How Does It Work?

CPA networks can be choosy about who they accept.  They want a representative who is going to take aggressive action – and they prefer reps who have substantial lists. This doesn’t sound too promising for a new marketer, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

On the other hand, CPA networks tend to reward affiliates who generate strong results. This can be in the form of prizes, bonuses, cash – and being offered exclusive, highly-converting offers. This doesn’t generally happen with affiliate marketing.

CPA is often considered slightly fly-by-night by internet marketers – but we can blame that squarely on the shoulders of the “black hat” sites. Another little-known fact: There are large, well known brands in the CPA market, and you can find yourself promoting a product with as huge a reputation as Nike. 

CPA’s shady reputation was directly caused by marketers using truly dishonest and illegal “black hat” techniques. For example, have you ever seen those ads that say: “Make money from home! 1000’s of jobs – with no training and no fee to pay! Visit our link to learn more.”

The reader clicks on this link and is taken to a site promising them the sun, moon and stars – but they have to input their name and contact information to get it.

Then, when they’ve done this, they’ll see some page saying “Sorry, all our positions are filled for now but we’ll keep your info on file” – or some such excuse. Most times, there never was any job (or even any information) in the first place. That’s definitely a “black hat” tactic – especially if you’re the guy who set up these bogus landing pages without having even the hint of a job to offer in the first place.

Yes, it’s unkind, unethical – and illegal. And that’s precisely the sort of dishonest marketer the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is trying to protect people from with their new overhauled rules and guidelines.