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YouTuber 2.0: Now Is the Time to Have a Deep Look at the Cost-per-Action Model Assessing the COVID-19 crisis to prevail, and envisioning a slow return in terms of profit, there are Vloggers who have resorted to the Cost-per-Action (CPA) model, to earn revenues. Since brands have slowed-down spending on marketing budgets, the cost per action model seems to be an effective marketing channel

By Neha Kulwal

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

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COVID-19 Pandemic has affected all marketing streams in some way. Be it the traditional forms of marketing channels including TV or print or the new-age digital marketing platforms, the pie has shrunk for all. As brands are reducing their overall marketing budgets, YouTube vloggers have also been facing a tough time earning profits, subsequently, resulting in a dip in branding content. Assessing the COVID-19 crisis to prevail, and envisioning a slow return in terms of profit, there are Vloggers who have resorted to the Cost-per-Action (CPA) model, to earn revenues. Since brands have slowed-down spending on marketing budgets, the cost per action model seems to be an effective marketing channel.

CPA - an effective business model

With the emergence of online businesses, the importance of online marketing is also growing. CPA is a vital component of online marketing which is generally measured in cost per acquisition of a customer. Most of the e-commerce marketing metrics include conversion rates, click sessions etc. to measure the success of their campaigns, whereas CPA measures the real-time impact of a marketing campaign. The model basically fits for all e-commerce businesses, who have a clear calculation of how much they want to spend to acquire a customer without the risk of overpaying. The affiliate networks determine these indicators for the success of marketing campaigns via CPA models and make sure the customer action should lead to the conversion.

CPA for YouTubers

As YouTube is massively popular among everyone creating content as well as among the consumers, it will be a smart move to adapt the CPA model to earn revenues. For instance, you are having a tech-oriented channel and have created a video about Norton Antivirus software review, you can earn affiliate commission by adding an affiliate link in the description. Here is an example of adding an affiliate link and using video description for the redirection:

How to work?:

As soon as your followers start following your link, you will earn a certain amount of commission.

Why is the CPA model far better than the fixed budget? This is because it will help you maintain the relationship with brands in the long run as you will be earning more than just one time. You need not wait for brands to shell money or depend on profits from YouTube advertising. Via CPA, you can choose advertisers to work with, and even specific products they want to promote.

Another advantage of switching to the CPA model is that it offers additional benefits such as "Promo codes", "Offers/coupons" in advance. In this lockdown, people are free & traffic on Youtube & other video streaming mediums have increased. Though brands have stopped allocating direct budgets for Influencers, through CPA it's possible. Brand promotions via CPA will help you to sustain your traffic as well as followers, further building trust among the followers to purchase the products post lockdown.

Remember, there are no limits to creating a video to add affiliate links. Here are some of the successful types of videos to put affiliate links: Review, How to do, How to use...

Tools in CPA for YouTubers:

The tools can make your task easy and will decrease manual work to a great extent.

Admitad Extension: Another convenient tool for creating affiliate links as an extension for the Chrome browser is Admitad Extension. After registering, you will be given a unique ID number, which is automatically inserted into each link generated in the extension. It is created directly on the page of the partner store, and it remains only to copy it in one click. When a user clicks on your link and makes a purchase, the system records its amount of the purchase and gives you a reward.

Recently, the tool has been updated and now allows you to add links to your Favorites. This detail is very useful for those who chalk out a content plan. Thanks to this function, you can now save everything not in documents or notes, but in the extension itself.

Promo codes: For YouTube bloggers who include ads in their videos, it's sometimes more convenient to use a promotional code instead of the standard "link in the description below the video."

"Unique promotional codes" allow you to quickly create a unique campaign just for you and choose an easy-to-remember promotional code. Each target action committed with their application will be taken into account by the system, as in the case with a normal link. Promotional codes are also perfect for those who use offline methods - booklets, checks, catalogues.

Admitad Bot: Convenient Telegram bot allows you to quickly create affiliate links from any device, even from your phone. Using the bot is very simple: send him one or many links to the necessary goods in partner stores, and in return, he will send you your affiliate link. It is especially convenient for those who work majorly using a smartphone or in general want to simplify and speed up the process of creating links.

Woobox: There are some other amazing ways that enhance the power of your video content, social media is one of those. Woobox tools let you set up all your videos on Facebook Tab. Now your Facebook followers can view your YouTube content directly from Facebook. The friendly feature is, they can do this without being redirected to another page.

Pixlr: Thumbnail has a special place when it comes to getting user attention on YouTube. The right form of thumbnail supposedly gets more user engagement on the content. Pixlr can help you to ease your work here by creating high performing thumbnails. The platform also offers multiple options for photo editing which makes it easy for you to use it for content generation other than YouTube as well. You can work on this via mobile and desktop both.

Keyword Tool: This tool gives you suggestions for YouTube keywords. To create an engaging and user-friendly content you can use these keywords in your titles, tags, and descriptions. The key feature of the tool is it offers long-tail keyword suggestions as well. Just as you optimize your site for search engines, you can optimize your YouTube channel too.

Importance of the CPA channel during the crisis :

This is the best time to make your dream come true of starting your Youtube channel, as we all are getting a little extra time to work on ourselves. If you have just started your Youtube channel, CPA can be the best model through which you can monetize your traffic. Since brands do not reach out to small YouTubers, this should not discourage you from monetizing your Youtube channel. Don't fret, we are here for you. You'll get the best guidance, promotional offers, best commission rates, and amazing tools.

Neha Kulwal

Country Manager, Admitad India

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