Hi CJ users! a slightly unusual request, perhaps... I'm writing an article about pros / cons of CJ and wondered if anyone could contribute their 2c worth... just a couple of lines on anything you think would be good for other potential CJ affiliates to know. I'd like to quote some of the responses in the article, just a few lines from a cross-section of responses to give a balanced picture. I can't link to you, I'm afraid, but am happy to name you, if you like. Oh, and article isn't going to be distributed, it's just a one-off, so I'm not going to be article marketing your input! Hope this doesn't sound cheeky - I just thought it'd be easier to ask directly than trawl through all the threads, and also should ASK before quoting people! I'll prob do this for other affiliate programs depending on response - thanks in advance, and I'll check back later and tomorrow. Take care!
Their help system sucks and there is no forum/newsgroup/google group. Better link to this forum for support
I would have to say for the pro's great range of well known/brand name advertisers consistent, reliable, timely payments via bank direct deposit good selection and easy to obtain affiliate links easy to read/download stats reporting (this thread is NOT about ebay) to kick you off
What I personally do not like about CJ is the freedom it has given to the advertisers and the restrictions it has imposed on the affiliates. I think it should be reversed. Without satisfied, life-long affiliates CJ will never be able to reach its real potential. The advertisers should all be required to have the 8 standard banner sizes (other odd sizes are up to them). The advertisers should be required to post the countries they are willing to accept affiliates from and if affiliates from those countries apply they should be accepted immediately. The advertisers should not restrict affiliates to promote the advertisers' URL's via PPC advertising campaigns. The advertisers should be required to treat their affiliates like they would real customers at the places of their businesses. Advertisers should be required to pay the affiliates on time and if they fail to do so they should be banned for life after just one unpaid affiliates incident (unless there was some kind of software problem involved). I guess what I am trying to say is the advertisers should not feel like they are gods. It's so 90's! This day and age it's the affiliates and their visitors that make or break online industries.
That's a decent request, but I don't know of any affiliate network that requires this from their advertisers. Automatically accepting affiliates is a recipe for disaster. Responsible advertisers manually review applications to make sure that only affiliates who meet their standards can advertise for their company. For example, certain brand-conscious advertisers won't allow bloggers to advertise for their brand. Others don't want sites with vulgarity. Still others don't want to deal with incentive websites. The manual review process is key to any affiliate program. That will NEVER happen. I'm an affiliate (a CJP,) and I also work on the advertiser end of CJ. Companies will not let you use their URLs for PPC advertising because they are already running their own PPC campaigns. Why would they let affiliates come in & overtake their own ads that they're running already? This allows advertisers to have control over and run their own ad campaigns. They've most likely paid a lot of money for an ad agency to run a search marketing campaign for them, and they're not going to let that go to waste. This is how the marketing industry works. The majority of advertisers treat their affiliates with the highest level of respect. Affiliates, after all, are sending the advertisers a significant amount of business. Problems happen from time to time with financial transfers, checks getting cut late, etc... I can tell you that a significant number of advertisers - including many of the top advertisers in CJ - have had at least one payment problem somewhere along the line. Advertisers with constant payment issues are terminated from CJ - remember, the advertiser doesn't only owe you money - they also owe CJ money (usually 30% of commissions). If CJ doesn't get paid, they get pissed. Business is business, though, and s**t happens from time to time. You learn to write off rare issues and move on in the business world. In the retail business, if every supplier cut off their customers after one late payment, nobody would have anything to sell.
hi guys, thanks so much - some great stuff so far (and an interesting thread to boot). Must admit that I thought feedback regarding CJ might be a little more positive overall (I mean, they're generally considered good guys!) but asking for comments always prompts people to get things off their chests. Keep 'em coming - and thanks very much!
Payments are regular and on-time (at least with the advertisers that I use). Brand name advertisers. Tracking is accurate. Virtually every single niche is covered across all of CJ's advertisers. Easy link format (I can change the site ID or Ad ID that I'm using in a link without having to log back into CJ, and redirects are easy as well). I'll think of some negatives later.
Thanks again - rest assured I'm copying all this down (well - pasting it). I'll let you know when all the reviews are finished, so you can see them. Might take a while though :-( Some really helpful comments - you can't get better than asking users themselves! Cheers, everyone.
I think they're looking fairly good, so far - would anyone else agree with Vrokolos' statement that their help system - erm - leaves something to be desired?