Press ReleasesFrom time to time we like to get content from the team so here I hand over control of the blog to Eleanor Pickering, one of our key Account Managers who is going to give you some tips on how to avoid being rejected by advertisers. Here she goes…
We’ve recently changed the way that publisher enquiries are dealt with here at CJ. Any queries we receive are now split evenly across the Ad Dev team and we all take a bit of time each day to to go through and answer them. Over the past few weeks, one of the most common questions to cross my desk has been a variation on this:
‘Why has advertiser x rejected my application?’
This can be a tricky one to respond to. Each advertiser has their own set of criteria to determine who makes the cut, and this can vary considerably from programme to programme, but if you’ve recently applied unsuccessfully to one of our Advertisers, and you’re looking to find out why, here are some of the most common reasons for rejection and some tips to help you get accepted in the future:
Point 1: The Advertiser may have restrictions on certain types of publisher
Before you apply to an Advertiser, make sure you read the programme description. Advertisers will often use this space to flag any special requirements for publishers. For example, the Argos description specifically mentions that incentive sites will be declined.
Some Advertisers have Special Terms and Conditions that you will need to accept before joining a programme and it’s important to read these too as often they will provide more detail on restrictions.
Point 2: The information in your account may not be giving the best impression of what you can offer
Network Earnings and EPC
Ever wondered what those little green bars in your account signify? It doesn’t take a genius to work out that the more green you have, the more likely you are to be earning plenty of the other ‘green’ through CJ. The geeks amongst you may be interested in the official explanation of how our system calculates this:
You are ranked in an apples to apples comparison with all publishers by taking each publisher’s total commissions (regardless of currency) and then converting that total (if necessary) to US dollars. After each publisher’s commission total amount has made this conversion to a common currency (USD), the ranking is established.
Network earnings ratings are based on a scale of zero to five bars. Publishers earning zero commission are excluded from the overall calculation and given a blank rating. The ranking is calculated relative to the entire network based on commissions earned by publishers during the previous month. The specific bar graph ranking is as follows:
Many advertisers who are pressed for time will use the bar ranking system to concentrate on publishers with proven earning record. Likewise they may look at your EPC (Earnings per Hundred Clicks) ration to assess your suitability.
Not all of the information in your account is generated automatically, however, and there are areas where you have the opportunity to edit your details:
Publisher name: if you are a new publisher on the network with no history, try using a name that gives advertisers a clue to your business model or area of expertise as this will make it really easy from them to approve you. In a long list of applications for a travel brand, John Smith Travel Solutions is much more likely to get the Advertiser’s attention than a publisher simply called John Smith.
To edit your name, log into your account and visit this tab:
Make sure your URLs are up to date: If you’re desperate to work with Sainsbury’s through your new site: groceryguru.com, but the only URL you have listed in your CJ account is the one you registered when you joined the network: iluvmonstertrucks.net, it’s easy to see why your application might be declined. Keep your URLs up-to-date and don’t be afraid to list them all.
To edit your URLs, visit this tab in your account:
Promotional Methods: There’s a box for this: use it! The more information you can give the advertiser on how you work and what methods you are using to promote them, the better:
Point 3: The content of your website may not be everyone’s cup-of-tea (AKA: They’re just not that into you..)
Advertisers can be extremely picky about where their brands are displayed and more often than not, a rejection will simply be based on the fact that when an Advertiser visited your website, they didn’t like what they saw. What constitutes a good website is highly subjective and what works for one person won’t necessarily tick all the boxes for another. Once someone has made their mind up it can be very difficult to persuade them otherwise, however…
If at first you don’t succeed…..
Try again. If you really want to promote an Advertiser, don’t be afraid to get in touch and let them know! Our biggest Advertisers get hundreds of applications every week so don’t be dispirited if you are rejected immediately. If you have a good case for working with that Advertiser- then make sure they know what it is.
The easiest way to contact an Advertiser is to use the Mail tab in your account:
When you hit the ‘Compose’ tab, you’ll find a list of all of the Advertisers that you have applied to in the ‘to’ section:
You can then write your message and hit send. This will send an email directly to the Advertiser’s account.
Useful things to include:
- Where you plan to promote the Advertiser
- How you plan to promote the Advertiser
- Any useful stats about your website that might sway the Advertiser (e.g. you are new to the CJ network and therefore have no earnings history but your site gets x amount of traffic every month)
I can’t guarantee you’ll get accepted but it’s worth a try.
I hope that goes some way to explaining some of the rejections you might have received in the past. If you have any questions on the post just email admin@cjblog.co.uk
