1.2. CPA NETWORKS
Rather than contracting with web sites, per se, these companies recruit affiliates (see "Affiliate Marketing") to promote performance-based offers. These promotions are frequently done via e-mail. The affiliates (and the company) get paid only when the prospect completes some specified action such as submitting a registration form or downloading some software. As the advertiser, you would set the specific action that must be taken by the prospect.
The less intrusive the action, the less you would pay. For instance, some advertisers will pay whenever someone submits a simple form that asks only for the prospect's zip code. Because there is little resistance to submitting this kind of information, the leads thus generated aren't as valuable as leads that include an e-mail address or phone number.
However, you may find that the submission of a zip code is enough to engage prospects in your sales process and entice them to make a bigger commitment through the submission of their contact information.
As the advertiser, you can specify whether or not your offer can be incentivized—which refers to the practice of the promoter giving some kind of bonus to anyone who completes the prescribed action. It generally yields a higher number of lower-cost, less-valuable leads.
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