Once you’re approved for the Automattic Creator Program, you’ll use Impact to manage your account, create tracking links, find promotional resources, and track your referrals and earnings.
You don’t need to learn every feature in Impact right away. Start with the basics below, then explore more of the platform as you become more comfortable with the program.
Start with your Impact dashboard
Your Impact dashboard is your starting point for managing your Automattic Creator Program account.
Your dashboard shows your partnerships with Automattic’s brands at a glance, today’s earnings, total pending transactions, and your account balance. You can also view details about the brands you work with on Impact’s network.
When you’re getting started, focus on these areas:
- Your performance: Check clicks, actions, earnings, and other activity generated through your tracking links. You can find these reports under “Reports”.
- Your partnerships: See the brands you’re approved to promote. You can find these under Discover > My Brands.
- Available content: Brands provide a variety of standard links and banners for partners to use. Explore what’s available to you under the Content tab.
- Messages and notifications: Look for important updates from Impact and the brands you work with. You can access these via the icons in the upper right-hand corner.
- Account settings: Manage information related to your Impact account, including payment and other financial settings. To access this, click your avatar in the upper right-hand corner and select Settings.
Impact’s interface can change as new features are added or updated, so you may see options or navigation that look different from what is described in this guide.
Create tracking links
One of the first things you’ll do in Impact is create tracking links for the Automattic products you want to promote.
A tracking link contains the information Impact needs to connect a visitor or customer with your account. When someone clicks your link and completes an eligible purchase, Impact uses that tracking information to attribute the action to you.
You can create links to participating Automattic brands and link directly to specific pages, not just the brand’s homepage. This is known as deep linking.
For example, if you’re writing about a specific WordPress.com feature, you may want to send readers directly to the relevant WordPress.com page instead of the homepage. This gives your readers a better experience and makes it easier to find what they’re looking for.
For detailed instructions, see how to create tracking links in Impact.
Find creative assets
Automattic also provides promotional materials you can use in your content.
Depending on the brand and what’s currently available, you may find:
- Banners and other images
- Text links
- Promotional messaging
- Landing pages
- Other brand-specific creative assets
Look for these resources in the Content > Assets area of Impact. You can browse the available materials and filter or search for resources associated with the Automattic brands you’re promoting.
You don’t have to use the provided creative. Original content can be a great way to introduce Automattic products to your audience, especially when you can explain how you’ve used a product or why you recommend it.
Track your performance
Once you’ve started sharing your tracking links, use Impact reporting to see how your content is performing.
You can use Impact reports to monitor activity such as:
- Clicks on your tracking links
- Sales or other eligible actions
- Commissions and earnings
- Pending and approved transactions
Keep in mind that tracking data isn’t always immediate. It can take some time for clicks and purchases to appear in your Impact account.
You don’t need to monitor your reports constantly. Checking your performance regularly can help you understand which content and products are generating interest and where you may want to focus your efforts.
Explore more as you need it
Impact includes many tools and settings that you may not need when you’re first getting started. Once you’re comfortable creating links and checking your performance, you can explore additional reporting, account, and promotional features.
Add Automattic as a contact in your email platform so you’ll receive every Automattic Creator Program newsletter. Newsletters arrive by email and keep you up-to-date on important brand and product updates that occur throughout the year.
For help with a specific Impact feature, you can also use Impact’s Help Center or contact Impact Support.
For additional information about getting started with the Automattic Creator Program, these articles can help:
