I think you really have to find your own niche when it comes to making money on the net. What works great for one person might return little or nothing for another.

I'm guessing you have already signed up for the obvious? Commission Junction, Tradedoubler, Adsense?

Stear clear of Commission Junction, or, as stated in another thread, proceed with caution.

Your are right Paul,
loads of people seem to have serious problems with commission junction, approached them with caution if you cannot avoid them completely.

If you want to sell ad directly from your site please let me know, I may be able to sell some ads for you (commission free). My text and banner ads sales website http://www.textlinkbannerads.com will be ready next week.

It will have a live intentory, I can add your links to the inventory and put potential customers in touch with you directly.

Thanks

Originally Posted by mcfox

I'm guessing you have already signed up for the obvious? Commission Junction, Tradedoubler, Adsense?

You'd be guessing wrong, I just signed up for Adsense but still have heard nothing and know nothing about the other two programs either. In fact, it's safe to say that I know nothing about generating revenue at all.

I can bet that many new webmasters share this problem which is why I wanted to create a comprehensive list of programs. I'm aware that each will produce different results which is fine, but it would be really great if us newbies had at least a direction to look in.

Here are a few links to get you going. I'm not sure what the problem is with CJ -- you'll have to read that thread to see what's being said. I can't say I'm aware of anything that doesn't affect other affiliate networks, the usual complaint being spyware cookies and loss of revenue because users delete said cookies. But that's another thread.

You can sign up for these ones without much to worry about.
http://www.cj.com/index.jsp
http://www.tradedoubler.com/pan/index.jsp
http://www.amazon.ca (I think I've picked the right country, but if it isn't, simply suffix 'amazon' with '.com', '.co.uk', '.com.au'
http://www.clickbank.com

(I should have directed you to one of my sites and got you to sign up from there so I earned a commission for you signing )

Now for some words about the following links ...
For goodnessake, DON'T sign up for everything in sight and IGNORE the ebooks and claims that so and so has made $zillions -- buy now, type rubbish that's everywhere.

Buy NOTHING, at least until you are able to distinguish between worth reading and absolute crap, the latter being the predominant offering. Remember, every link you see trying to sell you something or get you to sign up to a program, is usually an affiliate link, and as such you can't assume that prominence on a website equals quality. It usually means best commission for the webmaster of the site you are reading.

http://www.affiliateprograms.com
http://www.affiliateguide.com
http://www.affiliate-programs-guide.com

These last three links will provide you with some insight into how the whole affiliate thing works if you just sniff around and read what's available.

Finally, a good place to have bookmarked is
http://www.abestweb.com, one of the biggest affiliate marketing forums on the web. Lots of good resources and information, but the advice remains the same as above.

Really, finally, now that I think about it. Watch out for anything dodgy, asking for your details. If you aren't sure, or if the sign-up page isn't secure (https), forget it. You can always go back later.

<edited - what's up with the links?>

"I'm not sure what the problem is with CJ -- you'll have to read that thread to see what's being said. I can't say I'm aware of anything that doesn't affect other affiliate networks, the usual complaint being spyware cookies and loss of revenue because users delete said cookies. But that's another thread."

CJ has many issues, IMHO. Not a good place for newbies. And for the record, most don't consider, "cookies" to be spyware. They actually have spyware companies such as 1-800 solutions as affiliates. Yeah, no kidding. So you want to join networks, which are clean or at least are trying to be. I'll list them below.

Amazon has a sucky affiliate program, though they are the pioneers in affiliate marketing. You'll need to sell tons of books before you meet their min payout threshold.

Clickbank, don't waste your time.

Linkshare, don't waste your time.

BeFree, don't waste your time.

I agree, stay away from ebooks and the likes of Marlin Sanders, Ken Evoy, SixFigureIncome.com, associateprograms.com, etc.

abestweb.com is cult-like and most, IMHO, members there are nothing but little $75 a month b*tches, moaning and groaning every time they have a little problem. Yeah, but it is fun to go there if you want a laugh, but as a newbie, I would recommend you take their advice with a grain of salt. Webmasterworld.com is much more civilized.

The truth about affiliate marketing, or, "key to success" is caught, not taught. Trial and error will always be your best teacher.

Here are the best, IMHO, networks to join:

affiliatefuel.com
websponsors.com
offersquest.com
primaryads.com
metareward.com

The above networks pay, and they pay on time, every month like clockwork.

Last but not least, start a mailing list. This is possibly the most important thing you will ever do.

Thanks for adding all of that, looks like I have some work ahead of me but that was exactly what I was looking for.

As for what you say about there being a lot of crap out there, just a simple search in google shows you exactly how much. Most of what I've seen sounded dodgy or too good to be true, I'm betting equal parts of both.

As for the links, I'm not really sure, it only seems to effect a few of the forums but not all of them. I've noticed the same thing with the quote message code as well, not sure what the problem is. Maybe you have to enable code in specific forums or categories. Of course I'm just guessing because I've never used vb.

>>> CJ has many issues, IMHO. Not a good place for newbies. And for the record, most don't consider, "cookies" to be spyware. They actually have spyware companies such as 1-800 solutions as affiliates. Yeah, no kidding. So you want to join networks, which are clean or at least are trying to be. I'll list them below. <<<

## CJ does have some issues, I agree. I wasn't aware of spyware droppers being on their affiliate list since I don't really use them that much. When I was on about cookies, I was referring to the antispyware apps which block or delete tracking cookies. A problem which is growing with the likes of CJ and Tradedoubler affiliates, imho.

What's good about CJ is that it is easy to sign up to and get going with but given the potential for pitfalls, perhaps you're right about it not being the best place for newbies. ##

>>> Amazon has a sucky affiliate program, though they are the pioneers in affiliate marketing. You'll need to sell tons of books before you meet their min payout threshold. <<<

## Yep, agree 100%. I have a conversion of about 10% with Amazon and I still struggle to get to the payment threshold. ##

>>> Clickbank, don't waste your time. <<<

## Depends on your target audience and traffic but you're probably right as far as newbie affiliate stuff goes ##

>>> Linkshare, don't waste your time. <<<

## Agreed. Complete waste of time in my experience ##

>>> abestweb.com is cult-like and most, IMHO, members there are nothing but little $75 a month b*tches, moaning and groaning every time they have a little problem. Yeah, but it is fun to go there if you want a laugh, but as a newbie, I would recommend you take their advice with a grain of salt. Webmasterworld.com is much more civilized. <<<

## lmao!
Sh*t! For sure take the advice with a pinch of salt! It's background reading and a good place to get a feel for things. Nothing else.

Heh! Hadn't thought of Webmasterworld, strangely enough. ##

I can't believe that I'm asking this, but can anyone actually explain what the difference is between a publisher and an advertisor? I don't really have any products to sell but want to generate more traffic, get new members, and eventually offer a tiered membership structure that pays a certain percentage to pre-qualified charitable organizations.