williamrs

Hey, guys!

Everyday I visit this forum and find many newbies asking always the same questions trying to figure out how they can get started with CPA. Well, I know how they feel, because I was a newbie not too long ago. So I decided to create a post to “put beginners in the right path”.
Ok, so let’s start...


1 – What are the best CPA networks

I don’t think there is a definitive answer for this question, because it depends on the offers you want to promote. However, I’m going to give my personal opinion here. Also, other Warriors will be welcome if they decide to share their preferences on this thread.

Low cost offers (email/zip submits) – Neverblue is my favorite one for this kind of offer. However, I’ve heard some people saying that MaxBounty is also very good.

Free trials – I like Lidango, manly in the health and BizOpp niches.

High quality offers – Clickbooth has the best offers in my opinion.

Other good networks – COPEAC, Hydra, Convert2Media, ROIRocket.

Complete list of CPA networks
Big List Of CPA Networks


2 – Getting Accepted

I don’t know why, but many people think that this is a hard task. I can guarantee to you that it’s not. However, here are some tips that can really help you get approved for many networks in few days.

1. Create a website or blog. You can talk about yourself, your company (if you have one) or simply make a few good posts about internet marketing. In order to make it clear for you, here is the website I used to apply to my first networks: NewestMarketing.com - Marketing Solutions, Writing & Design, Targeted Traffic.... I also had to show to some affiliate managers a comparison website that I was using to promote Clickbank fitness guides with PPC. I don’t think you will need it if you say that you direct linking or using other promotional methods (social marketing, article marketing with domain redirection, etc). However, you can always create a simple review site, and start a campaign with a low budget. Then you get approved and take down the campaign. I’m not sure if it’s ethic or correct, but the affiliate managers will be able to see your preselling skills and will be more likely to approve you.

2. Be honest. Don’t treat affiliate managers as if they were ingenuous children. Tell them the truth, don’t say that you master several different promotional methods and are a super affiliate making $50K a month (unless you are!). Just say what sort of offers you intend to promote and how you will do it (traffic source, landing pages, etc). Let they know that you are a serious person and not just a newbie trying to make some money with a black-hat method.

3. Be proactive. Submit your application and call your affiliate manager. Don’t wait several days until they call you. Don’t let they think that you are desperate, but show them that you’re proactive. You can also contact them through AIM.

You can find more useful information about this subject here:
How YOU Can Get Accepted Into CPA Networks - V2 - FREE


3 – Your First Campaigns

It’s hard to say how you should get started, because it depends on your situation. If you have a lot of free time but no money, start with a free traffic source. On the contrary, try to get faster results with PPC or PPV. However, here is how I got started with CPA, and since it worked for me I think it can work for you too.

1. Don’t get started promoting paid offers. If you are new to CPA I recommend you to avoid anything that requires a credit card number. Promote only free offers even if they have lower payouts, because they are much more likely to convert your traffic. If you can, prefer email and zip submits.

2. Start with a free/cheap traffic source that’s relatively easy to work with. When people are just starting I recommend them to use social marketing techniques and article marketing. Avoid the more complicated (and expensive) traffic sources.

3. Split-test and be persistent. Chances are that your first campaigns/offers won’t make you money. However, if you persist and split-test different offers, landing pages, ads, etc you will find a winner sooner than you think.

4. As Michael Jackson said, you are not alone . Keep in touch with your affiliate manager, ask for tips and advice. He will help you to find out what’s performing well with your traffic source and how you can improve the performance of your campaigns.

5. As some marketers use to say, this is a case of KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid ). Don’t try to use complicated methods that will take a lot of time and money to produce results, keep everything as simple as possible.

6. Put your focus on something and stick at it. If you are always jumping from one system to another I highly recommend you to quit your internet marketing business and start looking for a good regular job. When you lose your focus you lose everything. If you want to make money online you need to master a system. It will never happen if you try a system for just a couple days.


4 – Going to the next level

When you start making some money with CPA and build a budget you need to go to the next level. It’s what I’m doing now, I’m trying to create some huge campaigns that will make me serious money in the next weeks. So I’m not going to lie, I don’t know everything that happens when we reach this point, but I think I’m doing very well with my first campaigns and will share some tips with you.

1. Paid traffic is the way super affiliates make their money. If you want to make tons of money you need to invest tons of money. I know many people are making a lot of money with free traffic, mainly SEO, but the million dollar guys have 3 great traffic sources: PPC, PPV and Media Buying. So when you feel that you are ready, it’s time to join this war and start competing with the big boys.

2. This forum can help you a lot, but there are other websites to visit. We have many great marketers at the WF, and, to be honest, I think I would not have made a single buck online without this forum. However, I need to tell you that you don’t have all the information you need here. So here is a list with some websites and blogs that you must visit in order to learn more from the super affiliates.

TV202
TV202

Jonathan Volk’s Blog
Make Money Online with Super Affiliate Jonathan Volk

Paul Bourque’s Blog
Confessions Of A Super Duper Affiliate

Michael Dunlop’s Blog
Make Money Online | Work From Anywhere In The World

ShoeMoney’s Blog
Shoemoney - Skills to Pay the Bills

There are many other good sites, Ryan Lee, Yaro Starak, John Chow... all these guys have nice blogs and websites. However, the blogs above are my favorite ones. Of course, along the time you will find your own sources of good information, but I think that you will be ok if you start with these sites.

3. Choose only few verticals and stick at them. I know some guys will disagree now, and that’s ok. However, this is my opinion. I think that you should choose 2 or 3 verticals and stick at them. It’s pretty hard to understand how a public thinks, acts and buys. So if you try to sell to many different kinds of people you will end up making no sales. Of course, working on one vertical only is a mistake too, because we can’t predict the future and putting all your eggs in the same chest is not a good thing.

4. Build your lists. Try to establish a relationship with your customers, not only send them to the offers page and wait for some conversions. For example, now I’m working on a campaign where I add people to my list, expose them to a one time offer and then send them an autorespoder series with useful information (the 1st and the 7th emails promote other offers). It may decrease my conversions, but if you consider that I can start a long term relationship with them you will see that it’s a good idea.


5 – Final tips

Ok, now let me give you some final tips that will help you along the way.
1. Avoid too competitive niches. College degrees, home/car insurance, etc… Avoid to get started on niches that have too many competitors, including big (and very rich) companies.

2. When starting campaigns with paid traffic, look for strategies to get cheaper traffic (even if it will reduce your traffic volume). For example, if you are starting with Google PPC, try the content network instead of the search. Also, consider using image ads, because they can bring you very cheap clicks. (For image ads you will need 1,000s of keywords).

3. Don’t spend a lot of money on softwares. Keyword Elite and Traffic Travis, for example, are great tools, but you don’t really need them to make money. So wait until you have a profitable campaign running to start buying softwares.

4. Education is more important than softwares, but it doesn’t mean you want to spend $100s in courses. You can’t get started if you don’t know what you are doing. Starting a SEO campaign without knowing SEO will make you lose weeks or even months on something that will never make you money. Starting PPC campaigns without knowing PPC will make you lose $100s in few days. However, don’t spend a lot of money on courses, remember that you need a budget to start your campaigns. Purchase 1 or 2 good courses (if you haven’t already) and stick at them.

5. If you are planning to start a PPC campaign, I personally recommend you to create an account at PPC-Coach.com. Now, they have a trial period that will allow to access the 1st month’s lessons for just $1. (I’m not associated with them, I just think they have one of the best courses about pay per click available on the internet).

That’s it. If you follow the tips above I’m sure that you will be a successful marketer in few days. If you have questions, please, don’t hesitate to post them on this thread. I’ll do my best to answer them.


William Souza

Alex Arseniy

Wow! I wish you would have posted this when i didnt know how to start

williamrs

Yes, it's more targeted to newbies, but may have some good tips for anyone who is promoting CPA offers.


William

TheKeys

Neat guide, you hit some good key points in this area. I hope those struggling to get accepted can know that it's actually no sweat!

postsalot

That's a great post! It contains lots of good tips that most newbies don't find in the beginning.

PostsalotSpeaks.com - My ramblings about internet marketing.
Postsalot.com - Blog Design, Video Marketing and more

williamrs

Yes, the problem is that sometimes people think that they need to be super affiliates in order to get accepted by CPA networks.


Thank you, I'm happy that you like it



William

advcpa

Great Post! I guess also for newer people there are lots of traffic sources you can test like William said. Here are a few that have been well used.

PPC
PPV
Media Buys
Email
Article Writing
SEO
Twitter
Social Media

If theres anything else I missed just add to the list

williamrs

advca,

Yes, sure. I just don't recommend media buys. This traffic source can be very expensive and it's hard for newbies to afford it.

Among all the paid traffic sources, I think that the best one for beginners is PPC. I know some marketers will say that PPV is also good, but I think that the good PPV comapnies require a big deposit to create an account. Also, PPC traffic is the most targeted traffic available, and it's easier you learn how to convert good traffic before start working with less targeted visitors.


William

Lulu Chil

Great post William and thanks.

Travelinman

This is awesome stuff! Throw money at it isn't the answer and I'm glad I found your post!

TravelinMan
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williamrs

Thank you, guys! I'm glad you like this information.

Also, if you have questions, don't hesitate to post them here or PM me


William

spyoftheworld

man you are so kind to share all this
thank you very very very much

GabrielV

Thanks for this man!

leaftag

Thanks man,this help me

Linda Hepworth

Thanks so much for this guide. I know that it is difficult to get accepted into directories - I have tried ! Now I have something to help me along !

Thanks again !

jeffrey73

Awesome stuff!

Mike Morgan.

Hi William ,
Solid post. As usual.
Mike

hilhilginger

Great guide.This what i am really looking for to have start with CPA

They have over 2300 Offers, Weekly PayPal Payments and Free Training Articles.

marketwarrior06

great job and very helpful. i think all the newbies must read this post before starting CPA networking.
thanks

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