Why new media buyers fail on affiliate marketing and tips on how to succeed

Hello,

Dear publishers.

We hope you are doing well, and that your campaigns bring a ton of money. 

The New 2023 is around the corner; usually, this time of the year is time for thoughts and recapitulation.

We've often heard that media buying doesn't work, offers from advertisers aren't worth it, affiliate marketing is a waste of money and time or just one big scam.

Many new media buyers do not know how to monetize the traffic they buy and are afraid of losing the money they invest in paid ads. 

When they do not see the desired result after the first $100 spent, they refuse with the excuse that affiliate marketing doesn't work anymore.

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There are several main reasons why newbie publishers have negative thoughts about affiliate marketing. 

After studying thousands of campaigns on our platform, our team came to several conclusions:

1- People think affiliate marketing is hard and give up before they get the hang of it.

2- Those who continue but have no profit because they can't stand the pressure of “losing money” and they are buying data.

3- New media buyers are afraid to invest in expensive traffic

4- Occasionally, the new publishers are too greedy to get big profits from Tier 1 countries without knowing the budgets for that. 

5- Many newbies test one vertical, then another, then a third, and so on until they run out of budget.

6- The concern surrounding the optimization process is that publishers lack the necessary experience and knowledge. This is a serious problem. The best way to achieve quality in optimization is through practice, which can be achieved by running more advertising campaigns.

7- Media buyers are using the affiliate marketing tools they have the wrong way. There are cases when, due to incorrect use, the instruments cease to be helpful and become a hindrance.

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Let's take a closer look at the above reasons why people fail in affiliate marketing together and try to find solutions for each of them accordingly.

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Is affiliate marketing really difficult, or is it an excuse used by those who cannot succeed at it?

At its core, affiliate marketing is a business like any other, and most people fail because they underestimate it. They think that with an investment of $300-$500, they will start making thousands of dollars a month after they start. This is categorically not true.

For any business you develop, whether online or offline, you need a business plan, you need to have specific ideas about how you will develop it and what exactly you need for this purpose.

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Our team was unable to think of any business that you could start with a minimum investment of $500. In some countries, that's all it will cost you to register your company. Why would you think a media buy business would be any different?

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Our advice – before you start, make a business plan in which you foresee all costs – foremost, traffic costs for a day, week, month, etc. Then write down the costs of the affiliate marketing tools, which are mandatory – tracker, domains, and hosting. Then there are the optional costs – those for a spy tool, developers to help you with landing pages, landing page builders, paid forums, etc.

Start with a media buy only if you can cover all expenses for the first month without expecting any serious return on investment (most likely you will have conversions and income, but you will be at a loss).

If you think that you will not be able to financially sustain yourself, it is better not to start at all and wait for better times when this investment will not be a problem for you.

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Are you losing money when you invest in traffic and see no profit?

The first 10-14 days you buy data you work with – collect blacklists and whitelists, test offers, ads, images, landing pages, etc.

In this period, it is important to do everything in moderation. Don't test too many offers and landing pages, but don't let them be too few either. This applies to the entire funnel – collect as many dates as you can, but without spending your full budget on it.

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Once you have enough data, analyze it thoroughly. Again, we repeat thoroughly – this is the mistake that many newbies make, they do not delve into the collected information, and usually remove only non-working offers and creatives and continue to lose money. Of course, light optimization can work, and the campaign can turn from red to green with it, but you will often need to dig deeper into the date.

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Is it worth the more expensive traffic?

Have you ever wondered why some clicks are pricier than others? The answer is simple – because they convert, and media buyers are looking for exactly that kind of traffic. And the higher the demand is, the higher the price. This is the main reason for the higher cost per click – it converts into leads and sales.

It is critical to get this right – don't buy expensively every click, but only those that bring you profit. Always monitor your tracker and your CPC price – it is the best indicator of whether the CPC price you are paying is profitable. If the EPC is greater than the CPC, then everything is fine. If it is lower, then you have a problem and need to optimize.

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Is it that hard to make campaigns in TIER 1 countries profitable?

The issue is not that it is difficult per se. The issue seems to be that everyone is trying to get a share of the profits from these GEOs.

It can be difficult for novice media buyers with a limited budget to compete with large media buying agencies or experienced players who already know and established marketing funnels.

Therefore, our advice is not to be greedy and not to try to get massive profits right away – it is better to start with offers with lower payouts and gain confidence in your strength and knowledge. After achieving a stable profit in Tier 2 and Tier 3 countries, you can then test Tier 1 campaigns.

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Why is it a mistake to test vertical after vertical before mastering even one?

Foremost because you are on a tight budget, and it makes no sense to wander from one vertical to another. Second, you already have some data gathered about what works and what doesn't in the vertical you started with. Instead of starting another campaign without properly analyzing the data from your previous campaign, it is better to invest a little more time and money in collecting more data and then analyzing that information to further improve your campaign.

If you still can't make the campaign profitable, which is quite possible, don't despair, just look for better offers and test them, but don't change verticals except as a very last resort.

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How to optimize properly?

As already clear, proper optimization is one of the key factors to making a profit with your media buy business.

Fortunately, you have tools like Keitaro and RedTrack that will make the optimization process easier and faster.

Maybe soon we will release a separate whole article on how to optimize properly, but for now, follow these simple rules:

1. Don't optimize before you have enough data – for example, don't stop the landing page after the first 7-8 conversions.

2. It is unwise to attempt to optimize too many aspects of a campaign at once. One or two changes are usually enough to start with, and then it's worth checking to see how these changes have affected the campaign.

3. There is no point in over-optimization – you should not check your campaign every 30 minutes and optimize it every time. 

You see, affiliate marketing and media buys are not that difficult when you have a clear business plan and follow it. Pursue your goals, be persistent, and don't be afraid to invest money within reasonable limits, and you will achieve success.

See you soon, and stay healthy and profitable.

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