Sweepstakes 101 - Part 4 - Targeting & Optimization (1)
09-10-2019 05:23 PM
#1
vortex (Senior Moderator)
Sweepstakes 101 - Part 4 - Targeting & Optimization
Sweepstakes 101 - Part 4 - Targeting & Optimization
Tips by Traffic Type
The experts I interviewed are skilled at running sweeps offers on a variety of traffic sources.
Below are all the gold nuggets I've collected from the discussions, categorized by traffic type for your convenience.
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Push & Pop
Andrew Payne aka @Mr Payne:
Pop: Start off with lower bids for 1-2 days, weed out the crap placements and then increase your bids pretty quickly. It will take a fair amount of spend to uncover the converting placements but you can do it. Always test multiple ad networks.
Push: Creatives are your best friend. So test lots of headline/icons until you get things dialed in really good. You should be seeing green quickly if you are getting the right traffic. Always test multiple ad networks.
For both Pop & Push: Focus on monetizing as much of the traffic as possible - backbutton flow; redirecting the lower quality traffic from visitors under 21 y/o; sending any traffic that is outside your targeted geo to a smartlink; etc.
Another tip: When you find good CC submit offers for sweeps they can do really well across all traffic types. They may be a little harder to make work and require bigger budgets, but they can be great campaigns.
Push: Creatives are your best friend. So test lots of headline/icons until you get things dialed in really good. You should be seeing green quickly if you are getting the right traffic. Always test multiple ad networks.
For both Pop & Push: Focus on monetizing as much of the traffic as possible - backbutton flow; redirecting the lower quality traffic from visitors under 21 y/o; sending any traffic that is outside your targeted geo to a smartlink; etc.
Another tip: When you find good CC submit offers for sweeps they can do really well across all traffic types. They may be a little harder to make work and require bigger budgets, but they can be great campaigns.
Liad @ CreativeClicks:
I think that push traffic is the best type for sweeps at the moment.
I would focus on Android (Mobile) traffic and pay attention to the time of day.
I would focus on Android (Mobile) traffic and pay attention to the time of day.
Erik @erikgyepes:
When it comes to targeting, always break down your device type into separate campaigns (mobile, tablet, desktop), as bids will differ between those and you will protect yourself from overpaying or underpaying for different types.
Try different bidding options and user activities (on push) as the results may be very different. Hint: Fresh users on the list convert at much higher % than older ones.
When it comes to flows: SOI, DOI, and CC all work well on push traffic.
I would suggest to run SOI offers first, as they convert at much higher CR (though the payouts are lower) and you can optimize your campaigns much faster.
Then later, you can swap SOI offers with CC offers in the backend and you can become profitable (or close to profitable) straight away.
Try different bidding options and user activities (on push) as the results may be very different. Hint: Fresh users on the list convert at much higher % than older ones.
When it comes to flows: SOI, DOI, and CC all work well on push traffic.
I would suggest to run SOI offers first, as they convert at much higher CR (though the payouts are lower) and you can optimize your campaigns much faster.
Then later, you can swap SOI offers with CC offers in the backend and you can become profitable (or close to profitable) straight away.
Neill Burton @ Zeropark:
Here are the best geos and sources for sweeps on Zeropark Push - by number of conversions:
US, SA, AE, KW, QA, BR, PK, NL, BH
sable-flamingo
melanic-termite
ochre-weasel
morel-dolphin
teal-llama
xanthic-antelope
aubergine-guinea
jessamy-pike
[Note by Amy: You can request for the best sources for your particular geo in this thread.]
US, SA, AE, KW, QA, BR, PK, NL, BH
sable-flamingo
melanic-termite
ochre-weasel
morel-dolphin
teal-llama
xanthic-antelope
aubergine-guinea
jessamy-pike
[Note by Amy: You can request for the best sources for your particular geo in this thread.]
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Facebook & Instagram & Snapchat
[Note by Amy: Here are some threads by @stickupkid on how to run sweeps on FB - I know members that are making a good living JUST by following his advice in these threads!
https://stmforum.com/forum/showthrea...t-No-Cloaking) <---stickupkid wrote this thread - posted while still working at that network
https://stmforum.com/forum/showthrea...S-Sweeps-on-FB
https://stmforum.com/forum/showthrea...nt-No-Cloaking
https://stmforum.com/forum/showthrea...-All-verticals
https://stmforum.com/forum/showthrea...0-ROI-No-tools
https://stmforum.com/forum/showthrea...eeps-virginity
https://stmforum.com/forum/showthrea...n-in-fb-sweeps
https://stmforum.com/forum/showthrea...ook-u0080u0080
https://stmforum.com/forum/showthrea...s-follow-along
https://stmforum.com/forum/showthrea...acebook-sweeps
Read all these threads, take notes, (optionally) get an FB spy tool to do some spying for additional inspiration, then test away!
Just make sure you only run sweeps on accounts you can afford to lose! And keep in mind that your ANGLE will directly affect whether or not your account will get banned (or at least how quickly you'll get banned).]
Mitesh Muley aka @miteshmuley:
Go broad on facebook with at least 25+ age, optimize for conversion or click from LP to offer.
Taiwo Balogun aka @cashmoneyaffiliate:
Push, Facebook and Google Display have all performed well for me. Targeting-wise males currently have a higher conversion rate, especially on Facebook, probably due to so many affiliates focusing on female traffic when it comes to sweepstakes.
Vincent Jouvin @ Big Bang Ads:
Facebook, Instagram: Now on Facebook some niche brands and products can work super well. For example this one:
Arthur @frst media:
Running sweeps on FB without cloaking is doable, but you never know when they will start banning your ads. Sweeps are in the grey area of FB's ad policy, so they are likely to approve your ad without cloaking, but at some point you might get rejected by manual reviews.
It will depend on your ad copy as well. Avoiding brand names and wording like "like to win / share to win" etc. will help.
But policy is changing constantly so it's a game of trial and error on FB.
It will depend on your ad copy as well. Avoiding brand names and wording like "like to win / share to win" etc. will help.
But policy is changing constantly so it's a game of trial and error on FB.
Stephen Gelber @ Fluent:
Facebook + Snapchat: For social, we have a very specific strategy because we know the policies and guidelines are strict and there's usually no wiggle room.
Here's what we do:
First, we're about 90% video ads on social. Because our sweepstakes offers require registration, then a survey and then the customer needs to earn points to get the gift card, we use video ads to showcase the different steps.
FB's biggest issue (from our experiences) is having misleading creatives, so using videos to outline the exact sign-up process is perfect for providing good user experience, which is what FB loves.
We also do extensive social community management. No matter how detailed the ad is, some people are still going to be confused or miss something about how this all works. So we actively respond to comments, messages, etc.
Not only does it help the customer, but it shows FB that we're trying to help and provide a positive user experience.
And obviously, the Facebook pixel has to be placed so you feed their algo enough conversion data so they can optimize. [Note from Amy: Here, Stephen is talking about Fluent's internal media buying team. However, Fluent would sometimes do this for select affiliates - depending on "how long we've been working with them, the level of the partnership and all that stuff ".]
We leave our targeting wide open because it gives Facebook the widest net to find the type of consumers we want, and more importantly, at the price point that works for us. And we use that same strategy for Snapchat.
We also have a few other tricks up our sleeve that I can share if people are interested in hearing more. [Note from Amy: Read this as "sign up to Fluent and run some volume and we'll give you bonus tips".]
Here's what we do:
First, we're about 90% video ads on social. Because our sweepstakes offers require registration, then a survey and then the customer needs to earn points to get the gift card, we use video ads to showcase the different steps.
FB's biggest issue (from our experiences) is having misleading creatives, so using videos to outline the exact sign-up process is perfect for providing good user experience, which is what FB loves.
We also do extensive social community management. No matter how detailed the ad is, some people are still going to be confused or miss something about how this all works. So we actively respond to comments, messages, etc.
Not only does it help the customer, but it shows FB that we're trying to help and provide a positive user experience.
And obviously, the Facebook pixel has to be placed so you feed their algo enough conversion data so they can optimize. [Note from Amy: Here, Stephen is talking about Fluent's internal media buying team. However, Fluent would sometimes do this for select affiliates - depending on "how long we've been working with them, the level of the partnership and all that stuff ".]
We leave our targeting wide open because it gives Facebook the widest net to find the type of consumers we want, and more importantly, at the price point that works for us. And we use that same strategy for Snapchat.
We also have a few other tricks up our sleeve that I can share if people are interested in hearing more. [Note from Amy: Read this as "sign up to Fluent and run some volume and we'll give you bonus tips".]
Gijs @ VIP Response:
Targeting really depends on the product on the offer page.
A make-up voucher campaign is mostly geared towards women. And hardcore gadgets are geared more towards men.
In FB and Google you can target more in depth. It may not be the correct thing to say, but my advice is to target the lower-income people. They tend to fall for free stuff.
Low-income is usually also linked to lower intellect...so it goes hand in hand. Aggressive advertising on gullible target group = high conversion rate.
From the perspective of advertisers of CC Submit offers, though, that might not be the best idea. Because their KPI is usually the rebill rate.
If you target poor people that don't have money, the rebill rate will be low. Complaints and refunds and even chargebacks will be higher.
So you need to find the sweet spot.
However: For lead generation offers, it's fine to target lower-class people. They are more likely to want to receive discounts, free gadgets, free samples etc. etc. But these people must still be able to afford products that those advertisers are wanting to sell to them.
So for lead gen offers, can target lower-class but not lowest-class.
A make-up voucher campaign is mostly geared towards women. And hardcore gadgets are geared more towards men.
In FB and Google you can target more in depth. It may not be the correct thing to say, but my advice is to target the lower-income people. They tend to fall for free stuff.
Low-income is usually also linked to lower intellect...so it goes hand in hand. Aggressive advertising on gullible target group = high conversion rate.
From the perspective of advertisers of CC Submit offers, though, that might not be the best idea. Because their KPI is usually the rebill rate.
If you target poor people that don't have money, the rebill rate will be low. Complaints and refunds and even chargebacks will be higher.
So you need to find the sweet spot.
However: For lead generation offers, it's fine to target lower-class people. They are more likely to want to receive discounts, free gadgets, free samples etc. etc. But these people must still be able to afford products that those advertisers are wanting to sell to them.
So for lead gen offers, can target lower-class but not lowest-class.
Emil Alexandru @blackemil:
The best traffic sources for me are Facebook and Google.
For targeting I would pick general niches, e.g. to promote a makeup brand I would target "cosmetics saloons", or to promote supermarkets I would target "groceries".
Most of my focus is on FB at the moment. The best tip I can give is talk with the advertisers, ask them what kind of traffic they want. They know what works the best. Another thing you can do is to ask them for 1000 emails of converters and create a custom audience based on that data. This can save you a lot of time.
Yes, I cloak. But the angles are not that aggressive, so my accounts are lasting more than the average. I cloak so that I can use fake facebook comments on the landing page, but I don't tell people " You've won" - I tell them "You have been selected for the chance to get x prize".
I did some tests without cloaking and they lasted for 4-5 months. But the ROI was only 30-40%.
When you don't cloak, the landers need to be way less aggressive so the CR drops.
As for FB accounts, I have my own farm with 2 people hired in-house that deal with the farming part. They're farming 2 accounts =$300$ for me, which is way cheaper then buying them for 1k a piece.
Regarding testing and optimizing FB camps: I would make sure I launch like 5-10 ad sets with $20-30 budgets with different creatives and different targeting to see what sticks out in terms of CTR and CPC.
For targeting I would pick general niches, e.g. to promote a makeup brand I would target "cosmetics saloons", or to promote supermarkets I would target "groceries".
Most of my focus is on FB at the moment. The best tip I can give is talk with the advertisers, ask them what kind of traffic they want. They know what works the best. Another thing you can do is to ask them for 1000 emails of converters and create a custom audience based on that data. This can save you a lot of time.
Yes, I cloak. But the angles are not that aggressive, so my accounts are lasting more than the average. I cloak so that I can use fake facebook comments on the landing page, but I don't tell people " You've won" - I tell them "You have been selected for the chance to get x prize".
I did some tests without cloaking and they lasted for 4-5 months. But the ROI was only 30-40%.
When you don't cloak, the landers need to be way less aggressive so the CR drops.
As for FB accounts, I have my own farm with 2 people hired in-house that deal with the farming part. They're farming 2 accounts =$300$ for me, which is way cheaper then buying them for 1k a piece.
Regarding testing and optimizing FB camps: I would make sure I launch like 5-10 ad sets with $20-30 budgets with different creatives and different targeting to see what sticks out in terms of CTR and CPC.
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Tim Konijn aka @stickupkid:
Email is huge for sweeps! Especially amazing if you can prefill. The more info you have on the contact, the more fields you can prefill. [Note from Amy: Basically when the visitor clicks on a link in the email, the input fields on the sweepstakes page is pre-filled with the person's name and email etc. - after which all they'd need to do is click "Submit".]
You can rent lists or build your own mailing list.
When it comes to rented lists, some can do well, but most are saturated.
You can contact the networks that get a lot of traffic from big email publishers - networks like VIP Response and Adgenics - and ask them to send out emails for you.
Or you could go directly to advertisers of sweeps offers - they are the ones with the huge databases of subscribers that have signed up to their sweeps offers. And because these subscribers have all signed up to sweeps offers in the past, the interest is there. Not all advertisers have saturated their lists with offers, so you can ask if they would do an email blast for you at cost (CPA/CPL, or CPC/CPM).
And this tip doesn't just work for sweeps offer - insurance offers and ecom offers can convert well on this type of lists too.
Another tip on renting mailing lists: Seek out big websites and forums in a specific geo, that you know collect/own mailing lists. For example, there is a big gym/fitness forum in Holland [Amy: the country stickupkid's from], but the owner is just an average guy where his hobby led him to build a site that got big, but he doesn't realize the potential of his site. If your timing is right, you can ask if you can pay him to do email blasts, or do revshare. Think of what kinds of profits you could make with a fresh list like this, by promoting nutra offers for example.
And when mailing, ask for dedicated/solo emails. Just buying an ad spot in a newsletter isn't going to earn you a lot.
But sending a dedicated mail like this for example, can be very effective (and this is a very aggressive example):
Sender: iStore
Subject: Your iPhone Order #47573 is Waiting to be Claimed
(And then an image of an iphone with call to action etc.)
For the email you can convert your FB ad into an HTML ad, then write additional text to make the email longer.
When renting mailing lists, make sure you arrange some kind of minimum open rate or number of clicks, to ensure you get the value you expect for the cost you pay.
Of course the list owner can't predict exactly how many clicks you'll actually get in a single mailing, but if they've agreed on giving you a minimum number of clicks, and the first mailing doesn't get you that many, they'll send the email to more subscribers to reach the target.
You can rent lists or build your own mailing list.
When it comes to rented lists, some can do well, but most are saturated.
You can contact the networks that get a lot of traffic from big email publishers - networks like VIP Response and Adgenics - and ask them to send out emails for you.
Or you could go directly to advertisers of sweeps offers - they are the ones with the huge databases of subscribers that have signed up to their sweeps offers. And because these subscribers have all signed up to sweeps offers in the past, the interest is there. Not all advertisers have saturated their lists with offers, so you can ask if they would do an email blast for you at cost (CPA/CPL, or CPC/CPM).
And this tip doesn't just work for sweeps offer - insurance offers and ecom offers can convert well on this type of lists too.
Another tip on renting mailing lists: Seek out big websites and forums in a specific geo, that you know collect/own mailing lists. For example, there is a big gym/fitness forum in Holland [Amy: the country stickupkid's from], but the owner is just an average guy where his hobby led him to build a site that got big, but he doesn't realize the potential of his site. If your timing is right, you can ask if you can pay him to do email blasts, or do revshare. Think of what kinds of profits you could make with a fresh list like this, by promoting nutra offers for example.
And when mailing, ask for dedicated/solo emails. Just buying an ad spot in a newsletter isn't going to earn you a lot.
But sending a dedicated mail like this for example, can be very effective (and this is a very aggressive example):
Sender: iStore
Subject: Your iPhone Order #47573 is Waiting to be Claimed
(And then an image of an iphone with call to action etc.)
For the email you can convert your FB ad into an HTML ad, then write additional text to make the email longer.
When renting mailing lists, make sure you arrange some kind of minimum open rate or number of clicks, to ensure you get the value you expect for the cost you pay.
Of course the list owner can't predict exactly how many clicks you'll actually get in a single mailing, but if they've agreed on giving you a minimum number of clicks, and the first mailing doesn't get you that many, they'll send the email to more subscribers to reach the target.
Vincent Jouvin @ Big Bang Ads:
In some geos like France we don't even allow email traffic! Emailers share the same databases. It's getting super-hard to find databases we haven't yet sent our offers to. The same isn't true for all geos, but we don't really focus on finding emailers anymore.
We own maybe the largest databases in Europe in some geos. We don't rent any databases. Looking for new databases is not an easy task. I think experience is key for that. We've used most of the big EU emailers services, so we know where to look for in terms of clean database. For the record, we don't rent out our lists to affiliates.
We own maybe the largest databases in Europe in some geos. We don't rent any databases. Looking for new databases is not an easy task. I think experience is key for that. We've used most of the big EU emailers services, so we know where to look for in terms of clean database. For the record, we don't rent out our lists to affiliates.
Mathijs Kortland & Bobby Verlaat @Sinum Vendo:
As for how to get email or SMS traffic: Build your own lists or buy directly from an advertiser who specializes in generating leads. I would first obtain as much as information as possible before getting your own traffic going, as you will need to get familiar with the prices, returns and types of audiences for example. You can also work on a Revshare deal with one of your partners/friends to monetize their email/SMS databases.
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Vincent Jouvin @ Big Bang Ads:
Google Doubleclick, Display/Banner: These are the best sources for us. The user does not feel spammed by our offers!
Internally in eGENTIC or Big Bang Ads, we dont have any cloaker, so no, we don't cloak.
Internally in eGENTIC or Big Bang Ads, we dont have any cloaker, so no, we don't cloak.
Ivy @ Wewe Media:
Google, like Facebook, can also be difficult. But for guys that are able to crack it, some are able to run big campaigns there up to $XX,XXX a day when the Google Gods are being nice.
Emil Alexandru @blackemil:
On Google I mainly run pin submits, since you need better payouts in order to make profits.
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Native
Stephen Gelber @ Fluent:
Native is a little more expensive than other traffic sources, especially if you're talking Taboola and Outbrain.
For pricey sources like Taboola, Outbrain and Gemini, we use reviews or listicles.
You can feature sweepstakes offers, but also sprinkle in other offer types that have a higher CPA to offset some of the higher CPC prices.
So an article like "6 Ways to Get Gift Cards Without Leaving Your Couch", toss our sweeps offers in there plus something like Swagbucks and Inbox Dollars.
MGID and Revcontent can work with just our sweepstakes offers, i.e. without the need for reviews/listicles.
Native makes the biggest impact when we talk about retargeting. That would be another advantage of using pre-landers - affiliates can pixel pre-landers with whatever platforms they work with that support retargeting.
Bounce rate can be fairly high on the pre-landers, so building those audience pools to re-engage is always a good strategy.
For native, if you have affiliates that do ALOT of volume and are seasoned and looking for ways to improve, a tool like Maximus can be very valuable: https://maximusx.com/
We've played around with it, definitely a game changer but also expensive, so probably would only make sense for seasoned affiliates.
[Note from Amy: Another solid auto-optimization tool which is more wallet-friendly is theOptimizer - can be used for pop, push, and native traffic.]
For pricey sources like Taboola, Outbrain and Gemini, we use reviews or listicles.
You can feature sweepstakes offers, but also sprinkle in other offer types that have a higher CPA to offset some of the higher CPC prices.
So an article like "6 Ways to Get Gift Cards Without Leaving Your Couch", toss our sweeps offers in there plus something like Swagbucks and Inbox Dollars.
MGID and Revcontent can work with just our sweepstakes offers, i.e. without the need for reviews/listicles.
Native makes the biggest impact when we talk about retargeting. That would be another advantage of using pre-landers - affiliates can pixel pre-landers with whatever platforms they work with that support retargeting.
Bounce rate can be fairly high on the pre-landers, so building those audience pools to re-engage is always a good strategy.
For native, if you have affiliates that do ALOT of volume and are seasoned and looking for ways to improve, a tool like Maximus can be very valuable: https://maximusx.com/
We've played around with it, definitely a game changer but also expensive, so probably would only make sense for seasoned affiliates.
[Note from Amy: Another solid auto-optimization tool which is more wallet-friendly is theOptimizer - can be used for pop, push, and native traffic.]
Gijs @ VIP Response:
Native traffic is expensive, but we typically focus on cheap countries.
EU and AU are too expensive.
Latam is decent: e.g. CL, CO, AR.
EU and AU are too expensive.
Latam is decent: e.g. CL, CO, AR.
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SMS
Vincent Jouvin @ Big Bang Ads:
We neither run nor allow SMS traffic. It creates users complaints, and for SOI lead gen offers results in quite poor traffic quality. Also, legally the SMS text should contain an opt-out button to be GDPR compliant, but most SMS database owners would not comply, since the opt-out rate would go through the roof!
Gijs @ VIP Response:
For SMS, we have TONS of data.
Besides leadgen and our aff network, we also do list management. So we manage and monetize databases. We're managing and monetizing over 1 billion records globally. Uniques = 250-300 million easily.
There are a few ways affiliates can get access to our SMS records:
1) Start list management partnership with us
2) Buy data per record
3) Rent the data on CPM basis
Renting is for single use.
Interested affiliates can contact me directly.
Besides leadgen and our aff network, we also do list management. So we manage and monetize databases. We're managing and monetizing over 1 billion records globally. Uniques = 250-300 million easily.
There are a few ways affiliates can get access to our SMS records:
1) Start list management partnership with us
2) Buy data per record
3) Rent the data on CPM basis
Renting is for single use.
Interested affiliates can contact me directly.
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Other Traffic Types
Vincent Jouvin @ Big Bang Ads:
Incent: Not converting for us at all. We stopped buying it a few years ago.
DSP: The banners I showed you [note from Amy: See the next post in this guide] are from our own booking. We have some experience here and eventually we are buying audience we aren't getting anywhere else - users which are 50+ and coming from desktop traffic! Most of the affiliate traffic is now mobile (close to 85%), so for us buying this DSP traffic with different age and good gender split is a benediction!
I can't recommend this DSP we've been buying traffic from, because we have an exclusive partnership with them regarding sweeps offers - they only accept our banners. We struggled for about 3 years to set up that partnership with them.
[Note from Amy: Again, as I've mentioned in the previous post, feel free to find and test display traffic yourself. You can also set up similar partnerships with website owners.]
DSP: The banners I showed you [note from Amy: See the next post in this guide] are from our own booking. We have some experience here and eventually we are buying audience we aren't getting anywhere else - users which are 50+ and coming from desktop traffic! Most of the affiliate traffic is now mobile (close to 85%), so for us buying this DSP traffic with different age and good gender split is a benediction!
I can't recommend this DSP we've been buying traffic from, because we have an exclusive partnership with them regarding sweeps offers - they only accept our banners. We struggled for about 3 years to set up that partnership with them.
[Note from Amy: Again, as I've mentioned in the previous post, feel free to find and test display traffic yourself. You can also set up similar partnerships with website owners.]
Ivy @ Wewe Media:
Some affiliates are trying out Pinterest but are experiencing faster bans - probably because cloakers aren't really well-developed for this traffic source.
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You're ALMOST ready to run traffic - the only other thing you need are creatives, i.e. landers and ads/banners.
I'll provide lots of inspiration in a subsequent post. But first, I want to talk about how to keep quality high so you won't get kicked off a good offer - which is the topic of the next post.
Amy
Links to Entire Guide:
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