Introduction
So you've heard about the world of CPA marketing and how you can make money promoting CPA offers on social media, forums and blogs as well as a multitude of ad networks and other traffic sources .
You've felt the rush of excitement and your eyes light up when you tell your friends about your new line of work.
You're ready to jump in feet first and rake in the money while living the life of a super affiliate.
CPA marketing can be an attractive business model for people who are just starting out in online marketing and for established marketers alike.
Unlimited offers, fantastic ROI and long-term residual income all point to a super high earnings potential.
Add to this a lack of consumer accountability and the flexibility to promote whichever offer you like, and it certainly looks as if you've found the winning formula.
Not so fast bro!
While being a CPA affiliate may look like an attractive gig from the outside, there's no mistaking the fact that it takes a whole lotta work, planning and experience to succeed.
Competition in popular verticals can be fierce and without being adequately prepared and having a strong understanding of the market, you're gonna find yourself in deep waters.
But fear not!
In this guide, I'm gonna take you through each step of the process from start to end, and by the time you're done reading you're gonna be fully equipped with the tools to accept the challenge head on!
So, let's look at what's key when launching a campaign that's set to convert, and also – share effective strategies you can employ right away.
Affiliate marketing's got crazy appeal to newbies because of its relatively low entry barrier.
You don't need a website or a business to start posting links and earning income.
Neither do you need thousands of advertising dollars before the returns start showing up.
That's not to say all traffic sources are free. Native ads, for example, can be expensive to run but can also convert well, depending on the vertical (more on that, in a bit).
First things – first…
What is CPA Marketing and How Does it Work?
CPA marketing is an affiliate marketing business model where you, as the publisher, get paid for actions the user takes on the advertiser's product/offer.
These actions can be capturing leads, filling out forms, product sales or anything else that results in a conversion for the affiliate.
When you first register as an affiliate , you're gonna receive your own unique tracking link through which you'll promote the offer.
Your job is to create campaigns on a traffic source of your choice and pass high quality (converting) traffic to the advertiser.
You're then gonna get paid a fixed value every time a user completes an action on the advertiser page – such as entering their details to win a sweepstake or to download a video.
Sounds simple, right?
Because in theory, it is.
But you're gonna also need to make sure you're targeting the right customer demographic for the offer. We can't possibly stress this enough!
Another thing you gotta keep on your mind, like 24/7, is optimization.
It's essential to constantly optimize your campaigns in order to ensure your ROI stays positive while maximizing your earnings per click.
So, what should you optimize?
Everything! Starting with the ad copy through to the landing page content and design. We'll get there in a moment!
Now, you've seen links from friends and family on Facebook, that offer a referral bonus for sign-up, right?
The affiliate CPA niche is very similar to this and here at Mobidea we mostly keep our focus on stuff like sweepstakes, mobile content, coupons & vouchers, videos, games, and more.
Once you become an affiliate and start promoting the advertiser's products with our affiliate tracking link, every time a user performs an action, you're gonna receive a fixed commission from the advertiser for growing their business via your cooperation with the CPA affiliate network .
The sky's the limit as to how much you can earn with mobile affiliate marketing , but to do that you're gonna need a way to stand out from the crowd.
For example, mobile CPA marketing is an extremely hot property right now and a relatively untapped market that you could use to reach a new audience.
Planning your campaign to cover all angles is gonna make all the difference between a positive ROI and losing money, or worse – desperately hoping for a breakeven.
You're also gonna discover that certain offers allow different promotional strategies.
We made a super thorough breakdown of the available affiliate traffic sources so you can start off a tat more prepared. Go check it out here if you wanna succeed as a CPA affiliate marketer.
Anyways, rule number one is to always remember that there's no such thing as a free lunch, and whatever method you choose to promote your offer you're gonna be paying for traffic in either money or time.
Now, let's pop the big question: where do you find offers that match your traffic?
My guess is that you aren't doing business with any advertisers directly so your destination Number 1 should be…
The Affiliate Network
The affiliate network acts as an intermediary between you (the affiliate) and the advertisers.
Affiliate networks play a dual role in communicating with both parties to maximize sales potential and maintain high standards on both sides.
They work on behalf of the advertiser to recommend offers to publishers and – on the other hand – help affiliate marketers source high converting offers for their campaigns.
You're gonna discover soon that not all networks are created equal and can specialize in different verticals and promotional methods.
For example, you're gonna find a network with a lotta health or dating offers, or networks focused on a specific type of CPA model, such as continuity offers or lead gen.
At Mobidea we're all about mobile-based CPA and have over 2,000 top converting offers live on the platform, making us the most specialized network of this kind in the mobile marketing space.
Some of our top performing verticals are:
- Coupons & Vouchers
- Sweepstakes
- Mobile Content
- Games
- Dating
- Videos
- Music
- Antivirus
- Health & Fitness
- Weight loss
Always remember, tho, that an affiliate network is more than just a place you discover offers to promote.
There are additional perks you can expect to find (well, depending on the network) such as:
- Advanced tracking capabilities (Free on Mobidea)
- Dedicated support
- Fraud Protection
- Secure payment options
- Free help articles and knowledge
- Training and advice
For many new affiliates joining a network is the end goal.
However, in reality, you should view belonging to a network as the first step in a process that's gonna enable you to get the most out of your CPA campaigns.
You'll also be able to directly benefit from the first-hand knowledge and experience of an expert team who want you to succeed.
With many networks, you'll be assigned your own personal network contact.
Make use of this by speaking to your affiliate manager often about your campaigns and they're gonna work with you to give you every chance of success.
The Traffic Source
By now, I assume you've researched your vertical and chosen your offer and are working with a network who understands what you want to achieve.
Your next step is to determine which traffic source you want to use to start promoting your offer.
Before you go any further – check the fine print, bro!
Are there any deal-breaking traffic restrictions to the offer you've got your eyes on?
Finding these out before you start is gonna save you a lot of headaches and money!
When in doubt, check with your affiliate manager who's surely gonna walk you through all the available options.
As you grow in your career, you're gonna find out that some traffic sources convert much better than others. Spot them and dig deeper!
Finding cost-effective strategies that you can measure and track is an essential part of your role as an affiliate.
It's also the reason why you should always test your strategies to find the best performing elements each step of the way.
I'm gonna cover specific traffic sources you can tap into a bit later, but for now just remember that you're gonna be using these sources to send potential customers to the advertiser's page, so you wanna make sure that the quality of the traffic matches the offer.
I promise this way of working is gonna prevent a lot of nasty situations down the line.
The Main Players in CPA Marketing
You're gonna have to be aware of the main players in the business – affiliate networks, advertisers, users, affiliates, ad networks – and understand where you fit in.
We already covered the basics of Affiliate Networks, so now let's look at the rest of the players.
1. Advertisers
These are the guys with the tempting offers that you're gonna promote.
For more visual examples, check Mobidea's CPA offer wall .
2. Users
These are the customers! In technical terms – someone who's a good fit for the advertiser and falls within a segment (Country, OS, Operator) that converts well for the offer.
Choosing the right audience is an important part of the process and one that many affiliates overlook.
Yes, it's true! People make rookie mistakes, and one of the reasons Mobidea Academy exists is to make sure you stay away from short-sighted decisions!
By reading up on the detailed information in this CPA marketing guide as well as the other articles in the Mobidea academy, you can make sure you won't fall into this trap!
3. Affiliates
You are the next link in the chain. Your job is gonna be to present the offer to the user and pre-sell it to them. This is commonly known as CPA marketing around here at Mobidea.
CPA Marketing in The Mobile World
CPA mobile marketing is just like any other affiliate marketing model only focused on mobile offers and businesses targeting mobile web.
With more than half of all internet traffic coming from mobile users and over 62% of smartphone users purchasing goods online on their mobile, it's easy to see why mobile marketing is something no one should ignore.
This is a fantastic opportunity for affiliate marketers to connect with and target mobile users when creating CPA campaigns.
This type of marketing can reach potential customers at key decision-making points in their activities.
As a result, there's a world of opportunities open for affiliate marketers to engage with a new and rapidly expanding audience.
This, in turn, has led to the proliferation of mobile advertising networks who can reach your audience and provide engaging content in the right moment.
It's great news for all advertisers. It's even greater news for you because now you can take this new world of opportunity and reach your target audience easier than ever before.
In fact, if you're not already using or thinking about using mobile marketing in your affiliate campaigns, you're definitely missing out!
Related Content: How a Beginner Made $200,000 on Mobidea
Why CPA Marketing?
First of all, you should make a difference between the different pricing models under which a conversion happens.
The most popular types of these are:
- CPA (cost per acquisition or cost per action)
- CPC (cost per click)
- CPI (cost per installation)
- CPL (cost per lead)
- CPM (Cost per thousand)
In this guide, I'm focusing on CPA marketing, but you can take a look at our article on different types of cost models to get a better understanding of how these fit together.
Related content: CPA vs CPI
CPA is generally a cost model that gets rewarded with high payouts from advertisers as they tend to generate higher quality traffic for the advertiser.
As a result, it also makes the offer super attractive to a large number of affiliates in the CPA marketing space.
To compete with these, you'll want to find your edge.
This can be a unique angle for promoting the product that your competitors haven't thought of, or exploiting an untapped traffic source so you can be the first to market.
Our buddy Charles Ngo has written a great blog post about angles, check it here .
An important thing to note here is that to be successful with your campaign, you'll need to qualify the traffic before passing it on.
You need to sell your audience on what makes the offer something they simply can't pass up on.
Linking directly to the advertiser page isn't gonna give you the results you want.
Spend some time to think about the user at the other end. What motivates him to click or subscribe? How does the offer make his life better?
Rule of thumb – always add value!
Start by asking yourself:
- What problem does my customer have?
- How does the product I am promoting help the user?
- How can this product bring value to their lives?
- Why do they absolutely need to have this product in their life, right now?
Creating an air of exclusivity and expectation is gonna play nicely into the buyer's psychology. If you create a need you're gonna get much closer to a conversion than anyone else.
Launch campaigns with your buyer persona in mind!
Thinking of yourself also helps – try to persuade yourself to take the action you are expecting from your audience. If you learn to do that well, you are on your way to CPA success.
Step #1 – Join a CPA Network
I've already mentioned the importance of choosing the right network to find your offers but let's elaborate.
If you're just starting out, you'll want to choose a newbie-friendly affiliate network with a straightforward application process.
There's nothing worse than spending hours on your form only to get your application rejected.
This happens more often than you'd expect and leaves new affiliates feeling as if they can't pass the grade.
Sure, it helps to have at least a basic understanding of how things work and have a plan, but that's why I've written this guide, to give you a head start.
When approaching a network, always be honest about what your expectations are and what past experience you've got.
Many affiliate networks, such as Mobidea, will be keen to work with new affiliates if they have the right attitude.
We're always on the lookout for fresh talent, so if you think you've got what it takes, hit us up!
You're not going to be excluded simply because you're not a super affiliate right away.
From your own perceptive and security, you'll also want to choose a network with flexible payment options and great affiliate managers.
Plus, you don't want to be paying for expensive trackers.
Whatever your network can offer you for free can be of great help. Your main goal meanwhile is to focus on getting the volume you need to have a positive ROI and grow into the super affiliate you are destined to be!
If you're still in any doubt, get active on the forums.
Grab an account at the STM forum or affLIFT and from there start to connect with the community.
These guys are gonna give you tons of great advice and support – something you're gonna have a hard time finding elsewhere.
Step #2 – Choose the Offers
Once with the network, your next move is to find the best offers.
Before you go rushing in like a kid in a candy store, review all CPA offers you've got access to.
Is there anything that resonates with you personally?
Promoting an offer you've got an emotional connection with is always gonna work in your favor more than promoting something just for the payout.