Commission Junction

[bostonseo]

Can anyone provide input on their experience with Commission Junction. I spoke with a sales respresentative today and there are a few items that have me wondering about this program.

1) The one time set up fee of $2,250. That seems very high to me; any program that won't let you try things out first usually has something to hide. However maybe this is the case to prevent shady customers and small time players'.

2) They take 30% of the sales lead price. So if I pay a publisher $10 for a lead I really wind up paying $13.33.

3) I am an advertiser that to date has really only done Overture and Google Adwords; I spend in excess of $50,000 a month and am looking to grow my business so affiliate marketing seemed appropriate. But I'm hesitant to move forward with Commission Junction until I got some input.

Appreciate your thoughts

[skibum]

For the payment processing, access to affiliates, and the intuitive interface $2,250 is a bargain setup price IMO. Presumably they don't offer "trials" because in order for an affiliate program to be successful, it requires a commitment.

An affiliate marketing program isn't something that can be "tried" for 3 months to see if it works. To launch an affiliate program and get some links out there it is probably going to take 3-6 months unless there are publishers already lined up to start promoting it. CJ may provide you with access to a demo account so you can go in and check out the interface if they think the program has potential and you're likely to sign on to the network.

If the resources already exist inhouse to expose the program to thousands of affiliates, process all the W2 forms, cut all the checks, and do all the tracking, then CJ is probably not worth the investment. If they are not, then CJ is a bargain.

It's important to go in with realistic expectations. Unless a merchant has an awesome offer (high payouts and a site that converts) or operates in a unique niche that is still not overrun with affiliate programs, it still takes a ton of work to get up and going. It's not like putting up a PPC program and letting it run.

[jcoronella]

Marketing your program to SEO's is a big part of a successful aff. marketing program. CJ, Linkshare, et. al. provide a lot of exposure to a lot of affiliates. You can achieve this yourself, but 2500 is not a lot to pay for the boost those networks give you. If you have the time and experience to do it yourself, you can definitely save money, but don't under staff the effort.

[Porkchop]

Check your inbox...I sent a sticky :-)

[eljefe3]

As an alternative, if you have a lot of good affiliates lined up who you know will make sales, you could have an inhouse program provided you have the manpower to administer the program.

CJ and other networks are good for exposure, but to get the good affiliates you will probably need to contact them directly regardless of whether you are in a network or not.

[bostonseo]

Great feedback All. I've not some conversations with companies that want basically as much as CJ would charge and have first page SEO rankings on Google/Yahoo. That being said it's probably in my best interests to strike deals with them directly.

Not knocking CJ, sounds like there is a lot they provide, but might as well try other avenues before CJ.

Thanks

[gethan]

From an affiliates perspective - after being in a few affiliate programs where I sent thousands of clicks yet never saw a sale - I steer clear of in house affiliate programs... factor that in as well.

[papamaku]

CJ and other networks are good for exposure, but to get the good affiliates you will probably need to contact them directly regardless of whether you are in a network or not.

But how how do you identify who are the good affiliates?

[Eccus]

Having dealt with CJ as both affiliate manager and affiliate, I can say that you can sign with any network but it doesn't guarantee a successful affiliate program.

Cj and the other networks has an affiliate pool but they do not necessarily screen them for you. You have to hire and affiliate manager to do it for you.

I had the experience with CJ where I found one of my banners on a child porn site hosted with geocities. I called CJ and ask for that affiliate to be terminated on the spot and they couldn't do it. I ended up contacting geocities and they took the page down.

With a big network like CJ, you will be exposed to a large pool of affiliates but only the top 1% of affiliates make 90% of commissions.

Since their merger with BeFree, CJ will not negotiate rates but at least they don't request exclusivity of your program with them.

If you are afraid of the set up fee and want to run a cheaper experiment, take a look at Shareasale. Their set up fee is $150 and 20% commission. After 3 months, see if it made sense and then you can think about going to CJ.

If you need contacts, etc. Send me a PM

[growingdigital]

As an affiliate I trust the CJ network more than any other network out there. I belong to affiliate programs with Linkshare, Direct Track, and other in house programs. In my experience, CJ is the most reliable. They never miss a payment, and if there is ever a problem they have been there to fix it fast. I can't lend that kind of support to any other affiliate program I belong to.

Just my 2 cents...

[jcoronella]

But how how do you identify who are the good affiliates?

All you have to do is search in Google, Yahoo and MSN. Start with search terms that are in your industry and go through each site to find affiliate sites. Make an effort to contact them and tell them about your program.

After that, try search terms related to your industry. Affiliates that sell 'wodgets' and not 'widgets' that are at the top of the 'wodget' SERPs but not yet the 'widget' serps are probably your best prospects since they may not have much effort into your specific 'widgets' (and may not have a pre-existing relationship with your direct competitor).

You might try searching way outside your industry, but be careful not to out-class yourself. It will be much harder to convincie a top affiliate in a super competitive industry to promote a product that doesn't have the same super competitive payouts. (although you might get lucky)

Another benefit of the networks is that they will recommend top affiliates AND you will be able to contact them with ease.