The crypto market is again on the rise. No doubts, you’ve seen recent Bitcoin rates overpassing the border of $56k per Bitcoin. The continuously expanding and growing niche has great potential in terms of profit for affiliate marketers.
Considered as one of the highest paying niches in affiliate marketing, crypto affiliate programs might become a steady revenue stream. Numerous stories about wealthy earnings on crypto offers led to much hype around cryptocurrencies and operations with them. As a result, more and more people get curious about Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and their market value; hence, the target audience for crypto ad campaigns increases day by day. Just think for a second, the global crypto market cap is $1.81T.
Crypto affiliate marketing features
Talking about the crypto affiliate market, the principal difference between a typical affiliate program and a crypto affiliate program is in payments. Crypto affiliate programs usually offer payouts in cryptocurrency. Alternatively, you can find affiliate offers with payments in fiat currency. Probably, you’ve heard a lot about Bitcoin or Ethereum but there are many other kinds of cryptocurrencies. Anyway, the term ‘cryptocurrency’ defines a certain ‘type of digital asset that can be owned or traded for conventional money.’ The first cryptocurrency was launched in 2009, so the market is still relatively new.
Many businesses within the crypto niche utilize affiliate programs to increase their visibility and sales. With the growing Bitcoin rate, we already witness a crypto boom at the beginning of 2021. Naturally, crypto affiliate programs like all other affiliate programs involve three parties: an advertiser (a company that needs more customers or users), an affiliate (a marketer who promotes a certain product or service), and a target audience (a potential customer/user). An advertiser hires affiliates to advertise services or products and rewards them with a commission based on the performance.
Types of crypto affiliate programs
Compared to other niches, the crypto niche is relatively small but very competitive. Many marketers from all over the globe rush into the crypto niche to top up their accounts and crypto wallets as the crypto niche is considered very lucrative. With all that in mind, many affiliate marketers got inspired by Gladio’s initiatives that helped both advertisers and affiliates to ‘garner in the crypto affiliate marketing field’. The key principle of affiliate marketing remains the same — start small. Test the program and its credibility on a lower scale to avoid huge losses. Actually, there are several major types of crypto affiliate offers.
Crypto Exchange Services. Exchange services need more clients as they earn a commission, so they open affiliate programs to get marketers’ help in generating more traffic to their platforms. Usually, affiliates should generate leads to the crypto exchange, where potential customers are expected to open accounts for further exchange services involving cryptocurrencies (convert one type of coins to another, exchange cryptocurrency for fiat currency, and vice versa). For instance, LocalBitcoins and CoinBase.
Wallet Services. These are cryptocurrency-specific services that need more people to adopt cryptocurrency. To get more clients these services are ready to pay affiliates. Hardware wallets offer to secure your cryptocurrencies and access to them. For example, Trezor and Ledger run affiliate programs to promote their services as hardware wallets for various cryptocurrencies.
CFD/Forex brokers. Ok, these stock exchanges also need new traders. So, affiliates generate traffic to forex platforms targeting people interested in trading. In this case, people (referrals) do not actually purchase or exchange cryptocurrency but bet on cryptocurrency rate fluctuations. Crypto CFD trading is trending, as clients intend to use the momentum and earn extra money on crypto price changes.
ICOs (Initial Coin Offering). Initially, ICOs were used by the developers of a cryptocurrency for fund-raising. As of now, some private ICOs offer shares in exchange for tokens. To increase the visibility of the new cryptocurrency and create a market, ICOs often open affiliate programs. Joining an affiliate program of an ICO that may become very popular can result in impressive earnings. On the flip side, in case of ICO’s failure, you may stay empty-handed. Thus, make a thorough research before joining this type of affiliate program.
Cryptocurrency lending platforms. This business has become popular over the recent years. Landing platforms usually offer credits and deposits in cryptocurrency at interest. For example, people who need cash can deposit cryptocurrency and receive a loan in fiat currency, or those with cryptocurrency on hand can deposit tokens to receive monthly income (a certain percentage).
Trading bot services. Trading cryptocurrency isn’t always manual; actually, many crypto traders rely on trading bots and their algorithms to carry on trades following pre-set conditions and parameters. Cryptocurrencies are very volatile, with many spikes and drops in rates throughout the day, so trading bots (like Bitsgap) allow cryptocurrency holders to take advantage of buying and selling coins.
Crypto-retail. The retail industry is no new to affiliate marketing but some crypto-centric brands are emerging that allow payments in cryptocurrencies, for example, Microsoft, AT&T, Subway, Shopify, Tesla, etc.
Crypto-gambling. Well, this is the cross-road between the classic gambling niche and the crypto niche. Some online casinos offer numerous games and allow payments in cryptocurrencies. Players can make bets and receive winnings in cryptocurrencies. Crypto-based casinos employ affiliate programs to attract more players.
Dating and adult niche. This is one more industry that is not directly crypto-focused. In fact, many dating platforms accept cryptocurrency payments to provide more anonymity to users.
Where to find crypto affiliate offers
As the affiliate industry is on the rise, more and more people search for high-profit affiliate offers. Like with any other niche, marketers have two options, whether to join a specific affiliate program offered by a certain platform or to join an affiliate network. Both options have their pros and cons.
If you know the brand well and hear positive reviews from other marketers who work the program, then you may join the program. If you prefer to run several campaigns or have any doubts about the brand you can favor an affiliate network. Many popular and reputable networks work with the crypto niche. Hence, if you are registered in some networks, check for active crypto offers. There is a high chance that you’ll find a suitable offer. Recently, several new networks focused exclusively on the crypto market have been launched.
The key aspects of a good affiliate network in the crypto niche are almost the same as for any other affiliate marketing vertical. Look for a number of advertisers and publishers working with the network, analytical instruments, reporting and marketing tools, as well as customer support. Many networks provide affiliates with a personal manager who can consult on available offers and recommend the best offers based on the marketer’s preferable traffic source, GEO, commission type, and so on. One of the crucial parameters for any affiliate marketer is the payout system: the schedule of payments (weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly), limits, available currencies, and any existing restrictions. As you see, the process is pretty much the same as with any other niche.
Again, one of the best one-stop-shop platforms is OfferVault. The platform provides a list of active affiliate offers from multiple categories, including crypto. The functionality of the platform allows sorting offers by categories, networks, GEOs, traffic sources, etc.
Besides, you can join marketing-oriented forums, such as BlackHatWorld, WarriorForum, AffiliateFix, or any other. Forums are sources of all recent updates across the industry, new contacts and friends, recent reviews of networks, and even case studies.
Payment models
Again, the payment system for most crypto affiliate offers remains the same as for all other affiliate markets. Different businesses apply different payout policies. Some companies pay affiliates based on the number of leads, while others pay for the number of clicks per link. As for leads, there are various actions required from referrals, including purchases, providing feedback, filling a form, and so on. Advertisers in the crypto niche usually offer the following payment models:
- CPA (cost-per-action). The action can be a deposit, transaction, or any other activity required by an advertiser. As a rule, advertisers within the crypto niche offer pretty high payments for the CPA model.
- Revenue share (revshare). As with any other affiliate programs, the revenue share model anticipates that affiliates receive a commission in the form of a specified percentage from the referral's financial activity. The percentage may vary from 15% up to 40%. Typical cookie duration is 30 to 90 days; however, some companies with recurring affiliate programs provide lifetime cookie duration (as long as a referred client is active).
Besides the payment model, the currency of payouts may vary from an advertiser to an advertiser. Some pay affiliates in traditional, fiat currency, while others pay commissions in cryptocurrency. The latter model inspires many affiliates to sign up for crypto offers as an opportunity to earn cryptocurrency.
What payment model you'd prefer?
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Target audience
Despite the hype around cryptocurrencies, the target audience for crypto offers represents still a relatively small segment. People interested in crypto, are quite young and they are on short terms with the high-end technologies. To target them you need to be proficient enough in blockchain technology to ‘speak the same language,’ understand marketing psychology and financial trends.
Traffic sources for crypto affiliate campaigns
As you should already know, the crypto market is extremely volatile; moreover, rules and regulations in many countries aren’t clearly defined. Hence, traffic sources for crypto offers are continuously evolving and vary from year to year. Still, affiliate marketing in 2022 has its specifics as some platforms implement new bans or restrictions on crypto ads.
- Push notifications. One of the most effective traffic sources for crypto offers. This method can generate a lot of junk traffic but it is inexpensive, so it might still generate conversions.
- Twitter. This is a source of traffic that many marketers ignore considering it useless. Actually, Twitter has a growing community of crypto fans, which can’t be ignored.
- Reddit. Another platform with a large community of active crypto enthusiasts. Do not forget, Redditors don’t like straightforward advertising, they appreciate valuable information and fruitful communication. Earn a positive ranking, share your insights and experience, participate in discussions so that your future recommendations would be considered as valuable advice, not spam or direct advertising.
- Websites/blogs. This is one of the cheapest sources of traffic. If you work in the finance niche and have an established audience, crypto-related content will match seamlessly. It is possible to build a brand-new website designed specifically for the crypto-niche (if you plan to work with cryptocurrencies over a long period). Unique and valuable content seasoned with proper SEO might help to increase the targeted web traffic.
- YouTube. The most popular video platform has unlimited resources to promote crypto affiliate offers. First of all, you can open a dedicated channel and record videos of trading cryptocurrencies. Besides, detailed reviews on current trends, rates, and comparisons between cryptocurrencies usually get a lot of views. You can redirect your Facebook audience to the YouTube channel to generate traffic to the affiliate offer.
- Facebook. This social media platform bans direct crypto ads but is useful for promoting crypto-related products and services. You can use your own page or create a community to promote your YouTube channel, paid content, or affiliate marketing links.
How to avoid crypto affiliate scam
As the crypto market grows, a number of scams appear to trap unaware affiliates. Reputable companies and services do not rip off affiliates; actually, they look for a long-term partnership for mutual benefit. Do not hurry and jump in on the high stakes — long-term, regular earnings are worth more than unsupported promises of thousand-buck commissions that are never paid. In the matter of crypto scams, you may face and should recognize and avoid the following:
- Outright frauds. These are overnight companies that initially do not intend to pay any commissions or unlucky non-professional losers who get bankrupt due to poor management or lack of market understanding. They enter the hype with the only intention to catch some easy pickings. Always read the terms of services, including a very fine print.
- Conversion rate tricks. Do not fall for dirty tricks based on the volatility of cryptocurrencies. As the rate of cryptocurrencies may vary significantly, look for affiliate programs with a locked conversion rate. For example, your commission is equivalent to $400, so it should remain $400 when it is credited to your account and when you decide to withdraw funds. For example, a referral deposited $100 worth of BTC (Bitcoin), but at the time of getting a commission, the Bitcoin rate drops so that the deposit becomes worth only $85. The scammers might refuse to pay your commission as the deposit size doesn’t match the required deposit value. Fraud schemes play with unaware affiliates and their lack of knowledge. As a result, affiliates may end up with much lower than expected commissions due to unlocked rates.
- Withheld commissions. This one is the most common type of scam not only within the crypto niche but across the affiliate industry overall. In this case, the company (or network) would do its best to avoid paying affiliate commissions or to reduce payments for forged reasons, such as blacklisted IPs, unsupported countries, or any other attributes.
It is safer to sign up with an established company to avoid any potential risk. If you see unprecedentedly high stakes for affiliates that seem too good to be true, probably, you see a scammer.
Case study: Crypto Offers with Facebook Ads
The case study was published initially by dont.farm on BlackHatWorld.
Affiliate network: FxMonetize
Traffic: Facebook
Offer: Libra Prelander German 383
GEO: DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland)
Expenses (Ads): $4 740
Expenses (accounts and cards): $600
Revenue: $16 800
Profit (campaigns): $12 060
Total profit: $11 460
ROI: 254%
Total ROI: 214%
The marketer opted for the FxMonetize network, and the affiliate manager recommended two offers on the same GEO. GEOs (with a payment of $600 for each one) were chosen by traffic rates and deposit rates. The marketer decided to avoid countries with high rates due to existing competition and high rates because tests could be very expensive. The CPC for DACH was lower than 7 cents on Facebook, and FxMonetize provided the creatives for the campaign.
The marketer estimated that a single converted lead out of 8 571 clicks would pay off the cost. Anyway, the average conversion rate of 9.8% seemed pretty promising.
Initially, the offer was tried in three countries – mobile traffic from Facebook and Instagram feed. The CPC rate varied between 7 and 30 cents. After the first $150, the first deposit was achieved.
Then, there were 3 more campaigns for each country. The marketer got links from FxMonetize and cloaked them on his own (he mentions that FxMonetize could cloak links free of charge).
With ads based on creatives from FxMonetize, the marketer ran a $200 a day campaign per every language expecting between 10 and 40 leads a day per country.
The message from the marketer says, “Don’t be scared to test high payout offers. You can always find your profitable one that will bring outstanding results… It is better to take and test. For a long time, I haven’t believed in crypto offers to be honest, but the result surprised me, it is long-lived conjunction that brought me a good amount of money.”
Conclusion
Despite the ongoing pandemic situation that de-energized global business, affiliate marketing is very much alive in 2022. While some niches are in temporary stagnation (for instance, the travel niche and its branches), some industries are booming. Yep, the crypto market is all-around digital and can be managed and controlled online. Add here recent Elon Musk’s statements that bumped even more interest and demand for cryptocurrencies.
People search for cryptocurrencies, buy them, trade them, exchange them, and hold them. So, the time is ripe to dive into the crypto market as the global audience is warmed up and ready to participate. The good thing is that crypto-oriented businesses need affiliates more than affiliates need to find crypto affiliate programs.
