Who affiliate marketing is for
Despite the rich variety of marketing tools offered by affiliate programs, such a principle of operation isn't a one-size-fits-all model. The CPA philosophy can only be efficient in the following circumstances:
The CPA philosophy can only be efficient
in the following circumstances:
in the following circumstances:
1. Your business has been operating for long and you want to boost growth by spinning up the activities
People must be somehow aware of your brand and the number of your website's visitors must not be lower than a specific level. Publishers can ensure wide reach and establish good contact with a brand. In the future, it will be easier for you to maintain consumer loyalty.
2. Your business is only concerned with distributing consumer goods and services (B2C)
An affiliate network implies reaching a large share of a target consumer audience; however, it could be complicated to apply it to B2B and B2G segments. Besides, B2B sales usually require communicating with — and seeking advisory from — a specialist, and sometimes even personal knowledge and connection. That being said, the sales and approval process may take years. In such cases, using affiliate programs makes no sense as the CPA model suggests skyrocketing sales and gaining traction.
3. Your business is large enough and you can scale it up quickly
In fact, the CPA model may yield unpredictable results in most cases: if at least one publisher's business model pays off, you will be overwhelmed with orders (so you must be ready for that). If a user decides to make an order having received a special offer from a publisher only to find out the items are out of stock, you will lose both user's and publisher's loyalty. The publisher won't trust you as they haven't just lost their reward but also the trust of the consumer who followed the publisher's link.
4. Your assortment and target audience are wide enough
Picking ad spaces for niche products is an attainable yet very tough task (as difficult as it is for a publisher to earn something in such a case). If a publisher notices they get dimes for every sale, the audience is very narrow, and there won't be repeated orders in the future, they won't be likely to promote the program. In broader categories, publishers earn on scaling. Even if the rate is not too appealing, a publisher can ramp a program up and earn well. We don't state it's impossible to take advantage of affiliate marketing in niche categories. There still can be successful exceptions. Every case is unique and must be reviewed individually.
These conditions are not mandatory but advisable. Surely, there are some successful cases in niche-specific segments and B2B, but those are mostly viable exceptions. This is why partner networks impose requirements regarding advertisers; otherwise, affiliate marketing may turn out to be underperforming, publishers will abandon the program, and the advertiser will find themselves completely disappointed.
We don't recommend using affiliate marketing
as a sole tool to market your products abroad
as a sole tool to market your products abroad
Remember that the CPA model is for boosting sales rather than entering new markets. Without having initiated promotion in the market, you won't get any CPA traffic there.
Publishers are not well aware of your brand yet
They don't know how to deal with — and handle — it. Forming their opinion on the brand's nature and image, a publisher relies on product use experience and public image rather than on the program description. If the publisher knows nothing about the advertiser, all they can do is to use the creatives available in the system and count on the target audience description (however, the target audience may vary from region to region). This significantly limits the publisher's capabilities in terms of program promotion. Being short of the advertiser portrait, the publisher deals with certain risks as they invest their personal funds in promoting the program. Here comes the question: does the publisher want to work with an unknown brand while there are other brands in the market that are quite renowned in the region?
For this very reason, publishers can't translate the brand's message correctly
This, in turn, poses risks to the advertiser. The brand image comprises myriads of details that must work as a whole thing. Those include the logo, slogan (repeated in various copies), and videos (carrying mood and images). All these components fall into one advertising strategy and give a cumulative effect. Every publisher only cares about themselves, their ad space, and their audience. Not a single media buyer would confer with social media influencers or website owners on how they could jointly launch a promotion campaign. Even if you provide a detailed description of how to handle a program and its target audience, this can't guarantee that (1) your program will be relevant to the region you are going to enter or that (2) publishers interpret the program correctly. The result will be risks for the brand because of the wrong message, non-target audience, and disputes over uncounted orders.
Low early demand
This may be the most determining reason why it's a bad idea to start with a CPA channel in a new market. The brands well-known in the local market want to increase contacts with customers. To achieve that, they organize offline and online events and giveaways, participate in exhibitions and conferences, send email newsletters, and help users stay tuned to deals and value offers. When choosing from a wide range of products, consumers are most likely to go with a brand they know. Thus, an average consumer would rather resort to local brands (your rivals) and use their services unless they are told about your company. It's logically consistent that publishers are likely to take the path of least resistance and choose programs of renowned — and demanded — brands.
Allowed traffic channels
Before picking allowed traffic channels, you need to realize how they operate in a specific region. It's most advisable that you test traffic types on your own to see what they got and how you could justify enabling or disabling a specific channel.
Check yourself!
Find out if you have learned everything correctly
| Start |
What business models could leverage classic affiliate marketing most efficiently?
Wrong. Affiliate marketing works best for B2C companies.
Right! Affiliate marketing works best for B2C companies.
Wrong. Affiliate marketing works best for B2C companies.
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You are not supposed to use affiliate marketing when you have just entered a new market because ...
Wrong. You can cooperate with local publishers in any region and reward them in any currency. However, it will be hard for them to promote a product local customers are not aware of.
Right! You can cooperate with local publishers in any region and reward them in any currency. However, it will be hard for them to promote a product local customers are not aware of.
Wrong. You can cooperate with local publishers in any region and reward them in any currency. However, it will be hard for them to promote a product local customers are not aware of.
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What is the first criteria an affiliate network checks when connecting an advertiser?
Right! Surely, publishers are more likely to cooperate with the websites that have been working online for years, with interfaces optimized for mobile devices. But, the top-priority factors the affiliate market reviews are website traffic and brand awareness.
Miss. Surely, publishers are more likely to cooperate with the websites that have been working online for years, with interfaces optimized for mobile devices. But, the top-priority factors the affiliate market reviews are website traffic and brand awareness.
Miss. Surely, publishers are more likely to cooperate with the websites that have been working online for years, with interfaces optimized for mobile devices. But, the top-priority factors the affiliate market reviews are website traffic and brand awareness.
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Which store has more chances to launch a program that will be popular among publishers?
Incorrect. Not everyone knows what succulents are, and companies designing customized kitchens usually distribute their products offline. The most popular offer will be an affiliate program concerned with electronics. Such products are actual among users as they are aware of electronics brands and demand for them is often revolving.
Incorrect. Not everyone knows what succulents are, and companies designing customized kitchens usually distribute their products offline. The most popular offer will be an affiliate program concerned with electronics. Such products are actual among users as they are aware of electronics brands and demand for them is often revolving.
Bingo! Not everyone knows what succulents are, and companies designing customized kitchens usually distribute their products offline. The most popular offer will be an affiliate program concerned with electronics. Such products are actual among users as they are aware of electronics brands and demand for them is often revolving.
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What is CPA marketing suitable for?
Right! Affiliate marketing is suitable for scaling up a business and improving audience loyalty rather than starting from scratch.
Miss. Affiliate marketing is suitable for scaling up a business and improving audience loyalty rather than starting from scratch.
Miss. Affiliate marketing is suitable for scaling up a business and improving audience loyalty rather than starting from scratch.
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You might have been distracted when reading the text. Brew some coffee, relax, dismiss everything unwanted from your mind, and try again.
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Fair take-off. Get back to those a where you made a mistake, and then proceed to the next lesson.
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Well done!
Lesson accomplished. Let's move further!
Lesson accomplished. Let's move further!
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Well done!
Choose your next step
How does affiliate marketing work?
How much and what should publishers be paid for?
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