Affiliate Networks: General

An affiliate network gathers the advertisers and webmasters in one platform for further collaboration with mutual benefits.

Working through the network has significant advantages for the both sides:

Advertiser:

• the access to the large group of publishers who are ready to promote offers on your terms;
• no need to contact different agencies to set targeting and promotion;
• no risks since you are paying for the verified actions (installs, purchases etc.);
• no need to plan expenses on the advertising campaign.

Publisher:

• offers from trusted advertisers only;
• the wide range of verticals you can work with (dating, gambling, nutra etc.);
• high payout rates;
• different payment methods to withdraw the payment.

There are many affiliate networks on the market. Some of them are mainly focused on mobile, work by CPA, CPC, CPM, CPE and various other payment models, provide you with the wide range of niches which should be considered when working with different traffic types.
Let’s see what the most popular type and niches are presented on the market of affiliate networks nowadays:

1. CPA (cost per action) affiliate networks

These affiliate networks offer commission to publishers for a specific action: purchase, registration, lead etc.
Since CPA networks are working with trusted advertisers,the high quality of offers is assured.

The following niches are working on the CPA basis: e-commerce, gambling, dating, education etc.

2. COD (cash-on-delivery) affiliate networks

Promoting COD offers you will get paid after goods have been delivered.
Some affiliate networks consider confirming the order by phone as conversion. In this case you have no need to wait until a customer receives his order.
In most cases the affiliate commission for COD offers is lower than on information products.

3. Gambling/Betting affiliate networks

Gambling is associated with the promotion of online casinos and betting on sports.
There are three main ways to get paid by gambling affiliate network: RevShare (a percentage of casino’s revenue), CPA model (payout for deposit), Hybrid model (the combination of RevShare and CPA).
Note that some gambling offers might not be legal in certain countries.

4. Binary options affiliate networks

This part of affiliate marketing requires binary options trading knowledges. Working with the binary affiliate networks you are paid for sending clients to a broker.
The pricing models supported by binary options affiliate networks are CPA (revenue for depositing client) and RevShare (a percentage of the profit the broker makes on your client).

5. Adult

Adult advertising includes adult dating verticals, online adult cams and chats, adult products, The promotion of adult offers is not possible in some coutries and not suitable for all the traffic types.
On the other hand adult is the one of the most profitable niches since adult content is a controversial topic for many men and women.

6. Mobile

Some affiliate networks are mainly focused on mobile content which offers the payout for the installs. These networks work basing on CPI (payment for each app install completed by users) models.
The niche is very profitable since the part of mobile traffic is increasing significantly.

Choosing the right affiliate platform is a great challenge. Here are several tips that will make the decision easier:

• the affiliate network works with the direct advertisers.
  It’s a key benefit of an affiliate network if they do not simply resell offers, but work with the brands directly.
  There are more chances of better payouts for publishers as less payouts will be lost on commission payments.
  The offers from trusted brands are always more attractive to the audience which means the better chances of high profits for you.
• your affiliate network has no delay in payments.
  As usual the affiliate networks pay weekly (once in a week), each 15 days, each 30 days. Sometimes affiliates receive income only after a verification period has passed.
  Trusted affiliate networks don’t delay payments. We recommend to check the reviews left by other publishers on the forums or Telegram, WhatsApp chats dedicated to affiliate marketing.
• offers have detailed descriptions and clearly set KPI.
  It’s quite risky to work with an affiliate network when the condition of your possible commission are not clear. With the trusted networks the offer descriptions are clear, all the necessary details on the KPI set by advertisers and the description of how the results provided by the affiliate partner will be discussed with you beforehand.
• your affiliate network provides the high-quality services.
  This is the main point when selecting an affiliate network: the quality of service provided by affiliate managers, who ensure that publishers fulfill their earning potential.
  As usual many networks provide you with a personal manager, however if you work with fully self-serve network, make sure the support team is available to make you acquainted with the system and their terms.