1. FlexOffers.com
  2. Advertisers
  3. Becoming an Advertiser

Advertiser Program Setup Steps

Advertiser Support Agent
Updated

Introduction

Welcome to your FlexOffers Affiliate Program! We’re here to provide the tools for you to grow your business through affiliate marketing. You will have full control of the commission rate and payout offered, your publisher relationships, promotional materials, and real time reporting. This New Advertiser Setup will walk you through everything you need to complete before your program can go live in our network and be available to publishers to promote.

 

1. Select a Plan

  • Manage your own affiliate program or opt to work alongside the FlexOffers.com team.
    • Self-Managed
    • Relationship Package (Core Relationship Management)
    • Relationship+ Package (Advanced Account Management Support)

 
2. Create a Program

a. General

After payment, you will be prompted to create a Program. This will be where you define your brand, payout, links, program terms, and publisher criteria.

  • Program Name: This is how your brand will be displayed in the PublisherPro platform. We recommend using the name of your brand or website.
  • Domain URL: Website URL
  • Category: Your program will be sorted in the PublisherPro platform based on the selection. Please choose the option from the dropdown that most closely reflects your business or product vertical.
  • Country: The country of operation for your business and customer base. If you service multiple geos, please select the option where the majority of your revenue is generated.
  • Description: A brief summary of your brand, available products or services, and unique selling points. This is displayed under your program name in the PublisherPro platform.
  • Logo: 150x40 – please use a clear image of your brand logo. You can view your logo by clicking the “View uploaded file” hyperlink.

Terms and Conditions

  • All publishers accept and agree to our standard FlexOffers Publisher terms before joining the network, so, at a minimum, all partners are abiding by our standard publisher terms. If you have any specific requirements about how to promote or how to not promote your affiliate program, we would suggest updating this section. Usually, advertisers include information about the types of promotional methods allowed, the ways in which the brand cannot being represented, and specific guidelines pertaining to your vertical and business.

 

b. Program Defaults

This section is where you can define your payout values for a conversion. Each sale that occurs through the affiliate program will generate commission for a publisher, so setting a competitive rate will ensure your program is appealing to promote. We recommend using your own internal margins and competitive analysis to determine the rate.

  • Commission Type:
    • Fixed: A fixed payout is recommended for any program that has a user taking a single action rather than purchasing multiple products. For example, filling out a lead form, signing up for a subscription, or creating a new account. If the conversions on your site don’t have a variable sale or order amount, we recommend using this option since the payout will be the same for all transactions. Consider your customer lifetime value, if your goal is customer acquisition you can consider this option for your program.
    • Percentage of Sale: This is a variable commission amount calculated based off the total order amount. The percentage is calculated off the subtotal excluding taxes, shipping and fees. This option will not work if the action your customers take do not have an associated sale amount. 
  • Action Type:
    • CPA: Cost per action (ex. new user account, new subscription sign up, digital download, etc) - This metric is defined as the total cost of acquiring a new customer regardless of the checkout process on your site.
    • CPL: Cost per lead (ex. a lead is defined as a qualified prospect to your business)
    • CPS: Cost per sale 
  • Commission Amount: The amount you are willing to pay when a customer takes an action on your site or makes a purchase. 
  • Return Days: This is the amount of days after a creative is clicked that a sale can take place and a publisher will receive commission for the sale.  
  • Description: This is listed next to the payout displayed in your program listing on the PublisherPro platform. We recommend keeping this section brief to one line of text. Ex. Payout is 5% of sales 
  • Deep Linking: Enabling this allows your publishers to create affiliate tracking links to any page on your website. If a publisher wants to send traffic to a specific product page or category, they will be able to create a tracking link taking the customer directly to that page without going to the Homepage first. We recommend enabling this.

 Default Landing Page

  • Where is the Text Link Content displayed? 
    • This will be the first creative your publishers will have access to for promoting your program.
  • How is the Default URL different from the Program Level URL? Does this need to be the same? 
    • This does not need to be the same. We encourage using your Homepage as the Default URL.
  • How is the Category selection different from the Program Level selection? If I select a different category from my Program level, how will it effect the sorting of my program on the PublisherPro platform?
    • For your Default campaign, please select the same category as your Program.
  • Can this be edited at a later time?
    • You can change the Text Link Content, but the Default URL and Category are not editable.

 

c. Publisher Approval Criteria

  • Hover over each publisher type for a definition of what each promotional method means.
    • Can I change whether I want to manually review or automate the process after the program goes live?
      • Yes, you have the ability to make this change at any point. Based on your bandwidth and business requirements, you can choose the option that fits your needs best. 
    • If I don’t select a publisher type, will that prevent them from applying to my program?
      • Yes. If they have a deselected promotional method assigned to their publisher account in FlexOffers, they will not be able to request you in the PublisherPro platform.  
    • I selected Automated, but I’m still getting publisher applications. Why?
      • If a publisher has not defined their promotional category in their account on our network, they will pass the automated filter and still require you to review their application. 
    • Can I change the publisher criteria at a later time?
      • You can edit this section at any point. 

 

e. Search Keywords

  • We recommend using a mix of general and specific keywords that are relevant to your brand and products. When publishers are looking for advertisers in a specific vertical or a specific product to promote, they will input search terms and your brand will show up if you selected these keywords. 

 
3. Create A Campaign

  • General: This step creates your “Default” Campaign that will appear in PublisherPro platform as a promotional link. 
    • Program: Select the program.
    • Campaign Name: This will appear in the Creatives tab on your AdvertiserPro platform.
    • Category: Select the vertical that best describes your product/offer/service.
    • Description: Enter a brief description about the campaign. This will be displayed in the “Creatives” tab on your AdvertiserPro platform. 
  • Link: This is where all creatives for this campaign will lead to when clicked. The destination URL must belong to the domain used at the Program Setup. 

 

4. Conversion Tracking

  • This step is essential to your affiliate program working successfully. Conversion tracking is needed for FlexOffers to track and record the sales referred to your website by a publisher. Our tracking system uses the click ID to identify where the user came from and it assigns a referring publisher traffic source to the click. Once the click converts to a sale or lead, the order details will be immediately recorded in your AdvertiserPro. The time and date of the click and sale, the order ID, sale amount (if applicable), and the coupon (if one was used) will be recorded on each conversion. Our system automatically applies the commission rate and calculates the payout to every conversion
  • The tracking method you use is entirely up to your team.  If you are using Shopify to host your website, please click here. Currently, this is the only integration option for Shopify.
  • FAQ
    • What is the difference between JavaScript and Server 2 Server? 
      • JavaScript uses local storage to track the click and uses the script to record the transaction. Server 2 Server is a personalized solution set up by your team. It is very important to track the click ID on a click and send us the click ID in the postback URL.
    • Which option should I be using?
      • This is entirely up to you. Aside for the requirement for Shopify merchants (must use the Shopify App), you and your team will be able to determine the best format for tracking.
    • How do I find which variables to use for the parameters?
      • Each webhost will have its own set of variables that are applicable to the values needed in your FlexOffers tracking. Please check your tech support resources internally for this information.

 

5. Create Test Transaction

  • To ensure your tracking has been set up correctly, please submit a test transaction. Select your program from the dropdown menu and use the link provided below to complete the sale/conversion. This link replicates an actual click and tracking link from a publisher site. 
  • Your program will not be LIVE until a successful test order is recorded in the Sales Detailed reporting.
  • If you correctly installed your affiliate tracking and still did not receive a successful test result, please contact our support center using the Help icon in the bottom left hand screen. 

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