How to Tell an Affiliate Team About Your Traffic

‘We have traffic. What are your terms?’ is how a good half of first messages to any affiliate network begin. There is no useful answer to it: one source name can hide very different audiences, formats and user journeys. A short brief fixes that in a single message. It gives the team context and is honest about what you do not know yet.

Who you are and what you need#

Introduce yourself and name your team if you do not work alone. Say what kind of conversation you want: are you choosing a direction for a first test, looking for another product for a source you know, or hoping to discuss something you already run? Each of these leads the manager to different questions.

Leave a contact and say who will run the launch and who makes the decisions. Nobody needs your org chart, only to know whom to ask day-to-day questions and with whom to agree the next step.

The audience, in terms someone can check#

‘High-quality international traffic’ says nothing. Countries, languages and devices say a lot. Explain where the user’s interest comes from and what they see before they click. If audiences differ by country or format, do not blend them into one average profile.

If you do not know something, say so. A gap in the data can be discussed, while an assumption nobody noticed tends to surface at the worst moment. You do not need anyone’s personal data for this: for a first conversation, an overall picture of the source is enough.

The format and the path to the product#

PPC, in-app, SEO and influencer marketing are categories, not descriptions of a placement. Explain what the user sees, which link they follow and where they land. If there is a pre-landing page or several pages along the way, mention them. Sometimes one line such as ‘creator’s post → review page → product’ explains more than a long email.

If you can, share an example of a creative or page, either your own or one you have permission to use. An introduction does not require passwords to ad accounts, API keys or access to your infrastructure, and you should not send them.

Experience and plans, kept apart#

When you describe past work, give the period, the source and any caveats. If you quote a figure, explain what it means and how much volume it is based on. One good day and three steady months are different stories. Other teams’ results do not belong in your brief, and a forecast should not be presented as a fact.

For a new combination, one honest sentence is enough: ‘We know this source, but we have not tested this GEO yet.’ It shows at once where you have experience and where a check is needed, which is more useful than a bold promise.

What the next step looks like#

Say when you are ready to talk about a launch, how many options you can prepare and what you need from the network: a list of suitable products, an answer on a format or a technical test. You do not need a final plan in the first message, only the nearest decision that will move things forward.

Mention any limits on language, devices, format or working hours straight away. Offer terms can depend on the country, the device and other factors, and it is better to find that out before the creatives are ready.

A template for the first message#

• Who we are and what we are asking about.

• The source and the specific placement format.

• The audience’s GEO, language and devices.

• The user journey and an example of the material, if it can be shared.

• What we have already tested and what is still a hypothesis.

• Which next step we want to discuss.

• A contact and a good time to reply.

Fill in only what is relevant, and mark anything unknown as open. A brief works when it describes the real situation, not when it looks like a perfectly completed form.

After the first reply#

Update the brief: add the agreed parameters and the new questions, and put a version date on it. That way nobody keeps discussing yesterday’s plan. If the source, GEO or user journey changes, say so in a separate message.

The JUS introduction form lets you start with a short message and choose the channel that suits you. The more precise your starting information, the sooner a suitable offer turns up.