My first campaign in affiliate marketing

[Awkama]

Greetings to all participants in this wonderful forum. My name is Roman. Finally, I launched my first campaign and was very happy, because for 1.5 years I just followed affiliate marketing and learned the basics.

I am from Russia, I write through a google translator, I apologize for mistakes and possibly a bad text.

So what have I done?
After reading a lot of threads on the forum, I came to the conclusion that as a beginner, I need to start with the "dating" vertical. Because this vertical is relevant all year round.
At the start I have a small budget ($ 100), so I chose the "push" ad format. The PropellerAds Commission took $ 2.85 from me.

Balance = $ 97.15

I'll start point by point:
1. I chose a dating offer in the smartlink affiliate program.

1. Korea - mainstream - PC & mobile - SOI
   Registration fee = $ 1.28
   
   
2. Korea - mainstream - PC and mobile - SOI
   Registration fee = $ 0.85

I decided to split these proposals.

2. I chose the advertising network PropellerAds.
Recommended bid at the time of the launch of the campaign in Korea by cpc = 0.015
I set cpc = 0.01

3. I chose the tracker AdsBridge because there are 14 days for free

So:
I created 40 creatives. Wrote headlines and text (translated into Korean and English).
Created 5 campaigns with 8 ads per mobile.
Created 5 campaigns with 8 ads per pc.

I set up all the links and ran it for the test.

The campaigns ran for about 3 hours, after which I stopped them, as the budget for the test ran out.
Results from the ad network
(I configured the postback incorrectly, and did not see conversions in the tracker, I watched them in the affiliate program):
Spent: -28.7 $
Impressions = 154,734
Clicks = 2.303
Conversions = 23
Offer 1.1 = 11 conversions = $ 14.08
Offer 1.2 = 12 conversions = $ 10.2
But the payout amount in the affiliate program is written $ 26.32.
I don't understand how the affiliate program considers conversions, but I like it

Total:
Total Spent = $ -28.7
PropellerAds balance = $ 68.45
Income = $ 26.3
Difference = $ -2.4
Balance Affiliate Program = $ 26.3
---------------------------------------------------
Due to the wrong postback setup, I did not understand which creatives were bringing conversions. = (
Average CTR for creatives was: 2.5-3%
Mobile campaigns performed best.
And I decided to launch these campaigns a second time, but only on mobile, and set up the postback correctly to see which creatives bring conversions.

Launched 25 creatives, but this time on the CPM.
Recommended bid at the time of launching the campaign to Korea by cpm = 0.6 $
I set cpc = 0.4 $

Results:
Spent = -28.58 $
Impressions = 45,687
Clicks = 1,192
Conversions = 8
Offer 1.1 = 8 conversions = $ 10.24
Offer 1.2 = 0 conversions = $ 0

Total:
Total Spent = $ -57.28
PropellerAds balance = $ 39.87
Received = $ 10.24
Difference = $ -18.34
Balance Affiliate Program = $ 36.54
-----------------------------------------------------------
Average CTR for creatives was 2.9%
Now I saw which creatives bring conversions and decided to launch a campaign only for these creatives.

Launched 8 creatives, also by CPM
Recommended bid at the time of launching the campaign for Korea per cpm = 0.4 $
I set cpm = 0.3 $

Results:
Spent = $ -4.18
Impressions = 11,215
Clicks = 147
Conversions = 1
Offer 1.1 = 1 conversions = $ 1.28
Offer 1.2 = 0 conversions = $ 0

Total:
Spent = $ -4.18
PropellerAds balance = $ 35.69
Received = $ 1.28
Total = $ -2.9
Balance Affiliate Program = $ 37.82
----------------------------------------------------------------
At this point I decided to stop and think about what I was doing wrong. But I didn't think of anything
I decided to try another dating offer, only this time to Japan. I liked the $ 4.25 reward and the cost per click is the same as for Korea.

I made 12 campaigns with 8 creatives each. Made the text in Japanese and English. Launched only on mobile.

And this is what happened:

Recommended bid at the time of the launch of the campaign in Japan at cpc = 0.02 $
I set cpc = $ 0.014

Results:
Spent = -54.76 $
Impressions = 52,087
Clicks = 1,539
Conversions = 1
Average CTR of campaigns = 2.95%

Total:
Total Spent = $ -116.22
PropellerAds balance = $ -19.23
Received = $ 4.25
Loss = $ -50.45
Affiliate program balance = $ 42.07
----------------------------------------------------
Spent = $ -116.22
Profit = $ 42.07
RОI = -63%

This is my path to affiliate marketing
I don't have affiliate marketing friends for me to ask.
I tried them for 4 days. Maybe I was doing something wrong.
I would be very glad for any criticism and help.

Now I want to try the CPI proposal but haven't found any useful information yet.

 

[Graybeard]

Why is the CTR so low?

1. traffic
2. creative

B. Both?
Not being critical --but you need to know why to improve the situation.

 

[Strickland]

I not going to do the math but wondered if you have CTR mixed up with CR
A 2.95%CTR is very low, maybe you could try and increase your bids, dating is a very competetive vertical.

 

[tyoussef]

Greetings to all participants in this wonderful forum. My name is Roman. Finally, I launched my first campaign and was very happy, because for 1.5 years I just followed affiliate marketing and learned the basics.

I am from Russia, I write through a google translator, I apologize for mistakes and possibly a bad text.

So what have I done?
After reading a lot of threads on the forum, I came to the conclusion that as a beginner, I need to start with the "dating" vertical. Because this vertical is relevant all year round.
At the start I have a small budget ($ 100), so I chose the "push" ad format. The PropellerAds Commission took $ 2.85 from me.

Balance = $ 97.15

I'll start point by point:
1. I chose a dating offer in the smartlink affiliate program.

1. Korea - mainstream - PC & mobile - SOI
   Registration fee = $ 1.28
   
   
2. Korea - mainstream - PC and mobile - SOI
   Registration fee = $ 0.85

I decided to split these proposals.

2. I chose the advertising network PropellerAds.
Recommended bid at the time of the launch of the campaign in Korea by cpc = 0.015
I set cpc = 0.01

3. I chose the tracker AdsBridge because there are 14 days for free

So:
I created 40 creatives. Wrote headlines and text (translated into Korean and English).
Created 5 campaigns with 8 ads per mobile.
Created 5 campaigns with 8 ads per pc.

I set up all the links and ran it for the test.

The campaigns ran for about 3 hours, after which I stopped them, as the budget for the test ran out.
Results from the ad network
(I configured the postback incorrectly, and did not see conversions in the tracker, I watched them in the affiliate program):
Spent: -28.7 $
Impressions = 154,734
Clicks = 2.303
Conversions = 23
Offer 1.1 = 11 conversions = $ 14.08
Offer 1.2 = 12 conversions = $ 10.2
But the payout amount in the affiliate program is written $ 26.32.
I don't understand how the affiliate program considers conversions, but I like it

Total:
Total Spent = $ -28.7
PropellerAds balance = $ 68.45
Income = $ 26.3
Difference = $ -2.4
Balance Affiliate Program = $ 26.3
---------------------------------------------------
Due to the wrong postback setup, I did not understand which creatives were bringing conversions. = (
Average CTR for creatives was: 2.5-3%
Mobile campaigns performed best.
And I decided to launch these campaigns a second time, but only on mobile, and set up the postback correctly to see which creatives bring conversions.

Launched 25 creatives, but this time on the CPM.
Recommended bid at the time of launching the campaign to Korea by cpm = 0.6 $
I set cpc = 0.4 $

Results:
Spent = -28.58 $
Impressions = 45,687
Clicks = 1,192
Conversions = 8
Offer 1.1 = 8 conversions = $ 10.24
Offer 1.2 = 0 conversions = $ 0

Total:
Total Spent = $ -57.28
PropellerAds balance = $ 39.87
Received = $ 10.24
Difference = $ -18.34
Balance Affiliate Program = $ 36.54
-----------------------------------------------------------
Average CTR for creatives was 2.9%
Now I saw which creatives bring conversions and decided to launch a campaign only for these creatives.

Launched 8 creatives, also by CPM
Recommended bid at the time of launching the campaign for Korea per cpm = 0.4 $
I set cpm = 0.3 $

Results:
Spent = $ -4.18
Impressions = 11,215
Clicks = 147
Conversions = 1
Offer 1.1 = 1 conversions = $ 1.28
Offer 1.2 = 0 conversions = $ 0

Total:
Spent = $ -4.18
PropellerAds balance = $ 35.69
Received = $ 1.28
Total = $ -2.9
Balance Affiliate Program = $ 37.82
----------------------------------------------------------------
At this point I decided to stop and think about what I was doing wrong. But I didn't think of anything
I decided to try another dating offer, only this time to Japan. I liked the $ 4.25 reward and the cost per click is the same as for Korea.

I made 12 campaigns with 8 creatives each. Made the text in Japanese and English. Launched only on mobile.

And this is what happened:

Recommended bid at the time of the launch of the campaign in Japan at cpc = 0.02 $
I set cpc = $ 0.014

Results:
Spent = -54.76 $
Impressions = 52,087
Clicks = 1,539
Conversions = 1
Average CTR of campaigns = 2.95%

Total:
Total Spent = $ -116.22
PropellerAds balance = $ -19.23
Received = $ 4.25
Loss = $ -50.45
Affiliate program balance = $ 42.07
----------------------------------------------------
Spent = $ -116.22
Profit = $ 42.07
RОI = -63%

This is my path to affiliate marketing
I don't have affiliate marketing friends for me to ask.
I tried them for 4 days. Maybe I was doing something wrong.
I would be very glad for any criticism and help.

Now I want to try the CPI proposal but haven't found any useful information yet.

at the beginning you are doing soo good.
but the biggest mistake you did is you are not tracking well, your post-back is not set properly, you don't know what creatives bring you conversion, what landing pages what os's ... ETC

am sure that it's very possible to make the first campaign profitable, with more tracking and optimizing and improving.

 

[Awkama]

Why is the CTR so low?

1. traffic
2. creative

B. Both?
Not being critical --but you need to know why to improve the situation.

Thank you for your reply.
Maybe the creatives weren't very good, or maybe the text.
What is approximately the CTP in PUSH ads?

 

[Awkama]

I not going to do the math but wondered if you have CTR mixed up with CR
A 2.95%CTR is very low, maybe you could try and increase your bids, dating is a very competetive vertical.

Greetings)
I definitely didn't confuse CTR and CR, since I didn't even count the conversion as a percentage.
Now I understand that the CTE is low, but I do not understand what CTE should I wait?

 

[Awkama]

at the beginning you are doing soo good.
but the biggest mistake you did is you are not tracking well, your post-back is not set properly, you don't know what creatives bring you conversion, what landing pages what os's ... ETC

am sure that it's very possible to make the first campaign profitable, with more tracking and optimizing and improving.

Thanks for reading my post)
Yes, I did not check the postback before launching. Missed the opportunity. (
But that's okay. I'll find more)
Should I keep studying vertical dating?
I want to try installing apps. I would be very grateful if you tell me what are the difficulties for a beginner?

 

[Aditya007]

Why is the CTR so low?

Why do you think it is low? ~30 clicks out of 1000 impressions on the ad creatives is just too good and most probably spam/bot. It's the CTR on the creatives and not the landing page. He cannot track his landing page CTR unless his affiliate network provides that info because he's using a smartlink.

if you have CTR mixed up with CR

Most probably, he has not. Maybe you have confused his creatives CTR with landing page CTR?

A 2.95%CTR is very low,

No!

 

[Strickland]

Hi @Aditya007
I can only say from my experience so far. I'm on my 10th campaign, and it's my first profitable campaign.
It was only a few weeks ago I managed to get a CTR above 1%, for me that was a milestone. On the campaign I'm currently running my CTR is anything between 7 and 15 %, it has been as high as 32%.
Im still learning how to use trackers, postbacks and all the other stuff so I can easily be wrong and I'm more than happy to be put right. All I can say is when my CTR was below 6% for the best part I was not in profit, it went above 6% and most of the time I'm in profit. Based on that 2.95% seems low

 

[T J Tutor]

Make some adjustments. I think you have at least one winner there that can be replicated into more than one version.

am sure that it's very possible to make the first campaign profitable, with more tracking and optimizing and improving.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS

He cannot track his landing page CTR unless his affiliate network provides that info because he's using a smartlink.

I don't use smart links, is this not typically provided through the networks with some tracking variables?

 

[Aditya007]

I don't use smart links, is this not typically provided through the networks with some tracking variables?

Some affiliate networks do show the visits on smartlinks and clicks on their landing pages (so the CTR is visible in reports) but some do not. However, I'm pretty sure there's no way one can get this landing page clicks/CTR data in their tracker dashboard because a click on smartlinks' landing page is an event which is out of the scope of any tracker. The only possible way is to provide a postback/pixel whenever there's a click on CTA button, but this is not currently available in any affiliate network or tracker.

 

[T J Tutor]

this is not currently available in any affiliate network or tracker.

I guess not enough forethought into the affiliates necessary needs. I think Centro, and few other companies, had addressed the whole automated deployment and centralized pixel thing a few years ago.

 

[PropellerAds]

Thank you for choosing PropellerAds as your traffic source!

You will find valuable information for your first campaigns here:

• Case Studies about Dating and other verticals
• Webinar about Dating creatives
• Launching the first Push Notification campaign in PropellerAds
• Tutorials

(The webinar and some articles are translated into Russain)

To get useful advice from our team, you can also send a message to our support team or join our Telegram chat.

 

[RichAds]

Greetings to all participants in this wonderful forum. My name is Roman. Finally, I launched my first campaign and was very happy, because for 1.5 years I just followed affiliate marketing and learned the basics.

I am from Russia, I write through a google translator, I apologize for mistakes and possibly a bad text.

So what have I done?
After reading a lot of threads on the forum, I came to the conclusion that as a beginner, I need to start with the "dating" vertical. Because this vertical is relevant all year round.
At the start I have a small budget ($ 100), so I chose the "push" ad format. The PropellerAds Commission took $ 2.85 from me.

Balance = $ 97.15

I'll start point by point:
1. I chose a dating offer in the smartlink affiliate program.

1. Korea - mainstream - PC & mobile - SOI
   Registration fee = $ 1.28
   
   
2. Korea - mainstream - PC and mobile - SOI
   Registration fee = $ 0.85

I decided to split these proposals.

2. I chose the advertising network PropellerAds.
Recommended bid at the time of the launch of the campaign in Korea by cpc = 0.015
I set cpc = 0.01

3. I chose the tracker AdsBridge because there are 14 days for free

So:
I created 40 creatives. Wrote headlines and text (translated into Korean and English).
Created 5 campaigns with 8 ads per mobile.
Created 5 campaigns with 8 ads per pc.

I set up all the links and ran it for the test.

The campaigns ran for about 3 hours, after which I stopped them, as the budget for the test ran out.
Results from the ad network
(I configured the postback incorrectly, and did not see conversions in the tracker, I watched them in the affiliate program):
Spent: -28.7 $
Impressions = 154,734
Clicks = 2.303
Conversions = 23
Offer 1.1 = 11 conversions = $ 14.08
Offer 1.2 = 12 conversions = $ 10.2
But the payout amount in the affiliate program is written $ 26.32.
I don't understand how the affiliate program considers conversions, but I like it

Total:
Total Spent = $ -28.7
PropellerAds balance = $ 68.45
Income = $ 26.3
Difference = $ -2.4
Balance Affiliate Program = $ 26.3
---------------------------------------------------
Due to the wrong postback setup, I did not understand which creatives were bringing conversions. = (
Average CTR for creatives was: 2.5-3%
Mobile campaigns performed best.
And I decided to launch these campaigns a second time, but only on mobile, and set up the postback correctly to see which creatives bring conversions.

Launched 25 creatives, but this time on the CPM.
Recommended bid at the time of launching the campaign to Korea by cpm = 0.6 $
I set cpc = 0.4 $

Results:
Spent = -28.58 $
Impressions = 45,687
Clicks = 1,192
Conversions = 8
Offer 1.1 = 8 conversions = $ 10.24
Offer 1.2 = 0 conversions = $ 0

Total:
Total Spent = $ -57.28
PropellerAds balance = $ 39.87
Received = $ 10.24
Difference = $ -18.34
Balance Affiliate Program = $ 36.54
-----------------------------------------------------------
Average CTR for creatives was 2.9%
Now I saw which creatives bring conversions and decided to launch a campaign only for these creatives.

Launched 8 creatives, also by CPM
Recommended bid at the time of launching the campaign for Korea per cpm = 0.4 $
I set cpm = 0.3 $

Results:
Spent = $ -4.18
Impressions = 11,215
Clicks = 147
Conversions = 1
Offer 1.1 = 1 conversions = $ 1.28
Offer 1.2 = 0 conversions = $ 0

Total:
Spent = $ -4.18
PropellerAds balance = $ 35.69
Received = $ 1.28
Total = $ -2.9
Balance Affiliate Program = $ 37.82
----------------------------------------------------------------
At this point I decided to stop and think about what I was doing wrong. But I didn't think of anything
I decided to try another dating offer, only this time to Japan. I liked the $ 4.25 reward and the cost per click is the same as for Korea.

I made 12 campaigns with 8 creatives each. Made the text in Japanese and English. Launched only on mobile.

And this is what happened:

Recommended bid at the time of the launch of the campaign in Japan at cpc = 0.02 $
I set cpc = $ 0.014

Results:
Spent = -54.76 $
Impressions = 52,087
Clicks = 1,539
Conversions = 1
Average CTR of campaigns = 2.95%

Total:
Total Spent = $ -116.22
PropellerAds balance = $ -19.23
Received = $ 4.25
Loss = $ -50.45
Affiliate program balance = $ 42.07
----------------------------------------------------
Spent = $ -116.22
Profit = $ 42.07
RОI = -63%

This is my path to affiliate marketing
I don't have affiliate marketing friends for me to ask.
I tried them for 4 days. Maybe I was doing something wrong.
I would be very glad for any criticism and help.

Now I want to try the CPI proposal but haven't found any useful information yet.

Hi! The start of your first campaigns was quite successful, so it would be correct to optimize them. When you changed your model from CPC to CPM, you changed the sources and audiences as well, it explains why the results got worse.
The best solution here is to continue running your old ad campaign. If you forgot to set up conversion tracking, you can relaunch your campaign later with a correctly set up postback and then analyze your performance.

 

[thelegend]

I am more a free traffic guy but i can tell you that you do more that a lot of guys in affiliate marketing do .Congratulations .Dont give and change until you succed : maybe its the campain the traffic source ,promotion etc

 

[tyoussef]

Should I keep studying vertical dating?

you can test run anything, but dating is also one of the biggest verticals .

I want to try installing apps. I would be very grateful if you tell me what are the difficulties for a beginner?

yes, its amazing if you tested a couple of apps beside your dating campaigns.

the only advice i gave you is : learn from your previous campaigns