What Are CPA Networks Really Looking For?

As a person who frequents and posts around various affiliate marketing forums and resource sites, one question seems to arise extremely frequently, which I would like to address. This question is: "How do I get accepted into a CPA/Affiliate Network?"

I often see people answer with responses such as "say you do direct PPC" or "tell them you've been working with CJ for 2 years". Basically, responses are often in the form of 'tell them what they want to hear.'

As a network owner, as well as the person who conducts interviews with affiliates, I can let you know that "what they want to hear" isn't always the best thing. Since the affiliate marketing industry has been overrun by immense amounts of fraudulent affiliates, these generic answers are way too common. Sure lots of people actually do direct PPC, and do work with CJ (for example), but saying these things will not necessarily get you into a CPA network.

So what do CPA networks really look for? I believe that I can answer this question with 2 words, Honesty and Transparency.

In order to get into a CPA network, your safest bet, no matter your experience is to be honest with the network. If you are doing legitimate, white hat marketing, no matter the scale in which you do it, you should be able to get accepted into a network. When you are called for an interview, you shouldn't be nervous. You should simply answer the questions, based on your personal experience. If you are an expert in the field, these phone interviews are certainly a walk in the park. If you are new to affiliate marketing, don't lie about your experience. Tell your AM/interviewer that you are new to the industry and are looking to get started! At CPATrend, I enjoy working with new affiliate marketers as they climb their way up the ladder of understanding the industry, and of revenue stream. I'm also certain that there are many networks out there that are also welcoming to new affiliates, and you should never be ashamed to admit that you're just starting out. If you are working with other networks, you should always volunteer a reference from one of those networks (an affiliate manager of another network, or a contact there). This shows that you are serious and don't mind having your reference called/contacted to ask about your traffic quality. Additionally, never lie on your applications! Don't make up phony traffic numbers, phony phone numbers, etc. And most importantly, never allow anybody to sign up for you (that promises to give you a percentage of the earnings they make with the account). There are 2 reasons for this: 1) These people will be committing fraud 99.9% of the time. 2) You'll be giving a person who commits fraud your SSN/EIN and other valuable information. Don't be a fool and have your identity potentially stolen.

Once you are approved into a network, based on your honesty, the next key to developing and keeping a great relationship with the network is transparency. Show your affiliate manager your progress every step of the way! Show them your custom landing pages, your ad campaigns with various marketing platforms, tell them about your PPC campaigns, show your email templates before sending out any emails to your double opt-in lists (you should always show an AM your email template to double check that you are in compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, this way they can help you correct anything if it is not compliant -- don't get yourself involved in a lawsuit/criminal proceedings just to make a quick buck with email marketing). If you are open with what you are doing with the network, they will be happy to continue working with you. Personally, if I see great quality traffic being pushed to offers, I will gladly give a pay bump to the affiliate, as I know there wont be any backlash from the advertiser(s). It's very nice from the network perspective to see your progress in a campaign, and don't forget, the networks can see exactly how you're promoting offers, so if you say one thing and do another, it's not invisible to us!

I hope this can serve as a better reference than all of those other posts where people basically say "lie on your application to make the network happy", because that is certainly not what makes us happy. Again, honesty and transparency do!