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CPA Offers VS ClickBank Products!

by Tom Brite
32 replies
Note: Vote on the Poll Above Too!

Hey fellow warriors,

I made an important discovery today that might change the way i look at CPA offers in the future.

I don't normally check my cpa emails however i got one recently telling me that a specific cpa offer that i had looked at promoting had been removed and to change all my affiliate links and in essence stop promoting it as i wont get any sales if i do continue!

Now this rang alarm bells in my ears... very loud ones!

If i had chosen to promote that product earlier then i would be faced with finding an alternative cpa offer (if it existed) for a similar product and all my conversion rate would suffer greatly since my marketing approach is mostly based around the product name and brand over just niche related products!

I would have to have changed alot and done alot of work to ammend what i had setup to accomodate the new product. Not the mention the fact that if people are searching for product X and then arrive on my squeeze page to find me promoting a similar product called Y then the conversion rates would drop dramatically even if i explained that product X was no longer available!

Yet i know with clickbank the rate that the higher gravity products stop selling their ebooks is extremely low. The only one i can remember stopping selling copies was a ebook on 'man boobs' which last time i looked was a relationship product instead. Another example is a product on how to get revenge on your ex which is now a man boob product or something (i cant remember the exact details). The point is clickbank products don't seem to just dissapear! So i will never be left in the mess that a cpa offer could leave me in!

This leads me onto another point.... the most recent cpa offer that i am promoting i have noticed has a massive list of people who have been scammed by it and are being charged alot of money for trials they have cancelled. There are more and more sites appearing that are promoting the fact that it is a scam and as a result my marketing efforts are being punished. I either stop promoting it or just dominate all the search results and move all the scam reports lower down so that my sales stay at a steady rate and maybe even increase. But i suspect with the number of reports made against the product that it too will be removed soon.

So my question to you is.... cpa or clickbank products/offers?

The real bonus with cpa offers is they often convert alot easier than clickbank products and so i need to send alot less traffic to them for them to convert!

Let's hear your thoughts on this matter please

Tom Brite

P.S. Make sure you vote on the poll (all votes are kept private)!
#clickbank #cpa #offers #products
  • Profile picture of the author Jeremy Kelsall
    CPA is clickbanks daddy!

    I always did ok with Clickbank, but I've NEVER seen conversions and from clickbank the way I do with CPA.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tom Brite
      Originally Posted by Jeremy Kelsall View Post

      CPA is clickbanks daddy!

      I always did ok with Clickbank, but I've NEVER seen conversions and from clickbank the way I do with CPA.
      But then have you ever experienced a cpa offer just die and be removed and then your marketing efforts and time suffering because of that?

      Tom Brite
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      • Profile picture of the author garyv
        I'm going to be trying a little more cpa in the near future. From what I've tried so far, the conversions are much easier, but the payouts are lower. (from what I've tried so far anyway).

        But I have the same beef as you, with the ever changing and disappearing offers etc. You have to have some good scripting, and a good system in place to rotate out your discontinued ads.

        I'd like to hear more about Jeremy's success w/ it though. Do you build landing pages? Also do you do any list building?
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        • Profile picture of the author Tom Brite
          Originally Posted by Doug English View Post

          I'd have to agree with this statement 100%.

          Not sure if its a cookie thing, an adware/spyware thing, or some guy up on the grassy knoll stealing commissions, but its just how it is from what I've personally experienced.
          CPA Networks to shave commissions too! Just they will actually fix it if you tell them that they are stealing your money because your conversion rates have dropped, whereas clickbank wont (or never has for me)!

          Originally Posted by garyv View Post

          I'm going to be trying a little more cpa in the near future. From what I've tried so far, the conversions are much easier, but the payouts are lower. (from what I've tried so far anyway).

          But I have the same beef as you, with the ever changing and disappearing offers etc. You have to have some good scripting, and a good system in place to rotate out your discontinued ads.

          I'd like to hear more about Jeremy's success w/ it though. Do you build landing pages? Also do you do any list building?
          There are lower and higher payouts... the best cpa offers are the free trial ones where the consumer only pays a few $ and you make $30+ or so per lead/sale.

          You were probably talking about the email submit ones which are good but are very low payouts so you need alot of convering traffic for them to produce you any good amounts of cash.

          Tom Brite
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          • Profile picture of the author webpromotions
            Originally Posted by Tom Brite View Post

            CPA Networks to shave commissions too! Just they will actually fix it if you tell them that they are stealing your money because your conversion rates have dropped, whereas clickbank wont (or never has for me)!
            Tom Brite
            I disagree with that statement.
            I don't think the CPA networks do that, and I don't think Clickbank does that either.

            They all rely on their affiliates to make their money. This so called 'shaving' would be chump change to them.

            I just think that all of the Clickbank tracking problem threads you read about DO have some merit, but I definitely don't think its something intentional on their part. Its ridiculous to think that Clickbank could make more money by intentionally 'shaving' than they would by running an honest service.
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            • Profile picture of the author Tom Brite
              Originally Posted by Doug English View Post

              I disagree with that statement.
              I don't think the CPA networks do that, and I don't think Clickbank does that either.

              They all rely on their affiliates to make their money. This so called 'shaving' would be chump change to them.

              I just think that all of the Clickbank tracking problem threads you read about DO have some merit, but I definitely don't think its something intentional on their part. Its ridiculous to think that Clickbank could make more money by intentionally 'shaving' than they would by running an honest service.
              Ive actually seen this with my own eyes with both clickbank and cpa networks. Ive even talked with ex-managers of cpa networks who will vouch for the fact that both of them shave like mad.

              What may only be chump change to each individual person is alot of money when you are shaving even just one commission of 1000's of people who are promoting products in those specific affiliate systems and makes for alot of money to be made.

              Not everyone is 100% honest in their businesses when money is involved!

              Tom Brite
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        • Profile picture of the author Jeremy Kelsall
          Originally Posted by garyv View Post

          I'd like to hear more about Jeremy's success w/ it though. Do you build landing pages? Also do you do any list building?
          My experience is CPA kicks the crap out of clickbank.

          We have offers that convert 1:10 or 1:12 all day long with CPA. I've also had offers do the same at clickbank - only difference is after a couple weeks the clickbank conversions go to 1:80.

          One annoying things with CPA is that offers expire or close. It's not really a big deal though because they usually just get forwarded to a similar product by the networks.

          There is a guy right now that we know that made $12,500 last month - His first month in CPA after struggling with clickbank forever. We know this because he was referred to the CPA by us and we get a commission when he makes sales - Rock on dude!! The funny thing is, he did nothing different and went from making practically nothing to over 12K. The offers just convert better...period.
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          • Profile picture of the author Robyn8243
            As a general rule, CPA beats Clickbank without a doubt.

            I really don't think the expired offers are a major issue unless
            you choose to promote something off the beaten path (which still
            will not account for tons of links you need to change).

            Expired offers are always forwarded to a new offer which you
            will get credit for. The networks always try to replace with
            something similar, sometimes just a different brand.

            Robyn
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            • Profile picture of the author Tom Brite
              Originally Posted by Robyn8243 View Post

              As a general rule, CPA beats Clickbank without a doubt.

              I really don't think the expired offers are a major issue unless
              you choose to promote something off the beaten path (which still
              will not account for tons of links you need to change).

              Expired offers are always forwarded to a new offer which you
              will get credit for. The networks always try to replace with
              something similar, sometimes just a different brand.

              Robyn
              Ahh okay Robyn i didn't realize they normally replaced dead campaigns with other 'alive' campaigns that are similar.

              That makes it less work but still im sure conversion rates will suffer if you don't notice that!

              Looks like most people so far prefer's cpa over clickbank.

              Tom Brite
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    • Profile picture of the author webpromotions
      Originally Posted by Jeremy Kelsall View Post

      CPA is clickbanks daddy!

      I always did ok with Clickbank, but I've NEVER seen conversions and from clickbank the way I do with CPA.
      I'd have to agree with this statement 100%.

      Not sure if its a cookie thing, an adware/spyware thing, or some guy up on the grassy knoll stealing commissions, but its just how it is from what I've personally experienced.
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  • Profile picture of the author Carl Pruitt
    In my opinion, it just depends on the individual product or offer.

    The term CPA covers a lot of territory so this statement is a very general one that has a LOT of exceptions - I have found that too large a percentage of the high paying CPA offers I find pay more because they are ripoffs I wouldn't want to promote even if I could easily make a million dollars an hour from them. On the other hand, I participate in several very good converting lead generation programs that pay well because the lead is going to legitimately result in excellent profits for the party paying me. These tend to convert better for me than most Clickbank products.

    There is still a lot of junk for sale on Clickbank. There are also very good and truly useful products that convert well on there also. It is just a matter of picking a good one.

    Between the two, I would have to go with the lead generation CPA programs I take part in as my preference. I really like the private affiliate programs I take part in better than either of those two though.
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  • Profile picture of the author ChrisBa
    never been a fan of clickbank, always just done cpa..
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    • Profile picture of the author Arton
      I also hate clickbank because it needs a lot of traffic to make any sale! With CPA works great.
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  • Profile picture of the author Zach Booker
    Well since this got moved to the CPA sub-forum you can bet that 99% of people will tell you CPA offers are better.

    But honestly your wasting your time with Clickbank, what's the best converting product? FatLoss4Idiots? I guarantee that you can take any high EPC offer from Copeac and make double what you would with that.

    I know a lot of people, including myself, think "Well the payouts are only like 32 bucks and the ones on Clickbank are like $70".

    And I know that can be a huge factor in you not giving CPA a try.

    But sign up for Copeac and go check out the EPC's. (Earning per click.)

    Chances are you'll see numbers like 5 dollars. Most Clickbank products are under a dollar.

    So now think about it as, every person who clicks on my link or advertisement is worth 5 dollars.

    I have offers converting at like 20-25%, and that's not unusual at all.

    Zach

    P.S- If any of you are in the Forex niche you can get a 70 dollar payout just for some signing up for eToro. (A very trusted forex trading platform.)

    It's with Copeac i'm pretty sure.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tom Brite
      Originally Posted by Zach Booker View Post

      Well since this got moved to the CPA sub-forum you can bet that 99% of people will tell you CPA offers are better.

      But honestly your wasting your time with Clickbank, what's the best converting product? FatLoss4Idiots? I guarantee that you can take any high EPC offer from Copeac and make double what you would with that.

      I know a lot of people, including myself, think "Well the payouts are only like 32 bucks and the ones on Clickbank are like $70".

      And I know that can be a huge factor in you not giving CPA a try.

      But sign up for Copeac and go check out the EPC's. (Earning per click.)

      Chances are you'll see numbers like 5 dollars. Most Clickbank products are under a dollar.

      So now think about it as, every person who clicks on my link or advertisement is worth 5 dollars.

      I have offers converting at like 20-25%, and that's not unusual at all.

      Zach

      P.S- If any of you are in the Forex niche you can get a 70 dollar payout just for some signing up for eToro. (A very trusted forex trading platform.)

      It's with Copeac i'm pretty sure.
      Well that change sucks seeing as i was looking for a more even response from both clickbank affiliates and cpa affiliates.

      Tom Brite
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  • Profile picture of the author Zach Booker
    More people are making more money with CPA, Tom.

    Both as affiliates and as advertisers.

    Clickbank is good for solid e-book's, but CPA offers blow them out of the water in terms of how much money you can possibly make.

    Type "weight loss" into Google and you'll see either huge companies or CPA offers, simply because you couldn't stand a chance promoting some Clickbank product on such a competitive keyword.

    Zach
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    • Profile picture of the author Tom Brite
      Originally Posted by Zach Booker View Post

      More people are making more money with CPA, Tom.

      Both as affiliates and as advertisers.

      Clickbank is good for solid e-book's, but CPA offers blow them out of the water in terms of how much money you can possibly make.

      Type "weight loss" into Google and you'll see either huge companies or CPA offers, simply because you couldn't stand a chance promoting some Clickbank product on such a competitive keyword.

      Zach
      Great comparison there Zach,

      Nice to see an actual true example of how cpa offer is beating clickbank products.

      Tom Brite
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      • Profile picture of the author Kenster
        I have found that CPA is MUCH more lucrative than clickbank. I still make a decent amount from one cb product, but trust me, if there was a cpa offer in this particular niche, i'm sure i would be making a lot more from it.

        As far as offers expiring, yeah it stinks sometimes. Some offers convert really well and then expire and get forwarded to another similar offer but that one doesnt convert the same.

        Trust me though, if you find a good targeted traffic source, then you won't mind the pain-in-the butt work testing other simlar offers if the one you are using expires.

        CPA rocks though!
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  • Profile picture of the author Liquification
    Why not promote both. Multiple income streams seems like a good idea to me. CPA converts better but, clickbank products are around forever it seems. I have both happening.
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  • Profile picture of the author Zach Booker
    Np, Tom.

    Glad it helped.

    Zach
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  • Profile picture of the author SteveAC
    The volume you can do with CPA offers is much higher than you can do with clickbank especially if you are going after the big niches like diet. I've never made more than $1,000 a day with clickbank. With CPA you can call that a "bad day"
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  • Profile picture of the author Helps Here
    Steve, which CPA is best for diet related niche. would love to have $1k bad days, im new to this. thanks!! Is phone verification a norm for these companies? Seems they want to verify by phone, just wondering. Are there GOOD companies that we should use more than others? thanks!!

    Mark
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    • Profile picture of the author Kenster
      Originally Posted by MarkA View Post

      Steve, which CPA is best for diet related niche. would love to have $1k bad days, im new to this. thanks!! Is phone verification a norm for these companies? Seems they want to verify by phone, just wondering. Are there GOOD companies that we should use more than others? thanks!!

      Mark
      Mark, I would just apply to one of the larger networks and split test a few diet offers (most have them). Maybe try some high payout trials (if you are comfortable with them) or maybe go for a lower payout offer.

      Depending on how you are promoting, maybe try doing a Step 1 -- Offer 1 Step 2 -- Offer 2 type thing (again if you are comfortable with this).

      Many of the larger and better networks will want to speak with you via telephone to get a "feel" for you and primarily to see if you sound like a fraudster.
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  • Profile picture of the author mscofield
    In my view you should go for CPA offer,they pay well and if you have a huge traffic to your site then you will earn a lot $$$.
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  • Profile picture of the author Freeman77
    When I first started affiliate marketing, I did it with Clickbank. Over 2 years later, I still make a weekly income from article marketing that I did back then. I moved on to CPA marketing long ago.

    Only recently have I gone back to Clickbank to product a certain product - each sale nets me a rather nice sum. There are a few gems in CB, so if you abandoned it long ago for CPA marketing, you might want to take another look.
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  • Profile picture of the author Helps Here
    Kenster, thanks for that info!

    My issue is I am not a "pro" marketer, so do you think I would get accepted by say COPEAC...or any of the "larger" CPA networks, or are they very strict. I create niche sites in the health industry, so wondering if i would be accepted...if they say no now, will that blackball me from trying again later. Thanks!
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  • Profile picture of the author Helps Here
    Clickbank is great too.
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  • Profile picture of the author BillBert
    I am sorry for asking such a newbie question but what exactly is a CPA? I mean as apposed to selling products through CB, is getting paid by a CB sale not defined as a CPA as well.

    If someone could clarify this, I would be very grateful.

    Thanks
    Will
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    • Profile picture of the author imdomination
      Originally Posted by BillBert View Post

      I am sorry for asking such a newbie question but what exactly is a CPA? I mean as apposed to selling products through CB, is getting paid by a CB sale not defined as a CPA as well.

      If someone could clarify this, I would be very grateful.

      Thanks
      Will
      CPA means "cost per action" which means you get paid every time someone completes an "action", such as filling out their information in a form. It is a form of lead generation and doesn't necessarily require a sale to be made before you get paid a commission. Commission ranges from around $1 (for an email submit, where you get paid when a user inputs their email address) to $50+, generally for gambling offers, webcam sites and that sort of thing.

      Personally, I do both & much prefer CPA.
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    • Profile picture of the author abtradeguru
      CPA is the cost-per-action affiliate program. Also known as "pay for performance". In simple words, you can promote many different offers and get paid for, for example, 1 dollar just because someone filled out a form, or submit an email address, or bought some product. You can find out more about it on Google. Actually, that's could be an additional option. But, I prefer Clickbank more than other affiliate programs.
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      • Profile picture of the author BillBert
        Originally Posted by abtradeguru View Post

        CPA is the cost-per-action affiliate program. Also known as "pay for performance". In simple words, you can promote many different offers and get paid for, for example, 1 dollar just because someone filled out a form, or submit an email address, or bought some product. You can find out more about it on Google. Actually, that's could be an additional option. But, I prefer Clickbank more than other affiliate programs.

        Firstly thank you for your response. I guess I am getting too technical... Because other than an application, email or survey if someone buys something, if I understand it correctly that is also considered a CPA. So the affiliate stuff that is sold through CB is that not also a type of CPA?
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