The Basics of Commission Junction

Most webmasters and e-zine publishers have learned that writing copy for a product and making a share of the profits through affiliate advertising can be a lucrative way to boost their online incomes. For that matter, it can be a great single source of income all by itself, so long as the writer is knowledgeable on how to create enticing copy. However, learning how to use an affiliate program (a program that allows users to place ads for other companies or products on their sites in exchange for a share of the profits) can be a daunting task for the beginner. For that reason, the following is a guide to using Commission Junction, one of the largest and most sophisticated affiliate networks on the web.

Step #1: Creating your publisher account. You do not have to be an expert at affiliate marketing to simply create an account. All you will need to do is provide your contact information and the information for your website, newsletter, blog, or whatever means you desire to use for your affiliate marketing program. Simply fill in the form under the sign up link and go from there. No research required. Do be prepared to explain the purpose of your site and what kinds of products you feel would benefit the most from your articles or promotions.

Step #2: Search for links. Perhaps the quickest and simplest way for the beginner on Commission Junction to find products and services to promote is by simply entering key words that match their own sites or pages into the search box and taking a look at what comes up in the results section. For example, if you run a website on pet care, you might type in "dog," "cat," "vet," etc. While you can certainly ask for a complete list of all advertisers, this method ensures that you will view the most relevant affiliate programs first. Programs that have used similar key words to describe themselves for the site's search engine will appear for your perusal. Be aware that some programs will allow you to sign up instantly by clicking on the "join network" link, while others will make you wait through an application process. If that is the case, you will be notified if you are accepted, usually within a couple of weeks.

Step #3: Be choosy. While you can decide to sign up for as many affiliate programs as you like, it is best to start by really getting to know those that will serve you best. In other words, you want to promote products and services with professional websites that have working links and that will pay you well. Make sure to visit the outgoing pages that your visitors will be taken to should you they click on these links to make sure that the ad matches the result (in other words, an ad that you promote should never be misleading or useless to the customer). Ask yourself if you would be interested in the actual product provided based on the ad that took you there. Does the advertisement suggest that it is a link to a professional medical website, when in fact it leads to a site selling an herbal product? This is exactly what you want to avoid. You want your readers to actually gain something useful from these links, and to be interested in seeing what you promote each day. Choose wisely.

Step #4: Understand how you make money. Unlike Google Adwords, affiliate networks rarely, if ever, pay per click. Instead, they pay only upon an actual purchase or action. A purchase profit is self-explanatory. You will make a percentage of the profits from each sale that originated with a click on one of your links. However, some affiliates will pay you for every person you send them that completes a certain action, such as filling out a form, completing a survey, or signing up for a newsletter. On Commission Junction, you can find out how an affiliate pays you before signing up with them by simply clicking on the link you are interested in. If the payment information is not clear, do not sign up!

Step #5: Choose your ad. After choosing your affiliates, you will need to select the type of ads you want to use. Most offer text ads, keyword links, and various banner ads. What you choose will depend on the section of your web page that you plan to advertise in, as well as the actual offers made in each ad. For example, you might feel that the words used in a particular banner ad for one affiliate are more enticing than the text ad they have created. On the other hand, you may feel that a text ad would be more suited to your space requirements. You can choose a different ad every time, and you can choose html or Javascript codes for each.

The best part about using Commission Juncion is the service provided for beginners. The process is simple. Sign up, choose your programs, and get the codes. Commission Junction will tell you how many clicks have been made on your links, as well as what your commission totals are, right on your publisher home page. Just place ads well, and Commission Junction will do the rest.

Commission Junction: a guide to affiliate marketing

Company Overview:

Commission Junction (CJ) has grown over the last year to be one of the largest affiliate program networks. They boast over 2000 merchants at the time of this review, and are adding new merchants on literally a daily basis. There are a variety of reasons why CJ has been able to grow so quickly.

First, they offer very competitive pricing for their merchants, compared to competing networks like BeFree and LinkShare. This has allowed CJ to not only sign up some big-name web properties, but also attract dozens of more smaller, more targeted, niche merchants. Second, CJ has continuously improved their own affiliate program to provide more benefits to affiliates, and encourage them to help grow the CJ network. It CJ’s own affiliate program that we will look at for the purpose of this review, however we will also touch on many aspects of CJ that carry over to all of their merchant partners.

Program Details:

CJ offers a variety of other benefits to affiliates. First, unlike many of the other affiliate networks, commissions earned from all merchants are pooled together in one check, and you are paid monthly by CJ directly (not by the merchant). The advantage here is that if you sign up for, say, 10 different CJ merchant’s affiliate programs, and each one earns you $5, you will be paid the full $50 you earned. With many other affiliate networks, you would have been paid nothing since you would have not reached the normal minimum check sizes they set (generally $25-100 per merchant). Additionally, CJ offers centralized online commission reports for all merchant programs.

A second advantage of CJ is that it offers a wide variety of affiliate programs that you can promote on your site. Since they have attracted many smaller merchants, many of them are highly targeted, focusing on a particular niche. This is very useful if your site is also very targeted, since it will increase the likelihood of finding a merchant that is appropriate for your audience. Programs in CJ also range across all types of affiliate commission models, including pay-per-lead and pay-per-sale.

Visitor Feedback:

So, what kind of feedback has been received about CJ? From a merchant’s point of view, I have only received excellent feedback, and from numerous sources. CJ offers a well-designed, well-implemented solution at a reasonable price.

From an affiliates point of view, I have received slightly more mixed feedback. Earlier in CJ’s history there were some reports of missed commissions or suspected inaccurate tracking. However, a quick look at my email archives doesn’t show a complaint in the last 9 months, so it can be assumed that CJ has ironed out any possible problems they have had.

I have in the last 9 months received several pieces of good feedback, including many reports that CJ always pays on time and accurately. With a poor payment record generally being the major source of complaints for any affiliate program, I am confident in recommending CJ at this time.