A look at the Major Affiliate Networks

One of the easiest ways to find new affiliate programs to join is to sign up with one or more of the major affiliate networks. The two that I highly recommend are Commission Junction and LinkShare. A lot of the major ecommerce web site have their programs administered by either Commission Junction or LinkShare.

If you are just getting started, you will appreciate the fact that Commission Junction will combine your earnings from all your merchants. On the other hand Linkshare will not do this. You usually need to have approximately $25 in commissions with a merchant before you get paid.

There are certain disadvantages to being in a large network such as Commission Junction. One of the major concerns has to do with the fact that programs such as Norton Internet Security and Firewall block affiliate links. This means you lose out on commissions on sales that you've made. I've heard that the major affiliate networks are in discussions with Norton to get this issue cleared up. I'll keep you posted on any major updates.

[New: Commission Junction is now serving ads from different domains. I haven't verified this but, it may have solved this issue. I'll do further research into this matter and report back.]

NOTE:
My thanks to Sebastian for pointing this out, I incorrectly stated that linkshare combines payments from different merchants. My entry has been updated to reflect this change.