subject: CPA Assassin: Making Cost-Per-Action Offers Work [print this page] CPA Assassin: Making Cost-Per-Action Offers Work
In addition to the commission per sale models, you can find cost per action models as an affiliate marketer. Cost per action (CPA) is when you earn money after a website visitor takes a desired action through your link. As an example, there are CPA offers that establish lead generation campaigns through you're affiliate provider's CPA network. If someone clicks on your link and enters their name and e-mail address, you can earn a commission. There are some instances where a person only has to enter their zip code and, voila, you get paid!
In some cases, the person who clicks through your link will have to do a bit more in order for you to get paid. Perhaps they need to sign up for an offer, make a purchase, or take some other type of action. It is important, however, that before you start promoting a CPA offer that you determine what is required in order for you to get paid. What you decide to promote should be determined by your niche (the focus of your website) and what conversion rate you are looking for.
The fact is that the more steps the person goes through in the process, the more you will get paid. Zip code submit offers don't pay much, while obtaining physical address will get you payed more. The highest paying programs are the ones that lead to free trial offers or purchases.
Most companies organize their CPA offers through a CPA network. These networks are set up like Commission Junction because they serve as a clearing house for many different networks. Agreements with the CPA network allow affiliates to get links to promote certain offers. The best way to find these offers is to search in your CPA network and look for a specific niche that you're associated with.
Getting accepted into a CPA network isn't as easy as getting accepted into a standard affiliate network though. Don't worry! All you have to do is get comfortable with how this whole thing operates and then be able to demonstrate to the networks that you know how to promote their offer. That's all they're really looking for.
There are lots of CPA networks available. Some of the big ones are: Azoogle, ClickBooth, and Never Blue, but there are many others as well. Try looking up the site OfferVault.com to see what kinds of offers are available to find out which ones might be best for you.
One note of caution is, if you decide to apply for CPA network as a "newbie," you can pretty much expect to get rejected the first time. That's pretty typical. you might want to give the CPA network call and explain to them what your marketing plans are. This will show them that you are serious. You'll generally get approved for the network if you do that.
