All is well at Comission Junction now..

My last post detailed some issues in getting my first link activated at Commission Junction. I am happy to report that all is well now!

The vendor was aware of the small glitch when modifications to the standard payout are made. The 'Performance Incentives' to the payout amount needed to be selected, then "accepted" by the marketer (that would be me...), in order for the link to become live.

I was so very happy, after a 12-hour wait and lots of emails, the issue was resolved. The vendor even offered to contact CJ Support to highlight this issue for them to resolve.

Now I have a highly popular service offered with a larger than standard payout which runs until the end of 2008! Excellent... Now the challenge is getting my site indexed by the major 'Search Engines', and creating a buzz around my offer through other marketing strategies.

This is all a challenge for even someone who has a bit of proficiency with computers, it's still a lot of work to:

1. Create a web site with Google-required elements, Rich content, Privacy statements, Contact Information, No Spam Policies, Not Sharing your personal data with anyone etc, etc.
2. Find the Affiliate Network with the highest payouts
3. Join that network and set up payment options, PayPal, Check etc
3. Select a banner, button or link to place on your website
4. Copy the linking code either java or .html to your website
5. Choose the location for the ad to run
6. Drive traffic to that location from indexing, submitting your site to directories, (carefully!)
7. Tweaking your ads to raise more search engine page results for your ads
8. Work with your Affiliate manager to find more opportunities to advertise
9. Repeat...Repeat...Repeat the above until you see results.

I am enjoying the assistance from people who have the attitude that now that they are successful, they are willing to share what they know with others.

John Chow (www.johnchow.com), Jeremy Palmer (Quit Your Day Job), Jonathan Volk (Super Affiliate), Jeremy Shoemaker(Shoemoney.com) and Zac Johnson are a few of the Top Affiliate Marketers who are willing to share what they have learned with others.

As I continue to grow my online business, I will be consulting with all of these fine gentleman as the need arises. They are highly successful yet humble at the same time. A very fine quality to find in a business that sometimes reveals the dark-side of some people who are ruthless in all aspects of their lives.

My next post will reveal the success or failure of my first attempts to make a living online.

Respectfully, Nicholas
Zac Johnson has an excellent comparison of different Affiliate Network payouts here: http://zacjohnson.com/my-affiliate-program-pays-more-than-yours/