Commission Junction why it works and why it doesn’t.

3 People Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on December 29, 2006 in Affiliate Networks, Affiliate Tips  

I get asked all the time if I use Commission Junction (http://www.cj.com/) on my sites or promotions. I do use CJ on my sites but I don’t use them as much as I could or should. I will discuss the ups and downs with CJ and why I use them sparsely.

First, CJ is great because it has tons of businesses and ads all in one place. If you are looking to do either CPA promotion or Sales promotion this could be the place for you. Of course they have the E-bay affiliate program which can make you lots of cash.  CJ gives you lots of options and products to choose from in one place which is great.

Second, CJ’s interface is not intuitive. While getting to your reports of statistics and sales is easy, but if you are trying to search for new advertisers plan to spend your time searching. The search works but it appears that for some reason some of the biggest companies are the hardest to find. A perfect example is for Bass Pro Shops, If you log into your account choose get links and input in the search box “Bass Pro Shops” you get back 0 results. This is just one example but this happens for many companies. The work around for this is to visit the website you want to join find their affiliate link then choose the link that states you are already a member of CJ, but having to do this makes no sense.

Thirdly, CJ does do charge backs. A charge back is when you provide a lead or a sale but advertiser comes back sometimes weeks later and states that lead or sale wasn’t valid and in turn you don’t get paid. I have talked with many people that have had this happen, while many big advertisers can handle the charge backs those starting out new can be squeezed out of the affiliate game due to this. I believe the charge back issue is something CJ needs to fix soon as this causes many publishers to steer clear.

Lastly, CJ is the only option to promote some goods. Even with its issues if you have a site or a way to promote some of the companies CJ lists you should sign up and try promoting. Be for warned that you may get frustrated at times but also be warned you could make a good bit of money promoting other peoples products or offers.

If you have any suggestions or feedback feel free to leave us a comment.

CPA Affiliates Wishes Everyone a Merry Christmas

3 People Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on December 24, 2006 in CPA Affiliate Announcements  

I hope that everyone has had a great year in the world of internet marketing. For me it has been astounding and still growing daily! I want to take the time to thank all of those that read this blog and hope you can at least gleam a few nuggets of information from it. I hope everyone has safe travels and wish everyone a Merry Christmas.

Elite Retreat with Lee Dodd Dave Taylor Aaron Wall and Jeremy Schoemaker Part 1

4 People Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on December 20, 2006 in Affiliate Information, Affiliate Tips, Elite Retreat  

Many of you have been posting or commenting about the Elite Retreat that recently took place in San Antonio Texas. Prior to the conference many were posting negative feedback and saying that it wasn’t going to be worth the $4,850 entry fee. After attending the two day conference I personally feel they should charge more. I will discuss why attending the Elite Retreat was more than worth it to me.

 

First, it wasn’t just about the four main speakers, Lee Dodd, Dave Taylor, Aaron Wall, and Jeremy Schoemaker (Shoemoney). When the conference started the main speakers introduced themselves and then every attendee introduced themselves with a brief background. After the attendees gave their background you realize that you have opportunities to learn from the attendees in addition to the main speakers. I made connections with some of the attendees that would have never happened without me attending and I know that the connections will pay off for both parties.

 

Second, the secrets were shared. Many people had doubts and stated the speakers will not share their secrets. The speakers realize it is the World Wide Web and there is plenty of room for us all to make money. When I say secrets were shared that doesn’t mean a free handout of here is the keywords, here is the ad to use, here is a site to buy, or here is a free buck. It was more of displaying this is a tool I use or created to give me an edge, some are out there for free but some are ones you would have to get made yourself. BUT we now have the edge and knowledge of tools that can help us now and in the future with increasing our search engine rankings and monetization of our sites.

 

Third, we all received real feedback and ideas for our websites. During one of the sessions they asked if people wanted feedback for their sites. Of course people were more than willing to have there site shown on the display screen, but not only was there great input and feedback given from the leaders but the attendees chimed in with nuggets of information also. The information given would help catapult those sites to the next level in sales, SEO, and monetization. If you didn’t want to have your sites up in front of everyone on the second day of the conference you had the opportunity for 1 on 1 time with each speaker. The 15 minutes of one on one time was worth the cost alone, I have over two pages of notes just from the individual attention time.

 

Fourth, you leave with new ideas, and ways to grow your sites or even start new ones. I know every single person left the conference and could not wait to get back and implement some of the ideas that were shared. I will be posting in the near future about some of the ideas I received at the conference and how much they benefited my sites monetarily and even boosting my search engine rankings. I honestly feel within a month I will have earned the money back that I spent on the Elite Retreat.

Goals for 2007

2 People Speaking Their Mind - Put In Your Two Cents!

Posted on December 15, 2006 in Affiliate Tips, CPA Affiliate Announcements  

Ok everyone here are my goals for the year 2007!

1. Improve my health as a web entrepreneur, we have atendacy to sit on our rears a lot. I have a gym membership but have been maybe 10 times. (I do play basketball every other tuesday though)

2. Increase Company profit by 40%.

3. Do even more Networking by attending conferences. 

4. Do more experiments with PPC (including 3rd tier)

5. Hire a Web Designer and Programmer. (Ties a little bit to #2) 

6. Finish 3 sites that I have been working on since March 2006.

7. Get my 2nd Business off the ground that I am partnering with my Dad on.

8. Get CPA Affiliates shirts made and give some away!

9. Revamp one of my first sites Based on Investing - http://www.investingpub.com. As in 2006 it basically got neglected.

Well those are my goals for 2007 what are yours?  Again this is goals not resolutions, as for me resolutions never stick but goals usually do.

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