In 2023, the world of affiliate marketing encompasses various verticals. Their specific characteristics define the complexity of traffic acquisition, the size of advertising budgets, and other factors.
Some offer groups are more in demand than others, making it easier to earn profits. However, profitability depends on the experience of webmasters. Working in "white" verticals is also easier in terms of budgets and ad setup due to reduced moderation requirements. Working with "gray" and "black" verticals is somewhat more challenging.
Nevertheless, in affiliate marketing, there are offer groups suitable for both beginners and experienced webmasters, such as BS, SP, and WAP-click. Our editorial team has decided to narrate their development history from inception to the present day.
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What are BS Offers: Operating Principle
The abbreviation BS stands for Bank Subscription. The term signifies connecting to a service or obtaining a ready product, for which payments must be made sequentially. There are two scenarios:
- The user gains full access to the product, such as an online course, after paying the total designated amount. This is similar to installment payments, but access to the course gradually expands.
- The client consistently makes payments for using the service, known as a "subscription."
According to the first scenario, users most often receive end products, such as online courses and workout programs. In the second scenario, many media services operate, including Netflix, VK Music, YouTube, and other platforms.
Payments for BS subscriptions can only be made with a credit card — Visa, Mastercard, and MIR. Users link their cards to their accounts on the platform for this purpose.
Later, the linked card is needed for the regular automatic renewal of the subscription. Payments are usually debited weekly or monthly.
A BS offer is a reward proposition for an affiliate marketer for bringing in a new client who subscribes. The webmaster can systematically earn money for the same user due to the regularity of the subscription. For example, a user pays for VK Music monthly. Then, the affiliate marketer will receive a reward for this customer every 30 days through the RevShare scheme, which stands for Revenue Share.
However, as of October 2023, it's challenging to find a BS offer related to a media service. In affiliate networks, you'll often find offers for promoting courses related to weight loss, muscle gain, financial thinking, and other topics. There are also offers for a subscription to regularly receive useful information, such as cryptocurrency forecasts.
From Inception to Popularity of BS Offers
The first paid subscriptions appeared in the 17th century. At that time, for a certain amount per month or year, one could subscribe to regular delivery of new issues of a favorite magazine or newspaper. However, there was no affiliate marketing at that time.
Only in the 21st century did subscriptions migrate to the internet. At that time, they were not as convenient as they are now. More and more international commercial services emerged. Users gained the ability to subscribe online to Netflix and receive essential goods, and other services.
The BS model began to actively develop only in the early 2010s. However, the term "Bank Subscription" did not exist then. At that time, e-commerce was just gaining wide popularity, with more people using plastic credit cards. This also affected the internet, as online purchases could now be made.
Along with this, affiliate marketing became more popular. In September 2021, the affiliate network Gambling.pro announced a vertical called Bank Subscription for the first time. That's when this term appeared.
Advantages and Disadvantages of BS Offers
Let's consider the main pros and cons of BS offers.
How SP Offers Work
The English abbreviation "SP" stands for Subscription Payment, which essentially means the same as Bank Subscription. The only difference with SP lies in the ability to pay for subscriptions not only with bank cards but also through electronic payment systems and other methods.
From the perspective of lead payouts, SP offers are similar to BS offers. Affiliate marketers have the opportunity to consistently earn from the same clients through rebills. In most cases, advertisers share profits with webmasters through the RevShare model.
The focus of SP offers is also similar to BS offers. In most cases, SP offers are geared towards promoting paid online courses, training, expert forecasts, and more.
When SP Offers Emerged
The founding history of SP offers is identical to the chronology of the development of BS offers. However, the Subscription Payment vertical was created by another affiliate network, not Gambling.pro. The first information about SP offers appeared slightly earlier than BS offers, in May 2021. It was then that OFFERRUM — one of the top affiliate networks in Russia — announced a new vertical. One to two months later, among other offers on the network's site, the first SP offers appeared.
Why SP Offers Became Popular
The advantages of Subscription Payment are identical to the benefits of Bank Subscription. However, SP offers have an additional advantage — potentially high conversion compared to BS offers. This is because leads can pay for subscriptions not only with credit cards. The variety of available payment methods allows a larger number of customers to use the advertised product. If the product could only be paid for in one way, leads using other methods would simply pass by.
Disadvantages of SP Offers
SP offers have the same drawbacks as BS offers, explained by the similarity of formats.
What is WAP-Click
"WAP-Click" is a type of subscription. Its specificity lies in the daily receipt of paid content on the phone, such as:
- weather forecasts,
- compilations of funny videos,
- horoscopes, and more.
These offers belong to mobile affiliate marketers, with WAP-Click considered one of the main directions of webmasters' interaction with mobile traffic.
The principle of WAP-Click is not complicated. The main task of the affiliate marketer is to get the lead to subscribe to a paid newsletter. The client will then receive useful or entertaining content daily. Money for the subscription will be automatically deducted from the lead's mobile account every 24 hours. The webmaster receives compensation from these funds.
There are two types of WAP-Click offers:
- Direct Billing;
- SMS Billing, also known as Click2SMS.
Let's compare these types in the table below:
For leads, direct billing is simpler than Click2SMS. Therefore, on such WAP-Click offers, affiliate marketers often achieve high conversion. Although there are two variants of direct billing, neither is more complex than the other:
- 1-Click Conversion: The user clicks one button to confirm the subscription.
- 2-Click Conversion: Initially, the user gives only preliminary consent. Then, they automatically go to an additional page where they finally confirm the subscription.
Since SMS billing is more challenging for clients, webmasters get lower conversions on such WAP-Click offers. However, the payment for each lead is higher, compensating for the reduced conversion. There are also two variants of SMS billing:
- MO (Mobile Originated): The user receives a message with subscription information after entering the mobile number on the landing. To confirm the subscription, the user needs to reply with "Yes" or "Confirm," and for refusal, "No" or "Stop."
- MT (Mobile Terminated): After entering the mobile number on the landing, the lead also receives a message. However, it only contains a special PIN. To confirm the subscription, the lead needs to return to the landing and enter the received code. The payment will then go to the webmaster.
An affiliate marketer can choose between affiliate network offers with different SMS billing options. Along with increased rates, this brings greater profits compared to WAP-Click offers with direct billing.
History of WAP-Click Offers
In the early 2000s, the sale of ringtones emerged in Russia and began to gain momentum. Paid short melodies could only be set through a subscription. Despite this, according to Google Trends, the demand for ringtones increased annually among users.
The steady increase in the popularity of short melodies caught the attention of the money maker Evgeny Ivanov. At that time, he conceived the idea of creating an affiliate network and a new vertical. The platform was launched in 2010 and was named WAP.CLICK. The specialization of the affiliate network became the new WAP-Click vertical.
By the end of 2013, the new vertical was developing rapidly, and other WAP-Click offers began to appear.
With the onset of 2014, the WAP-Click vertical in Russia reached a plateau. Until 2018, it hardly developed further. The vertical exhausted itself and could no longer offer anything fundamentally new.
In 2018-2019, the niche was seriously affected. This was due to changes in the conditions of Russian mobile operators. "Aggressive" mobile subscriptions began to be considered a "black" vertical. The popularity of WAP-Click offers sharply declined, and working with them became challenging.
Since then, many affiliate marketers abandoned the WAP-Click vertical and forgot about it. However, in 2020-2021, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the situation. People shifted to remote work and interacted with smartphones much more. The demand for mobile entertainment and other mobile content significantly increased. This revived the vertical, making it profitable again to drive traffic through WAP-Click offers. The WAP-Click vertical adapted to the realities of 2023.
Pros and Cons of WAP-Click
Let's consider the advantages and disadvantages of the WAP-Click vertical in the table.
Tips for BS, SP Offers, and WAP-Click
For working with BS, SP, and WAP-Click verticals, there are two recommendations:
- Test Different Traffic Sources: In 2023, BS, SP, and WAP-Click offers are considered "white." Webmasters rarely face moderation issues, so it's possible to try using Google, VKontakte, Yandex, TikTok, and other channels.
- Focus on Target Customers: There's no point in working with disinterested users or promising leads to non-existent product benefits. Such an approach inevitably increases the number of quick unsubscribes, reducing the average lead lifespan. Webmasters then receive lower profits.
Conclusion
BS and SP offer verticals emerged recently in affiliate marketing, in 2021, but they are already popular among webmasters. The demand for these verticals continues to grow slowly, driven by rebilling. Some leads regularly pay for subscriptions to offers — usually once a week or month. This allows affiliate marketers to consistently earn revenue from the same clients through the RevShare model.
There is almost no difference between BS and SP offers. The only distinction lies in the variety of payment methods offered by Subscription Payment type offers, while Bank Subscription format offers allow leads to pay for subscriptions only with credit cards.
On the contrary, the WAP-Click vertical was very popular in the past — between 2013 and 2018. Later, Russian mobile operators changed their operating conditions. The WAP-Click vertical with "aggressive" advertising offers began to be considered a "black" vertical. As a result, many affiliate marketers left the niche.
However, the situation changed again with the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the coronavirus, the popularity of mobile content increased significantly. This fact led to a resurgence in the demand for WAP-Click offers in affiliate networks among affiliate marketers. It is attributed to the increased profitability of WAP-Click offers.
