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Make Money On Wizzley: Making Money With Commission Junction (CJ)

Commission Junction (CJ) is the largest and probably oldest of all the affiliate networks. That's both good and bad. Read on for how you can use CJ with Wizzley.com

Commission Junction aka CJ, is the oldest and largest of all the affiliate networks. That should make it the best right? Hmm for me no - not so much! CJ was actually the first affiliate network I came across. Several years ago I'd managed to make $100 payout on Adsense and I'd sold a few items on eBay and Amazon, so CJ seemed like the next way to make money. I was getting the hang of this make money online thing - how hard could an affiliate network be? Yeah, right, talk about a shock! The interface was horrible, I didn't know where to start, and most of the merchant's wouldn't accept my application! I don't think I ever made $100 on CJ, and what's worse, I lost what I did make when they closed my account for inactivity.

How Does The Commission Junction Affiliate Program Work?

Commission Junction is the largest, oldest, and in their view, best affiliate marketing company in the world. They have all the "big name" brands including Walmart, Home Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond and Expedia. As they charge higher fees to merchants than comparable programs such as ShareASale, CJ tends to attract the largest companies, which big inventories.

The downside, for affiliates, is two-fold. First its harder to get accepted with CJ merchants, they are, I assume, swamped with new affiliates all the time. Secondly because the network is old, its interface, is to be brutal, a bit clunky/almost impossible for the beginner.

Commission Junction At A Glance!

Ease Of Becoming An Affiliate - Americans	Easy - but less easy to get accepted by merchants
Ease Of Becoming An Affiliate - Non-Americans	Easy - but less easy to get accepted by merchants
Percentage of sales:	4%-40% - most commonly about 10%. some vendors will pay per a lead, some by sale.
Payout levels and methods:	$50/month minimum for direct deposit $100/month minimum for check. Payment via check or by direct deposit for the following countries: USA, Canada, UK, much of Europe, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand (see the complete list here) Payment is made on the 20th of the month for the month prior.
Fees	If you do not earn a commission in 6 months you will be charged a $10/month dormancy fee, until you do earn a commission.
Sales Tracking	Pretty bad - its probably all there somewhere - but I've always struggled big time with their interface.

Tips To Maximize Your CJ Affiliate Commissions

It used to be that CJ closed accounts if you didn't sell anything in 6-months. You could re-apply, with a new email address, but you lost any accumulated commissions which were less than their payout limits. Now it looks like they a $10/month fee instead, or on top off, this inactivity fee. So if you are not sure that you are going to be making regular sales via CJ, I would think seriously about signing up for the program. For many beginners, I honestly think that ShareASale would be a better option.

How Well Does Wizzley Work With CJ

A lot of the "big name" merchants with CJ are also with Viglink. For many Wizzley authors it might just be easier, to go with Viglinks, thus removing the whole "getting approved hassle". I would also sign up with ShareASale as well and use them in preference if the same merchant is with both.

Make Money On Wizzley - The Series

This article is part of a series of pages on making money with Wizzley.com - which focuses on picking the right monetisation method to make money from the type of visitors you have to your website. Other articles in this series are:

Make Money On Wizzley: Find The Right Readers
Make Money On Wizzley: Introduction to Monetization
Make Money On Wizzley: Making Money With Amazon
Make Money On Wizzley: Using Direct Affiliate Links
Make Money On Wizzley: Making Money With eBay
Make Money On Wizzley: Making Money With Clickbank
Make Money On Wizzley: Making Money With ShareASale
Make Money On Wizzley: Making Money with Commission Junction (CJ) - you're reading it!

Updated March 13, 2012

Comments

AngelaJohnsonJul 15, 2012

Great series of articles!

eileenMar 22, 2012

I too found CJ lacking. The high amount you needed for payout just crushed most of us. Share A sale still has a high amount too. Ejunkie is the best for affiliates. Some private ones use $10 or 25 as their payout amount but they let you ride until you hit that amount. For one it took almost a year but now in just 3 months I have that amount. It takes time for the page or affiliate link page to rank and be actively pursued. I just don't do any affiliates with CJ

LissieMar 18, 2012

I think the key with CJ is finding a merchant that you can get sales from. I've just noticed that one of my favourite hotel booking sites is with them - so I might start pushing hard with them.

GuestMar 18, 2012

I signed up with CJ once and then discovered, as you did, that you are penalized when your account is deemed "inactive." I know people, such as lakeerieartists and others, have done well on CJ, but for me it doesn't really seem worth it, at least not yet. Maybe after I feel I have mastered some of the other affiliate systems, I will be ready to tackle CJ. It helps to get a site such as ShareASale under your belt first. It sounds easier to succeed at.
Your advice is appreciated.

lakeerieartistsMar 12, 2012

I have to disagree with you on this one, Lissie, and maybe it is because I am an American. While it took me a while to get accepted by a lot of merchants, I do quite well with CJ. I add tracking information to my links so that I can track where my sales come from, and it shows on each sale right away. Once I started making regular commissions from CJ, more and more companies accepted me.