Commission Junction’s EPC Revisited
Vlad seems to think that CJ’s EPC is pretty much a joke. I do see where he is coming from.
Affiliate Managers using CJ seem to lean on a high EPC too much. So if an affiliate with a high volume of traffic but low conversions comes along, it can skew their averages and lower their EPC. They think that this will cause them to lose out on new affiliates because no one wants to work with a loser.
There is some truth to this. So what do you do? Well first of all make sure you have a relationship with whoever you are running a campaign for. Make sure there is a real person behind that CJ offer. (I admit I am guilty of NOT doing this from time to time) But if you can build that relationship up, you can find out what kind of traffic and people they are targeting. I personally like to talk to them on the phone, a 5-10 minute conversation can yield plenty of useful information.. what has worked for them, what hasn’t and where they are trying to go. It gives you direction when targeting their offer(s).
John,
Thanks for the link. I think when it comes down to EPC it is very important to look at historical trend of that figure. CJ allows you to see past 12 months.
The problem of course with the new merchants. There you need to exercise caution and do some extra research before committing to those programs.