Can't ethically do some CPA offers

51 replies
Perhaps I'm just naive, but I was shocked to learn what some of the CPA offers do to rip off people. I was about to promote one, until I discovered that after it "tricks" you into submitting your cell number to continue (and it gives you 90 seconds, there's a countdown timer), the small print is that by verifying your number, you are agreeing to pay $9.99 a month (charged to your cell phone bill) to receive spammy SMS blasts multiple times a week. I can't imagine why anyone would sign up for this, yet it seems to convert pretty decently on the affiliate network.

I guess in addition to naive I'm just too kind of a person to promote this type of offer; I'm hoping they aren't all like this, but my gut tells me they are. Really disappointed, I was so excited to get accepted into the network, but not if ripping off people is the way to make money.
#cpa #ethically #offers
  • Profile picture of the author helicopterplt
    Hey Scout,

    I just posted a thread about the same thing. I just got excepted to a CPA network...started looking at the offers and they all seem so Scammy....I would loves some tips from the pros here on how to find offers to promote that you can feel good about.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6717656].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author KimboJim
    Here's the thing. CPA can really make you a lot of money, but is money really worth selling out people like that? It's like standing outside a shady building and taking money to bring people in. You know what goes on inside is spammy and probably horrible, but are you willing to take the money and turn a blind eye to what is going on?

    I know there are a lot of ways to make huge earnings with CPA, but it's not worth it in my opinion. I like affiliate ads where I bring people to real businesses, AdSense where I can strengthen both large and small business owners, and of course offering my own services.

    I have yet to find a CPA offer that was actually ethical. Maybe they're out there, but I've never found one.
    Signature
    Ready for some great content at a low cost?
    PresentPLR Newest Pack: LED Grow Lights
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6717732].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author scout99
      You described it perfectly, KimboJim. And I certainly don't mean to offend any of our fellow Warriors who do make a living from it, just saying that personally I don't think it's something that I feel comfortable doing. Not judging.

      Adsense (and Amazon and eBay Partners) might not pay as much on average, but it sounds like they are a better fit for my conscience. Man! I was already counting the cash I was going to make with CPA lol
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6718069].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author ben565
        welcome to the world of cpa,unfortunely most of these offers are like this
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6719066].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author kwamster
        Originally Posted by scout99 View Post

        You described it perfectly, KimboJim. And I certainly don't mean to offend any of our fellow Warriors who do make a living from it, just saying that personally I don't think it's something that I feel comfortable doing. Not judging.

        Adsense (and Amazon and eBay Partners) might not pay as much on average, but it sounds like they are a better fit for my conscience. Man! I was already counting the cash I was going to make with CPA lol
        I don't think that it's fair to make a "blanket statement" like that about the entire CPA industry. There are plenty of legitimate CPA offers.

        As far as deceptive practices goes, I think that most forms of advertising utilizes some form of deception or ambiguity in them (even if it's only "slight").

        Take for example TV commercials for food products like cereal. Did you know that when they show you a picture of a bowl of cereal, that they don't use real milk in them but actually use glue?
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6960106].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ChrisBa
    Originally Posted by scout99 View Post

    Perhaps I'm just naive, but I was shocked to learn what some of the CPA offers do to rip off people. I was about to promote one, until I discovered that after it "tricks" you into submitting your cell number to continue (and it gives you 90 seconds, there's a countdown timer), the small print is that by verifying your number, you are agreeing to pay $9.99 a month (charged to your cell phone bill) to receive spammy SMS blasts multiple times a week. I can't imagine why anyone would sign up for this, yet it seems to convert pretty decently on the affiliate network.

    I guess in addition to naive I'm just too kind of a person to promote this type of offer; I'm hoping they aren't all like this, but my gut tells me they are. Really disappointed, I was so excited to get accepted into the network, but not if ripping off people is the way to make money.
    Then stay away from them or even more to CPS offers - so you get paid when you make a sale of an actual product
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6718489].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ChrisBa
    There are several legit CPA offers as well, or if it will make you sleep easier there are also CPS offers where you get paid when a sale happens or even programs like EPN and Amazon where you get paid a percentage for each sale..
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6718496].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ResultsDriven
    There are thousands of straight-forward CPA offers to promote. I've personally never promoted anything that was misleading and I've been doing this for a living since 2004.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6718599].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author mog320
      Originally Posted by ResultsDriven View Post

      There are thousands of straight-forward CPA offers to promote. I've personally never promoted anything that was misleading and I've been doing this for a living since 2004.
      What verticals have you found to have some of the more straight forward offers? Real estate, insurance, and mortgage loans seem to be pretty straightforward so far that I have been able to find.

      Any others that you recommend researching?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6751992].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ben565
    Originally Posted by scout99 View Post

    Perhaps I'm just naive, but I was shocked to learn what some of the CPA offers do to rip off people. I was about to promote one, until I discovered that after it "tricks" you into submitting your cell number to continue (and it gives you 90 seconds, there's a countdown timer), the small print is that by verifying your number, you are agreeing to pay $9.99 a month (charged to your cell phone bill) to receive spammy SMS blasts multiple times a week. I can't imagine why anyone would sign up for this, yet it seems to convert pretty decently on the affiliate network.

    I guess in addition to naive I'm just too kind of a person to promote this type of offer; I'm hoping they aren't all like this, but my gut tells me they are. Really disappointed, I was so excited to get accepted into the network, but not if ripping off people is the way to make money.
    welcome to the world of cpa advertising most of the offers are like this
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6719011].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ben565
    welcome to CPA most of the offers are like this
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6719013].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ChrisBa
    There are several more "legit" type of CPA offers, or you could promote cps offers or something like epn or amazon where you get a percentage of a sale
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6719109].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author scout99
      Thanks guys. I got accepted into EPN the same time I did into the CPA program; I think I'll focus on EPN for now!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6719273].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author mog320
      Originally Posted by ChrisBa View Post

      There are several more "legit" type of CPA offers, or you could promote cps offers or something like epn or amazon where you get a percentage of a sale
      Can you provide some of the more "legit" verticals that you have seen or recommend? I have seen a few threads like this lately, so it seems many people are trying to find something they feel comfortable promoting, although I know that everyone's comfort level is different.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6752012].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author siolio
    offcourse not ethical
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6752885].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author badboy_Nick
    Well, a lot of marketing out there is in the greyzone. You could argue the consumer should know better, but in most cases they don't. A small print protects a company/merchant ... and having a tickbox with a "you agree to these terms" is pretty much foolproof these days.

    But look, if a customer can't be bothered to read what he's effectively signing up for, then it's his fault. If the company HIDES the small print, then you COULD argue its a bit immoral, but it's a dog-eat-dog world out there.

    Only the fittest will survive, and if you want to make it out there you better know all the ticks in the toolbox. Not do do it yourself, but just so you know what the competition is up to.

    But I agree, you sleep a lot better at night doing proper marketing than tricking people into signup up for stuff they would never have agreed to in the first place.

    Nick
    Signature
    Read my incredible story: www.affiliatechamp.co.uk
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6754738].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Kenster
    There are offers in every vertical that fall across both ends of the spectrum so it's not so much the vertical as the specific offer/merchant.

    The great thing about this space is that you can play anywhere in that spectrum that you want! There are plenty of legit offers out there...plenty

    ~Kenster
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6756069].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Limemist
      You just have be careful what sort of offer you pick. I've noticed that the higher paying offers are usually more legit but are harder to promote.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6757535].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author outwest
    Have yet to see an offer that is not a scam?
    Even dating offers? That is a bit of a stretch dont you think?
    Signature
    Tech article writing .Native English Speaker(with Proof)
    specializing in SmartPhones , Internet security, high tech gadgets, search engines, tech shows, digital cameras.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6757644].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Joey Babbs
    There are several Gaming type CPA offers that allow people to play games and there is a fortune in that....they are not shady...not that I know of ....plus there are tons of other non shady CPA offers....you will find that many legitimate traffic sources dont even allow you to promote the crap offers anymore...
    Signature


    I MADE OVER $3,000,000 ON CPA LAST YEAR

    CLICK HERE & SEE MY EXACT CAMPAIGNS!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6757847].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Joe Stewart
    I used to promote CPA offers back in 2007-2008 and made a lot of money, but I watched the industry slowly turn scammy over just a few months time.

    At first, there were free trial offers that offered 30 days. After awhile that was reduced to 21, 14, 7, etc and there were consumer complaints popping up everywhere. I even read from some of the promoters that the trial would begin on the DAY OF THE SIGNUP and they'd intentionally wait until 1-2 days before the end of the trial to even ship the offer!

    They'd do this intentionally in order to get people sucked into their continuity system. Once that was done these poor consumers had an awful time getting out and many even had to close their accounts!

    This was happening regularly in weight loss offers, business opportunity, dating and many others.

    Some of these VICTIMS would come online looking for a way to make money, but be naive and not read the fine print below the big FREE TRIAL headline. Next thing they know their money is getting sucked out of their bank account like a vacuum and they couldn't stop it!

    I've read stories of people being on hold with customer service for 1-2 hours, which was done intentionally. Why? Because most people wouldn't wait. They'd just keep trying to get through with the same result every time. The next thing they know another payment period passes by and they're out another $79.95 or so.

    Scumbags!

    My wife got sucked into a continuity offer on TV from Beach Bodies, who, ironically, now make a legitimate product called P90X. However, at that time she was stuck for three months before her bank finally stopped the payments and reversed the charges on her debit card.

    If you want to sell leads to real estate agents, insurance agents, etc, stay away from the CPA companies and go directly to the agents themselves. They pay high dollar for leads and would be more than willing to work out a deal for a consistent flow of qualified prospects. As a former Life and Health agent, I know this for a fact.

    I've heard some people say that there are legit CPA offers/companies out there, but I've yet to see it. My advice is to steer clear. That is, if you have a conscience. We'll all have to answer for our actions someday.

    Voice of experience.
    Signature

    My New "Share All" Blog Is Coming Soon! Online & Offline Marketing, More!

    http://www.UnCENTSored.com

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6757859].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Joey Babbs
      Originally Posted by Joe Stewart View Post

      I've heard some people say that there are legit CPA offers/companies out there, but I've yet to see it. My advice is to steer clear. That is, if you have a conscience. We'll all have to answer for our actions someday.

      Voice of experience.
      I agree the Free trial offers are complete scams and I never really promoted them either...and most companies dont even have them anymore....

      I do however have to disagree with you somewhat in that there are some very legitimate lead offers available for people to promote...and some good sale offers on CPA networks that are not available elsewhere...so i would not recoommend people to steer clear...but maybe understand how the offers work...before promoting...

      I say if you wouldn't sell it to your grandmother....then why would you sell it to others?
      Signature


      I MADE OVER $3,000,000 ON CPA LAST YEAR

      CLICK HERE & SEE MY EXACT CAMPAIGNS!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6757940].message }}
  • "You could argue the consumer should know better, but in most cases they don't."

    Why don´t they know? Because they don´t want to listen. They want to be free, follow their heart (Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law) and refuse to follow those who know the path. So they are falling prey to the wolves.

    Do we have an ethical duty to save them from themselves? They are not so innocent. I had to work and live for years between complete a**holes and they did so much to me and, as a consequence, I hate them out of the depth of my heart. They are like flies, feeling attracted to any kind of sh*t.

    Does that mean it´s okay to hunt the pigs? To profit from their weaknesses, entrap them in their own lies and lack of any moral consciousness and get even? Is this the way of the warrior? Eat or be eaten. Kill or be killed.

    It´s more than just about a few Dollars. It´s a spiritual thing. As a Christian one would say stay away from them or help them like Jesus preached. But helping them requires suppressing them. Help suppresses. Fortunately I have no means to suppress them and therefore do not need to know the answer to this question.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6758126].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author david15923
    Well, people are dumb. Did they really think that they would get a 600$ product just by submiting an email? It says "Details apply*" in big letters, and on the bottom it says it all ("you have to complete x offers bla bla bla") so if they don't read it it's their fault (and this applys to every offer that doesn't hide their terms and conditions). You might say it is my fault because I promoted the offer, but in the end if I don't promote it somebody else will. I will walk away with 0$ and the person will still be "scamed" (aka. be stupid). It's kinda like a life lesson: next time, when you see something that is too good to be true, oh, and read the instructions
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6758685].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Joe Stewart
      Originally Posted by david15923 View Post

      Well, people are dumb. Did they really think that they would get a 600$ product just by submiting an email? It says "Details apply*" in big letters, and on the bottom it says it all ("you have to complete x offers bla bla bla") so if they don't read it it's their fault (and this applys to every offer that doesn't hide their terms and conditions). You might say it is my fault because I promoted the offer, but in the end if I don't promote it somebody else will. I will walk away with 0$ and the person will still be "scamed" (aka. be stupid). It's kinda like a life lesson: next time, when you see something that is too good to be true, oh, and read the instructions
      Come on, man, if you KNOW it's a scam then it doesn't matter whether they know it or not - you do. Wrong is wrong. There is no sugarcoating it by saying "if I don't promote it somebody else will". That's just trying to justify ripping someone off.

      If everyone would simply stop having that attitude maybe we could clean up the internet and stop giving IM such a bad name.
      Signature

      My New "Share All" Blog Is Coming Soon! Online & Offline Marketing, More!

      http://www.UnCENTSored.com

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6758839].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author david15923
        Originally Posted by Joe Stewart View Post

        Come on, man, if you KNOW it's a scam then it doesn't matter whether they know it or not - you do. Wrong is wrong. There is no sugarcoating it by saying "if I don't promote it somebody else will". That's just trying to justify ripping someone off.

        If everyone would simply stop having that attitude maybe we could clean up the internet and stop giving IM such a bad name.
        Well, if we were clean up the internet you would have to say "bye" to loans because they have "hidden" (aka. people don't reed the terms), and they charge more then people are expecting. Let's eliminate 95% of rehashed weight loss products/"how to make money online" products that have unreasonable expectactions and/or are overpriced. Let's eliminate all email/zip submits and WAP offers. Let's eliminate the majority of dating offers that offer almost no value to members (not all of them, but the majority). Let's eliminate penny auctions because a minority of them are scams, the majority have bot's that will bid until they make a good profit, and most of them will charge your credit card, also is written in the terms and conditions, but no one reads it. Forex can also give a lot of unreasonable expectactions to the people that are signing up (some people are ignorant about it and loose a LOT of money).

        After we eliminate the bad thing's about IM, how much are we really left with? With so low number of offers, could it really support the huge number of affiliates there is?

        All of this is "not beeing ethical", but like a dude that I can't remember his name said: "In businesses we cannot affort to be ethical" and that is because in our society, and as it's been said here, it's a case of "kill or be killed": you either say that your shop is the best shop in the world and you advertise it as such, althought you know for a fact that the shop down the road is better then you, or you are ethical - you say to your clients that there is a better shop than yours where they will get a better overall experience and you go bankrupt.

        Sorry for the grammar
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6810202].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author markowe
          Originally Posted by david15923 View Post

          e it as such, althought you know for a fact that the shop down the road is better then you, or you are ethical - you say to your clients that there is a better shop than yours where they will get a better overall experience and you go bankrupt.
          You could work on making your shop better?
          Signature

          Who says you can't earn money as an eBay affiliate any more? My stats say otherwise

          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6959270].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Greedy
    - Dating isn't scam-my, and helps a lot of people.
    - Games aren't usually a scam.
    - Gambling offers, I don't feel are wrong.

    Ethical offers are always much more stable long term. I am more concerned with success than ethics, still I find myself going the ethical route because it is much more profitable.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6760066].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author JRemington
      Originally Posted by Greedy View Post

      - Dating isn't scam-my, and helps a lot of people.
      - Games aren't usually a scam.
      - Gambling offers, I don't feel are wrong.

      Ethical offers are always much more stable long term. I am more concerned with success than ethics, still I find myself going the ethical route because it is much more profitable.
      I am more or less on these lines too.

      If you help people to meet up on legit sites, you can make a difference to people.

      If you promote shady scammy stuff, you're contributing to its success.

      I've read about penny auctions and nearly started promoting them until I found out what a cheating scam they are.

      Whether you do it or not is up to you, but for me making money helping people out feels much, much better. And you don't need to belong to a religious organisation to have this opinion.
      Signature
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6760548].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author smokey58
        The great thing about this business is that you are free to promote anything that is legal. If you don't like the CPA offers, create your own product as many warriors have done.

        Ultimately, the big money is made when you control the product being sold. Nobody is forcing you to do anything that is out of your comfort zone.

        Why don't you try becoming an Amazon affiliate?
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6808224].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author peatermead
          Originally Posted by smokey58 View Post

          If you don't like the CPA offers, create your own product as many warriors have done.
          And majority of these products are scam. People who have not made any money online are selling tips/WSO on how to make money. Is this not scam? I have even seen WSOs that are copy of other WSOs with different marketing pitch.
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6958795].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author kwamster
        Originally Posted by JRemington View Post

        I am more or less on these lines too.

        If you help people to meet up on legit sites, you can make a difference to people.

        If you promote shady scammy stuff, you're contributing to its success.

        I've read about penny auctions and nearly started promoting them until I found out what a cheating scam they are.

        Whether you do it or not is up to you, but for me making money helping people out feels much, much better. And you don't need to belong to a religious organisation to have this opinion.
        You can actually make money or purchase goods at a discounted price with penny auctions. It's just that the odds are heavily stacked against you.

        Take a look at the lottery, people continue to play day after day, week after week and year after year without winning - so what's the difference?
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6960154].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author markowe
          Originally Posted by kwamster View Post

          You can actually make money or purchase goods at a discounted price with penny auctions. It's just that the odds are heavily stacked against you.

          Take a look at the lottery, people continue to play day after day, week after week and year after year without winning - so what's the difference?
          Obviously there must be a difference, because people would be filling up Ripoff Report with stories about what a scam the lottery is, but they're not.

          Penny auctions basically heavily incentivise people to sign up by misrepresenting your chances of winning - especially when they are using bots to bid and whatnot. MAYBE it's all in the small-print, MAYBE people are gullible, but I think this is another example of a primarily US phenomenon where the belief still holds that the free market is God and capitalism should be given free reign. Other countries like the UK have strict fair trading standards and deceptive practices like these are far harder to engage in - ever wonder why there are no UK CPA networks to speak of? Oh, and that's why there WASN'T a lottery in the UK until 20 years ago and why it's strictly controlled. Only the government gets to make money off the people's gullibility

          Looks like it's a philosophical/moral/political issue, so I guess that means it's time to bow out of this thread before it gets closed..!
          Signature

          Who says you can't earn money as an eBay affiliate any more? My stats say otherwise

          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6961798].message }}
  • "Come on, man, if you KNOW it's a scam then it doesn't matter whether they know it or not - you do. Wrong is wrong."

    Yes, I agree. But things are mostly not so black and white. Things aren´t 100% good or 100% scam. If I think like this I can only promote products I would buy myself. But if I would tell them this or that is not good or who buys it is stupid, they would laugh at me, call me a religious extremist or whatever they have in store. Is it than bad to think: If they want it, they can get it.

    Who are "They"? I leave it to the laws of reality to identify them.

    Where are the good people? Mankind is a dangerous animal. And there need to be laws and punishment to prevent them from doing what they really want to do. And the weak, stupid etc. are those who need the laws the most. As a protection against the strong. More laws means less freedom. And Freedom is the holy grail. If we would only want to do good things, we wouldn´t need the freedom to do anything else. If we want to be free doesn´t this mean that we have to live by the rules freedom dictates? As a matter of self defense?

    Should alcohol be forbidden to save some of us from becoming alcoholics? Or do we have to think that it´s their own fault? They were warned that they would come to this. The alcohol industry doesn´t seem to care about the many victims of alcohol. And there are many more examples like this.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6760483].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author zavhoz
    fun is that i think not less then 40% of warriors are selling those scam offers =\
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6809847].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author markowe
    I am glad I ran into this topic, I have been meaning to raise the same questions for ages. I never got into CPA either, even though it seems like it can be incredibly profitable, exactly for the same reasons - because it's MOSTLY bait-and-switch or small-print chicanery and I have never found an offer that isn't (though maybe I am just not in the right networks).

    - scammy, money-sucking "penny auctions"
    - misleading, small-print offers designed to stealthily secure CC rebills
    - get a free iPad/$500 Victoria Secret/$1000 Walmart voucher, C'MON! Lies, all lies.

    How does any of this provide any value to the market?

    No wonder a great many countries do not allow this kind of "marketing". I agree it's all a questions of personal morals, but saying that people somehow deserve be scammed for being gullible, well, we obviously differ there.
    Signature

    Who says you can't earn money as an eBay affiliate any more? My stats say otherwise

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6959222].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JoeDownLow
    The people who do the mobile offers, they can cancel it after agreeing to pay $9.99 a month though right? So would they get charged for only one month or no months at all?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6959298].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author zotown
    Hi guys I am a long time internet marketer/affiliate marketer, however am only now consider CPA promotion. I have stayed away from it because the only CPA offer I have seen (as ads on other sites) have been scammy and i have never enter my mobile number as it says each text message will cost $5. Now the reason I am considering going into it is because I have been chatting to a successful CPA guy (friend) who says that he makes his money by focusing on email offers (collects email address and not phone numbers) and also trial offers such as dating and gaming. I would be happy to promote these offers, however ethically I will not promote a product that charges someone $5 per text. I have signed up to CPA Lead, however they seem to only have text scammy promotions. Any recommendations on email or trial offers/networks. Thanks.
    Signature
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6959874].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author koppster
    there are legit ones to just pick and choose
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6959938].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author kwamster
    Originally Posted by scout99 View Post

    Perhaps I'm just naive, but I was shocked to learn what some of the CPA offers do to rip off people. I was about to promote one, until I discovered that after it "tricks" you into submitting your cell number to continue (and it gives you 90 seconds, there's a countdown timer), the small print is that by verifying your number, you are agreeing to pay $9.99 a month (charged to your cell phone bill) to receive spammy SMS blasts multiple times a week. I can't imagine why anyone would sign up for this, yet it seems to convert pretty decently on the affiliate network.

    I guess in addition to naive I'm just too kind of a person to promote this type of offer; I'm hoping they aren't all like this, but my gut tells me they are. Really disappointed, I was so excited to get accepted into the network, but not if ripping off people is the way to make money.
    All CPA offers aren't deceptive like the one you just described. I would say that the vast majority of them are just ways for companies to generate leads - people interested in receiving various types of quotes, people that wish to try out free trial offers, etc.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6960037].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author peatermead
    Originally Posted by bizoppmaster View Post

    50% of the CPA industry is a scam lol.
    Well said man!

    Most of the CPA networks highly active on WF are a total scam. They don't have a single offer. Content locking - what a BS it is?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6961279].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author QtoBrooklyn
    I don't know what network it is you joined where you can't find a single offer that you'd consider legit..

    I know e-mail submits get a lot of slack but if you ever saw the offer page, it clearly states 'Participation Required. Click for details.' Also, 90% of the time the word FREE has an asterisk next to it. Everything is explained on the page.

    I don't know about mobile offers, never tried them..
    Signature

    "I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members."

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6961934].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author brettb
    > I have yet to find a CPA offer that was actually ethical.

    Lol. You need to do some Googling. There are zillions of great CPA offers out there. Most of the best are directly with the merchant. My best new find doesn't even advertise their affiliate scheme.

    The highest payers in my niche are kind of shady. But you know what - my readers are educated enough to know they're scammy outfits. Only the best legit offers convert for me now.
    Signature
    ÖŽ FindABlog: Find blogs to comment on, guest posting opportunities and more ÖŽ




    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6962381].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Gordon P
    Most products are scam in some way. Nowadays it's just about making money and hyping a product. E.g. iPhone. They build it for 100$ and then sell it for 800$. And this is not a scam?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6962991].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Bruce Wayne
    Unfortunately, some people are such blinded by money, they will not hesitate to create scam offers. Money possessed their entire lives and they do not bother scamming people to make them. I wonder, if they know scamming does not pay in the long term...

    Fortunately, not all the people are the same! I am sure you will find some CPA offers, which are good and not intended to scam people.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6964883].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Blade Runner 77
    Just wanted to add, seeing as I started thinking like this recently, that dating sites have become really bad here too, with very few offers I've seen as being for straightforward proper sites, 90% easily, the girls are either models, don't exist, expect payment for sex or conversation, or are employed 9-5 to answer email connections, employed to tease the customer through levels of payments but to never meet the client, and in addition all the while is forced, continuous billing

    Some thing to consider about the morality of all of this: some of the biggest scams over recent years, with fake products such as teeth whiteners ( remember 'an unusual tip to whiten your teeth', and 'when mixed with two other common products I got these miracle results',and forced, unstoppable billing, have been promoted on googles main pages for months and years, google refused to pull the ads, despite an avalanche of complaints from state law officials in the midst of prosecutions against the companies, and in some cases google is working on profit sharing basis with these companies, providing cheaper ad space.

    When I see that 'do no evil' it makes me larf.

    On the other hand, I do agree with many comments, there are plenty of honest offers out there.I no longer taint my site with scammy offers.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6966124].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author QtoBrooklyn
      Originally Posted by Blade Runner 88 View Post

      Just wanted to add, seeing as I started thinking like this recently, that dating sites have become really bad here too, with very few offers I've seen as being for straightforward proper sites, 90% easily, the girls are either models, don't exist, expect payment for sex or conversation, or are employed 9-5 to answer email connections, employed to tease the customer through levels of payments but to never meet the client, and in addition all the while is forced, continuous billing
      I don't really see a big problem with pictures of models plastered all over the landing page. When you buy a Big Mac, it doesn't exactly look like the one in the picture, does it?

      I don't know much about the employed girls thing tho. Sounds messed up if true.
      Signature

      "I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members."

      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6970494].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JoeDownLow
    Honestly it says pretty clearly on most scammy CPA offers at the least the one I've seen that they will be charging you in the "I agree" section so you have to be blind or dumb to actually hit I agree.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6966142].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author orag08
    I'm pretty sure CPA has this thing called "opt-in". That makes CPA a clean or cleaner business right?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6967469].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author sadneck
    Originally Posted by scout99 View Post

    Perhaps I'm just naive, but I was shocked to learn what some of the CPA offers do to rip off people. I was about to promote one, until I discovered that after it "tricks" you into submitting your cell number to continue (and it gives you 90 seconds, there's a countdown timer), the small print is that by verifying your number, you are agreeing to pay $9.99 a month (charged to your cell phone bill) to receive spammy SMS blasts multiple times a week. I can't imagine why anyone would sign up for this, yet it seems to convert pretty decently on the affiliate network.

    I guess in addition to naive I'm just too kind of a person to promote this type of offer; I'm hoping they aren't all like this, but my gut tells me they are. Really disappointed, I was so excited to get accepted into the network, but not if ripping off people is the way to make money.

    Trust me, all CPA offers are not like this, (my brother promotes a few of them,) and makes bank all the time off people who legitimately sign up for the offer.

    Search through the CPA network a bit and you will find offers that jive with you morally.

    Cheers!
    Andrew
    Signature
    THE BITCOIN BOSS WSO PACKAGE
    Special Launch Price!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7022739].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author 200dollarsperday
    I think email submit is more easier compare with SMS offer. For me, I never enter my phone anyways...
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[7024873].message }}

Trending Topics