Home > Vendors >

---

Creating my own CPA Network (54)

---

After days of planning and thinking and over thinking everything, I am now putting everything aside to start my own CPA network.

And so...

Lion CPA

was born!

This network will be a semi-elite network where I will target medium earners in the CPA industry.

The backend will run on Hasoffers as I have spoken to a friend of mine who also has his own CPA network that it runs like absolutely perfect and the amazing reviews everywhere on the internet just persuaded me even more.

Now, I do realise that task that is ahead of me and I know it will result in many sleepless nights. But I also know that I do have the determination to make this work as this has been the dream of mine for over 2 years. (not very long but I only started IM 3 years ago)

So...

Why "Lion"?

I think Lion can be branded very well, with Lion being the king of animals and can have good slogens like "Keep the lion's share of the profits" etc.

Logo...

I have 5 different logos in for consideration. PLEASE tell me which do you like the most & why ---> http://lioncpa.com/logo/

My favourite is 1 & 5. The trouble with 1 is that it is basically the same as MGM Grand's logo and that is why the lion is not original, but will be originally designed if chosen as a winner.

The 2,3,4 designs, I have took Apple's Lion OS X and made it fit my theme but I don't think that having real pictures in the logo looks good at all.

So in my opinion it is between 1 & 5. What do you think?

Let's chose the logo first, and then we go from there

---

My vote is 5

---

not sure if serious

---

What do you mean?

---

This was my prophecy for 2012, serious, i told people on skype that you will start your own CPA network, because the niches that you havent already started, are running out atm.

Good luck with your network and PLEASE make it better than CPA GOAT I think CPA LION > CPA GOAT.

---

CPA GOAT looks good lol...

no, but I am serious. If I don't take this project trough to the end, than you guys can hate on me.

But not while I am still doing it!

---

So what you are saying is that so far literally all of your logos are infringing on someone else's copyright.

---

Exactly Googled "Lion logo" for inspiration and this is what I have put together for a first draft.

But the final logo will be done by a hired designer. I just wanted to make some basic ones myself.

---

Thread moved....be aware of the fact we have rules for networks.....please keep all posts about your network in this section...

---

Sorry, my bad.

---

do you have any advertiser relationships or will you broker 100% of the offers? :-)

---

I gotta be honest. The logos are really bad, and for those in the industry it seems like a loose rip of Eagle Web Assets in both name and logo design. Hasoffers networks come and go overnight, but if you have a good gameplan and a close circle of a few dozen partners willing to move all their traffic to your platform then go for it. Good luck.

---

You should be more concerned to your business model than your logo
Just my 2cts

---

Yeh I was thinking the same.

1) No one will run with you if you dont pay weekly
2) Not sure what is your budget to cover losses
3) You know that you will have to have accountant and other staff at your network, you wont be able to do it all alone
4) Are you just going to broker everything from EWA ? Like many other networks do?

---

I despise people like you. Last thing we need in this industry is some fly-by-night affiliate network run by a teenager who is brokering EWA's offers, and barely has enough cash flow to even CONSIDER starting a CPA network.
Do you have a few million in the bank? Probably not judging by your $10 case studies on your blog. Lol @ self-proclaimed "super affiliates"

---

1) At first, my network will run on a Net-15.
2) I will not have to cover any losses above $5k, because that is how I will run the network.
3) I know about other staff. At the beginning however, I can manage by myself.
4) No. That is the main challenge in my eyes but there is no reason why I cannot talk directly to advertisers.

And to all the haters who are just saying I should stay away etc etc. I will not do that no matter what you guys say. You are wasting your breath. You should be here to see this following along and not to discourage people.

What I mean by that is that I will take criticism aboard but not pure hating.

Talking about criticism, I have launched a logo contest on 99designs.com

http://99designs.com/logo-design/con...117055/entries

Which logo do you like the best?

And as for the business model. Basically, Lion CPA is targeting medium earners hence why a Net-15 is enough. Affiliates will be attracted by a giveaway for the first month.

I will say this again. I will see this trough and you shouldn't start hating when I am still working on it, only if I fail. Just enjoy this follow along

Now, time. What I am expecting...

... is to finish the website by 3rd February. Completely. This means only advertisers are needed.

... to get 30 quality offers set up in the next 45 days after the site's completion.

I will do my best to keep to these time limits.

Any questions?

---

I can understand the comments from past performance but you seem to be determined so good luck to you.

As for your design comp my vote would go to #3 from the current 5 entries.

---

Really? I thought no.3 looks too aggressive and just reminds me of Egypt somehow. None of the logos are looking too good admittedly, but the contest has only been open for a few hours.

---

Word of advice from someone close to your age. Several years ago when I was 16/17 I just as well decided to start my own affiliate network. At that moment, I was already well in the 4 figs a day as an affiliate and had a pretty good bank balance. Well I decided to do my pre-launch and promotion on WickedFire, and as we all know, the crowd there is tough. I didn't have the rep back then that I had now, and I was given a really hard time.

After working almost a full year in getting my network launched, the folks at WickedFire basically forced me to "give up" because of all the bad publicity they were giving me on the forum. But now, years later, I thank them for that.

Running a successful network is a bitch and extremely risky. You may think there is great money on it, but just as well, there is a shit load of risk. Collecting payments from advertisers is not always easy, and in many times will require for you to have a lawyer on retainer. Any serious affiliate will demand weekly payments. I haven't gotten paid anything later than a weekly payment in 5 years, and I definitely wouldn't run with a network that pays on Net 15. If you take a couple minutes to do the math, you'll figure out that to get any decent affiliates on your network, you will need to have high $xxx,xxx being floated a month at minimum before you get paid.

Next, offers are huge. You first want to become a successful affiliate, get a lot of contacts with direct advertisers because of your volume, and then use those same contacts for your network. If you are putting out $100 case studies, then you won't have a leg to stand on when it comes to getting the right advertisers on board. Even if you do get some direct, they'll lowball your payouts.

As I said, I'm personally very happy that I was morally destroyed when I made the decision to start my affiliate network. If I wasn't discouraged back then, then probably 1 year later I would have gone down and killed my name. I was simply too immature back then, no matter how much I was earning.

I know that a couple days ago you emailed me about the network in my sig and asked if I own it. I'm not sure if maybe I was part of your inspiration, but the only reason I'm now a co-partner of a network now is only because my partners have more experience and are more mature than I am. I would never do it solo.

---

mgrunin hit the nail on the hat

how are you going to handle accounting,compliance,advertiser relationships etc.. all on your own? also if you broker your offers and pay net 15 why should ANYONE run traffic with your network if they can get direct deals with weeklies?

1 or 2 fraudster affiliates and you're fucked because i don't think you can cover the loss

---

This ^^.

You'll have to deal with:
- affs who only run fraud traffic (stolen CC details and $40 payout offers anyone?)
- handle payments for affiliates
- handle tax shit cause you'll have affiliates form all over the world
- monitor offerlinks, immediately replace them when they're broke
- have a constant flow of new offers coming to your network
- advertisers paying you net 30 or 60 and you pay your affs net15... do da math.
- and much much more

But the biggest issue will be:
Why should any aff run with your network? What's so special about it? There are already hundreds of different networks in the industry, struggling to stay alive. Will you have special offers? Highest payouts? 1on1 coaching?

Even Riley Pools' dating network is dead now (mainly because of fraud from affs as he wrote in his last email), and this guy knows his shit. He offered 1on1 coaching and even creatives and landers if I remember right.

This will be a short but rough ride son.

---

Thanks mrgrunin for the fantastic post!

And yes, you have been an inspiration to me also. If you could check back on this thread now and then and offer some great advice like this I'd be very grateful!

Now, let me say my expectations of what I want Lion CPA to achieve.

Net 15. Yes, Net 15. With this network I want to target affiliates who are earning $50-$300 a day. CPALead.com They have Net-15 payouts and are still very successful. As soon as the network grows more and more I will move to weekly payouts but I know that could take over a year before I reach that level.

I wish to get around 100-200 pubs signed up in the first month because of my giveaway.

@nusolutionz Not brokering for the exact same reason as you have said. I will get proper advertiser deals. Because of what everyone seems to be saying I think I am undervaluing the difficulty of this task. Is it really that difficult to get advertisers to sign up with you?

Don't get me wrong guys, I am not undervaluing the great task that is ahead. I do think however that I can set up the network by myself. That means fully functional website and system and getting advertisers. I know I will have sleepless nights but I am up for it. After that, know I will have to get a lawyer, an affiliate manager and an accountant.

---

@ibanez: Rough ride yes, but short ride... I will do my very best to make it a long one.

Now, you asked why would pubs sign up with me?

At the first month I said I'd be doing a giveaway. I haven't yet worked out the fine details but I want to do a very big giveaway and attract attention from internet marketing blogs who have audiences who are earning $50-$300 a day. Blogs like John Chow etc.

Then, the feel of the network should do the rest as I will attempt to remain as professional as positive, answer pub's question ASAP and so on.

---

As already mentioned from other people I think that the biggest hurdle will be fraud traffic, especially seen as your doing a giveaway it will give fraudsters a win win situation - they sign up and get what your offering an probably will get paid unless you have a good method to filter it.

It only takes 1 bad cookie to make you crash and burn. I've always thought about having my own network and haven't because I'd just rather put my effort into my campaigns at the moment so I have a list of offers that convert well for me, so then maybe down the line I can go contact those advertisers and say, I've been doing X volume on this offer and would like a more direct relationship as I scale out etc etc.

Then it would probably only be a select few friends etc I would invite into it in the beginning anyway so I can combat fraud traffic that way.

If you do stick at it though, good luck

---

HasOffers apparently has good fraud detection. I will talk to my friend who also runs on HasOffers and ask how good he thinks HasOffer's fraud protection is.

---

Hey man, I'm 22 and have been running a network for 2 years now. The first 8 months were not successful, and I lost money for the duration. After the first 8 months, the company exploded and we've been doing extremely well since then. But I had a lot of $$ in the bank that I could sit on something I knew would be successful.

Please take my criticism here as nothing offensive, but me trying to give you advice:

1) Shut this thread down. Nothing is more professional than saying I'm gonna start a business, but give me advice on how to do so -- PARTICULARLY when you're asking your [hopefully] future affiliates for advice on how to run a network. Affiliates in this industry like companies that are steady, stable, well-financed, and that have their policies straight in order and need no input from the affiliate themselves -- then when they become an affiliate of your network and want to put in some input -- then and only then should their input be taken into consideration (IMO).

2) Sit down and draw up a legitimate business model. If you have to find a business model template, look for one. But this is necessary. You have to cover every angle of this business. When I started, I had done this and I discovered soon after that there was so much more to the business than I thought there was. You're going to learn things every single day. The industry is ever-evolving, so do heavy research on government regulations (particularly in the US), and make sure that your network runs everything compliantly, otherwise you will either be held responsible, or put in a very uncomfortable position by your local legislation if things are not on the up and up.

3) Make sure you truly are prepared for this lifestyle. I'm running a company with myself and one other employee, and we work A LOT. When I was running CPATrend single handedly, I worked 20 hours a day for the first couple of months, and then I was working ~14-16 hour days after that until I hired somebody. It's going to take a toll on you and your personal life at this age. If you can't put the time in, you wont make it work. But if you are willing to make that sacrifice, it's possible.

FINALLY --> The most important thing is to not allow everybody into your network. Develop a heavy screening process where you ensure you're only dealing with quality publishers. A bad seed will slip through here and there, but you must keep your network on lock down otherwise you will quickly go out of business when you're stiffed your first large amount from shit traffic.

Good luck man! Hope you can figure it out and do well!

Regards,

Phil

---

Thank you Mr Shapiro,

This criticism is really needed.

It was only a few hours ago that I was studying CPA Trend and what made it so successful and now here you are!

1) I do not wish to stop. This is the right time to still get out but I know I don't want to and I can see myself doing this as a passion as well as a source of income. One thing that I would like to ask from you Mr Shapiro is what big of losses are we talking here? In my mind, the losses aren't nothing THAT big since the business model is that we get paid by the advertisers and we pass that money straight to our pubs.

2) Business plan, yes. This morning I have started writing this. I can see how there is much more to this business than it seems. And doing everything legally is one of my top priories. Heavy, heavy research will be done, probably with a lawyer involved. Both of my uncles run very successful offline/online businesses (really successful) and I image they can also help me out with there.

3) I'm not just prepared for this lifestyle, I dream of this lifestyle! I seriously want to work on this as much as I can. I go to bed late every single night because the days are just not long enough for me to fit in what I have planned. Dedication is not a problem.

Thank you very much for your input sir, and I really mean it when I say I look up to you!

Once again, if you could just tell me how big of a loss are we talking here I'd appreciate it. As far as I know, good cash flow will result in no losses (or little max.)

Thanks again!

---

Not a problem at all, I don't mind discussing things, so feel free to hit me up. I hope you incorporate a reference check into your screening process, as it's something that has really helped our approval process be one of the best in the industry.

I took a $12,000.00 loss, when it hurt to take a $12k loss. I was being paid weekly by an advertiser that we were doing about 20k/week with. They retroactively stiffed me for $12,000 and they were a company outside of the US, so there was no recourse. They said that we went over caps that they implemented, but upon further review, they didn't specifically set the caps and it was more so their fault than mine. Having said that, I had already paid everybody, and they took the money out of my "most recent" weekly payment, so they just kept most of the payment. That's when I stopped doing business with them, but things happen.

Then about 6 months ago, a company that we do a couple million in revenue with per year almost stiffed us for $50,000.00 because of a tracking issue on THEIR end. Because of our relationship, they settled with us at like $34k, and we made a deal with our affiliates, because they ended up making a lot more than they should've due to this error on the advertisers end, but rather than making 8-10k on that, we ended up losing a bit or coming close to breaking even on that traffic. It could've been a lot worse, but CPA networks are also not banks. You have to remember that you work for your affiliates and advertisers, but you're the one taking the bulk of the risk, and you must assess the risk accordingly.

Also, you have to keep in mind that even though payment terms are net-15 with a lot of your advertisers, you'll receive late payments too, so you have to have have money in the bank to uphold to your contractual obligation to pay net-15.

Get a lawyer and an accountant involved. I figured out a lot of things on my own before I did this, and now I regret doing so because I had to then catch my lawyer and accountant up to speed AFTER doing business for a while, which was much more complicated then having that set up from the get-go.

Get a contract drawn up that will be beneficial to you over the advertisers -- then they can red line and such, but make sure you give yourself the upper hand. I'm not saying to try to get over on advertisers, but I'm saying not to let them get over on you.

Always negotiate payouts/payment terms. There will be advertisers who wont budge, but most will.

---

Thank you Mr Shapiro again for a wonderful post. A++++ info in those few sentences.

$12k loss is nothing as big as I'd imagined from all the hype. However, I will learn from your mistake and get a lawyer first to draw up contracts and make sure advertisers cannot screw me over.

I thank you for giving me the opportunity to contact you, and I most likely will in the near future.

Now, let's get back to work on the business plan!

---

No hype -- that's the biggest loss I ever took (but again, when that was a big hit for my company).

The reason I haven't really ever been stiffed badly is because of our networks overall quality due to our approval process and vigilance against fraud without in network. Having said that, companies take million dollar hits or more. We don't just let traffic run through and ask for quality after we send a tonnn of volume, we vigilantly monitor with both affiliates and advertiser to make sure all parties are happy before allowing significant scaling.

Good luck again!

---

^^ ok but will you TRUMP any networks' payout?

---

No, YOU will set YOUR OWN PAYOUTS. Are you starting to sense the POWER of not caring about cashflow?

---

See kids, this is why you should never do drugs...

---

@jonas:

You've just spend all that time photoshopping your images and what for? And if you think I don't know about the importance of cash flow than youre terribly wrong.

---

relax guys..i made fun of his idea myself in the beginning..but hey at least he has the nuts to try it and he is really young..so even if you doubt he will succeed he deserves a little respect for trying it. it's easy to make fun of others but making it better is another story..so let's all stop hatin an focus on work ;-)

---

we both know I didn't spend more than 5 minutes doing that plus it was in between feeding my kids breakfast. The point is who cares what anyone else says, because at the end of the day they could be dumber than you. Just prove everyone wrong and stop sweating, you can't stop the shit from rolling so learn how to handle the shit, because it's everywhere, even eagles shit. so, sign up with poop ads before the other 2.345 slots fill up. ( not sure why I am still advertising for my non-existent network)

oh and on a more serious note leave the animal kingdom behind the only network cornering that niche right is wolf storm media, and that's because the wolf plus storm just sounds awesome and they have the lightning bolt things going I don't know it's just sweet.

---

so which sscript/system are you going to use for the network?

---

I'll put my money on hasoffers.

---

God I love the internet.

---

Everyone got to start somewhere. Why not start at the very top

---

^ ^ I never laughed so much ever browsing this forum. This thread has turned into the comedy circus

Ok, let me come straight to the point. Hmate, I don't know how long you have spent the time into the affiliate marketing. But just one thing you should concern atleast. To hold a CPA network, you should be an encyclopedia of affiliate marketing yourself. You know why these all guyz are forbidding you ?? Coz, you didn't make as much of your reputation. I checked all the threads started by you and you know what I found,, the most common word in your threads. Guess what ?? 'STARTING' .Each time you tend to start something new. Doing the $10 case studies aren't enough to attract affiliate marketers. The people whom you are messing with are already blessed with some golden threads made by the experts like Mr.Green, Stackman, Polarbacon, Angry Russian, BBrock, Tijn etc.. The images in their threads aren't photoshopped or edited. But their content writing actually prove its reality.

Lets assume, if tomorrow Mr. Green or Stackman announces that they are starting a CPA network, trust me these people will sign up there blindly. Its all coz of their reputation & trust among the forum members and actually they proved themselves. I'm not trying to degrade you. But my point is, at least you must have most out of the knowledge of AM & some proven campaigns you have already done not with XX $ / day but with XXXX $ / per day at least. The reason you started this thread to actually promote your upcoming cpa network. But you may have seen the response from those affiliate marketers that how they just took it for fun. Behave like a professional first, prepare yourself and then fire a shot.


Cheers

---

Already happened :-)

---

Ohh really ?? I actually joined this platform just a month ago & much busy now a days messing with the mobile vertical. Such a great stuff there

---

so many work to do

---

It's a young thing... remember when we were kids and we weren't scared of anything?

We just became more realistic and clever as adults, that's all.

---

Yeah man, but sometimes I think it's actually good to have what many would perceive to be 'unrealistic' ambitions. It can really encourage you to take action.

I've personally entered into some businesses in the past that turned out to be highly successful despite not really knowing what I was getting into when I first started.

These days, I'm very analytical and will hesitate to jump into anything before I feel like I've learned everything. It sounds like the more intelligent way to go about things, but it really inhibits action.

---

This is insulting to people who work hard, own, and run networks.

---

So, is it ready? http://lioncpa.com/

Hurry up guys, grab your iPhone 5.

---

I still don't see why everyone is bashing him. It's not like this guys network is going to affect your campaigns or people you run with. Seems to me like it's a waste of time to keep on posting in this thread. This guy has already made it clear he doesn't care what others say he will try it and keep at it. If he doesn't succeed he can at least say he tried

---

This.

That said, back in 2007-2008 I was involved in the incent-side of the AM industry and there were tons of inexperienced guys starting up their own networks. Hardly any are still around today.

That's not to say the owners didn't make bank (some of them did VERY well), but almost all of them took unexpected hits from advertisers at one point or another. It's a lot to take on, and the mere fact that almost all of these networks don't exist anymore speaks to the volatility of the biz.

I don't like to discourage this kind of thing though. There's certainly a lot of risk, but all businesses are that way - I say if you really want to do it, go for it.

---

A few things you need to really know and understand before you start a network.

-If you don't have some sort of fraud solution monitoring your traffic, you will be done before you even get started. As a new network, you will have about 85% chinese pubs and 15% middle eastern pubs that are applying.........all fraud.
-You should also have a good bit of traffic that you can run yourself so that advertisers/networks see that you can produce some sort of value. If your traffic isn't enough to keep your network afloat and pay your bills, then you are seriously wasting your time.
-Everyone bashes brokering, but it is a necessary evil to get your network off the ground if you are a complete newb (in most cases and especially yours). Ask Mr. Eagle how he got started......
-Get a few contacts with some of the bigger networks and tell them what you are doing. Always be 100% transparent with them about everything, and hope and pray they are willing to work with you.
-You will definitely have to take small margins up front. Do not even consider paying weekly or even net-15 up front until you get some sort of a quality check on the pubs traffic or you will lose your ass.
-You really need to start with a sizable chunk of change in the bank to cover losses (which you will incur in your first year). I've been hit with several xx,xxx non-payments and even a few xxx,xxx non-payments which will make you want to run back to your mommy and cry about why you even got into this game.
-Contracts are definitely very important (and the has offers pub contract is filled with greasy loopholes for pubs), but enforcing those contracts is an even bigger aspect to focus on. Honestly man, you need some partners for this that know what they are doing, but it doesn't appear that you have a whole lot of contacts yet. Network, Network, Network and like Phil said in January, be prepared to work around the clock and not even know what day it is. That is what this will require.

I wish you luck and admire your courage and enthusiasm. Pipe dreams are what makes the IM world a great place to work.........because it is possible with the right connections and work ethic.

---

Nice post entycemedia, I take it you have some experience in this

I don't wanna be pessimistic and just say "don't launch your cpa network !" but I can tell you this, and I speak from experience, to emphasize what entycemedia said :

- Don't do that from your dorm room, won't work, you need to see it as a REAL business, offices, employees, accounting, etc ... don't just do it because it's cool and Ryan seems to have so much fun, never work and makes millions ^^
- Don't do it alone ! You need a partner, someone with an area of expertise that completes yours, and it will also be usefull in the blues moments, when evrything goes wrong, one should cheer the other , personally i could have never done it alone.
- Don't do it if you don't have traffic already ! When we've done it with my partner we had the biggest authority site in our vertical, and that was crucial !
- Don't do it if you don't have at the MINIMUM a couple 100K$ you're ready to put on the table and risk losing..
- Don't do it if you're not prepared to abandon your social life for at least a couple years, I mean, you will breathe, eat, sleep work , all the time, no week ends, no days off, no friends, no party ... nada, WORK WORK WORK !


If you're prepared to do all this, and build yourself a network and work SUPER hard then yes, it is possible to be #1 cpa network in 5years because nothing is impossible mate, you just gotta want it bad enough !

Of course if you have a huge network , or huge volumes it decreases the importance of the points above proportionnaly.


Best of luck.


Mehdi

---

ouch!

---

any update on this journey?

---

Home > Vendors >