CJ Affiliate Recruitment: Build a Shortlist and Finish the Handoff
· Recruitment · by Evan Weber
Build a relevant CJ Affiliate shortlist, write a useful invitation and finish the publisher handoff. Includes a completed cycling-product example.
Start CJ affiliate recruiting with a clear publisher brief, then use the account's available research tools to build a shortlist you can inspect. The invitation should explain why your product belongs in that publisher's content and what information you can provide.
Do not begin by raising every commission rate. First find out whether the people you are approaching have a reason to care about the product.
Build a shortlist around a reader problem
Suppose a fictional brand sells washable covers for commuter backpacks. Its target is a U.S. cycling audience, and the proposed content is a practical rain-gear comparison. A suitable property needs relevant coverage and readers the brand can serve. A large general coupon site answers a different recruiting brief.
CJ's Recruit Partners guidance describes advertiser discovery and recruiting lists. Check the current account's search options, data and access before relying on a particular filter. Open the publisher's actual property and review recent work.
Record the property URL, relevant article, observed fit and unanswered questions. Treat audience estimates as estimates. Avoid a universal traffic-percentage cutoff that ignores whether your product fits the actual publication.
Offer information the publisher can use
For the cycling comparison, the first message could be: “Your wet-weather commuting guide discusses keeping a laptop dry. We make washable covers sized for specific backpack dimensions. Would a fit chart and product sheet be useful when you next update the guide?”
Only make that observation after reading the guide. Check the fit chart and product claims before sending. If the publisher wants to evaluate a sample, confirm availability and gift-or-loan terms before arranging shipment.
Have the program's actual commission, attribution, payment and promotion restrictions ready. An attractive percentage does not settle whether a new video or comparison is worth the production work. Discuss that separately using the payment-model guide.
Finish the approval and publication handoff
An interested reply is not an approved relationship. Confirm the partner's property and methods, complete the supported program steps and supply the correct link instructions. Ask what is missing for the first proposed placement.
In the cover example, a publisher may need a photograph showing how the cover fits over side pockets. Resolve that question rather than sending another welcome email with the same asset folder.
Review what actually happened
Record research, conversations, approvals and live placements separately. Once a promotion is live, inspect the destination, wording and link setup. Review pending and approved transactions under the normal program process, including returns and known reporting limitations.
Your next useful task is one completed publisher handoff, not an arbitrary number of invitations. AffiliateFinders can supplement discovery and contact research. Your team still evaluates the evidence and manages the relationship. Disclosure: Evan Weber founded AffiliateFinders, PublisherFinders and Experience Advertising.