How deals work
The three deal types, who can make a deal, and what each tab and status on the Deals page means.
Updated 2026-11-02
A deal is a private agreement between one publisher and one buyer on price, inventory and dates. The publisher is the seller. The buyer is an advertiser, or an agency buying for one of its clients. Either side can start a deal, and both sides see the same price and terms.
The three deal types
| Type | Price | Volume | How it serves |
|---|---|---|---|
| Programmatic Guaranteed (PG) | A fixed CPM | A fixed number of impressions for one buyer, paced over the dates of the deal | Before the auction |
| Preferred Deal (PD) | A fixed CPM | No commitment | The buyer gets first look, before the auction |
| Private Auction (PMP) | A floor. The buyer bids at or above it | No commitment | Invitation only. The bid competes in the auction |
"Guaranteed" describes what the two sides agreed, not a promise of delivery. A publisher's traffic decides how many impressions are possible, so the forecast on a deal is an estimate. Billing is per delivered impression, after invalid traffic is filtered out.
Who can do what
- Owner, Admin and Manager team members can create and answer deals.
- Analyst team members can read deals but not act on them.
- A draft is visible only to the side that created it.
- An agency works on deals for its own clients only.
For publishers
You see a What you earn panel on each deal: what the buyer pays, the MailAdx fees and what you receive per 1,000 impressions, as an estimate. Buyers don't see this panel.
For advertisers and agencies
On a Programmatic Guaranteed deal you see a Funding panel: your wallet balance against what is left to deliver. Publishers don't see this panel.
The tabs on the Deals page
Open Deals. Each deal sits in one tab.
| Tab | What's in it |
|---|---|
| Needs your response | Offers waiting for your answer |
| Agreed | Deals that are agreed or paused |
| In negotiation | Offers waiting for the other side |
| Drafts | Deals your side hasn't sent yet |
| Closed | Deals that are cancelled, declined, withdrawn, expired or completed |
What each status means
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Saved, not sent |
| Negotiating | An offer is open and one side must answer |
| Agreed | Both sides accepted the terms. The buyer can set up delivery |
| Paused | The publisher paused it. Nothing serves until it resumes |
| Declined | The offer was declined before anything was agreed |
| Withdrawn | The sender took the offer back before anything was agreed |
| Expired | Nobody answered the offer in time |
| Cancelled | One side ended the deal. This can't be undone |
| Completed | The end date passed |
What happens next
Every step in a deal emails the other side: the publisher's contact, or the advertiser's contact and its agency if it has one. Open a deal from the list to see its terms, its history and what you can do now. The buttons you see are the ones you can use at that moment.
Next, start a deal.
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