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Let’s take a look at “What Are the Pitfalls Of CPA Marketing?” There are two hidden pitfalls to CPA marketing that you really have to be wary about.
One that may surprise you occurs as a result of your CPA network itself. (Yes. You would really think they’d know better!) I’m talking about pop-ups…
The problem arises because many CPA networks use a specific setup that automatically generates pop-ups. The only problem is, if you’re using Google PPC ads, you’ll run into a conflict, as pop-up windows are not allowed as a promotion tool by Google PPC.
There’s a simple fix: Log into your account and disable the pop-ups, using the “Tools” tab.
But what do you do when the pop-up window is right on the Advertiser’s actual landing page itself?
That’s when the good relationship you’re going to have with your CPA Network rep comes in handy. Simply contact them, explain you are monetizing your promotion with PPC, and ask for a link without the pop-up box. Usually, this does the trick
And Speaking of Landing Pages…
When you check out an advertiser’s landing page, look hard to see if he has properly targeted for his topic and keywords. After all, there is absolutely no point in you sending him a flood of great, targeted traffic from your end if each and every one of them bails when they hit his poorly targeted and market-researched landing page.
In fact, this can actually backfire on you. Even if you’re only driving traffic as lead generation, and not actual sales conversions, the advertiser may be likely to blame your promotion for their lack of conversions. And if they are not experienced enough to target properly for the right traffic, that amateur attitude is going to carry through to not accepting responsibility for their own shortcomings.
The bad part about this? Not only have you invested a lot of time in setting up your perfectly targeted promotion, but the people you send there will be left feeling anything from vaguely disappointed to be irritated. They’re less likely to visit your site again.
Worse, if the advertiser doesn’t realize the lack of actual conversions is his fault – or if he’s busy blaming you – they can request that you be “fired” by your CPA network from his particular campaign. Since CPA networks literally reward affiliates who drive a lot of traffic and achieve lots of great results – with anything from prizes to allowing you to negotiate a higher commission rate – negative feedback from an advertiser may affect you adversely, as far as your worth to the CPA network.
So always check out those advertiser landing pages thoroughly, and watch out for pop-ups, if you’re driving traffic to your carefully planned promotions with PPC… and you’ll short-circuit and avert two common CPA dangers that many marketers simply don’t know about.
Prevent Unethical CPA Marketing
Once in a while, we read some comment on a blog that leaves us with the feeling that CPA marketing is sleazy or shady. It’s implicit everywhere – in forum comments, blog posts and even top marketers themselves will drop the occasional negative comment that sticks to your throat like cold chicken originally fried in too much grease.
It’s a serious question, that deserves some serious consideration. Especially if you’re feeling uncomfortable about the whole idea of adding CPA ads to your lovingly crafted sites.
“I don’t want to be some sleazy marketer, forcing people to give up their privacy and contact information in exchange for some coupon or free sample,” you protest.
That’s a really valid objection. Your reputation should be the most sacrosanct core of your marketing persona!
But think about it a moment… What are the sorts of CPA-type ads you, yourself, most notice and object to?
Yes, that’s right: The sleazy ones – the ones that really do feel like they’re bullying you into giving up your personal contact information, promising huge benefits you’re insulted to find they don’t deliver (especially after you’ve invested the time filling out their survey, or giving up your email address).
The other serious scenario that’s of real concern: There are, in fact, a number of CPA offers that really do approach “scam” proportions. A case in point is all those “free gas cards” in exchange for your contact information. When you fill in what they want, you end up either at a page that says “under construction” or “sorry, this promo has expired”
- or nowhere at
(Note: This is not to say that all “free gas card” offers are shady – but there has been a number in the past to provoke legitimate complaints.)
Finding a page that’s no longer valid, for any reason, after you’ve entered your personal information can be due either to:
- Actual shady
- An inexperienced marketer who hasn’t bothered to remove or replace the ad when a promotion ended.
Either way, you’re left with a definite bad taste in your mouth.
But What About The Good CPA Ads?
You have a choice, however. Are you going to drive traffic to your promotions at any cost, or are you going to:
- Take time to check out promotions, to make sure that real value actually IS going to be delivered after your site visitor enters his prized contact info.
- Make sure to present only CPA offers that really do add value to your site visitor’s experience – ones that seem so much a part of your website, it feels to the visitor as if you’ve done them a huge favor!
That’s the difference between “sleazy” and “great customer service” – how much thought and care you put into presenting only what will genuinely enhance your visitor’s experience when he lands on your site.
Besides, he’s a big boy (or girl). He always has the choice of whether or not to part with his email address or any other information.
And if you’ve done it right, your visitor will end up feeling pleased with the results – he won’t feel bullied or tricked at all!
The Right CPA Offer
Numerous factors make a CPA offer the right one for you. You are bound to see great offers that many other people are clamoring to publish, but this doesn’t necessarily mean they will work for you.
One of the biggest issues is that the audience you are marketing to can be significantly different than anyone else’s audience; if this is the case then the offer needs to be appropriate for your own special niche if you are going to market it successfully.
In other words, don’t follow the crowd; instead, analyze your own position on the Internet and seek to exploit the traffic that’s at your fingertips.
Demographics and Niches
Whether you are article marketing or answering questions on a forum, you have special knowledge that attracts people to your postings. This is your niche. Your niche will likely attract people of a particular demographic to your posts, so the more you know about these folks the more highly targeted you can make your CPA offers.
After all, someone who is elderly is not going to be interested in the latest electronic video games, so match the needs and interests of the demographic to the offers you choose to make.
You can set up different websites for different niches or try to build audiences for specific niches by focusing on one topic over another in a forum. Just be clear about each site’s demographic so you can have a better idea of which niches might be successful there and which are likely to fall flat.
If you have just started and don’t have a group following you already, you can just opt to focus on very hot niches until a demographic naturally cluster around them.
Right now, hot niches include foreclosure prevention, debt consolidation or elimination, Internet marketing, and frugal topics. Use the Google Keyword Tool to research popular keywords and potential new niches.
Hunting Down Those Great Offers
To find great offers that will provoke people to take the action required by the merchant so you can receive payment into your account, place yourself in the visitor’s shoes. What are they looking for? What problems are they having trouble solving? What will they be willing to do or not do?
Compare that to the average earnings-per-click that is published for the offer to see if it is worth your time and energy market the offer.
Here are the elements necessary to review, to determine the value of any CPA offer to your bottom line:
Earnings Per Click (EPC)
Initially you may be tempted to go only for the highest paying offers, but this can be a mistake. How well an offer converts to a paying action is what really determines whether the offer is suitable for your marketing purposes.
Take a look at the EPC for the offer, but don’t let that be the only factor in your final decision. An EPC of $50 isn’t better than one for $5, for example, if nobody actually follows through to do the action requested.
Length Of Forms
If the action is to fill out a form, then see if it is a short or a long form. Generally, forms asking for less information convert better than longer form requests.
Request For Credit Cards
If the offer requires that a visitor input their credit card information, keep in mind that most people are not willing to do that right up front. These kinds of offers generally don’t convert well, no matter what the EPC might be.
Exclusive Offers
If an offer is exclusive to a network and you manage to be accepted in that network, then there will be less competition on the Internet for that offer. An exclusive offer is almost always better for you as a publisher than a non-exclusive offer.
