Become social media influencer or blogger and earn through CPA model; Here’s how

According to Blogging X, if done correctly, the CPA model can help brands generate $15 for every dollar spent.

By Kirill Pyzhov,

According to Influencer Marketing Hub, influencer marketing is expected to grow to be worth $13.8 billion in 2021. Even though it is a relatively newer form of marketing, this method is highly effective due to the “word-of-mouth” nature which consumers trust over advertisements by brands. However, with traditional influencer marketing, all the power lies with the publisher, i.e., the influencer, and the advertiser can only pay the influencer and hope that the campaign brings them some sales and revenue.

This is what the CPA model is changing. It allows advertisers to pay only for the results rather than for influencer popularity.

This is what the CPA model is changing. It allows advertisers to pay only for the results rather than for influencer popularity.

Firstly, let us understand how the traditional influencer marketing model works. 

Advertisers look for influencers in the same niche. The influencer quotes a price depending upon their popularity which is measured by the number of followers they have. They show the advertiser some stats from previous campaigns they have done with other brands. The influencer then promotes the advertiser’s products or services.

While many brands do not measure the success of the influencer marketing campaigns, stats by Influencer MarketingHub show that 38.5% of brands view influencer marketing success based on conversions and sales from the campaign. 

With traditional influencer marketing, it is almost impossible to predict the exact results that a future campaign is going to produce. Along with the reach of previous campaigns, some other metrics that might help estimate the effectiveness are 

• engagement rate – the ratio of the number of comments, likes, and interactions with the post to the number of subscribers
• audience accessibility – how many people can actually see the post amongst the large clutter of posts on social media?
• audience composition – who is subscribed to the blogger? Commercial accounts, mass followers, fakes, etc.
• geo, age, and gender – these are the demographic factors.

However, there is no guarantee. They are just forecasts.

Source: Notification by Carro

What is the CPA model, and how is it changing the influencer marketing market?

CPA is a Cost-Per-Action model where the advertisers pay influencers for the results they produce and not their popularity. In the US, about 80% of the brands use this type of marketing and it generates about 15% of the total digital media revenue.

How this works is that the advertisers set an action that they want their audience to take. Influencers who agree to this remuneration start promoting the advertiser’s offering to their audience. Each time the blogger brings in a customer, the advertiser pays them the said amount. The performance of the influencer gets tracked using trackable links. This way, the influencer gets paid only for the audience he or she is able to convert. 

While this model is ideal for brands, most influencers stay away from it. They know that they might not get paid anything at all if they are unable to produce results. But since an increasing number of brands come to know about the CPA model, they no longer want to work with influencers on the traditional model. According to Blogging X, if done correctly, the CPA model can help brands generate $15 for every dollar spent. 

In the CPA model, the power lies with the advertiser. Naturally, an influencer who agrees to work with this model intensifies their effort to see that their audience takes the targeted action.

The CPA model makes influencers more accessible. Even smaller brands can work with leading influencers with the CPA model as they pay only for results and not popularity.

The scope of earning for influencers from CPA

CPA can also be beneficial to influencers as the earning potential for bloggers is much higher than the traditional model. The higher the results, the higher the remuneration. The influencers can continue earning money if one post they did continues to bring in customers even after six months. 

Here are some statistics that show how profitable the CPA model is for bloggers:

• 30 best bloggers with an average of 100k subscribers, according to Perfluence, earned an average of ₹264000.
• The average earnings of a microblogger (~ 12k subscribers) are ₹9,125  per month for three advertising publications. 
• The maximum earnings for one advertising post are ₹78k for advertising a financial product at the end of December (50k subscribers).
• A blog about profitable purchases (10k subscribers) brought the owner ₹180.5k, and a blog for moms (150k subscribers) earned ₹394k.

The examples mentioned here are not of the most popular accounts. It shows that even with a limited number of followers, the CPA model makes it possible to earn a good amount of money. We’ve also collected some examples of bloggers who were okay with sharing their income amounts. You can compare their total subscribers and the amount they’ve earned.

This proves that CPA is profitable for marketers as well as bloggers. 

The CPA model can also act as a sign of assurance for marketers. If an influencer takes up a marketer on their CPA offer, it can be seen as an indication that the influencer is confident about generating results and that their audience is relevant to the brand’s target audience.

Conclusion

Only through the CPA model, advertisers can be sure that they are paying for real results and not just air. Influencers too will soon understand the earning potential of this model and will not want to revert back to the traditional method. It’s only a matter of time before the CPA model becomes mainstream and the traditional model becomes obsolete.

(The author is Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at Perfluence. Views expressed are personal and do not reflect the official position or policy of the Financial Express Online.)