Thanks to sites that will promote anything for a buck and sneaky offers that hide recurring credit card charges in the fine print, affiliate marketing has a bad reputation in many circles BUT it doesn’t have to be that way.
There ARE ethical ways to offer affiliate links on your Web site or blog and there are merchants whose products and services are worth sharing. While we generally focus on shareasale.com because they have a reputation for running the cleanest, most ethical affiliate marketing network, another network worth considering is Commission Junction.
It is less expensive for merchants to get started on ShareASale or Promote Your Online Store so you can find more small businesses there. Commission Junction is one of the highest priced ways for businesses to offer an affiliate program (but they weren’t always), so they have many big brands and older, very established programs.
The first thing new affiliates need to know about Commission Junction is that if you don’t stay active and make at least one sale every six months it will cost you. From their site:
“A $10 fee is charged to accounts that do not earn a commission in 6 months. You are required to earn a commission every 6 consecutive months in order to remain active within our system. After six months without having made a sale, your account will be deactivated due to dormancy. If you have funds within your account, they will be deducted $10 per month on the 1st until the balance is $0, at which time the account will be deactivated.”
And as you can see from that wording, if you don’t make a sale before you run out of money in your account you lose your account. This is the penalty for dabbling in affiliate marketing but not making it a priority.
We know about this because we (my JV partners and I) have a Commission Junction account but haven’t been actively promoting merchants there. We usually focus on ShareASale. That said, it would be best not to let this CJ account go – and we are probably not the ONLY affiliates to run into this issue – so let’s brainstorm.
Tomorrow we have an awesome guest post from @SunshineTricia on Why Bloggers Should Care About Affiliate Marketing so this is a good lead in to get us all thinking about how affiliate marketing can benefit us.
What merchants, products and services do you feel are worthwhile? I will start sharing some merchant programs I’ve joined but not promoted that I would LOVE to have feedback on. I will also share tips on what has generated the most money and invite other bloggers and affiliates to do the same.
My number one TOP PICK for affiliate programs is one that will work for just about any site: magazines. Magazine subscriptions and now the new digital magazines are the easiest affiliate programs to promote because:
- They have very high commissions of usually 20-35%.
- There are quality magazines related to almost any niche.
- They make great gifts because the recipient can enjoy them all year long.
- You don’t have to explain anything for your readers and visitors to understand what you’re offering.
- Reviewing your favorite magazines makes for strong content for your blog or Web site.
MAGAZINE AFFILIATE PROGRAMS:
I’m putting magazines first because back in the early days of the Internet before blogs they were my top seller. Magazines are the “gift that keeps on giving” so they’re perfect for gifts because there are magazines for just about every interest (which also means for just about ANY blogging niche).
Here are some examples of magazine affiliate programs and creatives sorted by commissions offered*:
*Note that simply choosing the merchant offering the highest commission will NOT necessarily generate the highest income for you. Watch for future posts on why that is true and that explain how to evaluate affiliate programs.
Blue Dolphin
35% Commission + Performance Incentives
This is a 300×250 medium rectangle ad block – a popular size in blogs and you’ll see that many blogs including this one position a 300×250 ad block near the top of their right sidebar (a sidebar simply means column) above the fold.
Another popular size for ads is 468×60 (shown below) – popular because it fits easily into a blog post and can be used at the top, bottom or anywhere in the middle of a post. I was recently reminded by a comment in my post about CommentLuv Premium that it can be wise to use more than one banner in a post that is offering a product or service.
Zinio offers 20% commissions on digital magazines.
Here is an example of a canned affiliate text link for MagMall:
Huge Magazine Subscription Savings of up to 85% off Retail Prices
MagMall also pays 20% and is experimenting with advanced text links that allow you to link to a specific type of magazine or specific magazines. Note that most affiliate programs offer a variety of banner sizes and text links.
SHAREASALE MAGAZINE AFFILIATE PROGRAMS:
There are a TON of magazine affiliate programs. Those mentioned above are all on Commission Junction. Here are some on ShareASale:
- Magazine Agent 40-45% commissions, 90 days: Black Friday Deals – $5.00 Magazine Subscription Deals
- Subscription Agent 30% commissions, cookie never expires:
- Education Magazines
- Home & Garden Magazines
- Parenting Magazines
- Sports Magazines
- (Many other text links available.)
- MagazinesUSA 25%, 30 days
- MagazineDiscountCenter 30-60%, 90 days
Some magazines are even cutting out the middle man and offering their own affiliate programs:
- Women’s Happiness Magazine 70% 60 days – more of an online forum than a magazine
Unfortunately, most affiliate managers must not be as familiar with blogs as you might expect because many of them – especially the ones on Commission Junction – do not offer 125×125 ad blocks which are very popular on blogs.
You can request affiliate managers to provide additional specific sizes and some programs but not all allow you to create your own deep links. Those are excellent strategies so I’ll work on future posts on how to create affiliate links to specific pages for Commission Junction merchants similar to a previous post on How to Deep Link ShareASale.
I only want to promote worthy businesses and products
with an emphasis on small business.It is far easier to find big brands to promote than
small businesses, but I encourage bloggers to make that effort.
I’ll be writing more blog posts about types of affiliate programs that will work for most niches and invite bloggers to contact me if they would like to do a guest post on their most successful affiliate offers.
Anyone willing to share which affiliate programs work best for you in a guest post OR in the comments of this post? We’d love to hear from you.
Are You a Blogger?
Take this 3-minute survey on how bloggers monetize content.
You’ll be making a difference for many bloggers and Vernessa and I thank you.Early results are covered in these posts:
Part 1: Established Methods to Monetize Blogs.
Part 2: Survey: How Bloggers Monetize Blog Content.
Part 3: Improvements Pave the Way to Monetize Blogs.More conclusions to follow to increase YOUR income, too!
DISCLOSURE: Just in case anyone isn’t totally clear on this concept, YES those ARE affiliate links in this post and YES if you happen to buy something after you click on one of them YES we might – if everything works right and you haven’t click on some other affiliate cookie leaving link – be paid a commission.
AFFILIATE MARKETING TIPS:
- Making Money with Your Blog – Part 1 – Understanding Affiliate Programs
- Affiliate Tips Tuesday: Holiday Promotions
- Merchant Affiliate Management Tips
- Recommended Wedding Affiliate Program: Bridaluxe
- Gift Affiliate Programs Make Dollars and Sense
- How to Evaluate a Merchant Gift Affiliate Program
AFFILIATE MARKETING BLOGS:
- Shawn Collins Affiliate Tips
- AdamRiemer.me Affiliate Marketing Management Tips
- Tricia.me Affiliate Marketing Introduction for Newbies
- Deborah Carney’s Affiliate ABCs Blog
Gail Gardner
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CJ is the biggest Affiliate Network, but their policies of charging the merchants need to be altered, to make it more and more popular and merchant friendly.
Hi Samsonn,
Yes, CJ is expensive so small businesses will use ShareASale.com instead.
Gail Gardner would love you to read ..Can Trump Help Small Businesses in the USA?
Yep, rightly said, Gail Gardner. Now a days, small merchants are moving more towards shareasale. It helps them grow well and make good profits.
Hi,
I think Commission Junction is still the top affiliate marketing platforms for selling physical products online. Thanks for reminding beginners how it works!
has anyone try volusion in house affiliated program?
Hello,
When I managed AdWords accounts full time for a living, Volusion was one of the top three ecommerce solutions. They also provide the free chat service I recommend most. Based on that I would trust their in-house affiliate program.
growmap would love you to read ..Gifts for Bloggers and Other Desk Workers: Staying Warm ~ Which Heaters Work Well and SAFELY?
Before this i never heard about CJ so it is something new for me and interesting. I love to know like this knowledge and improve my talent. I thank you for this great contribution and it is really praiseworthy. Thanks again.
CJ is the oldest affiliate network I am aware of and I’ve used it off and on since the mid-1990s. Start with magazines – that is the best converting, best paying option for most sites.
I’ve been hearing a lot about this affiliate programs but I’m not really familiar about it or how it works. Does that really work? I’m a bit skeptical about it that’s why I’m trying to research more about it since almost all the sites I’ve been visiting offers this.
Hi Mikaila,
Yes, it really works and especially if you choose products or services that your readers would be interested in. As I mentioned, start by promoting specific magazines as they are a strong seller with high commissions and there are magazines related to almost any site.
growmap would love you to read ..Why Your Geographic Location IS a Niche
I’ve never tried commission junction. But it sounds cool but their policy is so wicked.
You know I’m really glad to see this because something has been bothering me. I run a website basically for feline health and I only recommend products I feel are safe for pets. I had joined CJs under recommendations of one of the companies I recommend on my site. Immediately I had problems with them not registering my sales and not paying me! I could not get any help from them whatsoever, they couldn’t have cared less. It was so frustrating as I’m new to this. I’m not looking to make a million dollars (although of course that would be nice) but I’m busy running a support site so I don’t have time to fight all day with these people. Anyways, I decided it wasn’t worth it and went with Shareasale which I have to say are the NICEST people to deal with. I just wish they had more accounts aimed at my genre. But I am giving them a lot of leads.
What kills me is that EVERYONE out there seems to be affiliated with CJs yet if you google “problems with commission junction” you’ll see pages worth of people saying the same thing I did. So why are these companies so eager to be affiliated only with them? I don’t get it? As I said, I’m new to this so forgive my ignorance on this subject. But if someone could explain it to me, maybe I could understand better.
I’m still sticking with Shareasale though, I have had no issues at all with them and as I said, their customer service department is tops and to me that’s more important.
Hi Lisa,
CJ has been around a long time and may be at the point where their success has gone to their heads. They are among the most expensive for merchants to use so they have big corporations and operate more like a big brand. Some image conscious companies may choose them because they are well known – but if that is the main reason they need to worry about competition from Google.
I prefer ShareASale as they are geared more to individuals and small businesses. They are definitely the network small businesses should use for their affiliate programs and the best place for affiliates, too, because they have the strongest policies to protect both merchants AND affiliates.
It is not comforting to hear that you know there are sales that did not register. I assume you verified the links you’re using? I wonder if CJ credits the sale to the first or last click – that can make a big difference.
If an affiliate program credits the first click a buyer may not even remember ever having been to that site before but the first site they clicked through from will get the credit for the sale.
On the other hand, if an affiliate program credits the last click the site they were on immediately prior to purchasing gets credit for the sale. First click programs favor the well-connected people who do big launches, so I prefer that affiliate programs credit the last click with the conversion.
growmap would love you to read ..Food Safety Law – Already Passed – Imposes Up to $1 MILLION Fines for Growing or Sharing Food
Thank you for pointing out that stuff about Amazon. I’ve been thinking about promoting them for a while now, I just never got around to it. But knowing this I sure wouldn’t ever consider it again! Again thanks.
Back to topic, I have worked with CJ many times and never made a single sale. 🙂 Although I’m in Sweden so that might have something to do with it. Tradedoubler has more of the well-known webshops in my country which is why they are the obvious choice for me.
Hi Elin,
Nothing is ever as simply as it appears from the outside looking in. The two best tips I can offer about making money with affiliate programs are choosing what your readers will be interested in and pre-selling (sharing sincerely why you are interested in that product or how it benefits you) rather than selling.
If your readers go to the merchant’s site already interested they are much more likely to decide to buy.
Your location may be the reason CJ didn’t work for you. There is no easy, obvious way that I am aware of to determine which merchants ship to a particular country. (If anyone else knows do please volunteer what you know.)
I’ve made a note of Tradedoubler so I’ll know what to suggest to others in Sweden and the other 17 countries where they operate including the UK, Italy, Germany, France, Ireland, Denmark, Belgium, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland.
growmap would love you to read ..Why Bloggers Should Care About Affiliate Marketing
I’ve been a CJ affiliate for a couple of years and never realized that they deduct if you don’t make a sale for so long. I knew it happened at Clickbank. Fortunately, I’ve never had that problem.
The info on magazines will be very useful, thanks.
Definitely some good information here. There is a lot of “scammyness” in affiliate marketing. But that does not mean that it is all scammy or even close to it. Find the right products takes time and research and the more places you have to search from the better.
In many ways people worry over keyword research but finding a good strong product may even be far more important
Steve would love you to read ..45 Tips to Make MORE Money with Affiliate Marketing
Great to learn about affiliate programs for magazines–I’ve not heard of that till now.
I started with Amazon a few months back and while I’ve made a modest amount, I’m frustrated that the commission rate for their products is so low–I’ve gotten almost $6,000 for them in sales since mid August and have a paltry $400 + to show for it.
On the flip side, while it’s a smaller rate of commission, I think physical products get a WAY bigger conversion rate than digital products from placing like Clickbank that offer much higer rates of commission–so maybe it works out.
Maybe the magazine idea is a good balance between the two? I’ll have to check it out. This is the second time in 24 hours that I’ve heard the praises of Commission Junction being sung, so it looks like I’ll need to head over there and check it out for myself.
Thanks for another great article, as well as your willingness to offer a backlink to those who post comments! Much appreciated.
Hi Chris,
I encourage bloggers NOT to support Amazon because of the inhumane, dangerous way they treat their employees. If we buy from them or recommend them to others WE are condoning Amazon’s unfair labor practices.
There are plenty of other book sellers with affiliate programs and a post about them is on my to-do list.
Yes, Amazon’s site converts well – but there are things more important in life than that – including life itself. They are intentionally risking the lives of their employees and that is just EVIL.
Heat stroke KILLS and they KNOW their employment conditions are causing heat stroke because they have ambulances waiting to rush them to hospitals.
That is a ridiculous way to deal with that issue. How about installing security bars so they can open the doors and buying some industrial fans? Is THAT too much to ask?
Anyone who has ever worked in 100+ weather knows that 100 is bad but 110 is many times harder. There is NO EXCUSE and they do NOT deserve our patronage.
growmap would love you to read ..Why Bloggers Should Care About Affiliate Marketing
This was very useful – Thanks for posting it 🙂 Look forward to reading more.
I was not aware of the info on CJ before. I would like to give one surprise to you all – Have a big banner in your homepage which links to the main page of amazon.com instead of linking to specific products. I have seen people click that ad to go buy some unique stuff! I guess people tend to forget about buying some thing and once they see the banner, they get reminded of it!
Raj would love you to read ..Creative Ways You Can Rake In Lots Of Cash By Blogging
Hi Rasmus,
They may have a lot of affiliates who are struggling right now because of the economy. I hope most of the affiliates realize this BEFORE they decide they want to work harder during the prime holiday sales period and find out their account can’t be reactivated right away (if what Ray shared applies to this situation).
growmap would love you to read ..Small Business Friendly Ecommerce Social Network GoSkoop – Easy Way to Find, Track and Share Deals
I have had my cj account deactivated a couple of times. I didn’t have any earnings so I guess they could take 10 dollars from me or something. You have to wait something like 30 days and then you can simply reactivate your account, but it is kind of a bummer that they do this. So there is a time period if you are deactivated that you could lose out. I haven’t been that lucky with cj, but then again I don’t push too many cj related affiliate programs.
Ray would love you to read ..+1 Button in Google Adsense Ads
Hi Ray,
It looks like there is something even worse about having your account deactivated. From the Commission Junction FAQs:
How do I reactivate my publisher account?
If your publisher account was deactivated within the last six months, you may elect to reactivate your account. If your account has been deactivated and you attempt to log in, you will be directed to a page that will inform you that your account is no longer active. This page has a link to the publisher reactivation page.
To reactivate an account, you will be required to re-read the Commission Junction Publisher Service Agreement. To be eligible for reactivation, you must have been deactivated for dormancy (that is, your account did not have any commissionable transactions for six consecutive months), and the deactivation date must have been within the past six months. There is no limit on the number of times you may reactivate an account.
Once your account has been reactivated, all of your account settings will be restored. However, any relationships that you may have had with advertisers will be severed, and you must reapply to each advertiser program to get links and earn commissions.
If your account was deactivated for dormancy more than six months ago, you do not have the reactivation option. You will need to create a new account.
If your account was deactivated for a reason other than dormancy, you will need to use a different email address and create a new account.
growmap would love you to read ..Small Business Friendly Ecommerce Social Network GoSkoop – Easy Way to Find, Track and Share Deals
Their faqs and tos are so long and confusing they are difficult to understand. I know I reactivated it not long maybe a month ago tops. I didn’t have any earnings so I guess they couldn’t take anything. It appears that the programs or advertisers I am signed up with still exist in my account. Maybe I didn’t go over their time period for that part to kick in and happen. Like I said the faqs and tos are so lengthy and confusing, but most programs are that way.
Ray would love you to read ..5 Free awesome sources for quality photos
I have been using CJ for a while but not that seriously. Just promoting a few products here and there.
I didn’t know about the fee for not earning thing either. I have also gone through periods of time where I didn’t earn any money, but was never charged. Or Maybe I was and I didn’t realize it, since I don’t check my status very often.
What I don’t like about them is that with a lot of their advertisers, you have to be approved manual and in some case, it takes forever to get approved. Of course if its a seasonal service or a product, by the time you get approved, the season is over.
Hi Satrap,
Many of their advertisers are big business and slow as molasses is their normal mode of operation. What may freak out newbie affiliates is that not only do you sometimes have to wait forever (or never) to get approved, some programs will INSTANTLY decline your application.
Most likely that means you aren’t selling enough (which of course if you’re new you couldn’t have been), but I encourage affiliate hopefuls not to let that get them down. It just happened to me as I was writing this post and applied for some major magazines to include in it.
Their loss – not ours.
growmap would love you to read ..Small Business Internet Marketing: Where to Start
This is news to me about Commission Junction. I’ve been with them for about 3 years and have never been charged a fee. I’ve gone through periods of time where I didn’t earn anything. Perhaps it wasn’t 6 months though. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.
ConnieFoggles would love you to read ..Teleflora Sweet Fire Bouquet Giveaway
Hi Connie,
So far this has been news to every blogger I personally asked. Has anyone else noticed that affiliate sales seem really slow lately? I’m not all that serious about affiliate marketing but our ShareASale account usually generates a lot more sales than it has the last month or two – and that could be why we’ve run into this now on Commission Junction when we never have before.
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commission junction is a good offer through however i never go with it because of having no info but after reading this i think its a best chance to earn money without having much risk. thanks Growmap.