Can't make up your mind?

The first thing you’ll notice when joining a CPA network is the sheer amount of offers available on the marketing platform. In some ways, it’s almost too overwhelming to the point that you’re utterly lost in choice.

Don’t fret, the criteria for choosing a great CPA offer really boils down to the following factors:

First, consider the CPA network to determine if they are legitimate and have the additional resources you need to successfully run a CPA campaign. We recommend a select group of networks because some aren’t worth your time due to the low quality offers across the network. Knowing that your network is good, from the beginning, already wins half the battle.

Secondly, understand the stats for each of the offers you’d be willing to promote. Use the advanced search criteria within the CPA network to drill down for offers that are highly relevant to your niche and website. Once you’ve found the general offer type, dig through the stats and base your decision on the EPC (estimated cost-per-click), CR (click-through rate), and lead type.

Third, look at the banners because unless you’re going to work on your own designs – you’ll want a CPA offer that have already done their testing and creative which saves you time and resources. You’ll want an attractive banner that hits home with your audience. If you can’t find anything than consider talking to your affiliate manager to see if the network can create new ones based on your preferences.

Fourth, consider the marketing details which will explain which methods you can use to promote the CPA offer. There’s no reason to be excited and start work on an offer that doesn’t fit within your marketing channels due to restrictions. Fully understand and be aware of the limitations per each CPA offer you plan to promote.

Fifth, run a small test to see whether your choice in CPA offer actually converts on your website and through other methods such as PPC, PPV, and social marketing. Allow your ad to run long enough to gather hard data and only then decide to continue your promotion based on the real return on investment.

Cost-Per-Action marketing is a game of cat and mouse; you never quite know how well an ad will perform until you let it into the wild and chase after your goals. Use the steps, detailed above, as a starting point and build upon what you learn along the way.

A great deal of CPA marketers will never see a single commission for their efforts. This glaring realization is not the fault of the offer but is carried on the backs of marketers that can’t create a robust strategy for their CPA offer promotions and marketing.

The reality is that much of the leg-work required to make money from CPA marketing relies on traffic generation; this boils down to using time-tested, verified methods that work across the board but applying them to this alternative business vertical.

Stuck with your CPA marketing? Perhaps you should try the following …

• Build a list. An email list is one form of marketing that won’t be restricted by your ability to play the “search engine game” – you have direct access to you subscribers. Build your list, initially, through your website and promotions; then move into email sequences which share valuable information but also allude to greater benefits from taking action upon your CPA offer.

• Invest in PPC. Pay-per-click advertising will give you the greatest results on a short-term scale. Your PPC campaign, run on any number of PPC ad networks, will deliver instant feedback about your CPA offer, ad copy, landing page, content strategy, and every element of marketing. An initial investment on a PPC ad network will jump start your CPA marketing, if properly managed, and will return the investment which keeps the machine running.

• Tapping into social structures. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and others, are already on your radar for traffic generation – instead, begin promoting CPA offers in conjunction to your everyday discussions and content sharing. Understand the rules of each network but progress with your social media accounts as alternative vehicles for valuable information and the occasional injection of marketing offers.

• Leverage your website. Use every part of your website to gain an edge on driving leads to a CPA offer. Build your list, place banner ads for offers, and utilize contextual links within the articles. Use the driving power of search engine traffic to steadily increase your CPA earnings over time.

• Active discussion. Get active in online discussion groups and personal chats with your community members. Drop links to CPA offers when they are relevant to the conversation. Go one step beyond by sharing your story of the offers you promote to get the other individual emotionally excited for the prospect.

You won’t become one of the statistics if you apply these verified methods of promoting CPA offers – it all comes down to how willing you are to succeed.

Cost-Per-Action marketing networks are one of the toughest to be accepted into because of the high level of value CPA businesses strive to bring to the market. These businesses specifically put roadblocks to prevent less-than-stellar affiliates and marketers from sullying the reputation of the company (or burning the advertisers).

This barrier to entry shouldn’t be all too intimidating as it may sound; in fact, the process is quite easy once you understand what you’ll be expected of upon joining the network. The following will give you a run-down of steps on how to get accepted to a CPA network.

Step 1: Gather your resources

Create a list of CPA networks you’d like to do business with along with the prominent affiliate managers’ names and contact information. At this time, beef up your website to the best of your ability so it looks attractive, sustains great traffic, and is optimized for converting leads. Pool together your analytics and marketing methods which will be used during the likely interview process later on.

Step 2: Apply

Set out and begin applying to the major networks on your list. Bring your basic account details, tax information, and a generalization of what you can offer to the CPA network. Remember that these networks are selective and don’t want someone run-of-the-mill – apply as if you’re going in for a major job.

Step 3: Nail the interview

Many CPA networks hold interviews with potential members to get a better understanding of the websites, marketing methods, traffic, and tactics used by the applicants. You should go into your interview with confidence and a complete understanding of your website and the CPA model. During the interview, share your website stats (traffic, conversions, community size, traffic methods, etc) but also your plans to grow (CPA networks love high volume leads).

Step 4: Follow up

The application process can take some time but use your down-time to get in touch with the affiliate managers and business owners (if possible) to hound the fact that your website (and marketing methods) are a great pair for the network. Keep at it and leave great impressions with the managers which could be the tipping point in your application approval.

Don’t give up

Above all else: don’t give up. You may not be accepted to every CPA network but it’s like a job application: the more you put out, the higher chances you’ll have at being accepted. Keep at it.

The time has come, more than ever, to build quality websites containing relevant, authoritative information.

Better content builds higher search engine placement and leads to better conversions in Cost-Per-Action marketing.

In the following, you’ll learn how to craft the perfect article for your website that works hand-in-hand with your CPA offers.

Effective CPA Website Articles 101

First, inject a story with each article to give it a greater sense of truthfulness and relevance to the reader. Let the reader latch on to your message by projecting themselves into the scenario. The article will lead the reader through an experience and set them in front of the CPA ad which acts as a fork in the road for their next step.

Second, keep content thin to the point that not all the answers are present within the article body. Leave enough room for your readers to inject their own opinions and feedback within the comment section. Give just enough information that it peaks the interest, of the reader, but leaves them with the thought of clicking through the ad is the next logical step.

Third, structure the content so the reader can easily skimp and jump between important sections. Don’t assume your reader digs through every word and sentence. Capture them with bold, italicized, and even underlined which naturally jumps out to the reader; use this moment of attention to tell the most important information within the article.

Fourth, keep the topic relevant to the CPA offer in question. Always pair up the offer and article topic so they share the same industry and niche. This paring will aid your marketing because it creates congruency between the information being told and a possible solution (the CPA offer).

Fifth, use a call-to-action at some point within the article that directly tells the reader to click through your ad (or link). Don’t rely on the readers’ curiosity to discover your offer; you’ve already delivered the “goods” through information so now it’s their next step to go through to the CPA ad.

In all, effective article creation on your CPA website comes down to ensuring that the content relates to the type of offers you’ll be marketing along with making it relevant to the reader. Play with the format as time goes on but keep the underlying elements of writing, detailed here, within each piece of content to get the most from your work.

Actions speak louder than words – this is how you get started promoting CPA Offers …

Step 1: Develop a plan (and stick to it)

Devise how you will be promoting your CPA offers (and its niche) whether it’s through your own website, article marketing, guest blogging, pay-per-click, and any other methods that drives traffic and attracts an audience. More importantly: stick with your plan otherwise you won’t be able to accurately test and improve your CPA marketing.

Step 2: Choose a high converting offer

Pair up the product to your niche to keep the offer relevant to your visitors. Browse CPA networks like Neverblue, Peerfly, and MaxBounty for high converting CPA offers. Review the landing pages, terms of promotion, and snag your ad copy and affiliate link.

Step 3: Run a small PPC campaign

Before fully divulging your time and resources into a CPA offer: run it through a small-scale campaign with pay-per-click – doing this small step will help give you an idea on the actual conversions and demand by the market.

Step 4a: Setup your affiliate model and platform

Using your plan, setup your model and platform that will become the vehicle for your CPA affiliate campaign. Launch your website, setup social network accounts, add funds to your PPC account; do whatever you had devised in the original plan that will be a part of sending leads to your CPA offer.

Step 4b: Focus on your main keywords

Spend a considerable amount of time doing keyword research to tap into the full benefits of search engine optimization when operating an affiliate website. Use your keywords as a starting point for search terms on social networks and PPC campaigns. Devise a master keyword list that will become the basis for the majority of your focus when promoting your offers.

Step 5: Unleash the flood of traffic

Having everything set: Officially launch your affiliate campaign and begin promoting your website, accounts, and landing pages using every available resource from PPC ads, link building, guest blogging, and other traffic generation methods you’ve mapped out in your planning phase.

Step 6: Filter the bad traffic

Review your traffic sources and divide the groups into which convert. Throw away the traffic methods that are underperforming or send junk traffic. Focus only on traffic platforms that convert.

Step 7: Test

Add A/B testing software or plugins to your website to begin split testing CPA offers. Use variables like different ad copy, headlines, media, and other conversion/call-to-action elements that show a considerable bump in conversions.

Step 8: Optimize and Repeat

Use the data you’ve collected in combination with your original plan to optimize your campaigns to increase your earnings and your ability to reapply your plan for new campaigns. Continually test and optimize each CPA offer, contact your affiliate manager for better commissions, and roll out new campaigns based on what has worked in your optimized work.

Using this launch strategy, you can have a new CPA campaign up and running within a day with the right mindset and motivation. Try it, test it, optimize it – actions speak louder than words.

Every CPA network will have thousands of great-looking offers for dozens of categories but this amount of choice leads to information overload – the point where you fail to make a choice.

I know many offers look incredibly lucrative but they may not actually be well suited for your affiliate business; what you should be considering are the categories of CPA offers that convert …

The Highest Converting CPA Offers

Without digging into the specifics (just yet), there are the “big three” that need to be mentioned: health, wealth, and love. This is a blanket term for the industries and categories that most human desire falls under; focusing on these, and the sub-niches with each, will generally lead you to greater success than promoting offers that are merely entertainment or require a lot of logical participation – these are all based on emotional triggers.

Starting with the “big three” mindset, here are some categories that nearly always convert:

• Dating. Everyone is looking for love – it’s human nature to attract a partner. However, dating is tricky for many individuals which is why people are willing to pay for help. Dating offers, with CPA networks, are nearly always high in conversions because of this innate human need.

   

• Gaming. Although this fits into our “entertainment” category that we would generally want to stay away from – gaming is a whole different story because people spend inordinate amount of their time playing online games (for example: Farmville). Games are easy converters because they let people instantly enjoy value and zone out.

   

• Insurance. The heated debate of insurance is all over national media; it’s required for driving and virtually needed in order to live in most countries. Insurance offers have high payouts and well tested offers because it’s a multi-billion dollar industry. Tap into the insurance industries own work by promoting these offers that are bound to convert.

   

• Anything zip code. Zip codes are the CPA offers with the least resistance because it does not require users to hand over personal information. These offers may not pay as much as lead forms but they can certainly convert massive numbers. Zip code CPA offers are used in any number of industries which will generally fit your niche.

   

• Free Gift Cards/Coupons/Giveaways. The oldies are goldies – people are always seeking the web for freebies and free money; these CPA offers, although somewhat unbelievable, have always been high converters in CPA networks.

   

• “As Seen on TV”. If companies are shelling out money to do television ads than there’s money behind the product. Not only do you have a product you know is making money but you can also tap into the product awareness for when users do research, for the product, online.

   

• Rebills. Diversify your income with high converters that do re-billing; these generally start with trial offers and then go up to the full, monthly payments. The low entry from the trial gets people on board.

   

You’ll only truly know what converts by doing tests. Pick a few offers from this list and let them run for a week (or more) before you make a judgment. Keep what works – throw out the rest.

Just got started with a Cost-Per-Action network and assigned an affiliate manager? You’re probably a little confused on what these individuals do for the network but ultimately they’re there to help both parties make money.

It’s the questions you ask your new affiliate manager that sets the stage for your potential to get the most from the CPA network. Here are our suggestions for your initial inquiries.

Getting the Most from Your Affiliate Manager

Can’t think of anything to ask your affiliate manager? Try these:

1. “How can I help you?”

Start with something broad by asking your new manager what you could be doing to aid them in their work. Your manager is there to help the affiliate network and your business make money; asking them what you can do to create a greater relationship will get the ball rolling.

2. “What are the available commission models?”

CPA networks, with the help of managers, can negotiate and change the general terms for commission models if you’re a high performer. The basic affiliate commission models are created to fit the broad user base but a quick chat with your manager may reveal additional options to increase your earnings.

3. “What’s converting in my niche?”

Tell your manager which niche you’re working with and how you gain traffic and create interaction. Your manager will be able to accurately dig through internal stats to find affiliate offers that will best match your business that will lead to higher conversions.

4. “Are there incentives and bonuses?”

Suppose you’re pulling some amazing numbers: see if you can negotiate a higher commission or be rewarded for your efforts by asking your manager if there are incentives and bonuses. Big CPA networks regularly give out bonuses to the best performers in their user base but you may not know until you’ve asked.

5. “What am I not allowed to do?”

Some terms of a CPA network may be riddled with technobabble that makes it difficult to fully understand what you can and cannot do as far as converting sales. Take time to talk with your affiliate manager about the things you’re not allowed to use in your campaigns to avoid your account being banned – this is one question that helps you in the long-run.

6. “How are you doing?”

Start up a conversation with your new affiliate manager because this relationship will ultimately pay for itself in the long run – you’re adding them to your network. Don’t look at your manager as just some pawn in your business – see them as real people that want to see both parties win. Make friends with your manager by opening up and asking how they’re doing in a completely casual tone; keep up with that conversation outside of the work.

Don’t be afraid to get in touch with your affiliate manager. There are many opportunities that aren’t present on the surface level of CPA networks that can only be revealed by talking with these managers. Shoot off an email or phone call today – it’s worth it.

There are nearly 150 CPA networks available on the web at any given time; this list continues to grow – each with their own benefits, features, and offers. This laundry list of networks can cause major headaches when you’re first entering the realm of CPA marketing – you ask “which is best for me?”

In this article, I’ll be sharing a five step checklist that will help get you on-track with the right CPA network for your needs.

Step 1: Listen to the market

The best course of action, when choosing a CPA network, is to listen to what other members have to say and offer.

Read blog posts, like this one, that shares insights and reviews of individual CPA networks. Email existing members to hear their experiences. Ask the important questions on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter related to what you want from the network and how it will benefit your business. Lastly, listen to your community and discover what products they want so you can make a great judgment for the network that offers the best options.

Step 2: Try, Try, Try

It’s seldom that you’ll be accepted to a CPA network on your first go around because it’s a completely different, monitored industry in comparison to networks like Amazon Associates, Adsense, and Clickbank. For this reason, it’s important that you try applying for multiple networks.

The best course of action, when applying, is to get your website and business to its A-game. CPA network managers will review your account and website so be sure to have it running at its peak to improve your chances of being accepted to the network. Apply to a dozen (or more) on your list.

Step 3: Go with great offers

The offer is everything. There’s no point in joining a well-known CPA network if they don’t have the products and offers that you need to have high conversions in your affiliate campaigns.

Browse through each CPA network to examine the payout methods, relevant products to your niche, click-through ratings, and conversion rate for the CPA offers. Go with a network that offers great commissions and additional resources such as banners and affiliate link tracking.

Step 4: Longevity

Like a great company – go with ones that have stood the test of time; don’t immediately jump on the latest, hyped CPA network just because it sounds good.

Stick to the big guns like Neverblue, Peerfly, and MaxBounty which has shown a history of successful payouts to their affiliates. Look for longevity in your program otherwise you could be out of the game from some one-shot company trying to play the field.

Step 5: Talk with managers

Good CPA networks will have a support system for their affiliates. Great networks will give you access to CPA affiliate managers. These individuals are the liaison between the advertisers and publishers.

Work with CPA networks that give you access with these managers because they will often aid you in increasing earnings, landing you better affiliate terms, and ultimately become great individuals to get one step ahead of the game.

Cost-per-action (CPA) offers are affiliate payout models based around earning commissions when an individual completes an action. Common CPA methods include zip code submission, surveys, subscribing to a list, and much more!

In this article, I’ll be introducing you to the world of CPA marketing and how it can be the best option for your affiliate marketing business.

The Basics of CPA Marketing

To boil it down, CPA marketing comes down to this:

• You find a high converting, relevant CPA ad and place it on your website
• You earn a commission for leads you send to the ad (and upon completion)

Compared to other marketing channels such as Adsense (which is pay-per-click) or selling affiliate products (which earn commissions upon a sale), CPA marketing has very little resistance because the offers can be extremely simple for the lead.

Big and small businesses use CPA marketing as a form of market research and lead generation.

• Zip code submissions help businesses establish their customer audience and demographics based on location.
• Surveys give businesses an idea of what their potential leads want in products and services.
• Trial offers are used to get individuals signed up for a recurring service.

All of these earn you variable levels of earnings; easier CPA actions generally pay less where as big actions, like signing up for a trial, often has incredible earnings potential.

Cost-per-action offers can be found on CPA networks. These networks differ from marketplaces you may already be accustomed to, such as Clickbank, because they are generally solely focused on providing publishers with CPA offers vs. affiliate products. These websites have a wealth of great offers, training, and support for getting started.

Some of the larger CPA networks include:

• Neverblue
• Peerfly
• MaxBounty

These networks represent the lion’s share of CPA networks. You can generally find an offer for any niche in the world of CPA marketing. The name of the game is traffic – if you can send people to a relevant, valuable offer than you’re going to earn money with this affiliate marketing channel.

If you feel that your ads are under-performing for affiliate products or other ad networks like Adsense or Amazon Associates than it may be time to give CPA marketing a try; it takes out a lot of the hard work required to make money on the Internet. Get started today – you’re going to love it.

Neverblue is one of the leading CPA (Cost-Per-Action) networks with thousands of attractive offers and industries ripe for any budding niche and affiliate marketer.

In this article, I’ll help you get up-to-speed with what you need to know about Neverblue and why your choice in this market could become your greatest tool for online earnings.

The Basics of Neverblue

Neverblue was formed in 2004 with the purpose of specializing in lead generation and client acquisition. From its humble beginnings, it has expanded to three international offices located around the world.

What does this mean for you? Well, trust is one factor but available, high-paying offers is next.

Neverblue has also found its way into the mobile marketing realm which is quickly becoming one of the most lucrative marketing vehicles in the world, to date.

Specifically, Neverblue offers two different options for affiliate marketers:

• Become an advertiser and create campaigns to drive leads to your products
• Become a publisher to promote CPA offers for great products and services

It’s likely that you’ll find yourself in the later end of this spectrum but the option is still available to make the leap and begin promoting your business with Neverblue. However, we’ll be taking a closer look at the publisher side of the business.

The benefits of Neverblue are astounding:

• A vast selection of CPA mediums: Banners, search, mobile, social media, and more
• Localization of offers to specifically target key demographics for your business
• Top-notch creative teams to build high converting ad copy
• Ad filtering and optimization to give you the best options based on real statistics
• Detailed reporting, search functions, and campaigns for choosing the best offer
• High, regular payouts and bonuses for exceptional affiliate performers

Application to Neverblue is free but it’s one of the toughest to enter because of their selective screening. This screening process includes submission of your business and personal information along with a phone interview. All of this screening process is used to weed out affiliates that will harm the networks from running incompliant marketing campaigns and to ensure the advertisers have dedicated publishers so both parties win.

Other key benefits of the Neverblue CPA network include:

• A referral program where you can earn a portion of your recruits to the network
• A large support team to answer and aid with your involvement with the network
• Mobile marketing options for cutting edge industries and affiliate marketers

Neverblue is premier for great CPA offers in many industries including: dating, coupons, downloads, e-commerce, freebies, education, financial, surveys, zip code submits, health, and many more. There are CPA offers for just about every represented industry and this list continues to grow due to the involvement of its affiliates and the team behind the network.

Is Neverblue for you? If you’re getting into CPA marketing than it’s best to start with the big boys and there is none other taking up the lion’s share than Neverblue; it’s the network you need to get active on to be successful with CPA marketing.

Click here to sign up for Neverblue