Just can't figure out how to make this profitable....

[ballstatus]

Hello,

I have come to a bit of a roadblock in my affiliate marketing career (or lack thereof). So far, I have not made any profitable campaigns, although I have spent several thousand testing and optimizing.

My closest success was a few nutra offers in Tier-2/3 countries, but it was only ever breaking even until it finally slowed down and I lost a couple of hundred in a day when the traffic flowed but didn't convert anymore. I am optimizing by traffic source, operating system, browser, and mobile/desktop, as well as testing different creatives/landing pages. I notice that conversions come from many different traffic sources, with perhaps one conversion from each source. So it is hard to optimize when there are 20 conversions coming from 20 different traffic sources.

First, how do you optimize if your conversions are coming from a large variety of sources? I find that I will blacklist traffic sources that have too many clicks with no conversions, or whitelist sources with fewer clicks and conversions, but the fewer clicks means there is just no volume from those sources. I will even raise my bid upwards of $0.40 cents per click for a Tier 2/3 country (yes, fourty cents for a click from a third-world country--I am desperate) but there is no volume to be had. That one conversion that I received from that source was just a random occurrence.

This pattern will be like this for every landing page/banner I test. I get a few conversions with no pattern; I get 10 conversions from 10 different sources, for example.

I am so frustrated because I hear all these success stories like it's just easy--test, optimize, profit. I tested, optimized...and lost a ton when the conversions just don't match up to the traffic spending.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
-Ian

 

[goraz1]

Making sales with pop/ppc traffic is practically impossible. Switch to sweeps....

 

[azgold]

Hi, Ian. Part of your problem may be spreading out over so many traffic sources before mastering one. You'll scatter your focus and your budget.

[Note - do you really mean traffic sources, or targets within one traffic source?]

Do you have one or two creatives that are doing better than the others?

it's just easy

Nope. Simple but not easy. It's learning and work.

lost a ton when the conversions just don't match up to the traffic spending.

You're buying data and experience. This happens to everyone, though the spend is different for most everyone.

Yeah, it's frustrating but all part of the learning curve. Try not to get discouraged. Don't think, "It's not working!" Instead think, "How can I make it work?"

I'm sure someone else will pop in here for you. Meantime, study the relevant forums here and ask questions whenever you need help. We'll do our best to point you in the right direction.

 

[ballstatus]

Hi azgold,

Thanks for your help and I appreciate your feedback.

Sorry if I came across a little confusing--when I mentioned "different traffic sources" I was referring to different traffic/widget ID's within one ad network. As in, I will look where the conversion come from on my tracker, but it will be 1 conversion each from, say, 20 or 30 widget/traffic ID's. So I may go to whitelist those and bid higher, but there is no volume to be had. They come across as just random occurrences of a lonewolf conversion; perhaps a lucky click that caught one random guy's eye on a little-trafficked website.

Anyway, I am sorry if my post is too broad or confusing; I think I was just venting more than anything. I have been sorting through the forum today and learned a lot, as well as got some new ideas on traffic sources. Even just hearing reassurance that this is part of the testing/learning experience is so helpful. I am determined to make this industry work for me--no way am I going back to 9-5 in a cubicle working for someone else.

I think I just need to keep experimenting with different ad networks. Some are better than others, and some grab more targeted, relevant viewers that I need.

Anyway, thank you again for all your help Much appreciated.

 

[azgold]

No need to apologize, @ballstatus Part of being able to come here to ask questions (or vent) is working at clearing confusion. There is a ton of information in this business, so it's easy to get overwhelmed and feel a little lost at times.

Anyway, I am sorry if my post is too broad or confusing

It's not too broad. Like keyword bidding, sometimes a person starts out broad to find exact.

I think I just need to keep experimenting with different ad networks. Some are better than others, and some grab more targeted, relevant viewers that I need.

That sounds like a good idea if you're not able to scale in your current source. To keep control of your ad spend, make sure you're tracking and watching your data so you can properly optimize and head to a positive ROI as quickly as possible.

If you want help throughout your campaign, you may want to create a follow-along journey. That way, members with knowledge of your method, vertical and/or traffic source can offer advice.

Anyway, thank you again for all your help Much appreciated.

You're very welcome!