CJ - do I really suck?

[Freddy81]

Yesterday I've put 2 CJ links on my software website. Software is related to videocard management and the links sell videocards.

Here are the ~12-14 hr. stats. Can I conclude that CJ is not for me?

Commission earned $0.00 USD
Sales 0
Leads 0
Clicks 248
Impressions 14,336
CTR 1.73%

[jimbeetle]

Here are the ~12-14 hr. stats. Can I conclude that CJ is not for me?

Basing a conclusion on 12 to 14 hours worth of data is the wrong mindset for an affiliate marketer.

For most folks, to be a successful at affiliate marketing takes much more than throwing up a couple of links and checking stats; it takes a heck of a lot of work and patience. Try "preselling" the product: Weave links into existing content. Create new pages dedicated to the product. Write reviews that "sell" folks on the features, advantages and how it benefits them.

On the technical side, make sure the links go to the specific product page and not the home page of the sponsor's site. Know your cookie length: Do folks have to "buy now" for you to get credit for the sale? Or is the cookie good for 30, 60, 90 days? Ya' never know, there might be a potential sale in one of those clicks that didn't convert as yet.

Then come back and share your successful stats with us.

[Marcia]

Can I conclude that CJ is not for me?

Nope, clickthroughs and conversions have nothing to do with the network. Conversion is up to the merchant's site and your presell, and CTR is dependent on your presentation and whether it's a well targeted product. Low CTR is usually on the affiliate's end of things, try what jimbeetle is suggesting and up your presell capabilities to improve clicks.

[Freddy81]

Thank you for your follow-ups, I have much things to learn.

Just having a 10 years old website with nicely sold software is not enough, I guess.

[Marcia]

Freddy, like everything else, it takes some time and experimentation to find what works. Generally Adsense would be a good choice for a software site, I assume you've tried that.

>>CJ links

Were they banners? Banners will generally have the lowest CTR of all, text links in context and product links are way better, but it can depend on what your site's like which choice to make. I've heard that product reviews are good for software, but again, that's not for all sites.

[jimbeetle]

Oooh, it's a 10 year old site, huh? Well then with, as Marcia said, some time and experimentation, you should be able to find a sweet spot.

And, again as Marcia said :-), banners are thought to be not as effective as text links. But when it comes to hardware, product shots are always nice. You might consider something like 120 x 120 buttons to reinforce the text links. You might also look into a program like Chitika; it's supposed to be very effective for techie type offerings.

[Freddy81]

I have and Adsense for just a year, with my ~20K uniques/day it produces only $160 per day, I know, there is very poor CTR when people come for some certain things (download program and leave the site).

The "presell" thing still sounds hell complicated for me... I've put 2 links selling videocards, but I'm beginning to realize that if people comes to download my soft, they already have a videocard :) So, I really wonder what I can promote on my page...

The site design is pretty typical - 2 vertical columns, 1st column has download/buy links, 2nd - screenshot and description.

Marcia - these are text links in the bottom of the 1st column.

[gamiziuk]

There are other networks out there, so go ahead and give those a try also.
I'm sure the paid shills from CJ will keep urging you to "never give up." But try another network and see what happens.

[edited by: eljefe3 at 3:24 am (utc) on Sep. 30, 2006]

[Marcia]

I'm sure the paid shills from CJ will keep urging you to "never give up."

And just who might the alleged paid shills be, pray tell?

I do best with my Shareasale merchants. First off, it's a parasite-free network, and the network costs are much lower, so the good merchants among them (and they're not *all* good) can and do pay higher commissions.

[jimbeetle]

A bit out of order, but...

...I'm beginning to realize that if people comes to download my soft, they already have a videocard

You might also look at it as if they're the type to use your software, they would be the type to upgrade cards more often.

The "presell" thing still sounds hell complicated for me...

Okay, then let's call it something else. How about "creating content." Write an article per day, week, month, whatever you can do, that targets a specific feature that folks should know about the cards. Weave a few text links in to specific products that are good examples of that feature. Tie it all together with your other pages.

A 10-year-old site should have some oomph, so if this new content starts to rank in the SEs it would have the added advantage of driving more traffic to the site.

[Freddy81]

Thanks very much Jim, this sounds like a plan. Writing something like a "manual" how to use the feature of the program, what specific hardware do I use and thus giving "hidden" ad links to this hardware.

Great idea!

[jimbeetle]

Good. Glad we talked it through to this point and that you think it's a doable plan.

Now get to work writing ;-)

[Marcia]

thus giving "hidden" ad links to this hardware.

LOL.. clarifying the point that the links aren't "hidden" in the code but woven into editorially written, on-topic text.

Great pointers by jimbeetle, and I think as far as choosing merchants goes, it isn't necessarily always the network they're with, but how good a merchant they are individually, how trustworthy they are, how well they convert, whether or not the site has leaks, and how they measure up to the competition with commission percentage offered and return days (which is a major consideration).