Working with Sovrn Commerce gives you access to one of the largest merchant networks in the industry — including more than 50,000 top retailers across every possible category. But when you’re just getting started as an affiliate marketer, gaining approval to work with your preferred merchant partners can be difficult.
Merchants typically set specific requirements for their affiliate partners, with factors related to traffic quality, traffic volume, and ability to generate sales. Without a proven track record of success, many new affiliate marketers struggle to meet these standards.
To help manage this challenge, Sovrn now offers our Commerce customers a new path to merchant approval by providing instant access to CPC merchant programs.
Understanding CPA vs CPC
As a refresher, there are two primary ways to get paid for your affiliate traffic:
- CPA (cost per action): This is the traditional “commission” model that most affiliate marketers are familiar with. You direct readers to a merchant site using affiliate links; if they make a purchase, you earn a percentage of the purchase price.
- CPC (cost per click): This model doesn’t depend on the reader making a purchase, so it tends to reward browsing behavior. You earn money when a reader clicks on an affiliate link, regardless of whether they eventually buy something.
Some merchants offer only CPA, others offer only CPC, and some leverage both payment structures. Merchants that compensate on a CPA basis typically place more emphasis on building long-term, trusted relationships with affiliate partners who can deliver consistent, high-quality results. That’s why new affiliate marketers, who typically have a smaller audience and limited history, often have difficulty getting approved for CPA programs.
CPC Merchants through Sovrn Commerce
Sovrn’s new path to merchant approval means that even brand-new affiliate marketers can be approved to work with CPC merchant programs in just 24 hours. That means you can start creating links — and earning affiliate revenue — just one day after signing up for Sovrn Commerce.
Of course, not every merchant in our affiliate network offers CPC payments — but there are still plenty of opportunities to earn. Currently, our top 10 verticals for CPC-only payments include:
- Fashion & accessories
- Food & drink
- Consumer electronics
- Health & beauty
- Sports & fitness
- Home & garden
- Pets
- Travel
- Family & baby
- Automotive
The average time to approval is just one day — and on average, affiliate marketers see their first revenue in just one week. In fact, one creator in the fashion and accessories space saw an average of $0.80 EPC within their first week of CPC affiliation.
Real-Life Results of CPC Affiliate Marketing
Sovrn customer ads2rev is a performance marketing agency that helps brands amplify their sales and boost profits by connecting them with top-performing ad partners. Based in Canada, their customers typically operate in verticals like retail & shopping, sports & fitness, home & kitchen, and outdoors & camping.
The company initially signed up with Sovrn Commerce to expand their monetization strategy. They were approved for CPC merchant programs within one day and immediately started setting up links on their sites.
“From the moment we reached out, our account was live faster than industry standards — and campaigns were ready to launch almost immediately. We generated revenue on Day 1!”
— Bruce Mackie, Founder & COO, ads2rev
Working with Sovrn Commerce has helped ads2rev scale proprietary traffic, and the intuitive, easy-to-use platform has improved their ability to measure ROI and efficiency. This has freed up more time for optimization, allowing the team to put their best foot forward.
“Working with Sovrn has been an outstanding experience. The team is responsive, answering every question with clarity and ensuring we had full confidence in our ability to scale without issues. If you’re looking for a reliable partner that delivers results quickly and efficiently, work with these guys.”
— Bruce Mackie, Founder & COO, ads2rev
The Value of Link Optimization
It’s important to understand, while CPC may provide new earning opportunities, it does not come with any guarantees. CPC buyers base their purchasing decisions on a number of factors, including their budget, their target audience, their preferred channels, and more. Higher quality traffic is more likely to drive revenue, but CPC clicks are not monetized unless a buyer actually bids on them and wins the traffic.
Link Optimization helps to manage this process for you by initiating an auction in real time and automatically sending every impression to the optimal partner — so you earn as much as possible on every click. Sovrn’s Link Optimization tool also unlocks a diverse set of CPC budgets that are only available through Sovrn. Not only can you earn more affiliate revenue on every click, but you’ll also expand your merchant coverage.
Link Optimization is connected to more than 50 affiliate networks, including top names like Rakuten, Impact, and more. Accessing all these demand partners typically requires creating separate accounts for each individual network, but Link Optimization puts all your demand in one convenient tool.
Get Started Today
CPC merchant programs are just one of the many ways Sovrn can help you get started with affiliate marketing — and drive more revenue from your affiliate traffic. If you’re not already using Sovrn Commerce, sign up today. You could be on your way to earning affiliate revenue tomorrow.
Already using Sovrn Commerce for affiliate marketing? Reach out anytime — our support team is here to help you grow.
