Affiliate Software Documentation
Getting Started with Affiliate Manager
Affiliate Manager gives you a fun and easy way to build your own affiliate network at a fraction of the cost of the big boy's programs. Getting started with Affiliate Manager can only take a few hours and you can be up and running with your own affiliate program in no time.
Affiliate Manager provides you with an affiliate marketing platform where you can register, manage and pay affiliates all in one easy-to-use admin interface.
This Getting Started Guide will help you quickly get up and running in the next few hours.
If you need help, or are having any issues with your install or configuration, please contact us or visit the support forums for help.
Installation
You must first install the affiliate manager on your site. If you have yet to do so, please read through the affiliate installation guide to get the software installed on your hosting account.
Click Here to Read the Installation Guide or Watch Video
Initial Set-up and Configuration
Once you have installed the affiliate software, please log-in to the admin area with your new username and password to configure the system
Setting Up Global Configuration Options Watch Video
Here are some necessary configuration parameters you need to update for your initial program to be correct. To access it, click on the Settings link on the top right corner of your admin page. and click on Global Configuration
Site Tab
Configure your Affiliate Program's Site Settings. Site name, address, default language and currency are set here.
Marketing Tab
Configure your affiliate software's marketing settings such as affiliate links and commission settings.Email Tab
If you want to change your email provider from PHP to SMTP, change it here.
Security Tab
Setup your alert email address for error logging as well as click and commission security.
Other Settings You can also configure other settings such as admin, email, content and media settings.
Setting Up Your Initial Affiliate Offer and Commission Levels
Configure Your Affiliate Program / Offer Watch Video
You can setup your first affiliate offer, program description, terms of service and privacy policy.
Setup Affiliate Commission Amounts Using Affiliate Groups Watch Video
Add your commission levels and amounts using the default affiliate group.
Uploading Your Banner and Marketing Tools
Click Here to add some banners for your affiliates to use for promotion. Watch Video
Designing Your Affiliate Members Section
Select a custom members theme and upload your affiliate logo. Watch Video
Setting Up Email Templates
Click here to learn about editing system wide email templates, such as member login details, and commission alert emails.
Integrate with Your Web Site or Shopping Cart
System integration is the most important part of the affiliate manager process. This is where you add the Affiliate Manager code to your payment gateway or shopping cart so that commissions can be generated.
Integration instructions for different gateways and shopping carts can be found here.
Setup Scheduled Cron Tasks
The cron jobs are required to run for specific functions to work, such as follow up email scheduling, recurring commission generation, and more. Make sure you have enabled the scheduled cron jobs in your hosting control panel.
The cron jobs to use are listed in Settings > Global Configuration > System > Cron Job in your Affiliate Admin area.
Run Initial Tests
Make sure you run some initial tests to make sure everything works. Here's a quick checklist:
- Create an affiliate account
- Click on the new affiliate account's affiliate link. This can be found on the Overview tab for the member's details page, under the affiliate's name and email address.
- Do a test transaction in your web site or shopping cart. This will show that affiliate commission generation is working after you add the integration code as specified in the above section.
- Go to Commissions > Manage Commissions in the admin area to make sure the commission has been generated.
Back-up Your Stuff
Make sure you do frequent backups of your database. This can be done by your web host, or you can enable the database backup option under Settings > Global Configuration > System > Database Backup in your admin area.
All Done! Now Go and Recruit New Affiliates