Affiliates Are from Mars - Arbitragers Are from Venus

[Linda Buquet]

Do you know the difference between affiliate networks and CPA networks? Many affiliates and even merchants don't. When I do free consultations for merchants, quite often I get a retail product type merchant that says they are considering setting up their new affiliate program on one of the CPA networks. When I ask them if they know the difference between affiliate networks and CPA networks, they always say they thought they were the same thing and are quite surprised when I explain the differences.

In very simple terms affiliate networks are primarily either product-based or traditional lead-based offers. (example: insurance or loan leads) CPA networks are more offer-based such as freebies, surveys, incentivized leads like 'win a free ipod' and free trial rebill type offers.

In case you missed Digital Moses today, they have an interesting article about the differences between the 2 types of networks, not only in terms of the type of advertisers but the difference in affiliates, traffic methods and speed of implementation.

<strong><a href="http://www.dmconfidential.com/blogs/column/Digital_Thoughts/2187/">Affiliates Are from Mars. Arbitragers Are from Venus.</a></strong>

"We've all known for years that (insert CPA network name here) differs from Commission Junction or Linkshare. Both make the majority of their money off their cut of the actions driven by their affiliates / publishers, but just as they overlap very little on top publishers so too do they overlap little with their top advertisers. What once started as some minor differences has naturally evolved where the distinction is much greater, and ultimately, it's a good thing. In the past, though, we used to think the advertisers drove the difference between CPA Networks and Affiliate Networks, but now, it seems the traffic is the better explanation...

(CPA) It's collaborative, hands-on, and it attracts very specific personalities. It is why PubCon feels so different from Affiliate Summit and why both affiliates and arbitragers will succeed but the latter will find ways to succeed right now. If you want to take your time, it's ok, but you might not want to try arbitrage."