W4 ® Full Review

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W4 affiliate network has been founded by professionals in internet marketing and it grew into a leading platform to boost sales via affiliate marketing. Diverse solutions are provided by the company which significantly improves the benefits you can achieve through such advertising program.

The concept of affiliate marketing promoted by W4 is called CPA and it is performance-based concept. CPA, short for cost-per-action, is a type of marketing allowing you to make your campaigns available through the network, without investing any budget for the promotion of the campaign. Rather than paying upfront for online advertising, you pay to the affiliates once the conversion is delivered. Using the online platform you will be able to set your goals for advertising and thus determine the type of action you consider a conversion, actions such as sales of specific products or signups if your site is subscription based.

W4 allows you to set up the “payout” value, which is the amount your conversion is worth based on your business. This is called acceptable cost-of-acquisition (COA), and it allows flexibility when managing your budget of affiliate marketing.

So How Does It Work?

W4 helps you grow your business by distributing your advertising through different online media channels. The goal of the network is to connect advertisers (who own a product or a service \ eCommerce website) with publishers (affiliates) and allow them to collaborate on marketing projects in order to boost sales and thus gain profit for both. Basically this means that by joining this network as a merchant, you get direct access to potential affiliates who will be marketing your products in order to earn a commission. You should note that this website is an affiliate network and even though affiliate software can provide you with the similar functionality, the core difference is that when you use affiliate software you need to market the affiliate program by yourself in order to find affiliates. This is why affiliate networks are good, as they give you direct access to affiliates looking to market new products. Think of it as a marketplace where merchants and potential affiliates meet.

Advertisers (like you)

Signing up as an advertiser allows you to access the expansive network of publishers on W4 affiliate network website. Some of the leading companies in the sector of business, clothing, coupons, legal and online services are part of W4 network, which is why this is one of the networks with the greatest potential.

There are three major features available for the advertisers and those include:

Campaign setting – W4 helps you create and place your ads in order to attract publishers who will join you in promoting the particular product or service. Campaign settings allow you to create goals for the campaign as well as the payout limit, which should both be based on the type of business and campaign you want to promote.

Choice of channels – W4 allows distribution over numerous online channels, and those include:

  • Email and newsletter
  • PPC search
  • Display
  • Social media
  • Blog & forums
  • Consumer reviews
  • Re-targeting
  • PPV/Contextual
  • Mobile

Your task is to choose the media that is perfect for distribution of your message, so that you maximize the efficiency of affiliate campaign. Using the restrictions is also advisable in order to successfully manage your campaign. This means that you should only go for channels which you feel good about and think would suit your campaign goals, business and products you wish to expose to publishers (affiliates).

Based on the settings you choose, W4 is going to present your program on their site to target potential publishers who would be suitable to join your affiliate program. Again, in comparison to affiliate software which offers similar features – the process of marketing the affiliate program in order to attract affiliates is almost completely automated when joining an affiliate network.

Tracking acquisitions – Tracking of conversions is done via cookies and tracking pixels. This ensures each and every sale or action is correctly accounted for.

 

 

Publishers (Your Affiliates)

W4 has a large network of advertisers which offer so many different advertising opportunities for publishers, allowing them to maximize the efficiency of their online effort.

Who are publishers? Publishers, or should I say affiliates are persons who join affiliate programs in order to market specific products using their own marketing strategies and efforts, all with the goal of making conversions and sales. Each sale guarantees a publisher (affiliate) a commission. Some of the greatest companies such as Amazon, eHarmony, Microsoft, Norton and others are part of this network, which means that publishers are offered a great extent of opportunities to find the appropriate advertising campaign they want to become a part of. Affiliates usually choose products they feel good about and personally connect with. So for example, fashion bloggers would usually try to sell designer clothes or make up. Since they already have a fashion blog, marketing these products there will feel natural, which increases the potential sales. Good thing for merchants is that they pay only for the results they set, so even if there are no sales made by a specific affiliate, merchant gets free marketing and product exposure.

Another reason why the publishers find this networks so appealing is the fact that it is based on CPA campaigns, in all the categories of advertising, which means that publishers are paid for all the traffic they drive, depending on which action the merchants have set to count as a “conversion”. Some merchants wish to pay for visits, some for sales others for visitors checking out specific pages on their site, etc.

Here are some major features available to the publishers on W4 affiliate network:

Tailored CPA campaigns – Each campaign has to be reviewed by the network’s staff in order to ensure the conversion potential and performance of the campaign. You will get recommendations on campaigns that match your audience best, as this is the best way to ensure the maximum performance of the campaign.

High payouts – The company guarantees the highest payouts to the publishers on the market.

Rewards – Different sets of rewards are available for the publishers based on their performance and what they were able to achieve through affiliate marketing.

 

 

 

 

Plans and Pricing

There is no clear pricing available on the site, so both merchants (advertisers) and affiliates (publishers) need to fill out the contact form to get started and get more information. The minimum amount for payouts to be sent out to affiliates is $50.

 

 

How to Get Started?

If you want to join W4, you will have to fill out the online form, which is available for both publishers and advertisers. You will choose the type of application, publisher or advertiser and you will then provide contact and payment information.

Once your application is submitted, you have to wait for it to be approved. You will receive an email from the company’s staff once you are approved and ready to join the network.

 

 

The Benefits

Direct access to a pool of potential affiliates looking to market products you are selling. This is something all other affiliate networks offer and which presents a key point when choosing an affiliate network over an affiliate software.
Automated system and support staff available to help you maximize your affiliate marketing program potential. Usually all other affiliate networks function in this way and have experts ready to jump in and help you shape your program.
High profile merchants like Amazon, Microsoft, Groupon and Bloomberg are part of this network. This means this is a great place to be for new merchants, and there is a huge pallet of products to market for affiliates.
High payouts for affiliates

 

 

Downsides

There is no clear pricing information available on the site.
Sign up process both for merchants and affiliates is not very transparent and it takes time. There is also a possibility to be rejected.
Costs of being a part of affiliate network can sometimes be much greater than the profit you make from it. In this case, getting an affiliate software is a good idea as it offers full control and predictable expenses.

 

 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

“Is there a commission payment limit?”

Commission payment totals must exceed $50.00, otherwise this payment will not be made until the $50.00 minimum is reached.

“How can I get more information about the opportunities the company provides?”

The best way to get necessary information about the potential benefits is to contact customer service using the email: info@w4.com or phone: (888) 838-1572.

“What is CPA?”

CPA stands for “cost-per-action”. This is a marketing model where cost is determined per specific action taken by the end user. This action can be anything which we can measure like signing up on the website, purchasing a product or joining a mailing list.

“How is the tracking done?”

Tracking of actions such as sales or sites visits is done by utilizing cookies and tracking pixels.

“Which channels can I use to market products?”

W4 supports many different channels such as email newsletters, social media, blogs and forums, consumer reviews, re-targeting etc.

“What happens when a campaign is submitted?”

Each campaign goes through a review process to ensure maximum performance. Campaigns are then matched up with publisher audience to ensure a good match between merchants and affiliates.

“What is COA?”

COA is acceptable cost of acquisition. W4 allows merchants to set a payout value which is the amount conversion is worth to them. This allows for more flexibility when setting up marketing campaigns.

 

 

About The Company

W4 was founded in 2001 by CPA marketing agency, after which the company slowly became one of the leading affiliate networks out there. The company is based in Santa Monica, CA and it has been named the 9th fastest growing private company in Los Angeles area and the 25th national fastest growing company in the area of advertising and marketing.

 

 

 

The Bottom Line

W4 is an interesting choice if you are looking to join an affiliate network. It offers similar features other affiliate networks do. Since there are no specific prices or plans listed on their website, it is advisable to fill out the forms available and get in touch with the company directly. They will get back to you and discuss the details. There are lots of reputable clients on this network which guarantees a level of credibility and affiliate base, in spite of somewhat slow and complicated sign up process, seems to grow every day. It is advisable that you first check whether joining an affiliate network or getting an affiliate software is a right path for you to take. Both offer similar features but also differ in fundamental ways as well as end costs.

W4 presents an elegant solution to grow your business, expand your marketing reach and boost sales. Starting an affiliate program can be a great experience for most merchants, especially if you offer interesting products which are good for this kind of marketing. These products are available online, either in physical form in the online store or through different online services. This kind of availability makes them good material for marketers and affiliates to pitch and eventually make profit from.

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