GeorgR.

CPA is not that different, compared to, say, Clickbank or other pay per sale-affiliate programs.

The basic principles are the same, this applies for Pay-Per-Click strategies as well as for the other forms of traffic generations. CPA is not some mystical beast which requires a 100% different approach. If you know clickbank or how to drive traffic to whatever offer - you can certainly also master CPA.

However - there are some differences which need to be taken under consideration to take 100% advantage of the opportunities CPA offers:

*) CPA can mean you promote free (or "semi-free") things.

*) CPA can mean that your goal is not an actual sale, but rather a simple sign-up like a email/zip or address submit

This means in general that average conversion rates CAN and should be way higher as opposed to selling items where a conversion only happens with a completed purchase.
Simply spoken: It's way more likely someone "just" fills in a simple email on a form as opposed to purchasing a $XX product using his credit card.

The fact that many offers are "free" or semi-free also allows better CTR for Pay-Per-Click like adwords, because, well, the word "free" usually makes people click on ads or banners

Since we deal with higher CTR (clickthrough rate) on ads and a general increased "curiosity" due to the nature of many CPA offers:
We CAN use different approaches to keyword research and different keywords to drive traffic to our offers.

While for conventional sales its usually crucial to go for the "best fit" and as targeted as possible keywords - with CPA we could, for example, try broader keywords to attract a more generic crowd.

Example:

You have an offer for a "free gas coupon"...it could be worth targeting this particular offer to a BROAD audience - for example using keywords which would match an audience looking for used cars, or car repairs, or people with an interest in motor-sports..things like that. You could even go so far and TRY an offer like this on a very generic, not related site, eg. if you purchase banner space. Things like that.

) many people have cars
) and many people wouldn't mind free gas, right?

That is why CPA is interesting. It gives more flexibility in your ways to advertise...it might yield in higher conversions and clicks.

honestbizpro

That is what I like best GeorgR.

There are so many spytools out there for other marketers to steal your adwords campaigns that we spend so much money on.

But with CPA when I get creative with my traffic generation using various methods I can fly under the radar and these methods are virturally free.

Mike Morgan.

To Add Litle more .

Diversifying your money making techniques will alllow you to make money consistetly even if some of your techniques saturate .

So , I hohy recomned you that you should never depend on a sinle techniques .

And , the best thing about CPA is that there are lots of ways to make it .

Mike

Fernando Veloso

Thanks George,

Although i cannot enter any of the big CPA networks. None. They don't like portuguese people or what?

Fernando

Johnny the Doe

Hi George,

thanks for the intro to CPA, although I got the general idea of ability of being creative on CPA in order to get cheap clicks it always helps to get this message once more and get an insight or two about optional promotion methods.

What I was wondering was whether promoting CPA offers in the search network is effective - both QS wise and cost/conv wise.
How do you get a good QS with an offer that probably has a bid of $1-2 on its core terms (which you're probably not going to target in the first place) e.g. "gas card, "free gas" etc.?
Is using the search network for CPA recommended? Based on your experience, what do you say?

Oh, and Honestbizpro - I'll be happy to get your input on the subject as well.

Thanks guys.

P.S. Fernando:

From my experience it's not that hard to get accepted into CPA networks, I'm not that much of an experienced CPA marketer (had some experience with CB though). All you have to do after you submit the application form is do a simple phone call to the network and ask to get accepted. Generally you'll be asked a few simple questions just to verify you're a human being and that's about it.
That's how I got accepted to Neverblue (they rock!), COPEAC, Maxbounty and 7Reach.

melon2112

I was reading your idea of giving an attendant at the gas station flyers and split commissions. I thought it was a brilliant idea (maybe even untapped). My issue arose when I was looking for gas card offers. They all seem to ask for enrollment in there sponsors. Are you aware of any that are contests like fill-out a survey and have a chance to win a gas card instead? I worry that the ones requiring sponsor sign-ups will come back to the gas station in a negative way. This would be fine if I don't ever go back to the gas station I guess...but I would rather be complete whitehat and therefore keep it ongoing. If you could give any advice, much would be appreciated.

Thanks.

gianne2705

I've read newbies and expert marketers engage with CPA.They are making their success but personally i haven't tried it as i'm still studying how to work with this type of marketing.