Affiliate marketing is a complex business, made up of several elements: exploring offers , audience research , funnel planning , creative design , choosing an ad network , and much more. Each element is an art in itself and deserves a dedicated article; furthermore, there are also sub-elements within each group.
Today we will focus on affiliate marketing payment models, specifically Revenue Share, also known as RevShare. This article will compare this model to the others, explain when it is best to use it, and provide a list of tips and suggestions on how to get started.
RevShare Explained
Revenue Share is a payment model offering a percentage of the product owner's revenue to an affiliate. When it comes to affiliate marketing, the value is 20-50% on average, but RevShare can go up to 80% , 85% or even 90% (outdated) .
In addition to RevShare CPA, CPL, CPI and CPS – payment models with a fixed commission, for example, $1.60 , €17.50 or $600 . Whichever model you choose, remember that payments are only one part of the equation and you need to take into account the conversion rate (CR) of the offer. Typically, the higher the payment, the lower the CR, so offers that convert more tend to have lower payments.
Dynamic and fixed payouts can be merged into a hybrid model , for example $40 + 30% . Typically, these two parts, when compared individually against RevShare and CPA, offer smaller payouts. They are best suited for those, willing to get money right away and at the same time have the opportunity to benefit in the long run.
Advantages of RevShare
RevShare makes more money in the long run . This is especially the case for iGaming, subscriptions, and other verticals focused on maximizing customer lifetime value (CLV). To keep paying users, you have to really engage them and convince them that they would be worse off without the product.
RevShare is a great source of passive income . Having poland country code for whatsapp invested your money and efforts into acquiring a user, you can enjoy a steady stream of money. In the meantime, you can focus on other campaigns or even not work at all (which we don't recommend doing ).
RevShare provides financial stability . If done correctly, your account will slowly fill up with additional funds. While you work on short-term CPA campaigns, RevShare contributes to your overall income, proving that slow and steady wins the race.
How to get to RevShare
Explore the product in depth . Let's put it bluntly, a CPA model might tolerate a certain degree of over-pricing and hard-selling, as you get paid once the conversion is triggered. What happens after that is none of the affiliate's business. In this regard, RevShare is unforgiving: you have to make sure that the user falls in love with the promoted product. If the product is below par, RevShare will exhaust your campaign budget faster than a high roller in a casino.
Focus on problem solving over product features . Users don't care about a product unless it solves their problems. This is the key to getting your audience engaged and interested in paying money for your solution.
Experimenting with CPA first is a good idea. You need to be sure that you can offer real value to the user. In this sense, CPA offers will serve as a testing ground, where you can hone your skills and gain more confidence.
RevShare is the essence of whitehat promotion . Questionable marketing practices might make a cut under the CPA model, but RevShare is all about fair play – why would a user pay again and again to be tricked?
Read the general terms and conditions . Sometimes you can generate more leads than necessary, so all your subsequent users will be in vain. This is a problem in general, but in the case of RevShare it is a catastrophe: in addition to the commission, you also lose all future income - this is what they call opportunity cost.
Split your traffic initially . You don't have to direct all your traffic to a single product owner or affiliate network. In fact, the same offer could be promoted by a bunch of affiliate networks, so you can split your traffic between them and see which one performs better. This is basically a full-blown A/B test .
Tracking and optimization . Tracking is even more important for RevShare, as you’ll want to know additional metrics, such as average CLV, to optimize accordingly. RevShare’s performance is harder to predict and stabilize, and more data helps counteract this problem.
Communicate with your audience whenever possible . RevShare gives you an incentive to engage with your acquired users and encourage them to spend more money. This is where social media marketing starts to shine. A little reminder to your push subscribers can make the difference between making a fortune or going broke.
Let it be . Once your campaign has launched and is starting to attract new users, try to focus your attention on something else. RevShare is a long-term investment, so you won't see impressive results overnight. Instead of worrying about its revenue generation, try to stay productive by improving other campaigns.
Mix RevShare and CPA in your portfolio . The best idea is to combine fixed and dynamic payouts in your portfolio. This way, you have CPA as a predictable and stable source of income, while RevShare serves as a long-term investment, which will pay off in the future.
Conclusion
Revenue Share (RevShare) stands out as a lucrative, long-term payment model in affiliate marketing. While other models offer fixed commissions, RevShare provides affiliates with a percentage of the product owner’s revenue, offering the potential for higher earnings over time.
RevShare's advantages include passive income generation and a focus on maximizing customer lifetime value.
Approaching RevShare requires careful consideration of product quality, problem-solving, and delivering genuine value to users. Reading and understanding terms and conditions, tracking performance metrics, and engaging with your audience are essential to optimizing results. Incorporating RevShare alongside other payment models into a diversified portfolio can provide stability and long-term growth opportunities for affiliates.