In less than six months, he transitioned from independent experiments with $200 to an Agency Account with a 20-fold budget increase.
He then diversified his business, mastering a new vertical-one he had never worked in before-with our help.
While his main vertical was declining due to external factors, he didn't lose out; instead, he grew his spending in the second year working with Pushub.
Let's take a look at his approach and uncover the secret to his success.
How to Become The True Master Affiliate With Pushub?
Stage I: First Year 2022-2023 - Mastering the Familiar
As the pandemic wound down, crypto saw another boom. Riding this wave, a new client joined us in April 2022.
The Master Affiliate had long been active in the crypto vertical and was seeking premium quality international traffic.
The advertiser was a pro with paid media and models like CPM (Cost Per Mille) and CPC (Cost Per Click) and was interested in various GEOs such as the UK, CA, CH, ES, and MY.
As an experienced Master Affiliate, he immediately set up a Postback Pixel (S2S). He knew the importance of tracking data from the start.
He trusted us enough to share and manage campaigns directly on our platform, analyzing results and optimizing using all the available tools.
The Partner started in April 2022 with a modest monthly spending of $221.39 . By July 2022, this had surged to over $2,000.
Handling unfamiliar traffic can be risky, especially at high volumes, so the affiliate had to decide on the best way forward.
Imagine you're about to go on a road trip through snowy regions. You're a great driver but new to snowy roads. You could either let an experienced driver take over or get an instructor to teach you.
The Master Affiliate chose to switch to a Managed Account, like getting a personal instructor. He received a personal manager for Customer Support and Success, plus access to new optimization and traffic management tools.
Although skilled, he needed this support to make a big leap forward.
What did he receive?- New creatives with continuous A/B testing
- New funnels
- Qualified Blacklists & Whitelists
- Started Hourly User Age Optimization
In August 2022, the Master Affiliate's spending shot up to $10,522.09 (+395%), and conversions jumped to 382 (+271%) compared to July 2022. The client was thrilled with the results and realized he didn't want to handle this "racing car" alone.
He was ready for the Pushub Success Team to take the driver's seat. So, he upgraded to the Agency Account that same month, getting access to more optimization tools and Full Platform Management.
Consequently, he entrusted the Pushub Success Team with full management of his campaigns. The most crucial aspect is that we now had real-time access to manage CPC bids on any Pubfeed and SubID of the traffic.
This enabled us to instantly respond to changes in the campaign's , which indicates how much traffic your campaign captures from the total available supply. It shows when you need to raise the bid on the pub feeds and pub feed subIDs to win more traffic.
Additionally, the data we had in the system, thanks to the Postback Pixel the client installed at the start, really came in handy.
With this accumulated data, the Pushub Success Team and the Master Affiliate crafted a strategy that led to the second increase in growth.
In September 2022, a month after the Pushub Success Team took the wheel, spending shot up to $26,551.16 (+152%), and the affiliate gained 816 conversions (+114%) compared to August 2022. Since then, we've managed his account as part of his in-house team. The trust pays off.
When clients become our Agency partners, Pushub's role extends beyond just optimizing campaigns and maximizing profits. We also provide strategic growth advice.
They get access to our extensive experience, market insights, and knowledge of current effective practices.
It turned out the Master Affiliate had been thinking about diversification and exploring other verticals for a while. Even though he was hesitant to dive in on his own, his experience had taught him 5 key rules for venturing into new verticals:
- Consult your DSP manager to understand what performs best on their platform
- Obtain a WL for the targeted vertical
- Test different creatives for effective A/B testing
- Share your campaign's KPIs with your manager for optimization assistance
- Set up a Postback conversation Pixel to track performance.
Together, we started testing various verticals. At first, the affiliate tested Gambling, but it didn't scale well and also did not perform well.
Next, we decided to try the Nutra vertical. However, we faced failure there as well. The Master Affiliate tested several offers, but both turned out to be unsuccessful.
The Master Affiliate decided to pause the experiments with new verticals for a while. Meanwhile, the crypto vertical showed steady growth, and the affiliate's strategy was working, so he focused on it.
Bottom line: the Master Affiliate's total spend in Crypto for the year 2022-2023 was $296,613.89. He was happy with the traffic and planned to maintain momentum, hoping to diversify his vertical portfolio in the future.
Stage II: Second Year 2023-2024 - Navigating New Terrain & Balancing the Drive
As we roll into year two with our client, it's clear that good recommendations come with great responsibilities - and a lot of coffee.
Sometimes, even with the best efforts, a few things didn't hit the mark.
But overall, the affiliate's main strategies were successful, and he has learned a lot along the way. Let's dive into the adventures of our second year together.
Our second year started off on a high note - the Master Affiliate was looking to do tests with additional verticals.
We suggested an antivirus offer in the Software vertical, something the Master Affiliate had never considered before. Initially, he was sceptical, but the Pushub Success Team convinced him it was worth a shot.
In May 2023, the Master Affiliate started with a small spending of $155. Between May 2023 and June 2023, his spending had grown to $13,953.15 (+8,902%).
In July 2023, his spending increased to $16,982.86 (+22%), continuing a steady upward trend.
While July to August did not have a substantial change, August to September showed impressive growth, with spending increasing from $18,394.92 to $30,694.55, an increase of $12,299.63 (+67%).
Setbacks with Nutra or Gambling could have discouraged him, but success isn't final, and failure isn't fatal: it's the courage to continue that count (thanks, Sir Winston Churchill). Calculated risks are crucial for business growth.
Diversification proved wise as Crypto started declining in June.
There had been talk in the industry for a while that Crypto Winter was coming. Some said it started in 2022, while others thought the real winter would hit in 2023 (and maybe even spell the end for crypto).
But seasoned Master Affiliates who've been around the block know that Crypto Winters have come and gone many times. Each one was hailed as the end of digital currency, but that never happened.
So, the Master Affiliate kept working and adapting his strategies to the market realities as Winter approached until he saw that even the best tactics were no longer effective.
Between May and June 2023, his spending on crypto campaigns dropped from $81,672.31 and 2455 conversions to $66,360.08 (-19%) with 2,173 (-12%) conversions.
In July 2023, despite the affiliate's best efforts, he couldn't hit the KPIs and ended the month with $12,736.68 spent and 388 conversions.
By August 2023, the client decided to pause the campaigns. In September 2023, he gave Crypto one last shot with a $3K budget.
Still, after seeing the results and the negative trend in the industry, he decided to freeze all crypto activity with us and switch entirely to antivirus.
Still, in his second year with Pushub, he managed to get 5,132 conversions in Crypto over those 6 months, with a spend of $163,956.26.
From that point on, the Master Affiliate focused on the Software vertical, specifically the Antivirus offer, which continued to show steady and solid growth.
During this period, we introduced a game-changing feature to the Pushub Success Team toolkit, making campaign management simpler and faster - AI Optimizer, a revolutionary tool powered by machine learning algorithms and big data analytics.
It processes and analyzes network traffic data to provide insights for optimizing campaign effectiveness. Key highlights?
Automatic bid adjustments and smart blacklists/whitelists tailored to each vertical. For the Software vertical, we've even trained it to grasp the concept of late sales, which are typical for antivirus offers.
Think of AI Optimizer as giving our team futuristic glasses. Instantly, they see all the data, assessments, and action plans.
While AI crunches numbers, humans bring intellect, experience, and imagination, making them an unstoppable force together.
The Master Affiliate excelled with the AV offer, and throughout the years 2023-2024, his total spend amounted to $203,420.40. Despite challenges, his adaptability and persistence turned risks into rewarding opportunities.
Bottom line: The Mater Affiliate adapted, pivoted, and thrived. Embracing new verticals and leveraging AI Optimizer, he turned market changes into year-over-year growth.
Stage III: Comparing the Years 2022-2023 vs 2023-2024
In 2022-2023 (from April 2022 to March 2023), the Master Affiliate excelled in the Crypto vertical, spending a total of $299,164.05.
He swiftly transitioned from a self-serve account to a Managed one and then to an Agency, showcasing Pushub's expertise and the client's savvy.
Fast forward to 2023-2024 (from April 2023 till March 2024), and the Master Affiliate didn't just stick with what worked - he levelled up.
By combining 2 verticals, his spending jumped to $400,722.90, a sweet 36% increase from the previous year.
This year was all about Agency account management, juggling 2 verticals with the help of Pushub's mentorship.
With a little guidance and a lot of collaboration, he nailed it. He was spot on to keep diversifying.
When the Master Affiliate's main vertical faltered, he didn't just stay afloat - he soared by riding the wave of new insights in a new industry.
Bottom line: The real magic here is the client's gutsy move to explore new territory with a trusty guide. By venturing into a new vertical with Pushub's mentorship, he didn't just survive - he thrived, boasting a 36% year-over-year growth.
It's not just about being brave; it's about having the business curiosity to explore new territory and the wisdom to take calculated risks.
This mix of expertise, bold moves, and constant testing shows how smart risk management can really pay off with impressive results.
BONUS PART
Let's hear what Master Affiliate has to say about our collaboration.
Rumour has it that Crypto Winter is almost over. Our partner is now dipping his toes back into crypto campaigns, and in the Software vertical, he's starting to test other products besides Antivirus.
So, stay tuned for more tales of how he mixes and matches tools and strategies.
Kashish is a B.Com graduate, who is currently follower her passion to learn and write about SEO and blogging. With every new Google algorithm update she dives in the details. She's always eager to learn and loves to explore every twist and turn of Google's algorithm updates, getting into the nitty-gritty to understand how they work. Her enthusiasm for these topics' can be seen through in her writing, making her insights both informative and engaging for anyone interested in the ever-evolving landscape of search engine optimization and the art of blogging.
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