affiliates program

Commission Junction Affiliate Program: Join Now | Operating Agreement | FAQ | Contact Us

FAQ's

General Information

1) What is AmericanGreetings.com?

AmericanGreetings.com is world's largest ecards site, offering over 30,000+ ecards for occassions including birthdays, anniversaries, birth announcements, love and dating, and holidays. AmericanGreetings.com offers both free and premium content ecards to our users. In addition, our customers can create and print unique greeting cards directly to their home printers from our website. Lastly, AmericanGreetings.com offers our users other services as creating paper cards, sending online invitations and downloading desktop wallpapers, screensavers and buddy icons for many of the instant messenger applications.

2) How does the AmericanGreetings.com Affiliate program work?

The affiliate program is a marketing collaboration between AmericanGreetings.com and the owner/operator of a unique web site. Web sites may place links or promotion to AmericanGreetings.com within their pages, and in turn, will receive a commission for subscriptions generated from their links. AmericanGreetings.com has a dedicated affiliate team to help affiliates maximize their marketing of AmericanGreetings.com and thus their earning potential.

3) Who can apply to be an affiliate?

Any owner and/or operator of a unique web site may apply by clicking here. We review every affiliate application and you will receive an e-mail notifying you of your application status. Mainly, we look to partner with sites that:

Provide a unique and honest user experience
Have content that would appeal to our customers
Are compliant with our search marketing and copyright policies
Are aesthetically pleasing
Do not display offensive content

If your application is denied due to the improper url being displayed, you may re-apply using the proper url or request the affiliate team to screen an alternate site. Detailed instructions on this process will be delivered via e-mail after the application review process is complete.

4) What is the payout rate for sales generated from my links?

Commissions are calculated based on the affiliate program commission structure that an affiliate agrees to when choosing to sign up through our affiliate program partners. Program terms are subject to change. Pricing shall be at the sole discretion of AG, which may offer special pricing and discounts in its sole discretion. No Commission Fee will be paid on re-subscriptions or auto-renewals of existing Accredited Subscriptions. If an Accredited Subscription for which a Commission Fee is paid to Participant is later refunded or charged back for any reason, the relevant Commission Fee will be deducted from the next payment sent to Participant following such event. In addition, charge backs and refunds will be counted against the aggregate number of Accredited Subscriptions in determining commissions.

5) How can I contact the AmericanGreetings.com Affiliate Team?

Please write an e-mail to our Affiliate team at affiliatehelp@americangreetings.com with any questions you may have about our Affiliate Program. Your input and feedback is greatly appreciated and encouraged.

Marketing on Your Site

6) What types of links are available?

Once you have been accepted on one of our affiliate programs, you will have access to numerous interactive creative pieces that you can use to promote AmericanGreetings.com. We have three types of links available (banner ads, text links, HTML search function). Links and images are regularly updated so that only top performing pieces are available and are up-to-date with all brand messaging.

7) What are AmericanGreetings.com policies on search engine marketing?

We operate a site-based affiliate program, as opposed to one which is exclusively search-based - basically, an affiliate may not engage in search on marketing on behalf of AmericanGreetings.com; that is, all traffic from search engines must link to the affiliate site, rather than directly to AmericanGreetings.com. The affiliate site must be owned and/or operated by you; and the affiliate site cannot consist merely of links to the AmericanGreetings.com site, rather, it must provide a user-experience distinct from that available on the AmericanGreetings.com Site (for example, it may include unique content or services). Additionally, the following activity is strictly prohibited:

Bidding on the AmericanGreetings.com service marks "AmericanGreetings.com", "AMERICANGREETINGSCOM", AMERICANGREETINGSDOTCOM", "AMERICANGREETINGS COM" or any other trademark or service mark of AmericanGreetings.com's on any search engine.
Including the AmericanGreetings.com service mark "AmericanGreetings.com", any variation of, or any other trademark or service mark of AmericanGreetings.com's in any paid search engine marketing copy.
Using the AmericanGreetings.com service mark "AmericanGreetings.com", any variation of, or any other trademark or service mark of AmericanGreetings.com's in any Web site page titles or meta tags.
Pointing traffic from search engine results directly into a page of the AmericanGreetings.com Site or a page of any Web site that is co-branded with AmericanGreetings.com, including Web sites that consist of the AmericanGreetings.com Site framed by a differently-branded header and/or footer. Any violation of these policies can result in termination of your affiliate account and forfeiture of commissions.

8) Can I use e-mails to promote AmericanGreetings.com?

We have a strict 'no spamming' policy. AmericanGreetings.com reserves the right to immediately terminate an affiliate relationship if that affiliate uses unsolicited email to promote AmericanGreetings.com.

9) Can I have more than one affiliate site?

Yes, you may have more than one affiliate site. Please note that this may, in certain cases, require separate applications for each site. Please contact us if you run into any issues with this.

10) Can I frame the AmericanGreetings.com landing site with my own header?

No, this activity is strictly prohibited. This is not only a violation of copyright, but also jeopardizes the integrity of your tracking links.

11) Can I accept membership information on my website and forward it to AmericanGreetings.com?

No. Subscription information is accepted only on the subscribe form at AmericanGreetings.com. Note that your commissions are calculated only through the subscription application form.

12) Will I know who signs up for AmericanGreetings.com through my site?

No. To protect AmericanGreetings.com customer privacy, the names or other personal information about specific customers is not provided to affiliates.

13) Can I describe membership prices on my site?

You may describe at a given time prices and other details of the AmericanGreetings.com product - however, it is very important to note that prices, terms, and options are subject to change. We will only honor the prices listed on AmericanGreetings.com, not prices, special offers or discounts made by affiliates on their referring websites.

Tracking and Reporting

14) How do you track subscriptions acquired through my site?

AmericanGreetings.com and our affiliate networks� tracking system assigns you a unique ID for each link you publish. That ID is yours and only yours; it accompanies any code you receive for integration, ensuring you receive credit for users who register through your site. When one of those users later completes a net subscription to AmericanGreetings.com, you are credited with the sale.

15) How can I track the progress of my affiliate links?

Through the affiliate network�s system, you are able to download up-to-date performance reports of your site and even specific links. You are able to see data on gross subscriptions, net subscriptions, and even commission entries.

16) How can I be sure that I get credit for referring traffic if a visitor subscribes at a later time at the direct domain?

Once a user visits the AmericanGreetings.com site, a cookie is placed on that users computer for a 30-day window. Therefore, if a visitor decides to join our service at a later time by going directly to www.AmericanGreetings.com (without going through the referring affiliate's website), the referring affiliate will still get credit for that subscription that occurs within that 30-day window.

Generating Sales

17) How is a sale defined?

AmericanGreetings.com and our affiliate networks are solely responsible for tracking subscription sales. A 'sale' is recognized when an eCard, Create & Print or eCard/Create & Print bundle subscription is purchased on the AmericanGreetings.com Web site via valid credit card, check or money order or other means. Customers do not pay for a subscription until they complete a 30-day free trial. Trial subscriptions that are cancelled before the end of the free 30-day period are not eligible for earning commissions. Commission is not paid on credit card fees, sales tax charges, penalties or other costs collected from subscribers by AmericanGreetings.com. You can continually monitor sales performance of your account with your selected affiliate program provider.

18) When do I get paid?

Commissions are calculated by AmericanGreetings.com and your affiliate network at the end of each calendar month and paid out to you from your affiliate network provider in the following calendar month.

19) Do I earn a commission on traffic to my affiliate website?

Affiliates earn commission on paid subscriptions only. Traffic is only commissioned in the sense that it converts into paying subscribers.

20) How much income can I make?

Payout rates are determined by each individual affiliate program provider. Earning options are limitless to the extent that an affiliate site can continually refer new and valid paying subscribers.

Increasing Your Earning Potential

21) What is the best way to generate sales?

There is no "best way" to generate sales. Every affiliate has different goals, and we found that those that meet them consistently have one universal thing in common - they all deliver a unique and valuable experience to their users. We encourage you to find the best way to integrate AmericanGreetings.com into your site given the needs and expectations of your site visitors. We are very serious about promoting a fair and honest affiliate program, and will not tolerate any affiliate who violates our copyright policies and/or uses fraudulent or deceptive practices to generate subscriptions.

22) What can I do to improve my conversion rate?

A conversion rate is described as the ratio of referring users who become paying subscribers. The best thing an affiliate can do to improve their conversion rate is to provide an honest and valuable user experience, while promoting AmericanGreetings.com in the most appropriate light possible. At AmericanGreetings.com, we employ a variety of programs to encourage visitors to subscribe, and ensure them that they will be glad they did!