PublisherSpot

Updated - 10/08/2008

Go to www.pepperjamnetwork.com

One of the leading performance-based advertising networks out there is Pepperjam Network. As with most other affiliate marketing networks, Pepperjam is home to a wide range of different advertisers. These advertisers pay on a performance basis only, meaning that publishers only get paid when a site visitor completes a certain action. There are no CPC or CPM-based offers available through Pepperjam.

Among some of the featured advertisers in the Pepperjam Network are such notable names as RocaWear, VistaPrint, Warner Bros., MGM, Jelly Belly, eBay, and FlyCell.

According to its official website, there are two things that separate Pepperjam Network from other affiliate marketing networks. First, Pepperjam directly addresses the poor, unreliable communication tools of other networks, ensuring that each and every publisher has fantastic access to all the support tools that they require. Second, Pepperjam aims to overcome the lack of affiliate transparency that publishers may experience with other networks. Pepperjam works with its advertisers to improve this transparency.

Pepperjam has been in the affiliate marketing business for nearly a decade, providing a wealth of experience to all of its advertisers and publishers.

In addition to standard banners, text links, and product feeds, Pepperjam Network also offers something that it calls pepperjamADS. This is a system that allows publishers to show multiple advertisements at the same time, rather than only highlighting a single offer. The layout of the affiliate marketing widget is very similar to what can be found with Google AdSense, except each of the ads is hand-selected by the publisher himself. Each widget can be completely customized. Publishers select offers from multiple merchants within a single niche, or offers from different industries.

Each one of the individually displayed ad creatives works as if it were being displayed on its own. This means that a site visitor still needs to complete a certain action before a publisher will be paid. This could be in the form of a completed purchase, subscription, or form submission.

The Pepperjam Network control panel may intimidate some novice publishers, because the main dashboard is filled with so much information. For this reason, it could also be one of the most powerful control panels available from any affiliate marketing network.

From within the main page of the control panel, publishers can see the account balance at a glance (including pending commissions, locked commissions, paid commissions, and bonuses), view creative earnings, access a variety of different reports, and oversee the program performance for the current month.

Near the top of the page are the name of the assigned network manager, the publisher’s affiliate ID, transparency rating, current balance, and a link for the payment history.

Navigating through the powerful Pepperjam Network control panel consists of ten tabs near the top of the page:

• Account: Under this tab, publishers can access profile settings and manage relationships. The former is for changing personal information, company information, additional websites, promotional methods, company category, and payment methods. The latter is for managing the relationships with each individual advertiser. This is because when a publisher is approved for an account with Pepperjam Network, he is not necessarily approved for every offer in the network. Instead, the publisher must apply within the Pepperjam control panel. From this “Manage Relationships” section, publishers can view the current status for each of these advertisers: pending, active, or declined. It is also here that publishers can re-apply for a relationship, should they be declined by the advertiser.
• Mail: This is the internal message center for Pepperjam Network. Publishers can send messages directly to any advertisers with which they have already established a relationship.
• Reports: There are seven sub-sections to this area of the control panel. They are Reports Overview, SID Report, Transaction Summary, Sale Transaction Details, Lead Transaction Details, Commission Summary, and Payment History. This is a very exhaustive reports section, fitting for such a powerful affiliate marketing network.
• Generate Links: There are two subsections to this area. The first is Program List, which displays all of the advertisers with which a publisher has established a relationship. From here, the publisher can review the offer details and access the available ad creatives. The second is Product Feeds, which works in much the same way, but for product feeds.
• pepperjamADS: This is one of the unique features of Pepperjam Network, because it allows publishers to display ad creatives from multiple hand-selected merchants at the same time. Using this functionality, publishers create new pepperjamADS programs as they see fit. There is a full video tutorial which will guide publishers through the process of creating one of these multi-ad creatives.
• Find Partners: Publishers can seek out the various affiliate offers from merchants based on a number of criteria. The list can be narrowed down based on payment details (revenue share, CPA, or both) and by category (e.g., Business, Web Services, Medical, etc.). Partners can also be found based on keyword. The list shows the advertiser’s logo, merchant name, category, contact name, revenue share/CPA, cookie duration, tracking, accept method, and 1-Month EPC. It is from this list that a publisher can choose to join the merchant’s affiliate program. Some offer automatic acceptance; others have individual review processes.
• Resource Center: Known also as the Pepperjam Knowledge Vault, this is where publishers can go to learn how to become a top performing super affiliate. The resources are broken down into three categories. They are Super Affiliate Resources (ReviewMe, Keycompete, etc.), Educational Resources (Shoemoney, Zac Johnson, etc.), and Affiliate Interviews (Darren Rowse, John Chow, etc.).
• Pepperjam Chat: Similar to the Mail section, Pepperjam Chat is a communication tool that publishers can use to better communicate with the merchant partners. Publishers can use this system to request private offers, custom ad creatives, coupons, and other items that may work in the favor of both the publisher and the advertiser. This also helps to build and strengthen relationships.
• Blog: The official Pepperjam blog is largely maintained by the company’s president and CEO Kris Jones. He writes on the latest internet marketing news, developments within the Pepperjam Network, and other related matters.
• Contact Us: This is one of the easiest ways to contact the Pepperjam team. There is a section for leaving feedback and a separate one for reporting a bug.

Applying to Pepperjam Network is largely comprised of a single registration form. On this form, the applicant will need to provide personal information (name, email address, password), company information (name, URL, address, tax classification), promotional methods, and company category (up to 3). The applicant must also accept the service agreement.

Following submission of this application form, a Pepperjam Network representative will get in contact with the applicant to verify some account information. This typically takes place via e-mail within a day or two of registration. There do not appear to be any traffic requirements for Pepperjam Network approval.

Although each individual publisher may not be assigned a personal affiliate manager, the team at Pepperjam Network does an exceptional job at staying on top of publisher inquiries.

They are available via email, telephone, and fax, as well as the contact forms within the publisher control panel. Most email responses are received within 24 hours.

The Pepperjam Network issues payments to its publishers every two weeks, just like it does to its employees. Payment can be received in the form of a check, direct deposit, or PayPal.

The minimum payout level is $25, and payment preferences can be set under the Profile Settings in the publisher control panel.

While some other CPA-based advertising networks offer a referral program wherein a publisher can earn a percentage of commissions earned by the referral for a certain amount of time, Pepperjam Network does not do this. Instead, the standard referral bonus is $5.

From time to time, Pepperjam also offers additional bonuses as well. For example, in July 2008, the referral commission was increased to $7 and all new registrants received a $10 sign-up bonus.

Kris Jones is one of the most respected people in the realm of internet marketing and it appears that he has quite the winner on his hands with Pepperjam Network. This performance-based advertising network offers a wealth of different offers, one of the most powerful control panels in the industry, and some of the best transparency in the industry.

The application process is painless and it is very easy to search through the vast database of affiliate offers. On the down side, publishers must apply to each merchant’s affiliate program on an individual basis, so the turnaround time may prove to be a hurdle for some publishers. It also could mean that smaller publishers may be rejected for some of the more lucrative offers.

Being able to contact the merchant representatives from within the Pepperjam Network control panel is a definite plus, as is the possibility of requesting private offers and custom ad creatives. The relatively low payout threshold ($25) and PayPal payment option are also great features.

All in all, Pepperjam Network is a solid option for any publisher looking for a performance-based ad network. There are both offers based on revenue share and those with a CPA-based payout.

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