Affiliate Programs - What They Are and How to Get Paid

What Is Affiliate Marketing?

Today Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular and most effective ways to advertise on the Internet.

The Principle

It’s very simple. A company, let’s say Amazon, goes to another web site and asks them to place a banner or link to Amazon on their site. Every time a user clicks on that Amazon banner and visits the site, the owner of the original site gets a commission. It’s as simple as that!

Brief History

Affiliate marketing’s history online has been short, it goes back to approximately 1994 with the trailblazing music website Amazon.com: CDNOW. They were, as far as most people know, the first site to pay other sites for directing Internet traffic to them. Internet giant Amazon.com soon caught on and became the site most associated with affiliate marketing. Today, the practice of affiliate marketing is used by essentially every major web site in the world.

Why affiliate marketing?

One of the reasons that affiliate marketing has proven to be so popular is that it is completely based on performance. In most cases, the company doing the advertising doesn’t pay a single penny to the site that is carrying their ad unless there is evidence that Internet traffic has been driven to the advertising site. There are, however, other ways of doing affiliate marketing. Some advertising sites have paid the site hosting their link based not on the number of times an original IP visits through the link, but on the number of times the banner ad was “seen.” This method presents a whole host of problems since things like hit counts can be forged and there is no way to insure that just because someone visited a web page that had your logo on it that they even saw it or if they did, that they even knew what it was.

Other methods

They include paying only when a link is followed AND some kind of transaction takes place. This can be tough on the site hosting the link because the attention span of the average Internet user isn’t long enough in most cases to follow a link and then either complete a purchase, or fill out a form of some kind. The conventional method simply pays a host a commission for every time an original IP is directed to their site.

In only a few years affiliate marketing has become one of the top was to advertise online. When you compare it to other advertising methods such as PPC (Pay Per Click), it’s cost effectiveness is second to none. Affiliate marketing is set to become the biggest and most widely used way to advertise your product online, with many companies adopting its methods daily, its future will certainly be a bright one.

Top 5 Affiliate Programs
1. MoreNiche

Up to $175 Per Sale and Excellent Conversion Free Web/Graphic Design, Programming and Advice Amazing Support!
$$$ Worth of Guides from Top Experts Get paid Bi-Monthly by Cheque, Internation Wire Transfer or Epassporte MoreNiche provide the Best Affiliate program on the net. They boost high conversion rates of 1/40 and their 24/7 techinical support is second to none.

MoreNiche are my No.1! Their products convert like crazy! MoreNiche are the Best!!

Join MoreNiche For Free
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2. Webmasterlife

Up to $185 Per Sale and Excellent Conversion You Get Credit For All Sales 24hr Support!
Creative and Tech Help Get paid Weekly by Cheque, International Wire Transfer, Epassporte or PayPal
Join Webmasterlife for Free
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3. WorldNiche

Up to $233 Per Sale and Excellent Conversion Free Web/Graphic Design, Programming and Advice Amazing Support!
$$$ Worth of Guides from Top Experts Get paid Bi-Monthly by Cheque, Internation Wire Transfer or Epassporte

Join WorldNiche For Free
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4. Genbucks

50% Comission On Selected Products + Great Conversion Rates Weekly Commission Payments or Pay-On-Demand 24/7 Technical Support and Sales Support
Free Domains and Hosting, 100's of Sites and Tools to Choose From! A Free ATM Card Genbucks is one of the top affiliate programs carrying products across many categories, such as Herbal Supplements, Electronics, Men's Health Products and Bed & Bath.

Join Genbucks

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5. World Wide Brands

World's Largest Database of eCommerce Wholesalers Instant Market Research Daily Wholesalers Updates
Instant Imports Buys Drop Ship Wholesalers, Light Bulk Wholesalers and Large Volume Wholesalers Have you ever thought about selling products online? But didn't know where to source your products! Well... With World Wide Brands you can start selling online today! They are the only source you will ever need!

Join World Wide Brands

7 Important Facts

Keep in mind these 7 Important Facts, and you will see early success.

1. Only Promote niche products

2. Newbie's should avoid google adwords!

3. Promote high commission products.

4. Promote products that have high conversion rates.

5. Build your own website for you niche product.

6. Use SEO/SEM to promote your website and stay away from any black hat techniques.

7. As you expand on your websites, deligate your time and use it to it's maximum potential

Summary
Find a product in a niche market to promote, target that market and through trial and error you will accumulate the experience to master that market. Profits will accrue, from a trickle to a steady stream.

Why Making You Richer?

MakingYouRicher is not like your usual program, it is completely unique. It is a fully comprehensive guide with resources enabling you to start making money online easily. The MYR program will set you on your way to a wealthier future.

Let me put the facts down! This is what you get when you join MakingYouRicher.

A Step by Step Guide, with Live Support. Exclusive Members Area Easy to Follow Steps to Launching your web site Free professionaly designed websites! Professionaly written articles for your site Free Hosting for your website for a Year! $100's of Dollars worth of Tools and Resources. You will also recieve up to $45 Dollars within days off joining, without making a single sale!

If you are looking to make money online, and you want to avoid the learning curve. This program is for you!

Join MakingYouRicher

Common Affiliate Mistakes

Since the explosion of affiliate marketing in the last few years, nearly every search result yields a number of affiliate sites. A lot of these sites are successful and some aren’t. I want to point out a few common mistakes affiliate marketers make when setting up website.


Understand Your Affiliate Program.

Always make sure you completely understand the affiliate program you’re signing up for. It can be really tough to turn down that one program that brags about the huge commission, but if the program is selling car parts and you don’t even drive, you might want to pass it up. If you know a lot about sports or pets or horses, try to find an affiliate marketing program geared towards your area of expertise, as it will be a lot easier that way. You might not become a millionaire overnight, but in the long run, you’ll make a LOT more money that way, and you’ll enjoy the affiliate marketing experience a lot more, too.

Make Sure Your News Letters Aren’t Junk.

If you have the option on your site for folks to sign up for emails, make sure the ones you send out are informative and fun and not spam. Yes, you want to make sure you get the links of the product you’re selling in the email, but you have to take the time to set it up so it doesn’t look like spam or people will get annoyed with your site, opt out of your emails and never visit your site again. There is a very thin line between success and failure and it is really is worth your time to put in that extra effort. If you are willing to go that little bit extra and create something informative you will see huge rewards in your sales.

Don’t Copy Content!

Try to write your own content, as it will pay off in the long term. It’s not unheard of for a person to visit a number of different affiliate marketing websites and see the exact same content on all of them. The site creators simply used the same public domain copy and didn’t even bother to change it up at all. Don’t let this happen to you. The only way your site will stand out among all the garbage is to make sure your content is completely unique.

Forget About Your Mistakes

Making mistakes are bound to happen when you start a new business. It’s going to happen, so don’t panic when it does. But with a little research, and a bit of common sense, you can avoid most of the mistakes that plague the laziest of the affiliate website creators.

Commission Junction,Review.

Commission Junction is an online advertising company owned by ValueClick. It is specifically in the affiliate marketing industry.

Commission Junction is the largest affiliate network in North America, powering almost 50% of the top 500 web retailers affiliate marketing programs[1][2] and operates worldwide. Along with being the world's largest Affiliate Network, Commission Junction also promotes their Search Marketing services and their media services. Their corporate headquarters is located in Santa Barbara, California. Commission Junction has also offices in the UK, Germany, France and Sweden.

Good Points: The good points about Commission Junction is that you can make lot's of money with them I did at first.

Bad Points: If you start making to make a lot of money at first there going to try to find ways to get out of paying people there commissions.

General comments: When I first started with Commission Junction I was making a lot of money everyday untill they told me that I was not going by TOS. That's not true at all in fact it seems like they think that I work for them but I work for my coustomers and I own my own business. Is there something just like Commission Junction out there that I can jump right in to and start making money?
robertt's review and ratings | 122 words
Review by
judgeandjury
on 18th Oct 2005

User Rating : 3
Respect : 0
Commission Junction interface is hard to navigate, keeps crashing. Stay well clear.
judgeandjury's full review | 15 words
Review by
adrianallen99
on 16th Apr 2004

User Rating : 2
Respect : 0
Commission Junction seemed to be good, but I have just recently requested payment and found my account has been put on payment review for 30 days and then if they think I have increased clicks they will terminate my account. This is very annoying and I don't think I'm the only one who has had this problem. My advice would be to look elsewhere or deal directly with the companies of which you want to become an affiliate.
adrianallen99's full review | 110 words
Review by
kelspalace
on 9th Feb 2004

User Rating : 10
Respect : +1
Commission Junction offer a fantastic business opportunity from people working from home (who have a website) wanting to earn an extra income brilliant companies on offer easy to join and add links to - Their payment structure is second to none - I now receive a guaranteed monthly cheque which is always more every month!
kelspalace's full review | 71 words
Review by
Dave M..
on 25th Feb 2003

User Rating : 3
Respect : +4
They used to be a good and reliable bunch, but since they've left the pay per click system, they've gone downhill in many respects. When I requested payment, next thing I knew was that they terminated my account, accusing me of cheating! This was supposedly detected by their infallible anti-cheating software... I subsequently emailed them several time asking for an explanation, and they never replied once! What can you do! I'd say skip them if you're looking for a company with integrity.


Commission Junction, a web-based, "pay for performance" company has been around for about a year. They provide a 3rd party mechanism for "marrying" top merchant e-tailers with vast numbers of individual web sites (affiliates). These affiliates carry content that can promote their products. In exchange, the merchant pays the affiliate a commission.

While Affiliate Marketing isn't new, CJ's commitment to customer service and continual service enhancements make them stand out from their competitors. For affiliates, they offer over 900 merchants (like Tower Records and Fingerhut) to choose from, each with easy-to-grab links of various sizes and messages to place on your site.

A new feature is the "virtual store," where affiliates can select individual products from various merchants to create a customized store on their own site, earning commissions on all sales. This is a pretty cool way for affiliates to easily access a large number of products, and for merchants to put their products in front of even more potential customers.

Without a doubt, one of the best features is the "one check per month" policy for commission payments. Affiliates who earn over $25 in commissions from any of their merchants will be paid in one aggregate check every month.

Also, the affiliate (or Merchant) can track his sales online, real time, anytime from the CJ site.

There are other ways of making money besides the commissions on sales. You get $1 for a new affiliate and 5% off of their sales. With this 2-tier program you can make substantial money if you recruit a real hot site. Recruit a new merchant and get a $150 referral fee.

They also have a number of services targeted towards the Merchants. They offer one-on-one account managers to help Merchants make the most of their program, plus the whole thing is web based, meaning merchants do not have to buy and install software to run a good affiliate program. CJ will also take over and begin the management of existing programs for those merchants who are in over their heads when it comes to handling their growing affiliate programs.

Commission Junction has recently received a $40 million investment. This vote of financial confidence bodes very well for this company and all those who choose to join.

I became an affiliate recently, and I would recommend that you do so as well. Happy commissions!

Commission Junction offers thousands of premium affiliate products for sale. It is very expensive for merchants to use Commission Junction, so only large, well-developed businesses tend to use the service.

For affiliate marketers, this means the products are generally of high quality and easier to sell.

On the other hand, these are not digital products, but usually physical goods that need to be packaged and delivered. Moreover, 'big' businesses tend to have smaller profit margins per product sale, instead relying on a high sales volume to make an overall high profit. What this means for affiliates is low commissions per sale.

Commission Junction offers what is called 'smart zones' which allow affiliates to set up rotating product banners on their sites. It is an easy way to make money, and this can add advertising graphics that complement textual ads offered by other services such as Google Adsense.

Company Overview:
Commission Junction (CJ) has grown over the last year to be one of the largest affiliate program networks. They boast over 1700 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:
The foundation of the CJ affiliate program is their two-tier commission plan. What this means is that as an affiliate, you are able to earn commissions in two ways for referring new webmasters to the CJ network. First, if the person you refer goes on to join CJ (either to promote CJ directly or one of thousands of merchants), you will earn a $2 up-front referral bounty.


Second, thereafter, for as long as that person remains a CJ affiliate member, you will earn 5% of the commissions they generate for themselves. It should be noted that the referral bounty and 5% residual commissions are only applicable for new affiliates that you refer to CJ. If they were already CJ members, you will not earn these commissions.


As an example, let's say 40 people clicked through from your web site. Then, if 10 of them signed up to be a CJ affiliate, you would earn $20 in referral bounties. Lastly, if those 10 affiliates went on to be active and generate $50 each in commissions each month, you would receive $25 in second-tier commissions on a monthly basis. Although this might be a slightly optimistic example, you can see the power of the CJ program. In this example, referring 10 active affiliates to the program would net you $320 over the course of a one-year period.


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 just as their own affiliate program is two tier with, all other merchants in their network are also, by default, two-tier. The 5% second-tier commissions apply to all merchants in their network, and not just the CJ affiliate program itself.


Lastly, CJ 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-click, 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.

Commission Junction, a web-based, "pay for performance" company has been around for about a year. They provide a 3rd party mechanism for "marrying" top merchant e-tailers with vast numbers of individual web sites (affiliates). These affiliates carry content that can promote their products. In exchange, the merchant pays the affiliate a commission.

While Affiliate Marketing isn't new, CJ's commitment to customer service and continual service enhancements make them stand out from their competitors. For affiliates, they offer over 900 merchants (like Tower Records and Fingerhut) to choose from, each with easy-to-grab links of various sizes and messages to place on your site.

A new feature is the "virtual store," where affiliates can select individual products from various merchants to create a customized store on their own site, earning commissions on all sales. This is a pretty cool way for affiliates to easily access a large number of products, and for merchants to put their products in front of even more potential customers.

Without a doubt, one of the best features is the "one check per month" policy for commission payments. Affiliates who earn over $25 in commissions from any of their merchants will be paid in one aggregate check every month.

Also, the affiliate (or Merchant) can track his sales online, real time, anytime from the CJ site.

There are other ways of making money besides the commissions on sales. You get $1 for a new affiliate and 5% off of their sales. With this 2-tier program you can make substantial money if you recruit a real hot site. Recruit a new merchant and get a $150 referral fee.

They also have a number of services targeted towards the Merchants. They offer one-on-one account managers to help Merchants make the most of their program, plus the whole thing is web based, meaning merchants do not have to buy and install software to run a good affiliate program. CJ will also take over and begin the management of existing programs for those merchants who are in over their heads when it comes to handling their growing affiliate programs.

Commission Junction has recently received a $40 million investment. This vote of financial confidence bodes very well for this company and all those who choose to join.

Commission Junction (CJ) has grown over the last year to be one of the largest affiliate program networks. They boast over 1700 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.