How to Find Out If You Have Low Payouts and What to Do About Them
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Becoming an affiliate marketer is similar to learning how to surf: it takes a huge amount of work to stand up, but the initial waves can be a little underwhelming sometimes.
Learning how to run campaigns that convert is tough, but it becomes even more difficult when the revenues you produce are not what you expected.
If this is the case, it’s normal for you to ask, “are my payouts low?”
At PropellerAds, we’ve helped countless affiliates find the best traffic for the offers they’re promoting, so we know a thing or two about improving low payouts.
In this article, we’ll help you determine if you have low payouts and understand whether or not these results are normal. We’ll also share a few tips to improve low payouts, including alternative monetization options for your traffic.
How to Determine If You Have Low Payouts
We’ll cover these in detail in the next section, it’s important to understand that low payouts are not always a bad thing. As a matter of fact, some offers are designed to be low-payout programs.
With that said, the first step to fixing low payouts is finding out if you actually have below-average rates. To do this, you should compare the payout on the same or similar CPA offers on different ad networks. Also, take the time to check aggregators and see how much they are paying for this specific type of CPA offer.
This will give you an idea of the average payout you can expect from the program you’re evaluating.
Two other elements you need to keep in mind are the program’s target locations and the conversion flow. The price of conversion depends heavily on the target GEO and the complexity of the conversion.
As a general rule of thumb, tier-1 GEOs and complicated conversions usually have the highest payouts. This can sometimes explain discrepancies within your research, like finding a CPA network that has the same offer with a higher payout.
An affiliate offer can exist (with slight variations) in adjacent CPA networks. In these cases, the offer on Network X can sometimes have a higher payout than on Network Y because the former has a more difficult conversion flow. For example, the payout for Trial will be higher compared to CPI, because Trial is the next step in a funnel after the installation.
To get these details, it’s recommended to speak with your current account manager whenever you find a similar situation.
When Should You Expect Low Payouts?
Now, low payouts are not always a sign of alarm. Sometimes, they actually mean that your campaigns are operating just fine.
It all comes down to the difficulty of the conversion flow. Some offers have extremely easy conversion flows because they focus more on volume. In these cases, a “low” payout is to be expected, but the sheer volume of conversions should make up for this.
Also, and that’s important, low payouts are temporary and they are given for the test period. If your lead quality is high, you will get much higher payouts even for leadgen offers.
Take Zeydoo, our partner CPA network. One of Zeydoo’s most stable offers is the 2025 Finance Survey, 2755 Sweeps Survey (Android) – CPL program, which features a very simple conversion flow. Plus, Zeydoo also provides custom rates if the quality of the leads you’re bringing in is top-notch.
This, combined with the fact that it’s awesome for popunder campaigns, means that the conversion rate is very high, which makes it extremely profitable. At the same time, this offer has additional benefits that impact its bottom line, like quick feedback cycles from the advertiser, allowing for better optimization.
Here’s What You Should Do If Your Payout Is Low
So, your research shows that you have low leads. Is it time to panic?
The answer is a resounding no.
Low payouts are a fixable obstacle; you just have to know exactly what tweaks to make. Remember that all campaigns and affiliates are unique, so you’ll probably have to run a few tests in order to find the right combination.
That said, here are some adjustments you can make to potentially improve your conversion rates.
Try Out Different Conversions Flows
If you’re still in the early days of your affiliate marketing journey, you’ve likely chosen single-opt-in (SOI), which is a great flow to learn. But, it’s not the most profitable.
Instead of this, try our leadgen, double-opt-in (DOI), cost-per-install (CPI), or free trial offers, as these are a bit harder to convert but have much higher payouts.
Experiment with Higher-Tier GEOs
As with conversion flows, opting for higher-tier locations can give you a nice boost in the payout department.
When changing GEOs, you always need to localize the content, which goes beyond a simple translation. This is especially true with GEOs that share a language but have fundamentally different cultures.
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Test Out Other CPA Networks
Some CPA networks negotiate special rates with advertisers, which allow for better payouts. Don’t be afraid to test the waters and see what’s out there.
Just remember to check in with your current account manager if you’ve found a better alternative because these representatives can help you learn more about it or attempt to match the new offer.
Take Advantage of Special Offers
CPA networks usually launch special offers whenever a particular advertiser or group of advertisers requires a specific type of traffic.
Special offers vary, but they usually translate to a higher payout for the same type of traffic/conversions. If your payouts are low, taking advantage of special offers can improve your ROI without requiring huge amounts of additional work.
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Ask for Custom Payout Rates
Just because your CPA network doesn’t promote custom payout rates, it doesn’t mean that these don’t exist. If you are confident in the quality of your traffic, you should reach out to your network and request higher payout rates for your conversions.
How does this work? Well…
Requesting Higher Payouts from Your Network
Requesting custom payout rates is a relatively simple process. All you need to do is reach out to your account manager and tell them that you want to explore the potential of increasing your payouts.
Networks are interested in keeping great affiliates happy, so your manager should be able to help you by getting you better rates or finding a more suitable (perhaps private?) offer.
In case you find the same offer with better payouts on another network, this is the best time to show your account manager. Some networks aren’t even aware of these deals, so they can actually negotiate with advertisers and have them match these conditions.
In case you find the same offer with better payouts on another network, this is the best time to show your account manager. Some networks aren’t even aware of these deals, so they can actually negotiate with advertisers and have them match these conditions.
Affiliates that have a specific minimum payout figure in mind can be direct with their account managers. For example, if you want to find an offer that has, for example, a minimum payout of $5 per conversion (Finance, LATAM), your account manager should have the resources to track it down, if it exists on that network of course.
Not Enough? Try These Additional Monetization Options
There’s no reason why you should settle for one monetization strategy for your traffic. You should avoid overusing ads at all costs, but don’t be afraid to implement additional monetization mechanisms.
For example, adding push notification tags on your landing page, which collects subscribers that are monetized through ads later on.
You can also add a captcha offer from Zeydoo on your pre-lander to give your revenue production a nice boost.
Low payouts can make you feel blue, but you should be able to increase your earnings with a few key changes.
Do you know better ways to increase payouts? Don’t keep it to yourself, share your ideas on our Telegram chat or in the comment section below.
