Navigating your affiliate network: Commission Junction

Program Description

  1. Login to your CJ account

  2. From the navigation bar at the top, click on Account > Network Profile

  3. This will bring you to your Program Description - make any relevant adjustments to your bio here and click Update to save your changes

    1. Here’s where you want to showcase what your brand and program is all about – give a description of your company, highlight your commission rate and average order value, and specify your cookie duration here as well.

Keywords

  1. From the navigation bar at the top, click on Account > Network Profile

  2. On the right side of the screen you’ll see a box titled Keywords

  3. Keywords within your affiliate network are the search terms you want to appear under when an affiliate is searching for new brands to partner with, focus on highlighting your products and unique elements to your brand

    1. For example, a company that sells coffee might include ‘Fair trade coffee beans’ as one of their keywords

  4. Make any relevant adjustments or additions to your keywords here

Text/Coupon links

*A good rule of thumb is to have a text link for each of the following (or more): your homepage, shop all, best sellers, and links to any coupons you’ve set up

  1. From the dashboard, click Campaigns > Links

  2. Click the + sign to add a new link, or Clone an existing link

    1. If creating a new link select Text Link

  3. The Name, Ad Copy, and Link Description can all be the same text

    1. Ex. “Shop our Spring/Summer Collection” or “Save 10% when you sign up with email”

  4. Set the Destination URL to the intended landing page

  5. Set the Archive URL to your brand’s homepage

  6. Select Promotional if applicable, or Unscheduled if it is a generic link

    1. If the link is promotional, select either Sale/Discount or Coupons

  7. Input the date ranges for your promotion/link

    1. The Start and End date is how long the promotion is live

    2. The Available date is when affiliates are able to see the link (~2 business days prior to the Start date)

  8. Select Targeted Countries only if applicable to your program

  9. Make sure to Save your new link

Banners/Images

*Make sure banners include branding elements and a call to action. Keep in mind affiliates use these images as their promotional materials without modification so they must be effective ads in and of themselves, not requiring additional design elements or text by the affiliate.

See examples of well-crafted banners here: https://instapage.com/blog/banner-ads/

  1. From the dashboard, click Campaigns > Links

  2. Click the + sign to add a new banner, or Clone an existing banner

    1. If creating a new one, select Banner from the dropdown

  3. The Name and Link Description can be the same

  4. Adding Search Keywords will help affiliates find your products by increasing your banners’ visibility in search results

  5. Set the Destination URL to the intended landing page

  6. Set the Archive URL to your brand’s homepage

  7. Add your Image and Dimensions

    1. Images uploaded to CJ must be <200KB

  8. Make sure to add a Text Link associated with your new Banner

Product Feed

*A product feed is a CSV file of your inventory that gets uploaded to your network so affiliates can have a live view of what’s in stock and what they can promote

  1. From the dashboard, click on Campaigns > Product Feeds

  2. Click on Register Product Feed

  3. Follow CJ’s guidelines to fill out the required fields

  4. Upload your CSV file and click Register Feed

Adjusting Commission Rates

  1. From the home page, click on the Partners dropdown menu.

  2. Click on Search.

  3. From this page, search for the affiliate whose commission rate you want to adjust.

  4. Click on the name of the affiliate.

  5. Under “Manage Relationship”, select “Replace”.

  6. On this new page, configure the new terms of the affiliate’s commission rate here.

  7. Be sure to click “Save” to save your changes before refreshing or leaving the page!

Other helpful CJ resources/links

Additional Help

Still can’t find what you’re looking for? Reach out to CJ’s Support Team at 800-761-1072