Top 3 affiliate sites...

Who else rivals CJ?

[Nick_W]

Hi

I only really know CJ and for my first affiliate project feel I'm best served by something like this.

What are the top 3 CJ like sites?

Cheers

Nick

[pleeker]

Linkshare is the one I'm most familiar with.

[Nick_W]

Well, Ive just joined to get a look at what they do and I must say I'm impressed. Lot's of stuff to choose from and some big names also...

Thanks

Nick

[pleeker]

You're welcome. They have added a fair amount of big names lately.

Are you looking to be a merchant who wants affiliates under you, or are you looking to be an affiliate referring customers to other merchants?

[Nick_W]

To be an affiliate. Time I started putting all my skills to better use than just web design. I've spent some time researching a category (gifts for men) and need to hook up with a half dozen or so merchants throug cj and now Linkshare.

Is it difficult to link directly to the merchants order form for a product? Would this be possible for most merchants?

Thanks

Nick

[pleeker]

Every merchant is different, but I think all the ones we've ever used allow direct linking to individual products. Some even provide code that updates automatically, like weekly specials -- you post the banner or link or whatever, and it changes every week on their end.

Good luck.

[buckworks]

Check out Performics.com

Be aware that CJ and Performics have "consolidated checks" and Linkshare doesn't. With LS you have to earn the minimum with each merchant individually before you get a check. The others combine your earnings from all your merchants so you can reach the minimum more easily and get paid sooner.

[Nick_W]

Thanks, I did have a brief look at them a week ago or so but foound their site just too confusing to even know where to start.

But, i'll give them another shot just for you. Afterall, I've seen you mention them a couple of times and I really like the consolidated idea.

Many thanks

Nick

[tigger]

Have you looked at Tradedoubler? I've been running some of their partners for sometime on my site and find then to be excellent.

My only criticism about TD is the site is very slow to navigate around, but they do have a good selection of products to choose from and most if not all are UK based stores

[Marcia]

There's also befree.com

[Nick_W]

Great! Are they a centralized payout or per merchant?

Nick

[tigger]

Centralized I think the minimum payout is £50 paid by bank transfer

[diddlydazz]

Tradedoubler's threshold is £30 but you need a UK bank account.

They are pretty good and they answer questions quick ;)

Dazz

[musicales]

Clickbank?

[Marcia]

This is more than three. Which would be classified as the top 3, or would it depend on whether it's in the US or UK? And what classifies some better than others?

[Mike_Mackin]

>And what classifies some better than others?

If they pay their affiliates all the time and every time ;)

[tigger]

I would say the top UK affilliates sites

Trade Doubler
UK Affiliates
Affiliates Window

These affiliates tend to only display UK stores, which does that a lot of the hard work out of trying to find the stores you want to display on your site if you are aiming towards the UK market

[Drastic]

Don't limit yourself to the big networks, also look for individual sites that sell the products/services you are promoting.

In-house affiliate programs are often better run, pay higher commissions, allow more leeway in your promotions, and offer more communication.

[eljefe3]

I've also found in 3 years of internet marketing that individual programs pay out better than the big networks. the big networks take out a large chunk for their "overhead and profit".

Before jumping into any individual affiliate program, make sure you contact other affiliates to inquire about payment history, conversions etc.