Why do I need an ad network if I can negotiate directly with advertisers

[Vimmy]

Many will say that this affiliate network is an unnecessary extra layer. Why pay commissions if you can directly negotiate with advertisers and voila there is traffic, payment too, without extra commissions and troubles.

So simple? No delays? Why affiliate networks, why do most affiliates use them?

Let's discuss where to look for direct advertisers, who they are more willing to work with, and mention the pitfalls of working with them.

Direct to advertisers

Is it possible to reach advertisers without an affiliate program? Is it possible to reach advertisers without pp? Nowadays, if you want, everything is possible. Negotiating directly with advertisers - realty.
To get started, you need to register with an advertising network, but this is not necessary when working directly with advertisers. Both parties must be satisfied with everything. It is important to set clear boundaries. Discuss the evaluation criteria, payment, traffic tracking methods and, if necessary, the nuances of work.

Pros
Working directly with advertisers without an affiliate network is a good alternative for webmasters.

If you “eliminate” the intermediary, you can get individual conditions.

• For example, the offer will be only yours or almost only yours - this is a kind of exclusive. You agreed directly with the advertiser, he gave you his product, you launched. Only you, not a crowd of 100 people. The offer is “fresh”, the chances of a good ROI are high.
• You can negotiate better payment terms. It may be higher than in the affiliate network. Weekly payments can be negotiated. Any format that suits both parties.
• There are no advertising network commissions and fees. An affiliate marketer (hypothetically) can earn more, or an advertiser can save money. Depends on negotiation skills.
• If everything went well, and you found a “largest” customer, then you will get fruitful work. Favorable orders, long-term cooperation. All this frees you from the endless question of “what to launch”.
• You control the process and decide whom to offer or not offer services to.
• Subject to fruitful and long-term cooperation with many advertisers, the ability to scale, hiring employees, increasing income.

Risks

When agreed, but not quite.

Working directly with advertisers comes with its own risks.

They grow exponentially for "players" without sufficient experience in affiliate marketing.

• Risk of not being paid. No guarantees from either side, even with a contract.
• There is no one else to resolve the dispute, if it arises.
• There is no support, managers, or technical assistance, which are important for beginners.
• You are required to provide a consistent number of leads. Every now and again.
• Limitation on the amount of work. Let's say one advertiser has from one to three offers, and they can only target their product in certain GEOs. And if their goods run out, will you just have to sit and wait? You can negotiate with 10 advertisers at once. But from an affiliate marketer, you will turn into an office manager with correspondence, calls and contracts. And no work with traffic.
• Misunderstandings. This is not about deception. For example, you understood the terms of the contract differently. If there was on at all. Refusal of full payment, t.to. Rarely is everything as it was planned to be. Or, in the course of work, the advertiser came up with unreasonable requirements (in terms of traffic or marketing). How to resolve the matter? Without experience, a ton of paperwork will consume you.

How to get to them?

Who do advertisers work directly with? If you have just entered the field and so far your knowledge is limited to the basic concepts of affiliate marketing, then alas. Advertisers will not be interested in cooperation.

If you have been working in the field for a long time and there are many successful cases, then this increases the chances. Advertisers will certainly consider doing business with you directly.

You must be interesting to advertisers so that they choose you, not an affiliate network. After all, they also take risks by working directly.

How do you approach advertisers directly to offer services?

Direct advertisers do not have a button on the front page of their site. You will not see the headings“we are looking for an affiliate marketer, we need traffic”. It's like in any business, Finding direct advertisers - working with clients who are interested in your services.

It takes experience to see a potential offer where there isn't one yet. And a creative approach.

In any case, you will have to explain why it is beneficial for him (the advertiser) to even bother. Take and spend time cooperating with you, building blueprints. Replacing the usual algorithm.

If you write “Do you have traffic, do you want more?”, it will not work.

Why do I need a affiliate network

If you work with a proven affiliate network like Vimmy, you reduce your risk. The affiliate network takes part of the risk. Therefore, you are partially protected. There is no fear that you will be left without payment after the delivery of the work.

You get verified traffic and help when needed. Technical support and managers will always tell you what's what. Integration with trackers, analytics system included. You will be able to collect and analyze traffic data.

You launch campaigns, the affiliate network removes the workload and organizational issues. It allows you to concentrate on the affiliate marketing itself. No need to delve into endless legal issues.

Vicious circle?

They say that the only way to make money from affiliate marketing is through direct advertisers. But this is a myth. "Sharks" with large volumes and budgets work with affiliate networks.

Spoiler: In order to make money in affiliate marketing at all, even through the affiliate network, or even directly, you need to work hard in any case. Work and not at all because affiliate networks want a commission for their work.

Is it worth looking for direct advertisers?

If you are an experienced affiliate marketer who wants to try a new work format, even more responsibility and other “fun” affiliate duties, then why not.

If you are a beginner with little experience, an affiliate network is a great option for starting, developing skills, gaining the necessary experience and knowledge in the field.

Remember, even when working directly with advertisers, no one forbids launching through affiliate networks.

 

[Graybeard]

Unless you are a medium to larger sized Enterprise business the only direct ad buying that you are going to do is with someone like Google ads or Facebook.

Google ads and Facebook are not particularly friendly towards affiliate offers. So with search engine ads and social media ads you are going to jump through a lot of hoops in order for your media placement to be accepted if you're an affiliate.

RTB / DSP based ad networks may have lower quality traffic but they are not as difficult for affiliates to work with and the traffic cost is a lot less.

It's absolutely ludicrous to think that you're going to manage buying ads at a large number of small sites and keep track of everything that's what advertising networks do.

 

[Vimmy]

Vimmy team wants to give you some necessary information. Let’s speak about how to manage your webpage money and your profit. One is to know where to apply changes, in order to increase all the revenues. Learning to save time is really important because knowledge and practice helps you to raise the level of your skills.

One is able to make less and gain more. But first here is a tiny guide with the essentials. So, what helps you to raise your webpage traffic?

1. Content
2. Technical aspects
3. Ad quality and profitability
4. Traffic types
5. Optimization

Let’s speak about each of those 5 things in detail.

Content

This is the most fundamental thing from all of them. You gain your income from posting well done content as a website manager or blogger. Good content rules, and everyone knows it. If you plan some income growth, you must learn how to produce good articles, videos and guides. But we suppose you know. If you don’t, you may refresh it.

Technical aspects

Nothing hurts as much as getting flagged by Google for poor website speed in the middle of the hottest season. So you must learn how to avoid this. We gave some guides about web page optimization and Google.

Ad quality and profitability

Remember that not only content uniqueness and a good SEO gives you benefits. Some ad codes will return poor CPM and low revenues. So here you need to check ad formats and research. Do you use all the suitable types? What if you change some types and formats? What if you add some creativity to your publisher ads? Did any new ad formats come? What are the most popular ads nowadays?

Traffic types

So, traffic quality and location is the fundament when you speak about maximizing your website revenues. You need to drive various types of traffic, say, from many countries and with various interests. Also you can try purchasing views if you want to boost website visits from one geo. But first do research and do not put too much money into this. If it works, you may put more.

Optimization

SEO is always the ruler of your webpage revenues. And there is no great content without well done SEO.
And keep in mind that a well optimization of your page leads to higher rankings. Sometimes it brings you more extensive organic traffic. So SEO is one of the most essential tips.

To sum up all the important things in this article, we can say the next. Your ad revenue improvement always depends on such things as:

• traffic type and quality
• content suitability
• ad profitability
• SEO optimization
• technical part

Here Vimmy team gave you some necessary information to keep it in mind. Do not be afraid to read guides and articles, they can always help you to remember all the basics.