When migrating to impact.com, you'll get access to an expert team dedicated to setting you up efficiently and successfully. If you're looking to learn more about what it would look like to move your program over to impact.com, email sales@impact.com for a no-strings-attached demo. Below is a guide to the migration process and best practices.
Role | Responsibilities |
|---|---|
Affiliate Manager or Partner Manager | This role manages the migration of partners from the old platform, to impact.com, with help from the Onboarding Migration Specialist. |
Agency Account or Project Manager | If you've engaged with an agency, a representative from the agency usually manages the partner migration in your stead and acts as the Project Manager. |
impact.com Onboarding Success Manager | This role owns the new account setup process and makes sure that all aspects of the new program are configured correctly, including tracking settings, product catalogs, and partner contracts. |
impact.com Implementation Engineer | This role owns the technical integration process, liaising directly with your tech team as necessary to make sure that the technical aspects of tracking are working flawlessly. |
Web Developer or Technical Contact | This role is responsible for placing JavaScript across your site, assisting with any necessary data transfers, testing integrations, and making sure the technical project is completed and tested in a timely manner. |
impact.com typically recommends notifying your partners about the transition as soon as possible. It is also recommended to have a 2-4 week overlap between closing down your old program and running the new program, to allow time for partners to sign up and switch out links.
Once impact.com gets the green light to begin migration, the following steps take place.
Account setup
At this stage, you'll receive a designated impact.com Onboarding Success Manager, who will work closely with you to configure all account settings, including tracking, contracts, and product catalogs.
Technical account integration
At the same time, an impact.com Implementation Engineer will manage the technical integration process, working with the web developer or technical contact to ensure all tracking works, all parameters are passed correctly, and everything is tested thoroughly.
Partner migration
Now the program is ready to go from a technical standpoint, and partners can be brought over and set live within the app.
Your affiliate or partner manager (or your agency) will communicate with your partner base about the upcoming migration. The impact.com Onboarding Migration Specialist will then provide best practices and messaging templates for migrating your partner base and will check in frequently to ensure a smooth migration.
If you have Optimize included: It's best to migrate partners one group at a time, rather than all at once. impact.com ensures conversion deduplication while both platforms are active.
And with that the migration is complete.
Communicate with your existing Network advising them that you are moving off and will not be utilizing their services any longer.
Plan on a realistic timeline switch to facilitate the move and allow partners adequate time to make or schedule changes.
Take into account the needs of partners as some partners have integration needs and will therefore need to be communicated in advance.
Ensure that partner payments on the current network are up to date as partners sometimes do not migrate due to outstanding owing payments.
Keep partners in the know as developments around the Migration unfold. Where possible, provide an email alias to filter any questions ahead of the move. You can also create a guide or offer resources to your partners who are newly migrated to impact.com. Have a look under Content → Resources for more helpful migration information.
The communication timeline below allows 6-8 weeks for a full migration but this period can be shorter or longer, depending on the volume of partners:
2 weeks before launch date | A notification of upcoming migration gets sent which includes the end date and additional information regarding impact.com. Calls should be scheduled with all top-tier partners to personally notify them and get them to switch out links as soon as they become available (after launch). The priority is to get all top-tier partners migrated over. See the Pre-Launch Email Template below. impact.com recommends downloading a full partner list before getting started. This could be helpful in cases where the partner doesn't migrate in time. A performance report from your prior network/platform can help prioritize the migration of sale-generating partners. This will serve as your roadmap to limit a drop in sales revenue that can happen during a migration. |
Launch day | Send an email to all partners including the direct sign-up link for the Public Terms or specific template term sign-up links (depending on the partner). Reiterate the end date of the old program. |
1 week after launch | Top partners should have been contacted and should be in the process of switching out links. impact.com recommends monitoring their migration closely. See the Post-Launch Email Template below. |
2 weeks after launch | Begin to prioritize outreach to mid-tier partners. Send out another communication reminding publishers that sales that occur after the end date will not be credited on the old platform. If they would like to continue promoting the campaign, they will need to join your program on impact.com. |
2 weeks before migration ends | impact.com will start to scrape existing partner sites looking for the link of legacy networks. These partners can then be added to a communication workflow in impact.com and nurtured to update the outdated links. Prioritize follow-up with your top-tier partners that are still pending. |
1 week before migration ends | Send a reminder email that the program will be shutting down in 7 days, including the link to your impact.com account sign-up page. Ideally, all top-tier and the majority of mid-tier partners should be live on impact.com by this point. |
1 day before migration ends | Send final communication to remind partners that any sales after the migration end date will NOT be valid, and include the sign-up link to impact.com. |
Migration completed | All top-tier partners have signed up and are tracking through their impact.com links. All mid and lower-tier partners who have not signed up will still be able to do so through the marketplace or wherever your sign-up link is hosted. |
There are two sample emails you can send to your existing partners to announce the upcoming migration to impact.com.
This email can be sent to your existing partners to announce the upcoming migration to impact.com.
Subject: ACTION REQUIRED: Program Name - Update
Hello {first name},
We have very exciting news regarding our partner program! As of {date links will expire}, {ProgramName} will be running entirely on a more robust platform, and discontinuing our relationship with {PreviousPlatform}.
This change will enable us to provide more opportunities to our partners in terms of more accurate tracking, robust crediting logic, enhanced reporting capabilities, dynamic commissioning, as well as various new ad types. The new partner interface will also enable you to track your performance and payment status.
We will be sending a communication out shortly with additional details as well as signup information for our new tracking solution. If you don’t receive this communication within the next {add ETA} please reach out to me directly at {contact’s email}.
We appreciate your partnership and flexibility as we go through this change to provide a more scalable solution to our partner program.
Thank you,
This email can be sent to your partners to start the migration process.
Subject: ACTION REQUIRED: Program Name - Update
Hello {first name},
As we’ve mentioned previously, the {ProgramName} partner program is transitioning from {PreviousPlatform} to impact.com. The last day our program will be available in {PreviousPlatform} is {add date}. Please transition your links before that time to ensure we are able to continue paying you commission.
To do this, please follow the below steps:
Join the
{ProgramName}program here{add your impact.com sign-up link}. You will receive an email once you are successfully signed up to our new program.Log into your impact.com account.
Create a link using the Create and Share Link widget on your dashboard page.
Select
[Help] in the bottom right corner to access the impact.com Help Center or log a ticket with the support team.
We are here to answer questions and help you with the transition process as needed.
Please email us as soon as you've migrated!
Thank you,