Commission Junction Must Reads
I consider myself fairly fluent in the art of maximizing my clickthroughs for contextual advertising. However, as of late, I've been focusing my efforts on affiliate marketing and it's really starting to payoff. After doing my research I've decided to go with a couple of different programs, making sure I was within my Google terms of service, that I could run alongside my Adsense.
Commission Junction is an affiliate network that I feel, I can grow with and expand my webmaster horizons with. As noted previously, I am somewhat a noob to affiliate marketing and my business model may not be optimal for affiliate marketing. In addition, Publisher business models will vary depending on which site I'm utilizing. Landing pages, opt-in newsletters, conversion factors oh my! Ultimately, I feel a little over my head and I'm not ashamed to admit that I completely read through Commission Junction University's Beginner Series. There is a lot of information to consider before jumping feet first...or perhaps things you should consider while trying to keep your head above water. 
The biggest thing I took away from the articles was the differences in business models and which ones I wanted to focus on. After all, there are affiliate marketing plans that work because they get exit traffic, not because you keep visitors on your site.
There is an old advertising adage that says, “Sell the sizzle, not the steak.” People buy benefits, not products or services. As you begin to look at advertiser promotions and offers you can decide if they will benefit your audience. It all comes back to knowledge– the more information you have, the better decisions you can make. Remember, you want to provide value to your users. By offering them products or services that they perceive as valuable, you will develop a relationship with them based on trust and experience. And they will want to return to your site for future purchases. Start doing your research on what will make your promotions “sizzle.”
I'm hoping by the end of the year I'll be selling enough sizzle to pay off my credit card bills.
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