CPA – An Exclusive Club That Pays

Affiliate marketers are a great group of people, and they really need to know what they’re doing to build websites, post to blogs, market on the social sites, and drive traffic to your links for income. If you’re in that group, congratulations and your success is our goal as well. However, there’s another group, an exclusive club of sorts that does a lot of the same things, but is at a higher level for profits.

CPA, or Cost Per Action, marketing is somewhat the same as PPC, Pay Per Click, but the differences are what make it exclusive and usually much more profitable for the marketer. As with most exclusive clubs, there are barriers to membership as well. While PPC networks are easy to join, and many advertisers accept you as a publisher simply with a click of the mouse, CPA networks and their advertisers are far more selective, and you can expect to be turned down by some when you first start … unless you know the ropes.

Why so exclusive? CPA networks have evolved over time to serve advertisers that don’t just want a click in most cases, thus the “Action” in Cost Per Action. They want some action taken by the prospect, which could be a purchase, but it also very often involves filling out a form, opting for a free trial, filling out a survey, or requesting a quote for a high end product or service. Because the prospect is being asked to do something more extensive than just clicking on a link, it takes more to reach the desired endpoint. So, not only are the advertisers and networks concerned with their own marketing efforts and landing pages, they’re very concerned with those of the publishers.

Because more is required from the prospect, more is required in expertise and marketing savvy on the part of you, the publisher. It’s all good though, as this also means higher payouts. Usually averaging between $1 and $6 per action, in more competitive environments like attorneys and insurance companies payouts can be more than $20 per action. An example would be a company selling Medicare Medigap insurance. If they can sell a policy to an individual reaching the age for Medicare, they can usually count on years of premiums, and also subsidies from the government. They’re willing to pay nicely if you can drive a prospect to a page where they actually fill out a form giving specific information about their needs and desires, as well as the type of policy they think they want.

That’s just one example, and there are many. The payouts can be lucrative, but you must get accepted. One CPA network proudly states on their home page that they turn down around 80% of first-time publisher applicants. They’re trying to avoid fraud and keep the quality of the marketing at high levels. You’ll need to learn the ropes before applying, as it can make the difference your first time in the door. We’re experts, and we’ve worked with most of the top CPA networks. We know what they want to see from you, and we know how to approach them for success.

If you want to move up to a more exclusive club of marketers, we’re your resource with our CPA Marketing course.