Affiliate marketing

How to Make Money with a Cost-Per-Action Network

6 min read
Jul 25, 2017

When it comes to the CPA terminology, a majority of businesses feel uncertain about Cost-Per-Action affiliate marketing and the origins of this term.

Cost-Per-Action or CPA is an online advertising model, in which the advertiser compensates the affiliate partners (publishers) for each action performed on their websites with the advertiser's material.

This action can be filling out a questionnaire, registering, making a purchase in a store, subscribing to a newsletter, subscribing to a mobile service, subscribing to a real service via a card payment, or anything else depending on the specific affiliate program.

Over the years, online advertisements, and the CPA marketing model, in particular, has proven its effectiveness as people have continued to trust in paid online and mobile advertisements since 2013, as Nielsen Global Trust Advertising Report stated.

cpa marketing report

For both publishers and advertisers who are joining an affiliate network, the CPA marketing model introduces a variety of benefits.

Benefits of CPA Network

1. Global Market Entry

When you are affiliating with the global CPA network, as an advertiser, you get multiple market entries all around the world. Once you begin affiliating with a global network a vast list of affiliated publishers is open to you, with the network assisting with communication and cooperation.

2. Security Technologies Provided

It’s worth mentioning that a global network also provides the security and anti-fraud technologies for your convenience and peace of mind.

3. CPA as a Cost-effective Marketing Model

And, of course, as mentioned above, the CPA marketing model eliminates the problem of additional expenses planning the marketing budget of your online campaign. From the moment you start to advertise via a CPA network, you can forget about being paid for any general advertising activities and will start to earn money on specific results called ‘actions’.

But that’s not all!

As a publisher, you will get even more perks and benefits.

4. Traffic Monetization

First and foremost, your website traffic will start to grow, and you will receive commissions that provide you more financial freedom.

5. New Markets

Moreover, affiliation with a CPA network is the way to reach TOP Advertisers and work with internationally established brands, while the network guarantees payments for all determined actions on your websites. Cooperation with a global CPA network is also an opportunity to reach new markets in various areas of the world, driving traffic and receiving revenue regardless of geographical boundaries.

6. Resistance to Economic Crisis

Of course, if you join a network which covers multiple industries, you are less fragile to economic ups and downs within a specific market segment as you have various options to rely on.

7. Innovative Tools

Only a well-established CPA network will give you up-to-date, innovative tools which you receive with registration like a special iPhone app, Sub-ID, and banner or email retargeting tools, etc.

8. CPA Network Makes Your Business Easier

Actually, both publishers and advertisers win when joining a Cost-Per-Action affiliate network, because they both get access to a maximal scope of affiliate partners and global markets, while the network does its job and provides them with a special platform, technical support, verified partners, intermediation in transactions and campaign optimization.

9. In-house Affiliate Programs Offer You Various Benefits

Each affiliate program can be a part of the CPA network. However, independent affiliate programs also provide you attractive perks depending on the company reputation. Most popular benefits cover partner pane; presenting statistical data and account balance; fixed commissions; efficient support and regular payments.

Take an advantage of in-house affiliate programs like the one LiveChat has introduced. In general, it's based on the same CPA method. We all appreciate the good quality of LiveChat software which is in a high demand worldwide. Thus it is clear that you will always get top-notch marketing materials here that help you to learn and develop in the CPA field. And, of course, you will be an affiliate of the highly recognized brand that brings a lot of benefits with its reputation.

How to Make Money with a CPA Network

How to start?

When you have decided to try CPA marketing in action, regardless of whether you are a publisher or advertiser, you need to first register within the chosen network.

In some CPA companies, it is free, and they assign you to a dedicated manager who will help you from the very beginning to set up your profile, then will consult you regarding promoting your business online and other activities.

What should a newbie do in the beginning?

Once the CPA network has already verified your site and has added it to the system, it is time to search for suitable offers from the most reliable brands with the largest geographical expansion.

Then you can try these offers ‘in action’ for a short trial period and understand which offers suit you better and how to drive traffic more efficiently.

Some networks also provide their publishers with special statistical reports that can help you analyze your mistakes and optimize your marketing campaign.

How to boost conversion rates

To increase your conversion rates, you have to drive targeted traffic to your website. This means that when you chose an offer you have to think about the target customer who would like to pay for such goods or services.

The targeted customer who performs specific actions on your website brings you "targeted traffic."

Therefore, when you know your website audience and target their specific needs, you are boosting conversion rates through the "targeted traffic."

Does it make sense to try different networks?

On the one hand, you can try different networks and find the most suitable by the 'trial and error' method. In this case, you won’t be able to learn all about pros and cons of affiliate marketing in general and get to know networks in-depth too soon because CPA requires concentration, effort and most, importantly, time.

Alternatively, you may choose one, well-established network with a large range of offers, segments, and GEOs. In such case, you will not waste your time on learning rules and adapting to each new network repeatedly.

The groups of CPA networks are based on their marketing orientation

We can divide CPA networks into two groups.

Single Segment CPA network

The first group is oriented on one specific segment like travel or finance. Ideally, CPA networks of this type have an in-depth portfolio of publishers and advertisers focusing on a certain segment.

Thus, this kind of CPA network can't provide you with a multi segment list of offers. They also have a limited sampling of publishers and advertisers. Moreover, this type is quite fragile when this particular sector of the market faces an economic crisis.

Multi Segment CPA Network

The second group includes multi-segment CPA marketing networks like admitad.

Such networks have usually an extensive list of offers from various segments of online business: from e-commerce, mobile, food delivery, travel to finance and software.

This type of network operates globally, provides various benefits like innovative tools, weekly payments in all currencies and TOP international brands from different sectors of business. Thus, multi segment CPA networks have a lot to offer to newbies, experienced publishers, and advertisers.

Key Takeaways

In conclusion, it is sufficient to say, that online marketing, micro-targeting, and global affiliate networks prefer to work with the CPA marketing model. In this way, if you want to earn more and be well-equipped in the 21st century, you need to use the benefits of global affiliate marketing networks and their effective models.

The shortest way is to find a good CPA network and sign in as a publisher or as an advertiser, choose globally prized brands, and monetize your traffic regardless the boundaries of the old-fashioned world.