What is blocking the beginners? (15)
Focus on the variables with the highest leverage: GEO, Traffic Source, Offer
Check out Afflow which GEOs & verticals are currently hot. Ask your Affiliate manager for hot GEOs & verticals. Use Adplexity to identify GEOs & verticals with muchos action.
Find a traffic source that has an unsaturated / big inventory for those GEOs.
Plugin the top 3 landers from adplexity and test 5-10 offers that are recommended by AM or that you see other People running.
Do this 30 times. Find 1-2 winners.
Rinse & Repeat
First of all, thank you Sebastian 
. Just a couple of questions to be sure.
By unsaturdated he means a source that has few affiliates/advertisers compared to the volume available, so that prices are driven higher by big volume affiliates who've optimized more than just the visible funnel.
In addition to the above tips, I would like to add these others based on personal experience.
- First and most importantly be organized.
Spinning around the same things again and again won't let you get anywhere.
- Use spy tools like Adplexity and if you feel uncertain about what you're doing check their guides again (sometimes we loose to small options we get used to)
- Stay on one vertical / conversion flow / traffic type. You can decide on this based on what is the average offers you receive from your AM.
- Don't overthink about the offer. Personally I may have cut out very good offers because I was overthinking about their value seen by me. If it's working for someone else it should work for you too.
- Use every possible information you have from Spy tools, Traffic source network etc.
- Don't be afraid to ask, but make sure to deliver (and this one has to be for your own first)
Hope this helps!
Sebastian and the others have listed some of the key points.
I've summarized the most common newbie mistakes in these threads:
https://stmforum.com/forum/showthrea...Avoid-(Part-1)
http://stmforum.com/forum/showthread...Avoid-(Part-2)
Testing extensively but systematically is the way to go!
Amy
Originally Posted by manu_adefy
As beginners, should we stick to the usual pop TS (Zeropark, POpAds, PopCash, etc) or look for these golden nugget TS?
And where would you recommend to find these TS? (Since I doubt they will be found readily available on the forums)
There are many online databases, there are also lists of traffic sources from events. You find the names of the traffic sources there..
Whether or not they are unsaturated - you have to test them and see, no way around it
There are beginners that make the big ones work too but not all beginners are equal... Everyone has a different background and situation when starting out. I touched on this subject here: https://stmforum.com/forum/showthrea...ke-Money-in-AM
The more time and money you have, the more you can try and just conquer the big sources. The less money, the more you should search for golden nuggets in other, less known sources. If you have neither time, nor money.. Well, it's gonna be tough 
Hi guys and thank you for all your precious tips, this helps a lot. I only have one remaining doubt.
I see many guides on when to cut a campaign but they all assume that you have some convertions (blocking banners, landers, placements etc). It happens quite often that you have thousands of visits, hundreds of click but 0 convertions from your campaign and you're never sure when it should be stopped before losing too much money.
Some suggests to cut a 0 convertions campaign when it reaches 7x your payout in spend, some when it reaches 10x, others after a day or two. That's confusing, can someone clarify?
MobyAffiliates is one of them, you should just google things like "best pop-under networks" or "pop-under networks list", and create your own from the results you get.
Make sure you check some reviews and if the service is actually alive before depositing; it's rare but sometimes the service can be live, you deposit, then your money is stuck there without any live traffic.
Our good friend and affiliate marketing guru Attila just wrote an amazing article for our blog about this specific topic. Here it is:
Were you thinking about getting involved in CPA affiliate marketing? It all seems a bit too confusing and complicated and you are not sure how to take off without putting yourself into real jeopardy of losing big time?
It is quite understandable that you feel that way. The world of CPA affiliates definitely comes with a lot of complexity to it, and finding a proper tutorial on how to do it is not that simple. The web is teeming with “experts” and “gurus” who are trying to sell you the story that they have figured it out completely, while the material they provide doesn’t really offer any real answers.
Let’s change that! There are a few rules that make all the difference, and if you follow them to the T, you will be able to enter the world of CPA affiliate marketing in a smooth and painless way.
So, what are the things to consider?
1 – Remember that you are just a beginner in all of this!
Do not expect to make a huge mark on the market straight away, or to make huge profits. Learning how to fare in CPA world is a PROCESS! Please, treat it as such! This is the most important thing to accept prior to start, and if you do so – your chances will look good!
2 – The process will include failure(s)!
Succeeding in any endeavour requires experience. Even if you read every single guide you can find, there WILL be failures. The only catch to it is to avoid failing big time. Any minor failure will give you the EXPERIENCE. That experience will prove to be invaluable later down the road!
3 – Preparation is everything!
If you start the campaign by taking into consideration as many variables as possible, and if you prepare in a right way – you will succeed (eventually)! Better preparation means shorter journey that will bring you what you are aiming at – the success!
4 – This journey has no end!
No matter how experienced you become, no matter how much you make – there are always ways to improve and become better! CPA affiliate marketing will require continuous learning, optimising, and effort if you want to be successful. Always remember that, and you will be out of harm’s way!
Now that we passed through the essentials concerning the attitude, let’s have a look at what is required “in the field” in order to make your first steps successful. If you made those as you should, the rest will come as the natural development.
Beginner things:
Hint 1: Go with the proven options!
Why: It is quite simple to explain – the things that work for others will most probably work for you as well. There is no need to reinvent the wheel – just learn how to roll!
This pretty much means – look at what your network is promoting the best. If something grosses a lot of income, there is a good chance you will get at least crumbs of it in the beginning.
How: Do the research, pay attention not only to conversion rates, but more importantly – to the overall income of a certain offer.
Hint 2: Don’t go all-in!
Why: Trashing all your savings into a single shot is not a good idea at all. Start smaller, and see the results on the test samples. If it works for you – good! Increase the effort. If it doesn’t, you will have another shot.
How: Make a limited test with the vertical you want to pursue, and the offer you want to promote and see the ROI. If you lose big time – switch to something else!
Hint 3: Go with the options that are simpler to manage!
Why: It is far easier to start with the things that require fewer steps. The income on a conversion is smaller, but the conversion rates are better. At this point of time you want to play with the options and test everything. It is by far the easiest way to do it with the things that do not make too much damage. Of course, the benefits are also diminished, but the EXPERIENCE is something that will pay off later down the road!
How: Pick the offer that requires minimum of investment! More general conversions that make lowest income per conversion are ideal for this!
Hint 4: Don’t swim with the sharks! Lower tier markets are better for you!
Why: Going straight away on the most popular markets means you will encounter guys who rule those waters for years. They are not there by accident! They know every little trick there is and are dictating the market. Taking on them head on can only cause you to lose pots of money. Settle for lower tier markets. The competition there is far weaker and you will be able to survive.
How: Focus on the markets that are less popular. Chasing US or UK is good, if you know how to do it, but English is a widely spread language, and it works everywhere. Lower tier market means some flukes due to language incompatibility, but it also means fewer master class opponents!
The process things:
Hint 1: Take one step at the time!
Why: Trying to fathom all the variables straight away will cause only one thing – confusion. With that approach, you will lose the focus on the most important thing – return on investment.
How: Start small and then leverage upon the working options! Start with the smallest offers on lower tier markets and gradually upgrade to the more attractive ones (both offers and markets)!
Hint 2: Use your budget and ROI as a milestone!
Why: Keeping your available money as a background is the most sensible thing in the beginning. If you run out of it – it’s “game over”! Once the campaign you started starts producing ROI, and once you are financially safe – that is the time to push further!
How: Always pay attention to your budget, and be very reasonable with the expenditures. Segment the budget for testing purposes, and NEVER spend more than you got!
Preparation things
Hint 1: Use your existing traffic sources (if you have them)
Why: If there is any source of traffic that you already invested time and money into – it is a sensible thing to use it! No investment with the possibility of generating revenue is an ideal situation!
How: Any website that you might have can be a good place to put the banner on! Any mailing list that is even vaguely connected to the vertical you wish to promote can create some revenue! Any social media page you might have is also a great source of free traffic!
Important tip: In this case, the reporting could be somewhat blurred, especially if your possible source of free traffic is not niche-related to your CPA campaign.
Hint 2: Talk to your affiliate manager!
Why: These guys often have the insights you simply can’t extrapolate from the available reports. These insights could easily be the difference between the mainstream and the successful campaign. You want them at any cost!
How: Talk to the guy. Be polite. Be responsive. Build a relationship and it will pay off! Also, never be afraid to ask questions! Even if you don’t get the data you need, this will help you build a relationship. In the future, that could lead to great things!
Hint 3: Scout the opposition!
Why: The big guys in the game have pretty much figured it all! Investigate which campaigns work for them. If you manage to follow their footsteps in terms of strategy, you will most probably follow them down the road of success!
How: See if you can figure out the approaches they have been using to become successful. See if you can apply their strategies in the markets where they are not operating!
The journey things
Hint 1: Constantly upgrade your efforts!
Why: Starting small is not bad, but you need to step out of the comfort zone if you want to make major changes to your success rate.
How: Move between verticals once you have generated enough funds to do it is a safe way. Also move to more complex steps within the same vertical once you feel you have enough experience. Make sure your finances can follow your strategies and spend only what you can afford to lose!
Hint 2: Optimize your well converting efforts!
Why: Over time, even the campaigns that generate revenue will start producing less and less of it if they are not optimized. You want to maintain the influx of revenue from the already well producing sources.
How: Optimize angles, optimize landing pages, localise them for the certain markets in terms of language and approach. This is a CONSTANT process! You need to do it over and over again in order to make those campaigns effective over a period of time.
Conclusion:
If you follow all the steps we mentioned, you will have a solid foundation to enter the world of CPA affiliate marketing and SURVIVE there. The road to being comfortable and safe in that surrounding is a long one, and filled with constant strife, but if the start is good, the rest of it is seldom impassable. So, stick to these rules and build upon them, and you will open the possibilities you weren’t even aware of!
So if you're running on FB, say, you have almost no confounding variables. No placements, limited device targeting, etc.
On the other hand, running mobile pops you've got dozens of variables you could sift through. Carrier, device, placement, OS, and so on.
So for FB, you can cut a campaign after a very small spend if you're not seeing conversions. 4x payout would be my usual rule.
On mobile pops, on the other hand, you've got to wait a bit longer to see if pockets of profit emerge. I usually use 7x payout but I could see the argument for 10x.
Thank you so much everybody guys
So if you're running on FB, say, you have almost no confounding variables. No placements, limited device targeting, etc.
On the other hand, running mobile pops you've got dozens of variables you could sift through. Carrier, device, placement, OS, and so on.
So for FB, you can cut a campaign after a very small spend if you're not seeing conversions. 4x payout would be my usual rule.
On mobile pops, on the other hand, you've got to wait a bit longer to see if pockets of profit emerge. I usually use 7x payout but I could see the argument for 10x.
.
I think I'll have to change my name into "the questions guy" 
Talking about pops, I usually find myself in this situation: 1 conversion, 3000 visits and about 2/300 click on the CTA button. I should spend more in order to get more traffic because 3000 impressions don't give you a lot of data but I usually get this number after a 10x payout spent (so I'm in deep red). If I spend more I'm afraid my very small amount of conversions compared to the impressions (and consequently the cost) won't cover the spending of the traffic.
What's the better thing to do here?
Keep on buying traffic? Optimization of any kind like cutting what's not showing a high CTR? Kill the campaign?
Thanks!
Originally Posted by davidep
Talking about pops, I usually find myself in this situation: 1 conversion, 3000 visits and about 2/300 click on the CTA button. I should spend more in order to get more traffic because 3000 impressions don't give you a lot of data but I usually get this number after a 10x payout spent (so I'm in deep red). If I spend more I'm afraid my very small amount of conversions compared to the impressions (and consequently the cost) won't cover the spending of the traffic.
What's the better thing to do here?
Keep on buying traffic? Optimization of any kind like cutting what's not showing a high CTR? Kill the campaign?
Thanks!
A low CTR does not always correlate with a low CR, which is why you should almost always cut based on impressions and conversions instead of on CTR. However, in cases where your CTR is so low that the math would never result in profits, then cutting based on CTR is justified. Your example of 2/300 or 0.66% certainly qualifies to be cut.
There are so many factors that will affect CTR and CR. Instead of analyzing and optimizing each and every lander in the beginning, just rip many landers that look different and test them all (at least 5, preferably 10+). By including more landers, the chances of finding a decent one is increased. Once you have a decent winner, use that to test many offers.
This will be a way more effective approach than to fix up a couple of landers for different geo+verticals and testing a couple of offers here and there. And if after you've tested a few geos for a particular vertical, you notice that one or more landers are working well consistently, then you could translate just those couple of winners into multiple languages and mass-test offers in other geos.
It's true that you need to pay money to buy data, but it would be wise to limit your losses while doing so. Spending more time and money on testing offers and landers, instead of on cutting placements, is one of the best improvements you can make to your optimization approach.
Amy
Set a goal, stay focused, develop skills, and keep iterating until you see progress. This isnt rocket science, but its still necessary to develop your skills (copywriting, data analysis)
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