Ready Yourself for Affiliate

Before jumping into affiliate, it’s important to assess what you’ll need to bring to the table.

Many publishers dive in and expect quick results, but truthfully, there’s no magic bullet. Like anything in business, being a successful affiliate marketer takes time, research, and dedication.

Start with the Basics

It’s important to understand the basics before getting started. On a fundamental level, affiliate marketing is all about relationships. At CJ, we help publishers connect with relevant advertisers so they can earn commissions for referred sales or leads.

Not sure who you are? Here’s a breakdown:

• Publisher: A website owner/content producer who promotes advertisers through text links, banner ads, in-app promotions, or offline efforts.
• Advertiser: A merchant that is selling services, goods, or subscriptions
• An example of how Advertisers and  Pulishers connect: If a consumer clicks through an ad or link on a publisher’s website and completes an “action” (a sale or lead), the advertiser pays a commission to the publisher for the referred customer (this is called a “conversion”).

Tip: Learn more common affiliate terms in our glossary.

Create a Game Plan

The landscape for publishers is just as competitive as it is for advertisers, so it’s important to develop a plan before signing up or launching your program. Consider these questions:

• Where does your publisher program fit? Do you have a main vertical, niche, or a wide reach for many brands?
• You’ll need quality traffic. How will you stand out amongst the millions of websites across the internet to get it?
• There are many ways to promote advertisers (email, social media, search, and display, to name a few). What promotional methods will you choose that will resonate with audiences?

Want to learn more? Check out our Publisher Requirements.

Next Steps

You should now have a better understanding of what to expect with affiliate marketing. If you’re ready to get started, click here to sign up for a publisher account, or click here to apply as an advertiser. Have questions about the sign up process? Check out these Popular Support Center Topics.

If you’re not ready to sign up quite yet, by all means take the time you need to prepare yourself. Ready yourself now and you will increase your chance of success down the road.