Hey all, I've taken into consideration of making a CPA company like MillNic, CPAEmpire, etc. I have a few questions, however. How do I attract merchants? How will I get paid by merchants? There any downfalls to CPA businesses? Thanks..
No offense, but you clearly haven't taken much into consideration if you've come here and posted these questions.
A CPA network that is started out of the blue by someone that has no idea how to run one, isn't going to be very successful. There are a lot of upstart costs and lots of time and knowledge requirements.
Could you possibly point me towards a website that I could check out and read about the wonderful world of affiliate programs?
I am interested in starting an affiliate network myself and i find myself asking the same question "ghost" is asking, does anybody know the answer? I am looking to run basic offers such as true.com, blockbuster? Are those merchants or do i have to signup to a bigger affiliate network? If anybody is familiar with nexusleads.com, that is a prime example of the affiliate network that i want. Nothing big. Any help is appreciated, thank you
Direct Response offers a great private label system that would do what you desribe. As far as getting advertisers on-board you would have to recruit through direct contact or by advertising for merchants. http://www.directresponse.com/ - Merchants would pay you via an advance deposit. You would pay your publishers from this fund, also deducting your fees as you set. This market is highly competitive, and it is VERY saturated.
You need a good team of experienced people and a large chunk of money to start a network. It really isn't as straight-forward as it first seems, and it is a LOT of work. Still, good luck!
agreed, it's a ton of work. however, don't be put off asking "dumb questions." that's exactly what forums are for... i happen to agree. given the forecasted growth, i think there is opportunity here even with the competition.
There is good money in the affiliate network business, but there is also alot of start up capital needed and you really should have a few people working for you if you want it to succeed. The reasons for this is because you need to answer any emails promptly, you need to pay affiliate payments on time, you need to check for fraud issues, you need to make sure that all merchants in your network is still tracking affiliates commissions, etc. Affiliate Networks is alot of work and is not something that can be thought of and set up in a few days. With merchants, I believe that some affiliate networks use other networks to fill their networks to start of with and then manually add more merchants as time goes by.
Though it is demanding, it shouldn't be a problem. If this is taking a "real" job and not a part time thing. then there should be a problem. I know a couple of college kids who are running successful affiliate network for incentive sites all by themselves. Does anyone know how to get offer such as true.com or blockbuster? Will directtrack proveide us with the offers or do we have to recruit true.com by ourselves. Thank you
A lot, and I mean a lot of competition. There's like a new one opening every day. You also have the major ones like CJ.com, Right Media, Linkshare, Cpaempire, Trade Doubler, etc. And then the small ones. Too many to list. There's like a thousand of them. Then you got to build up a rep. Then the clients. If you can form a base, then probably. The question is, what can you offer a site that is already using one of the big guys? Do you know your margins? Just like any business, you need a business plan. Some loot for capital, and a system to deliver the ads. You can use a system such like Directtrack, but one thing I never understood is their fee structure. I read somewhere, and this was like 2002 or something that you pay either by a click or CPM. If you are paying them either or and you are paid CPA, then your margins are really, really thin. If you do those True ads, which pay around five dolls on Cpaempire, you need to work those figures in. Those free ipod ads only pay like a buck, if you are lucky. For the big guys, they either own their own system or so big they pay next to nothing for ad serving. You really have to think you can offer something that everyone else cannot. If you can, go for it. If you have a lot of loot on the side and do not mind parting with it, go for it. If you think you'll be taking it on easy street, I would think that would not be likely. With all of my web sites I create, I put together a plan of attack. Design, promos, revenue. Obviously, this is different from an affiliate network, but you still need to have a pro design, promos to get your name out there, and revenue to paid the bills. If you do not plan ahead, you're done before you've even started.
There is alot of competition, but you can knock alot of it out by just doing a few things. These can be not so hard if you have a good number of people working for you. The main one is quality - if your network has a good amount of offers, pays well, then that helps. Another one is support and fraud detection. If you have good support that helps alot, if you have good fraud detection then that stops you from loosing offers because of it. The main thing is people. If you have people then you will work. If you don't then you will find it much harder. With an affiliate network, it is not just about support on your own network, but you have to also be ahead of the forums. For example, if someone asked about your affiliate network here, then it would be best to drop by and tell them more about it or answer their questions. When alot of people fruad and then get banned, most of them will go to a forum and say that the network is fraudulent when in fact it was them. Other people will see this and will not join your network, but would prefer to join another because of it, you have to let everyone know that it was the actual person that done the fraud and give some proof. You have to keep making your network look good so that others notice and then do word of mouth and spread it around on the forums. Hope all the above makes sense. lol
Hi ghost.d0wn, In this day and age, my suggestion is to niche your program and create exclusive sites. Why be like everyone else? Many of the reputable "multi program" programs have been around a long time and have established themselves. There is no reason to go head to head. Take LeadFLash.com for example. We specialize in Cash Advance / Payday Loan sites and own and operate 15+ sites. We cater to a very specific niche (sub-prime financial). LeadFlash.com is considered tops in this niche. In my opinion...That is the way to go (specializing and being the best at a specific thing). If you create a new program that’s just like everyone else’s ...Honestly why bother? -=Chipmunk=-
I like people with great ideas like this. Here are some tips to get started. 1. Buy complete inventory from small websites where you will find cheaper traffic 2. Make sure you only take on what software and server infrastructure can handle your 3. Keep your eyes on Overture and Google to spot new advertisers who may be interested in your cheaper traffic. 4. Develop a referral system for websites that will allow them to benefit from recommending your website. 5. Consider traffic exchange with other website networks that are not your competitors, such as Search engines, directories and forums