CPA_Guy_Newsletter

Cost Per Action Networks are one of the most profitable channels for Advertisers, Publishers and of course CPA Networks. The CPA Guy's Marketing Trends Newsletter is your source for the latest happenings in and around the Performance Marketing industry. Make sure to "whitelist" news@jimlillig.com to ensure you always receive the most recent edition.

Recently, a fellow Warrior Forum member posted an article on "How to Get Accepted Into Any CPA Network". I was surprised to see the post stay up because it does give affiliates a palette of questions that CPA Network personnel often ask affiliates when approving them and then goes on to tell affiliates how to answer those questions.

Method 1: You will make a professional looking business website and you will tell CPA Network that you buy traffic through media buys & PPC.

Method 2: This method is very similar to method 1. But this method doesn’t require a website or domain name.
Go to CPA Network site and sign up and in site url fill like www.adwords.google.com and you will tell them that you do PPC and have an experience of more than 1 year. However, this method doesn’t work every time, but most of the time it does work!

Method 3: This method is very similar to method 2. This method also doesn’t require a website or domain name. This method might be considered as blackhat to some people! Use this method only when you will be really using email marketing to promote the offers Go to CPA Network site and sign up and in site url fill like www.idoemailmarketing.com and you will tell them that you do email marketing and have an experience of more than 1 year. However, this method doesn’t work every time, but most of the time it does work!

Although Kelley Drye’s survey does suggest some baseline level of skepticism about testimonials, several other points about this research should be noted.

First, the survey used a probability sample to recruit participants. As a result, even though participants were asked
whether they would expect to do better than, the same as, or worse than individuals who gave testimonials for weight-loss or money-making programs, the survey did not screen them to determine whether they were actually interested in losing weight or in joining a money-making program. (For example, 10% of the participants who said they would lose less weight than the
testimonialist explained that they were not very overweight.) Consumers who were potentially interested in such programs might have given different responses.

Second, because it was conducted by telephone, the survey asked about testimonials in the abstract, rather than showing participants ads containing testimonials and actually assessing the messages conveyed by those ads. Consumers may bring pre-existing beliefs to the ads they encounter, but the relevant issue for determining whether an ad is deceptive under Section 5 is what claims they take away from those ads.

Third, even without the persuasive power of an actual testimonial, 31% of those who were asked about testimonials for weight loss programs and 24% of those who were asked about testimonials for money-making programs said they would do as well or better than the testimonialist.

Finally, the questions that purport to address whether consumers believe a variety of factors influence the results consumers have when using products advertised by testimonials were very leading. For example, one question was “I am now going to read you a statement, please tell me if you personally agree or disagree with that statement: when using a weight-loss program, the results people experience are influenced by a variety of factors, including how closely a person follows the program, a person’s own metabolism, and other factors.”


Cost Per Action Networks are one of the most profitable channels for Advertisers, Publishers and of course CPA Networks. The CPA Guy's Marketing Trends Newsletter is your source for the latest happenings in and around the Performance Marketing industry. Make sure to "whitelist" news@jimlillig.com to ensure you always receive the most recent edition.

How Stupid Do You Think CPA Networks Are?
	Get Accepted Into Any Network eBook, gives fraud seeking affiliates a handbook to get blacklisted with. Oct. 6, 2009- A new trend is emerging it seems, where affiliates are now trying to sell books to other affiliates to help them with their CPA marketing. Nothing wrong with that, until you come across a few different places where they cross the line and promote outright trying to game the system to their gain and Advertisers (and CPA Networks) loss. Recently, a fellow Warrior Forum member posted an article on "How to Get Accepted Into Any CPA Network". I was surprised to see the post stay up because it does give affiliates a palette of questions that CPA Network personnel often ask affiliates when approving them and then goes on to tell affiliates how to answer those questions.
Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against anyone who is trying to make a living selling information products over the Internet. Hell, Dan Kennedy, Yanik Silver and a Host of other IM luminaries have done so quite successfully. I even have a great friend who is coming out with a product very soon that will help publishers/affiliates learn some of the hottest techniques in promoting campaigns online. But this apparently "smarter than your average affiliate" who wrote the How To on getting accepted, has boiled down all networks to a simple formula that he apparently has the market on. Some of the advice he spews includes: When a network asks "Give me the url to one of your site?" He tells them to answer like this: " I would really like to give you url, but in past many of my ideas have been stolen. So, I can’t provide you url." When you apply at CPA networks, you will see a box called “Site description” or “comments” or both. Now, in one of this mention: “I do email marketing. I have a geo-targeted list of more than 100k people. All of them are double optin. I have people from almost every niche including bizz, weight loss, etc. I send a weekly/daily newsletter to my members and include several offers with it” I know you must be asking yourself that you don’t do email marketing…Well, That’s ok. Once you have been accepted using this method, you can use ANY METHOD to get traffic. Tip: You can hide your traffic source by using double meta refresher script or tinyurl.com He explains his 3 Methods for getting into any network. These include: Method 1: You will make a professional looking business website and you will tell CPA Network that you buy traffic through media buys & PPC. Method 2: This method is very similar to method 1. But this method doesn’t require a website or domain name. Go to CPA Network site and sign up and in site url fill like www.adwords.google.com and you will tell them that you do PPC and have an experience of more than 1 year. However, this method doesn’t work every time, but most of the time it does work! Method 3: This method is very similar to method 2. This method also doesn’t require a website or domain name. This method might be considered as blackhat to some people! Use this method only when you will be really using email marketing to promote the offers Go to CPA Network site and sign up and in site url fill like www.idoemailmarketing.com and you will tell them that you do email marketing and have an experience of more than 1 year. However, this method doesn’t work every time, but most of the time it does work! He also tells would be CPA affiliates that lying is OK. Apparently, he really only wants to sell his $7 eBook that he backs end the report with. I suppose he may give some actual factuals, like the list of 100 or so CPA Networks that affiliates can apply to immediately using his methods. As a CPA Network Marketer, my only response to this guy and all the would be followers he is amassing, what are stupid? CPA Networks are getting tougher to join because of precisely this sort of mis-information and blatant coaching people to lie their way into a network. This is why many CPA Networks (Mine included) are going to exclusive partnerships only. In other words, you have to be invited into the network. From my own experience and that of many others of my peers in this industry, the alarming rate of fraudulent or unqualified publisher applications runs at above the 80% mark. CPA Networks are apparently like cemeteries, people are dying to get in. Does this guy (and other like him) think that CPA Networks fell of the turnip truck yesterday? Are they that naive to think that screening affiliates is performed by morons? Because anyone who has worked in this industry on the Network side can spot BS walking a mile away. If you cannot prove where your traffic comes from, you have no track record and you are evasive in your answers, your chances of getting into a quality network is zero. In actuality, these types of scammy eBooks preying on unsuspecting newbies are what is fueling the trend towards private networks. That simply means, that if you thought the bar was set high before, just wait. A Private Network means you either have to know someone personally and have built up a professional resume of traffic successes, or you have to be recommended by a member. This self policing by networks is actually a good thing. CPA networks are the big leagues. And just as in baseball, their is a minor league and a little league, all of which an affiliate needs to pass through before they can get a shot at running with the big boys. Affiliates can and should cut their teeth working with ClickBank and the CJ's of the world. Once they have perfected their traffic tactics, they are ready to get better payouts and leverage their traffic with the CPA Networks who have the campaigns that their traffic will convert will with. Networks need publishers (affiliates) to drive their business, but they also don't need fraud. The instances of fraud occur in almost every network every day, it is unfortunate but true. But new tools and analytics are helping Networks identify fraud much faster. Faster than they payout commissions to affiliates in most cases. So someone who uses fraudulent information to gain access to a network, then send a bunch of bogus leads or sales thinking they will clean up and move on before anyone notices are in for a rude awakening. In addition, another trend is to prosecute affiliates for fraud. This will be on the rise as more networks fight back against their number one reason for losing money and advertisers. So if you are one of those publishers who want to skip from point A to Z without taking the 22 steps in between, well spend your $7 and be prepared to get denied at all but the worst networks. As the famous comedian Steven Wright once quipped: Somewhere there exists the world's worst doctor, and someone has an appointment with him tomorrow. These types of opportunistic tactics that prey on new affiliates will only push the industry as a whole to become more cautious and certainly set the bar much higher than it is now. The BEST affiliates usually stick to one or two methods that they have honed over time to drive quality traffic. These are the most successful publishers out there. They make in some cases millions every month, and they didn't have to lie to get into a network. They treat their business professionally and deserve the respect and attention they get from network affiliate managers and executives. They have a long range plan for their business and realize that trusted networks are their partners, not some entity to be scammed in the short term. Story Links: - I would link to the site mentioned above but I wouldn't want to give him any more publicity. I can tell you his first name and if you want to see how NOT to get accepted into a network, search his name "Shakul" (rhymes with fool) and the words "Get Accepted Into Any CPA Network" - The course I mentioned was launching in a month or so on how to drive "quality" traffic to get CPA Networks to like you. This is the link to promote the launch as the product is not out yet.

The FTC Cracks Down on Incentivized Bloggers - Does an Affiliate Link Qualify?
	Bloggers must now identify when they receive product samples, but are your affiliate links considered incentives? Oct. 6, 2009- Jon Leibowitz, FTC Chairman, has updated a 30 year old rules on product endorsements and testimonials in advertising. According to AdAge.com "the new FTC rules state that celebrity endorsers can be held liable for false statements about a product, and all endorsements must include results consumers can "generally expect." Previously, an advertiser could cover their claims by the disclaimer "results not typical."
In addition, the rules update states that bloggers must disclose when they have been incentivized by the advertiser. This can include product samples or discounts on merchandise as a way to get bloggers to give them favorable reviews of their products or services. This is in line with the standards professional journalists in print, radio and TV have been held to for many years. It is the integrity of the journalism that is stake here. And as we all know, bloggers may sometimes take a little liberty to get what they want. In this case, a freebie or two. But while payola has been around since Marconi first invented the radio and Gutenberg invented the printing press, it is only recently that advertisers have woken up to the realization that bloggers can influence decisions because of their unbiased views which connect with readers. It seems advertisers large and small have been jumping on the blogger bonanza bandwagon, and apparently with some good results. Making bloggers disclose they have been incentivized is a good idea, but will the FTC take it to the next level? Will affiliate links be considered "incentives"? I am not a lawyer, and I do not pretend to give any legal advice on this matter, but it is conceivable that affiliate links from a blog site may be misconstrued as payola, since the blogger stands to gain from promoting a product in a favorable light if he/she can convince readers to purchase. If you have blogger affiliates, you may want to check with your attorney to see what their interpretation is on this. The FTC's main concern seems to be to wipe out any confusion on the part of the consumer. If a blogger is paid for the links they put in the blog, isn't this also an incentive? Does the blogger have to disclose that the links in their story are affiliate links? And that they get paid IF the consumer makes a purchase? I am sure these issues will be raised in the next several weeks on industry forums. The fines for bloggers that do not disclose that they received free samples to try out and review, is $11,000, per violation. The FTC was vague on the conditions such a fine would be levied and also stated that decisions would be made on a case-by-case basis. The FTC is poorly funded (but the more fines they assess, may change that situation) and has only a handful of agents that would actually enforce this new rule change, so it is safe to say that only the highest profile bloggers may come under scrutiny, or possibly those bloggers that consistently fail to disclose any association between themselves and any incentives an advertiser may have provided will be targeted. But the question remains, are your affiliate links considered a form of payola? I guess it will take a few challenges to see how it all shakes out. Stay tuned. Story Links: - FTC Endorsement Guidelines

Careful About Those Weight Loss Campaigns - You Might Lose More Than a Few Lbs.
	"Results May Vary" is no longer good enough. Stronger language necessary to help consumers avoid confusion of the product's benefits. Oct. 6, 2009- Those claims of losing 40 lbs in a month may be true, but you have to temper that with what the typical end user can expect. In fact the FTC's new rules change on endorsements wants "the disclosure of generally expected results (that) should clearly identify the group from which the data were obtained." So if the testimonials is from a group of clinical weight loss subjects in a controlled study, then that group would need to be identified. But what if there is no clinical trial?. Well the FTC has though about this as well. Unfortunately the answer is buried in the document they released, but here is a passage that seems to address this:
"The Commission recognizes that differences in physiology and commitment will affect the results that individual consumers will get from a particular weight loss or fitness product or program. The proposed revisions to Section 255.2 do not prescribe a uniform one-size-fits-all disclaimer, however, and an advertiser could take these factors into consideration in crafting a disclosure. With meaningful disclosures, consumers not only would have a realistic sense of what they can expect from a product or service, but could also take away the message that if they dedicate themselves as much as the testimonialist did, they might achieve even more." They seem to be saying, we aren't going to tell you the exact wording, but the wording has to be there. The Law Firm of Kelley Drye is footnoted in the rules change as having conducted consumer research on the matter. Their survey gives some insight into how consumer see the "unbelievable" results testimonials used in weight loss and home business opportunity websites and advertisements. Although Kelley Drye’s survey does suggest some baseline level of skepticism about testimonials, several other points about this research should be noted. First, the survey used a probability sample to recruit participants. As a result, even though participants were asked whether they would expect to do better than, the same as, or worse than individuals who gave testimonials for weight-loss or money-making programs, the survey did not screen them to determine whether they were actually interested in losing weight or in joining a money-making program. (For example, 10% of the participants who said they would lose less weight than the testimonialist explained that they were not very overweight.) Consumers who were potentially interested in such programs might have given different responses. Second, because it was conducted by telephone, the survey asked about testimonials in the abstract, rather than showing participants ads containing testimonials and actually assessing the messages conveyed by those ads. Consumers may bring pre-existing beliefs to the ads they encounter, but the relevant issue for determining whether an ad is deceptive under Section 5 is what claims they take away from those ads. Third, even without the persuasive power of an actual testimonial, 31% of those who were asked about testimonials for weight loss programs and 24% of those who were asked about testimonials for money-making programs said they would do as well or better than the testimonialist. Finally, the questions that purport to address whether consumers believe a variety of factors influence the results consumers have when using products advertised by testimonials were very leading. For example, one question was “I am now going to read you a statement, please tell me if you personally agree or disagree with that statement: when using a weight-loss program, the results people experience are influenced by a variety of factors, including how closely a person follows the program, a person’s own metabolism, and other factors.” I find it interesting that the relevant issue for determining whether an ad is deceptive under Section 5 of the new rule is what claims consumers take away from those ads. If you are promoting a campaign on your network that does not comply, then it is likely you may come under scrutiny yourself because you may be a party to misleading the consumer. So take a look at your weight loss campaigns and your make money from home biz opps. Do they provide enough information that the end user is not teased into thinking they will lose 40 lbs in a week or will be making a 6 figure income in less than a month. We all know testimonials are usually the most extreme examples of a product's results, and they are also as the above survey results confirm, what consumers will judge their own results by. To be safe, encourage your weight loss and biz opp merchants to have their sites checked by a reputable law firm and issue a statement of position on their compliance with the new rules changes. Story Links: - FTC Endorsement Guidelines - Compliance Law Firm - Greenberg Traurig - Marketing, Promotions and Communications Law Firm - Klein Zelman Rothermel LLP
This newsletter was sent to you because you opted in to receive The CPA Guy's Marketing Trends Newsletter. If you did not wish to receive this transmission, please visit the link below to adjust your contact preferences. Disclaimer: This newsletter is not intended to be misconstrued as legal, business or tax advice for any individual or company. The articles included in this newsletter are strictly the views of one industry veteran and observer. Visit www.jimlillig.com for more in-depth articles on CPA Networks and Performance Marketing Online. All images are the property of their respective owners. Copyright 2009 JimLillig.com. All rights reserved by author.

How Stupid Do You Think CPA Networks Are?

The FTC Cracks Down on Incentivized Bloggers - Does an Affiliate Link Qualify?

Careful About Those Weight Loss Campaigns - You Might Lose More Than a Few Lbs.