The basic structures of CPA networks are all the same. There is a place for advertisers and publishers, while the administrators of affiliate accounts (called affiliate managers) try to keep both groups happy. In that respect, you’re not going to find huge structural differences from one CPA network to another. However, every network does have different pay structures and policies to facilitate the basic function of CPA affiliate advertising. These policies can have a huge impact on potential benefits to you as a publisher.

Another aspect that greatly differs from one CPA network to another is the size of their network and the type of affiliate offers they are promoting. There will be small, medium, and large networks; the larger ones tend to be more selective because they can be, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re going to be better suited to your purposes. The different CPA networks will tend to categorize their offers to make them easier to search and the number of categories and the types can also differ.

Since there are more than 100 CPA networks out there right now, and the number grows daily, it pays to check out what each might offer you. For this chapter, we can only include a few; please remember that these are not endorsements as much as a way to expose the reader to different types of CPA networks. It doesn’t mean they are the best for you or your niche, just that they are representative of the various types of CPA networks out there. If you want to see more, you can Google CPA networks and find any number of them on the Web on your own.
Azoogle

Start with the largest CPA network out there, Azoogle.com, which can be very competitive and highly selective. They claim to already have an estimated 38,000 publishers in their network alone. They offer a tremendous number and variety of CPA network offers to keep both their publishers and advertisers happy. This network is very stable and highly credible, which is a plus for publishers who want to be sure they are going to get paid.

The types of offers can range from ringtones to freebies for a form submittal. Since these are popular offers for the Internet with a high conversion rate, a publisher can do well getting into this network.

Affiliate

Another great site is Affiliate.com. They offer many of the same things as Azoogle and also have a very large publisher network. However, one of the nice things about Affiliate.com is that they make weekly payments so you don’t have to wait too long for a payout. In comparison, other networks may do different payment options ranging from every 15 days to every month. This can be a really long time to wait for publishers who want to get paid as soon as possible.

Another feature of note is their Data Overdrive service. This service provides solutions for email campaigns. While email campaigns haven’t been discussed as fully as other options, if you already have a large email list of subscribers it can be an ideal way to market CPA offers. This is for people who may already have taken the time to build a targeted group of subscribers and already gotten permission to email them. Don’t set up this service for spam or you can end up being fined by the government. Always make sure that you have permission to email someone, especially if you are soliciting them.

This CPA network comes with many other types of features from mobile interactivity (a feature called Mbmobileinteractive) to domain services (called Dynamic Dolphin). If you want a one-stop shop for CPA network and web service, it can be a very helpful CPA network to join. Just keep in mind that the prices may not be as competitive as other places, like hostgator.com.

You may also be charged a security fee before you are allowed to get into the network, so there are some upfront costs.
NeverBlueAds

One of the leading forums for webmasters often mentions this particular CPA Network. NeverBlueAds.com gets kudos for excellent customer service. It has a friendly user interface. One of the biggest advantages, though, if you are a non-US resident is their willingness to take international advertisers. Not all CPA networks will work with outside advertisers, but this network is willing to do so. There are some restrictions, like a requirement for spoken English from the part of the applicant and promotion of ads only on English sites.

For publishers, this is a very friendly site for newbies. It can be a lot more complicated for advertisers because they will be required to know many aspects of developing creative content and graphics for their campaigns.

The site does limit advertisers to specific niches. In particular, they ban adult or gambling sites from their line-up. Other people have noted that they are lenient with people who don’t own websites, so if this is an issue for you it would be a good CPA network to try.
HydraNetwork

This network advertises that it will beat the payout on any campaign that is offered elsewhere. That isn’t the only incentive that they use to try to differentiate their services. They have carefully crafted a rewards program to attract people and they encourage people to be top money-makers. There are cash prizes available as well as non-cash prizes. Don’t be surprised to see a plasma TV or a Hawaiian vacation offered for the rewards program for specific performance based incentives.

If you are looking for exclusive or unique campaigns, HydraNetwork.com strives to include as many of these as possible in their line-up. The reasoning, they suggest, is that more exclusive or unique campaigns will translate to higher conversions for publishers and advertisers. That’s actually quite true, as we stated earlier, in that you are not competing with other publishers who may have already saturated the market. It also keeps advertisers somewhat honest in that the EPC is for a particular network and won’t differ on another network, since it is exclusive.
ClickBooth

One way to make money that hasn’t been covered in the previous chapters is through referral bonuses. Multiple tiered programs where your referrals create income and their referrals can also contribute to your bottom line are the most sought after by Internet marketers. For ClickBooth.com, there is a very good referral program available for those people that get accepted into the network. It offers a 2% gross credit for life for signups under your affiliate referral id. That’s just the start, as you also get a $10 signup bonus for every person that you refer. Just remember that the 2% is for credit, not cash. It can, however, help you to fund your own advertising campaign if you choose to go that route.

As we discussed earlier, it’s harder to get paid in some networks than others. A Net 15 schedule is a very common way to pay publishers. It consists of being paid 15 days after the end of the month in which you made money. This can mean that you wait nearly a month and a half to get paid if you made money near the beginning of the previous month. They do offer a Net 7 schedule, which is like being paid every week, but that’s only for people who make $5,000 or more per week. CPA networks do build incentives in for their high performers and once you get into that group, you will see they are willing to work with you in different areas, including payment options.

The minimum payout is $50. If you don’t make $50 in a single pay period you have to wait more than a month and a half to get paid, and in some cases more like two and a half months. The income will be credited to your next month’s balance and won’t be scheduled for a payout until you reach $50 in any given month.