marked if I have a disagreement with an Ambassador?
Ambassadors are users too. We don't expect people to agree with each other 100% of the time, but we do expect any disagreements to remain civil and in line with our Guidelines and Code of Conduct.
Disagreeing with an Ambassador won't have a negative impact on your continued Wattpad experience unless you have actually contravened our Guidelines or Code of Conduct.
Will the Ambassadors close my account if I swear a lot?
The odd swearword won't mean your account is closed by Wattpad. But if you're using threatening language, it's very likely you'll get your account reported either by a fellow Wattpad user or an Ambassador. The Trust and Safety team at Wattpad are the ones who'll decide if your account needs a warning, a suspension or to be closed.
Is it true that you can only become an Ambassador if you have a friend who's already on the team?
You don't have to know or be friends with an existing member of the Ambassadors to get accepted. Although the existing team can make suggestions as to who they think would be great Ambassadors, we're often looking for specific skill sets or capabilities to complement the existing team, and these change every term. So, if you don't get in on your first few submissions, please keep reapplying.
Once someone has a badge they seem to be able to do what they want, there aren't any rules. Shouldn't there be some training or guideance?
All Ambassadors have to sign up to a set of specific Guidelines, and a Code of Conduct. Those unwilling to sign up to that are not allowed to join the team. Ambassadors also have to abide by the same set of rules as any other Wattpad user, and any not doing so get audited by the Ambassador program manager.
Over 1000 people apply to join the Ambassadors every four months. From that pool of people we carefully select a small group for training. Basic training takes about two weeks and is followed by a week or so of content-specific training. Training consists of various tasks, quizzes etc that all applicants have to complete. Once the basic and content training is complete, our trainees get their badges and then have additional role-specific training to enable them to do their chosen role.
Do you only allow people to join the Ambassadors if they have massive followers or read counts?
The amount of followers or reads a user has is irrelevant to joining the Ambassador team. Some members of the team are very well known on the platform, others have very few followers and very few reads, and we take everything in between. We're interested in the person, not their numbers.
Do Ambassadors work for Wattpad in Toronto? Are they paid?
Wattpad are proudly Canadian but are part of the global Naver corporation. Wattpad and Naver have staff from all over the world and are incredibly diverse. The Ambassadors are the same, and we have Ambassadors in over 70 different countries.
Ambassadors are first and foremost volunteers. We ask them to give us four hours a week of their time to help the community in an unpaid role. But, occasionally, they do get to earn a little extra cash when we need help with tasks that require specific skills we may not have on the Wattpad team, or if they're doing some contract work for us. Those paid roles are the exception rather than the norm. The vast majority of the Ambassadors do not get paid.
Do Ambassadors get to 'help out' their friends if they get in trouble, or kick off their enemies?
Our Ambassadors are trained to remain neutral and impartial.
Should an Ambassador have any conflict of interest we expect them to declare that and request another ambassador deal with the situation.
Do Ambassadors get background checked prior to joining the team?
We have a rigourous screening process in place to make sure we only get people who have the best interests of the Wattpad Community at heart. Once a submission to join the team has been made, users are checked against our databases to ensure we're not hiring known trolls or bad actors, and we check all applicants with our Trust and Safety section, and the existing Ambassador team.
Do Ambassadors help with Technical Support, update services, or help fix glitches or bugs?
Ambassadors are proactive about reporting bugs and glitches when they pop up. But although some Ambassadors are probably technically adept enough to help out due to their normal day jobs, Wattpad have a technical team who do all the behind the scenes work and so Ambassadors do not directly help fix things on Wattpad.
Do Ambassadors control which features are added or removed to Wattpad?
Ambassadors sometimes help road-test new features or give feedback on product ideas, but they have no control over what is added to or removed from the product. Any new product releases or updates are down to the Wattpad team, not the Ambassadors.
Are Ambassadors able to access our account and read our private messages?
No absolutely not. Ambassadors cannot login to your account, and they cannot read your Private Messages, or access or alter any of your private information.
Are Ambassadors monitoring our every move, spying on us, and watching how we behave?
We don't have enough Ambassadors on the team to monitor our entire userbase of 95 Million monthly active users. Most Wattpad users will rarely come across an Ambassador and that's how it should be. If you need help, have a question, or perhaps need a gentle nudge in the right direction then that's what the team is there for. They're not spies, or the police.
As an Ambassador, are you more likely to win a Watty Award, be Featured, win contests, or join the Paid or Creators programs?
Being an Ambassador has absolutely no bearing on your potential to win a Watty, get Featured, or become a Wattpad Creator. Ambassadors do not get special treatment for things like that.
Can Ambassadors be muted?
Anyone with admin rights on Wattpad is unable to be muted by other users, this includes both Wattpad Staff and our Ambassadors. If you consider an Ambassador to be using that to their own benefit they can be reported.
Can Ambassadors ever get jobs with Wattpad?
It depends on their skill set. If there's a job available then any Ambassador is welcome to apply for it, just as any Wattpad user is. Currently we have seven ex-Ambassadors working as staff.
Can Ambassadors use their connections with the Wattpad Staff to have people removed without having to give a reason?
Ambassadors can report any user they consider might be detrimental to the Community, but the final decision to remove a user is made by the Trust and Safety team at Wattpad, not by the Ambassadors. Removals are not carried out lightly and a valid reason for a profile being shut down has to be determined. Any decision made can be appealed should the user think they've been treated incorrectly or unfairly.
Do members of the Ambassador team respond to Support tickets sent in via the Helpdesk?
The Helpdesk is worked by Wattpad staff only, so all replies our users get from any tickets submitted are from Wattpad staff, not from the Ambassador team
Does Wattpad use bots to answer questions, or use bots to run profiles instead of the Ambassadors?
Responses on Ambassador run profiles or through Private Messages on those profiles are from real-life Ambassadors we do not use bots.
If you're an Ambassador are you obligated to help users with their writing, read their stories, follow them etc?
Ambassadors are first and foremost Wattpad users. Although they're trained to provide assistance when asked, they're under no obligation to read anything they don't want to read, follow people or provide literary critique.
Are Wattpad Ambassadors allowed to use the Wattpad logo for their own benefit?
Ambassadors have a badge on Wattpad to enable them to go about their business as Ambassadors. That badge is only applicable for their role as Wattpad Ambassadors, and should not be used for personal or business reasons.
Can Ambassadors close accounts, and if they do, do they get to choose who gets removed?
Use of admin rights is monitored. All actions taken by Ambassadors can be inspected and audited. Although Ambassadors can close accounts, closure of accounts is strictly limited to very experienced members of the team and is used only in extreme situations or to remove spam.
Any abuse of admin powers is not tolerated, and if you consider your account has been incorrectly closed you can message our Support team.
Can Ambassadors remove stories from Wattpad?
Use of admin rights is monitored. All actions taken by Ambassadors can be inspected and audited. Only experienced Ambassadors who have received specific and detailed content-related training can remove stories from Wattpad or change their rating. Stories are only removed if they contravene our Content Guidelines.
Any abuse of admin powers is not tolerated, and if you consider your story has been incorrectly removed you can message our Support team.
Can an ambassador bring back a deleted story?
Ambassadors cannot reinstate stories. Reinstating a deleted story has to be done via our Trust and Safety team by submitting a ticket. You can do that here.
A story will only be reinstated if the team at Wattpad agrees a story has been deleted incorrectly.
You can read this article for more information.
Do Ambassadors control the Hotlists?
No, that's all done by complicated algorithms and only a few people at HQ really know exactly how they work.
Do Ambassadors decide which stories win Wattys?
Wattys stories are judged by Content experts and insiders who work for and with Wattpad.
Winners are selected through a combination of data science and editorial judgment. Data does not necessarily mean popularity, but rather a specific set of requirements pre-determined by each award category. Despite writers being pooled based on data, the quality of the story is always the final defining factor.
If I have a question about the Ambassador program, who can I talk to?
Gavin. He's the Ambassador Program Manager for Wattpad and is in charge of all of our Ambassadors across the world. At the time of writing we have around 800 Ambassadors who cover 70+ countries and languages. Gavin is also known as TheOrangutan on Wattpad.
He's not particularly orange or hairy, but is always happy to answer any questions you might have about the Ambassadors, or what they do.