The History of Commission Junction – A Real
Success Story

By Lori Wilkerson

Affiliate Marketing Training
The history of Commission Junction reflects an awareness of the need to serve both the publishers/affiliates and the advertisers at the highest possible level. This company was one of the earliest third-party pay-for-performance advertising leaders.

Their unique two-tier commission plan rewards publishers on one tier for referrals, so that there is a flat fee paid for every webmaster that joins the Commission Junction team and then a 5% cut of every commission each referred member makes after that. This effectively means that each member on the affiliate end can be making money from two source streams – the advertisers directly and indirectly through other webmasters. A much more substantial sign-up fee is also offered for each time a pay-for-performance advertiser signs up with Commission Junction.

Commission Junction built its reputation early on by building a solid stable of advertisers that comprise a wide range of large retail markets as well as thousands of niche marketers who are perfect for specialty websites. This smorgasbord of offerings has made the company particularly appealing to a certain sector of the affiliate marketplace that starts small and tends to build a relatively small but loyal following.

The well-known CJU (Commission Junction University) conference is one of most anticipated in the industry, which gives you an idea of the quality of their online advertising expertise and their pay-for-performance record.

How Commission Junction Makes It Work

Historically, Commission Junction has performed to the highest standards in serving their affiliates. The company, founded in 1999, has focused on improving their commission oversight and payment programs and currently has one of the best in the business.

They also offer various solutions for improving marketing strategies and click through for their publisher members.

The advertisers who belong to Commission Junction receive regular reports that show not only exactly how much traffic they’re receiving from publishers, but which publishers are performing best for them and which aren’t performing. By the same token, the CJ Marketplace also shows publishers the conversion rates and relative effectiveness of every advertiser’s ad so that they can decide which ones may work well for their site.

There are specific rules for being a member of Commission Junction’s pay-for-performance network and working with their advertising members. First and foremost, you have to remain active. The company can afford to be strict with this because they have so many advertisers (thousands to choose from) and plenty of interested people waiting to earn a commission with them.

Commission Junction has consistently performed and grown by being very open with statistics and information for both ends of the equation – sharing a great deal with both advertisers and affiliates.

By spring of 2001, Commission Junction had established a solid reputation and scored a quick one-two advertising punch by bringing EBay and HotJobs into their affiliate program within weeks of each other.

In fall of 2003, ValueClick bought Commission Junction, solidifying their own presence in affiliate marketing to add to their solid reputation in website services such as web marketing, email marketing, and content and media management through its subsidiary corporations.

Commission Junction was energized by an infusion of big name advertisers associated with their parent company and became an even bigger player. In May of 2004, Commission Junction launched CJ Evolution, which placed ad based on their performance in order to reward top-performing text ads with increased exposure.

On November 8, 2004, Commission Junction launched in Germany, adding to its several offices in the United States and London, opening a whole new advertising and publisher dynamic based on the Euro and emerging European markets.

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About The Author

Lori Wilkerson is a full-time freelance writer who loves her work because it gives her the opportunity to learn more about the world every day. Right now, she knows a little bit about almost everything, and a bunch about make money at home. She has two dogs who are spoiled and one teenager who is not.
 

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