The first step when entering the CPA business, is of course, creating an account with a CPA network. This is my way of doing things. While other people use their own methods, I find that this is the most believable, hence, the optimum way to do things. There are two steps in the process of getting accepted.
STEP 1: signing up with the CPA network (sending your application)

STEP 2: calling them (VERY IMPORTANT!)

While you do not have to call all CPA networks, you do have to call networks like Hydra and NeverBlue, as these are the big players in the game. It has always been a delight for me to work with Hydra. I look at other networks’ offers, and I look at Hydra’s offers, and after comparing them I always come to the conclusion that Hydra is in a league of its own. The first network I got signed up with is JAR Media. I was very happy that they accepted my application without chatting with an affiliate manager (the person from the CPA network responsible for you) or without calling them… but after I got accepted into Hydra, I saw how the offers from JAR were of poorer quality.

This is exactly what I complete in the application form, and for the sake of this demonstration I’ll use Hydra’s.

  • Fill in N/A for company if you’re an individual
  • Leave state empty if you’re not in the US
  • Website URL: http://itdependsontheoffer.com (YES, this is exactly what I put in everytime, no exceptions)
  • Website Description: I’m a PPC search marketer. I bring traffic through PPC search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN. (what I specifically wrote after this at Hydra was that I was looking for a network that doesn’t use DirectTrack -a very popular platform for CPA networks- and that would place my tracking pixels). You could also say that you practice media buying and you have access to a lot of traffic.
  • Monthly Unique Visitors: 75 000 (think that if you’re working with PPC, your visitors are your impressions, and 75 000 impressions is not a big number at all)
  • Publishing Channels: Search – PPC (you can also complete Display – Banners and Display – Text Links if you said that you do media buying)
  • Tax classification: Individual
  • Tax ID or SSN: leave empty if you’re not in the US
  • Payment method: PayPal if available. If not, wire, and if you really don’t want to use wire, just select it, put dashes all over the wire-specific forms and talk to them about letting you use PayPal

Now for the call, which is as important as the application, even more with Hydra. First thing after they answer and the person introduces his or herself, you introduce yourself: “Hello, my name is Andrei Popa and I’ve just submitted my application”. If you have a foreign name, like me, you’ll probably have to spell it. They’ll ask you most of what you already completed in your application and some other things.

  • How long have you been doing CPA?
    A couple of months
  • What other networks are you with?
    Ads4Dough, NeverBlue, JAR Media
  • How many monthly visitors do you get?
    75 000
  • What’s your (monthly) advertising budget?
    Anywhere from $1000 to $3000 a month. If they ask about your daily budget, you say “$100 per day”.
  • What offers have you been succesful with in the past?
    Email and Zip submits, Weight Loss and Credit related offers.

…and that’s the call. You’ll probably be surprised at how easy it will be, and they will accept you. Even if you’re not from the U.S., don’t fear calling them, it’s the one step that you have to do in order to get accepted by the bigger networks, and it’s totally worth it.