Best Affiliate Marketing Programs

Over the past couple of years, I’ve had moderate success with affiliate programs through Amazon.com, ClickBank and a few other smaller programs, but one huge affiliate network I’ve never been able to do well with is the Commission Junction network. In fact, although I’ve had an affiliate account with them for nearly two years I have yet to make one sale!

Now, to be honest, I haven’t actively pursued Commission Junction either as I have generally found their entire system confusing – everything from selecting products to creating hoplinks seems super complicated to me compared to the other affiliate programs I use. Still, I know a few internet marketers are doing quite well with Commission Junction. In fact, I would wager they are doing so well with the program in part because so many find the whole CJ interface to be complicated and confusing!

One of the internet marketers I personally know is doing very well with Commission Junction is James Hussey (a.k.a. “James the Just”) from TheAverageGenius.net. I know a lot of you who read my blog read his blog as well, and I have to say that there are only a few people I correspond with on a regular basis when it comes to internet marketing and James is one of them. I have always found him to be very generous with his information and extremely helpful when I’m seeking advice, and I trust his advice completely.

James and I also started in internet marketing around the same time – but he has left me in the dust in terms of earnings over the past year or so due largely with his success with Commission Junction. Although he no longer provides income reports on his blog, I know that he regularly earns between $5,000-$7,000 a month from Commission Junction alone.

And now James has written a massive book outlining his entire system for selecting a Commission Junction product and then promoting it on a website. By massive, I mean a nearly 300 page book that anyone who is seriously interested in promoting CJ products  needs to read: Click here to view more details CJ Tactics.

In all honesty, I think this book is a must even for people not interested in Commission Junction – his sections on how to build a website that converts and then promote it will be valuable to any internet marketer, regardless if they are promoting a Commission Junction product or not.

Still, James also makes a compelling argument as to why Commission Junction is one of the best affiliate networks today. To start, it has low affiliate competition when compared to networks like Amazon.com. (It seems like everyone and their brother, sister, cousin, aunt and uncle is promoting Amazon.com products these days -  if they aren’t living in one of the states Amazon has banned from it’s affiliate network).

For me, however, the biggest advantage are the long-lasting tracking cookies most programs use – 30 days or more, versus just 24 hours for Amazon. But there are many other reasons as well that he outlines in his book that I wasn’t fully aware of – such as the performance incentives offered by many different programs and the superior tracking CJ offers. In short, Commission Junction rocks – if you can figure out how it works!

Here is a brief summary of what you’ll find in James’ new book:

Introduction – James starts out by discussing his background in internet marketing, the format of the book, and then makes a compelling case for promoting offers using the Commission Junction system instead of Amazon, ClickBank or similar affiliate networks.

CJT Step 1:  Pick A Winning Niche – Here James shows you how to determine whether a niche is going to profitable and popular, including how to assess the potential traffic and your competition in the niche. In this section, James also makes a compelling argument to eschew the traditional method of picking a niche solely based on profitable keywords and to instead focus on niches that you personally will be passionate about (and then do the keyword research you need to do – which he discusses how to do).

CJT Step 2:  Finding Converting Products – This was the chapter I really wished I had read two years ago. Commission Junction actually has a great tracking system – it is just extremely complicated to navigate (or at least I think so). However, once you understand the system it will give you so much more detail then what you will get with Amazon.com or similar affiliate networks. James shows you in this chapter how to find out not only which programs convert the best, but which links for these programs convert the best as well. He also has some great advice about how to get a “First Strike Advantage” with new advertisers, and how to take full advantage of the “performance incentive” system offered by some CJ merchants.

CJT Step 3:  Build An Easy Site That Converts – Here James outlines the nuts and bolts of setting up a website that converts traffics into sales. Tracking performance is something he really emphasizes here, but the chapter also covers the basics of setting up a website, doing on site SEO, writing copy that converts well, how to set up your affiliate links, how many posts to write and much more. He also points readers in the direction of the best free resources out there for those who have never set up a website before. I think James’ discussion of getting the right traffic is a must read even for those who don’t end up promoting Commission Junction products. There is also a nice section on how to protect yourself against competitive espionage.

CJT Step 4: Get Buying Traffic – James actually discusses some of his link building tactics in step 3 of his book, but in step 4 he goes into even further detail on how to promote your blog successfully and safely. James’ discussion of content marketing is one of the best I’ve read lately. But his whole discussion of link building is a gem, and great for anyone looking to improve their rankings for their websites.

CJT Step 5: Profit Optimization – I think this chapter is one of the most important in the book, and one that is often neglected by other marketers. In this chapter James spells out how to multiply your profits once your have discovered a successful niche, both in terms of multiplying your “doorways” into the niche and multiplying your time and money in a certain niche. There is some great stuff in this chapter on how to outsource, and what to outsource as well. This is another valuable chapter for any internet marketer, regardless of whether they are promoting Commission Junction products or not!

How To Use Commission Junction – This was a great chapter for CJ dummies like me who have trouble even figuring out how to correctly create a CJ hoplink. In this chapter James clearly explains things like how to add your website to the CJ system, how to correctly use the system and track your efforts and understand the trend graphs, how to run both transaction and performance reports (and understand what you’re seeing) and more.

After reading this book, I’ve decided to try James’ step by step plan out on a new niche I’m trying to break into. Hopefully I’ll soon be adding “Commission Junction” to my sources of income during my monthly income reports!

James has priced the book at $67, which in my opinion is a really good deal given the quality of content in this book (I’ve paid more for similar books in the past dealing with the Amazon network and such).

James is currently offering a $50 discount on his book if you use the code: TAGTeam *  Simply go to Click here to view more details CJTactics.com – and then enter in the discount code on the checkout page.

I don’t normally due book reviews, but this really is a book I sincerely believe belongs in every serious internet marketers library, and I recommend it without reservation to my blog readers. At $67 it would be a really good deal, but with the coupon code, it’s an even better one! 

Click here to view more details