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If you have experience with CJ.com or ClickBank, please reply:

by JustaWizard
14 replies
Okay, I do believe I've seen the light, turned a corner, and have been bit by the "affiliate marketing" bug... sorry for the mixed metaphors

Previously I've been banging my head against a wall trying to sell some products I've created - I think my efforts fall into the category of trying to fit square pegs into round holes, or more specifically, wanting people to want what I want them to want.

So now that I "get it" and instead of trying to push products onto markets I think/expect/hope will want them, I'm going to find hungry markets who already want what they want, and help them find what they're looking for - but not with my products, someone else's who's already got a good fit for them, also has sales pages, testimonials, etc.

I suppose I can easily use CJ.com (commission junction) and ClickBank.com since I already have existing accounts - but my question/s (finally!):

*What's your experience with those companies - i.e., are they reputable and actually pay out - are there *tricks* or hidden flaming hoops I should be aware of?

Any input you may have about using those or other companies - or really any input you want to offer - would be helpful, and I really do appreciate it.

If you'd rather keep your input private, feel free to PM me or email me - thanks!

David
#cjcom #clickbank #experience #reply
  • Profile picture of the author KirkMcD
    Huh?
    Are you looking for affiliates to sell your products?
    If they are physical Clickbank is out.
    If you don't have about $10,000 to get set up with CJ, I'd look else where.
    You might want to try ShareASale instead.
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    • Profile picture of the author JustaWizard
      Originally Posted by KirkMcD View Post

      Huh?
      Are you looking for affiliates to sell your products?
      If they are physical Clickbank is out.
      If you don't have about $10,000 to get set up with CJ, I'd look else where.
      You might want to try ShareASale instead.
      Sorry about your confusion - no, I'm not looking for affiliates to sell my products. The reverse is true, I'm looking to do affiliate marketing other people's products via, perhaps, ClickBank and/or CJ (thought I said in the "not with my products" part...) anyway, if you have input with respect to my question I thank you.

      David
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  • Profile picture of the author sagerock
    I think you can rely on either of those networks to pay out legitimately. CJ is more expensive for merchants to get involved in so you tend to get a more consistent high quality advertiser.

    CB is really affordable to get involved with as a merchant. Consequently, you are going to find thousands of products to potentially promote. I think it's a little harder to weed through all of them. But that's not to say there aren't good ones. You just have to dig for them a bit.

    So, I think you can safely promote products from either of those networks.
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    • Profile picture of the author JustaWizard
      Originally Posted by sagerock View Post

      I think you can rely on either of those networks to pay out legitimately. CJ is more expensive for merchants to get involved in so you tend to get a more consistent high quality advertiser.

      CB is really affordable to get involved with as a merchant. Consequently, you are going to find thousands of products to potentially promote. I think it's a little harder to weed through all of them. But that's not to say there aren't good ones. You just have to dig for them a bit.

      So, I think you can safely promote products from either of those networks.
      Thanks SageRock: can you help me shortcut understanding what makes a good product pick on clickbank? - high price, high gravity, top seller? etc.
      Thanks!
      David
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  • Profile picture of the author Vincent Cheng
    i have got a friend who got like USD 2000 in clickbank which has problems getting paid back here in Malaysia.. according to him, its some system glitch.. i am not too sure though..
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  • Profile picture of the author digitalproductreporter
    i've never had a late clickbank or cj.com check, they both pay on time all the time in my experience in the US
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  • Profile picture of the author mikestenger
    Both are very reputable companies. IMHO, Clickbank is much easier to get started with and up and running quicker. You've got to remember that both are simply just payment/affiliate payment processing companies that take all of that work out for you.

    That simply means you should always research the product/service before you jump in and start promoting. Just because it's on Clickbank or CJ, doesn't mean it's good or worth promoting. Research will pay you big time in the long run...
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    -Mike

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  • Profile picture of the author sagerock
    Thanks for the "Thanks". As I'm very new here that was a really cool surprise.

    As you might have read, this is what CB says about Gravity:

    grav: Short for Gravity, this number represents a unique calculation by ClickBank that takes into account the number of different affiliates who earned a commission by promoting this product over the past 8 weeks. Since more recent transactions are given a higher value, this number can give you an idea of what products are "hot" at the moment, in terms of being promoted by many affiliates and making a good number of sales. However, high gravity can also indicate that there will be a lot of competition in promoting this product.

    I think people like to just start with the products that look like they are going to make them rich. The problem is that you aren't the first person to come up with that idea. So, the space gets pretty competitive.

    I'd probably suggest you think about the category you want to participate in and then go from there.

    You might even try a couple products that look appealing. You'll be a much better promoter of a product you believe in and have experience with.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jon Tees
    Both are legit but you may want to use a link cloaking service like tiny url or a similar service to cloak your clickbank links.
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  • Profile picture of the author easybiztools
    VCKLoong,

    I'm from Malaysia - never had a problem with ClickBank payments since 2002.

    They're top notch. Ask your friend to contact ClickBank via their helpdesk or call them.


    Best regards,
    Adrian
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonl70
    i've had some issues with cj. Apparantly the vendors can choose whether or not to approve any and all commissions they owe. I've gotten paid for sales that took place SIX MONTHS prior.
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    -Jason

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  • Profile picture of the author Lanadili
    For affiliate marketing, some well known companies besides the two you mentioned are ShareASale, Avantlink, Linkshare, etc. I have several merchants I promote on CJ and do quite well with, along with ShareASale. I have never bothered with Clickbank so I can't comment on them.

    The main thing you'll need to research is the demand for the product and then research your merchants. Some merchants will convert 10x better than their competitor, so make sure you test different ones before thinking a certain niche isn't working because one merchant isn't converting.

    When I first started in my niche, I promoted the wrong merchant and only got a sale every now and then. I tested the waters with different merchants and found out that the first merchant I promoted was the worst converting over all of them. So just make sure you do your homework and test, test, and test some more.

    Hope this helps.
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    • Profile picture of the author abo28
      I had no problem with Clickbank payments until now. And their customer service is good IMO; they get back to you pretty fast.

      As for CJ, I never worked with them.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ayrtonx5
    Justawizard

    I'm very happy with clickbank and find their payment system works great and very good affiliate statistics.

    Reading the context of your post I guessing that you may not have consulted enough with your target market to be certain that you are giving them exactly what they want.

    If this is the case - I suggest you run a survey through surveymonkey . com and offer the respondents access. Run a ppc campaign until you get about 40 or so responses but do take the time to include the right questions.

    This will give you both great feedback and good keyword research regarding impressions and ctr.

    All the best

    Glenn
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