We have launched the live stream with our Senior Affiliate Manager Mary Minkevich and want to post a text version of it.
— Hello everyone! I’m Polina, and we are launching a series of streams featuring our affiliate managers. We have divided our CPA Department into several units, and our speaker today is the manager of the Dating Team – Mary Minkevich. She will share her knowledge of the dating vertical.
Hi everyone! My name is Mary, maybe we have met already. And if we haven’t, we’ll get acquainted pretty soon because our team is building up steam for the dating vertical. I will be truly happy if you contact me with any questions related to dating.
— How did you become an affiliate manager in dating?
I made my first attempts to get into the affiliate industry and work with SEO and context advertising back in 2013–2014. Do you remember the SEO of those days? You could just write your copy, insert the correct keywords – and you have your websites at the top just like that.
Later I dedicated myself to studying and entered the real affiliate world two years ago. At the time I was working for a mobile marketing company. The company was mostly into the white hat marketing. Although, even then there were attempts to tackle specific sectors, for example, casinos.
It was then when I realized that all this is very interesting. After all, this sector is kind of mysterious, and working with it seems risky. I wanted to find out how it all works, how people promote the ads, and how they make money? When my curiosity was at its highest, I got into Alfaleads, and that was the start of my exciting journey here. I have been working with iGaming, sport, sweepstakes, dating.
A month ago, the CPA Department got split into separate units. And now I belong to the dating unit and work exclusively with this vertical.
— Here goes the most relevant question. Quarantine is basically a financial crisis, whatever else it may be. How is the dating vertical doing at such a time? What was the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the vertical if there was any? After all, people still want to date and carry on.
I can’t really say that we were impacted by the crisis. There was no decline in finance. This is due to the fact that people were locked up with nothing to do. They yearned for communication and entertainment. And dating met the need.
The only thing was that advertisers have complained about the drop in traffic quality. In other words, the users spent less money and favored free activities. However, there was no change in terms of traffic volume.
— What was in demand during the crisis and the lockdown? And what is hot right now?
Webcam sector was in great demand during the lockdown. That is why we are now providing more exclusive webcam offers. Contact us if you want in – we will furnish you with offer links, conversion caps, and high payout rates. It will be great! Webcam offers are on the rise at the moment, this industry has become very popular. The target audience is enormous. People display a strong interest towards the topic.
— So, Alfaleads has webcam offers as well?
Yes, of course!
— I was in e-commerce before coming to Alfaleads, hence the question: if you realize that the e-commerce vertical is dying and there is nothing else you can do, how do you enter the dating vertical? And is it wise to choose dating?
Yes, it has been rumored that e-commerce is at its end or will be soon. Back in the old days, it was overwhelming in terms of volume. And many affiliates worked with it exclusively. Facebook was the main traffic source. However, Facebook has gone off its rocker recently and people turn to other traffic sources and verticals.
Dating is a rather simple niche to enter. You don’t have to spend large sums. Testing in dating is fairly inexpensive. $150–500 will be sufficient to test it out and understand whether it is your niche or not.
The only thing you need to be prepared for if you switch to dating from e-commerce: you will have naked women on your computer 24/7 🙂
— It’s a sure benefit for some people!
True, it may be a big advantage!
— Which GEOs are the easiest to start with?
It’s easier to start with the cheaper GEOs. After all, the cheaper the GEO, the less you spend for testing. Moreover, Tier 3 has higher conversion caps than Tier 1.
— Any tips for long-standing dating affiliates? Tell us about approaches that proved useful during the last months.
Our guys have actively started driving UAC traffic to dating offers. Those who managed to enter the UAC niche at the very beginning now skim the cream. They know the UAC ways and their audience. They understand how to set tasks for the developers and get the perfect apps. These guys have been driving large volumes of traffic in recent months. But this is only possible for those who optimize the traffic and put effort into helping the advertiser reach their goals.
— Is there anything else?
This vertical favors experienced affiliates. They outstrip the newcomers thanks to the deep understanding of the product they are working with. It’s not as simple as: take an offer – drive some traffic. You need to research the product and understand the flow. It is important to understand the advertiser’s goals and their expectations from your traffic. Only then will you know what to do to hear them say: “This traffic is cool! Bring me some more! I will give you the best payout rates, conversion caps, and anything else you want!”
— And do you help your affiliates in this respect? Do you want new affiliates willing to dig deeper of their own accord? Or do you help them understand that they will be the first to benefit from the analysis and thorough understanding of the matter?
Of course, we help our affiliates with this. We have years of experience in the vertical and understand the products and the flow. We understand what the advertiser wants: whether it’s subscriptions, credit purchase, etc. And if an affiliate asks me about it, I will always share the knowledge.
Also, if you need to optimize something, of course, we will help with that too. We even recommend disabling certain GEOs to improve traffic quality and make it more attractive for the advertiser.
— When Alfaleads seemingly stopped registering new affiliates many thought that it meant total shutdown. Later it was clear that the registration process has simply become more complex. In addition, the units such as the Dating Team were created. It only added to the confusion.
For those who still think that Alfaleads doesn’t accept newcomers – this is not the case. Tell us about the Dating Team and how you work with the affiliates. Tell people that you don’t bite and that working with you is actually cool and very easy!
Guys, we don’t bite! We welcome you with open arms and wish to cooperate. Especially if you are wise and are ready to work for the future. I mean, it’s not beneficial if you come and simply voice demands: “Give me a higher payout rate! Give me that conversion cap!” We always favor fruitful cooperation, because an affiliate network makes profit only when its affiliates make profit.
Yes, the registration issue created a lot of chaos. About 50 people wrote to me asking: “Have all of you been fired?”, “Has Alfa closed?”, “What should I do?” Of course, we reassured them that all is well. Alfaleads is operating as usual. However, the registration is now restricted.
— Why is that?
The fact is an affiliate network of our standing receives circa 100–150 applications per day. And we had to process every application and spent a lot of time dealing with people who are not our target audience. And our collaboration would amount to no profit to any of us. Managers with high expertise are fewer in number than the affiliates, so it is not possible to assign each one a personal manager. Now each manager has about 30–50 active affiliates. Every day is filled up to the brim with giving explanations, changing links, etc.
In addition to working with affiliates, we deal with technical issues, marketing, etc. In other words, every day we have a lot on our hands and strive to stay productive.
For this reason, we have restricted the registration so that our Customer Care Team filters the entering requests and forwards only those aimed at fruitful cooperation. And it will be profitable both for us and our affiliates.
— And what was the result of restricting the registration? Was it the right decision? Can you tell that the people coming now are focused on achieving their goals, that there are no empty registration requests?
It definitely was a great decision. Now we have a huge amount of spare time. And the Customer Care Team can now dedicate time to analyzing the webmasters they are currently working with, help them develop, and pass them on to the managers.
Of course, those with no success record and no statistics are upset by our decision. On the other hand, experienced affiliates who aim at making good money are ready to attach a screenshot with statistics or to contact the manager directly. They have only benefited from our decision.
— Why did you split up and create a special Dating Team? And why is it a great solution?
We have formed a separate team. Now it includes three people: Alisa, Masha, and myself. You will meet the girls soon. The three of us work with dating, adult, webcam, etc. This yields good results, as we concentrate our efforts on getting exclusive offers and higher payout rates for our network. We analyze all incoming traffic, help our affiliates in their development providing them with tips and insights. And this has already proved a great approach, even though the Dating Unit is only three weeks old.
— Mary, tell us about the traffic sources. Which sources are the best for dating?
Firstly, it is the SEO traffic. Advertisers are always delighted when you bring the SEO traffic. They are willing to give much higher payout rates for it. You may get uncapped on your first or second day. The high quality of traffic is obvious because users come of their own volition and not because the ad prompted them to.
Secondly, it’s the e-mail traffic. We have many offers and private payout rates for the e-mail traffic. This traffic is also very popular with advertisers, and they are willing to give higher payout rates and remove the conversion cap the very first day.
— Tell us about the offers. How often do you introduce new offers? Can an affiliate request a particular offer?
We integrate 2–3 new offers every day. Integration with an advertiser takes a couple of hours – and the offer is ready to go. Now the market is full of advertisers, exclusive offers, and juicy releases. If affiliates ask for something particular, it’s not a problem for us. This happens a lot. We have a separate list of our offers for each GEO. So, guys, just contact us – we will share a Google Docs table.
It also happens that an affiliate wants to drive traffic to an offer from a different platform and at a higher payout rate. This is also welcome, it takes about 1–2 days to get them started.
— Where should one drive traffic to? What GEOs are the best? What offers are the most profitable?
We have listed the hottest items in the intro to this stream. These are the best at the moment, they have good conditions and traffic volume. As to the GEOs – Fun Chat for Germany is a cool one. The payout rate is very high, it is a SOI model with a fairly simple flow. We have created a large number of landing pages for it, and you can request landing pages made to order (for example, mainstream ones). If you need push notifications for an app for this offer, just ask!
Also, don’t get stuck on Tier 1. We have many offers for other countries. Of course, the payout rates are lower, but they work nicely, convert well, and the entry threshold for them is lower.
— Ok, let’s imagine that you have provided an affiliate with the coolest offer. Give us some tips on how to work with this offer, so as not to squander everything that the manager helped us with.
First, you should always double-check the link, even though managers always check it before issuing. It may prove faulty on one device or another. It’s a small step and may be obvious, but it’s very important.
Second, be sure to study the flow of your offer. It’s not just about the target action the user needs to perform – to register, to confirm registration. I’m talking about the target action the advertiser wants – a subscription or a credit purchase. The better you understand what the advertiser wants, the better traffic you drive.
Third, don’t get stuck on one creative. Make a set of creatives, because if something works for one source it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will work for another. Use all kinds: static pictures, video, etc. It all depends on the source.
Fourth, we usually provide many landing pages for our offers. And if the default landing page doesn’t perform well during the test, it doesn’t mean that the offer itself performs poorly. Don’t say that you’ve been given the wrong offer. Always test many different landing pages. You never know what will get your audience hooked. Maybe this particular landing page does not work well with your traffic source.
Fifth, it often happens that managers ask the affiliate to optimize certain parameters of the campaign: to disable certain GEOs, to fix the creatives. A wise affiliate would take the advice because these tips are given for a reason. However, some say: “I have everything in perfect order, it converts. Why change it?” This is not productive because everything the manager says comes directly from the advertiser. And the advertiser knows best what should be done to ensure the quality of your traffic. And if you ignore the optimization tips, then after some time you will be asked to stop your traffic. The advertiser will not work with you any longer because it is not profitable.
— I saw research stating that the dating market is likely to grow by 24% by 2023. What do you think about the prospects of this vertical?
The dating vertical will definitely grow further. During the pandemic, we saw that many businesses and areas of life were transferred into the online space. Few remain offline. And dating will definitely continue to grow. The more people are online, the wider is the target audience for dating. Advertisers are expanding their list of GEOs and products. I think this market will grow even more than by 24%.
QUICK Q&A
— Which converts better: mobile traffic or desktop traffic?
Mobile traffic.
— The first offer that your first affiliate drove traffic to?
Gratorama
— Your craziest action?
Hitchhiking in Turkey.
— Three words to describe you?
Enthusiasm. Positivity. Success.
QUESTIONS FROM THE CHAT
— Do you have adult offers?
Yes, we mainly have adult offers. There are many both for Russia and for other GEOs. We definitely have at least one offer for each GEO.
— Do you drive Facebook traffic to dating offers?
Of course, we work with Facebook traffic. Though, not as much as we would like, because Facebook is currently up to tightening the rules. Many affiliates who work with mobile applications are switching to UAC. So, it’s not all Facebook – there are many other sources. We are always happy to provide advice and to help with the transition.
— Do you use push traffic?
Yes, push traffic is also available. Quite a lot of it actually. There are offers that convert much better with push traffic.
— Is it a good idea to drive Google traffic?
Of course, it is!
— How to circumvent the problem of Facebook bans when driving traffic to dating offers?
To be honest, it is now very difficult to solve the ban issue, even for the mainstream offers. Therefore, we recommend avoiding Facebook if possible. There are many great sources aside from Facebook.
— Hitchhiking in Turkey? Sounds even more extreme than base jumping.
At the time, I didn’t know what I was doing. It was an extreme trip. But in the end, it turned out to be a cool and positive experience. Although my family and friends were shocked: “What the hell are you doing?” Everything turned out nicely. I’m safe and sound!
— What traffic source prevails in terms of statistics?
60% — UAC and mobile apps
30% — e-mail
10% — banners, push notifications, and the rest
— This stream was originally meant for people who are new to dating. Mary explained the basics and answered the most frequent questions. If you have any in-depth questions and want to understand the ins and outs of the dating vertical, contact Mary on Telegram: @marjushka. This is the manager who will revive your trust in the affiliate world and give you the best offers on the best terms!
If you want to ask some difficult questions, we have a training course called MBA where the top affiliates share their expertise.
And in the near future we will start a cool promotion for those who drive e-mail traffic. If you get 100 conversions, we will give you a subscription to AdPlexity for the entire period of our collaboration.
Thank you for joining the stream! The next one will be in a week’s time, and we will discuss gambling.
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