While people in the US, UK, Canada, and other Western countries have no qualms about using their credit cards for making a purchase, those in other regions like Asia and South America don't do this as much. This could be due to several reasons: people from these countries may not be confident about using their credit cards for remote transactions, or it could be that not everyone uses credit cards in that region.
It may sound surprising to some, but a lot of people are 'traditional' in the sense that they'd rather transact in cold cash than in 'digital money'. Much like when buying pizza, they'd pay for the items they order upon delivery. This is called Cash on Delivery.
Many affiliate marketers have benefited from this mode of conversion and have made sh*tloads of money. If that piqued your interest, then keep reading.
As its name suggests, Cash on Delivery means payment is given by the customer the moment his order arrives on his doorstep. In reality, however, cold cash is not the only means of payment provided during delivery, and it all depends on the merchant.
Some merchants may also accept credit or debit card payments using portable, wireless credit card terminals, online bank transfer during delivery, and other cashless payment options. This is why COD is sometimes called Collect on Delivery.
It is not that different from local food deliveries, except that online merchants need not have a local branch in order to provide COD payments. All they need to do is look for a logistics company that will handle not just the delivery, but also the acceptance of cash payment.
It has been found that this extra step greatly reduces the number of package returns (called Return to Sender/RTS or Return to Origin/RTO), which are not only a waste of time but are also a waste of money.
The most common offers on COD fall under e-Commerce verticals and Whitehat niches. However, as the recent years have shown how effective Cash on Delivery can be for certain markets, other niches followed suit.
Some popular ones right now are:
More networks are following suit.
You might be thinking that to generate a conversion from a COD offer, the customer must accept the order first. If that is the case, then waiting for a conversion to happen can take weeks!
Thankfully, getting a conversion is actually much easier than this; the customer only needs to confirm his order once the merchant’s call center service makes a callback.
No need to wait for the order to be delivered, as there are a hundred different factors that can affect the acceptance of a package (delivery speed, availability of the customer during delivery, state of the package, etc.) This, therefore, makes for easier conversion flow.
There are three conversion status types for COD offers:
Super affiliates who work on COD offers recommend that beginners pause their campaigns within the first two days of running them (if they receive conversions). This is because they cannot fully optimize their campaigns until the conversions are approved.
If your Pending conversions have not been approved after 72 hours, it would be wise to move on from them and consider them Declined. If their status becomes Approved in the future, then great! If not, at least you did not waste your time waiting for the status to change.
With the right technique, you can make boatloads of money from Collect on Delivery offers. Here are some tips to help you get started (or to help you improve your ROI if you are already running such offers):
It must therefore be clear to the user that he will be receiving a callback. If you can, include a time frame for when they should expect the call to happen, such as in a few minutes, in a few hours, or within the day.
The faster someone calls and confirms the order, the better. This is so the customer will not have a lot of time to mull over whether or not he should proceed with the purchase. This helps for offers that fall under the “impulse buy” category.
If the phone service is closed during the weekends, pause your ads. It will take one to two whole days before someone gets in touch with the customer, which is a day too long. He might have already forgotten about the order or worse, he had thought deeply about it and decided not to proceed.
If the customer realizes that he has been duped by a fake “free” offer, then he will get angry and will not want to proceed. Not only will you have a rejected lead, but your quality will also be affected negatively. The advertiser might remove you from the offer altogether.
If you’re interested in running COD offers, check out these great threads on the topic:
There are also lots of data (competitor ads and landing pages) from spy tools like Anstrex and AdPlexity to help you get started. What are you waiting for? Get crackin'!
It may sound surprising to some, but a lot of people are 'traditional' in the sense that they'd rather transact in cold cash than in 'digital money'. Much like when buying pizza, they'd pay for the items they order upon delivery. This is called Cash on Delivery.
Many affiliate marketers have benefited from this mode of conversion and have made sh*tloads of money. If that piqued your interest, then keep reading.
Cash on Delivery: How It Works
As its name suggests, Cash on Delivery means payment is given by the customer the moment his order arrives on his doorstep. In reality, however, cold cash is not the only means of payment provided during delivery, and it all depends on the merchant.
Some merchants may also accept credit or debit card payments using portable, wireless credit card terminals, online bank transfer during delivery, and other cashless payment options. This is why COD is sometimes called Collect on Delivery.
It is not that different from local food deliveries, except that online merchants need not have a local branch in order to provide COD payments. All they need to do is look for a logistics company that will handle not just the delivery, but also the acceptance of cash payment.
How is it Different from the COD Conversion Model?
There is hardly any difference, except that the Cash on Delivery (COD) conversion model includes an extra step. Instead of immediately processing the order the moment the customer completes the online transaction, someone from the merchant’s side contacts the customer to confirm the order. The most common method of contact is by phone call.It has been found that this extra step greatly reduces the number of package returns (called Return to Sender/RTS or Return to Origin/RTO), which are not only a waste of time but are also a waste of money.
What Offers are Run on COD?
The most common offers on COD fall under e-Commerce verticals and Whitehat niches. However, as the recent years have shown how effective Cash on Delivery can be for certain markets, other niches followed suit.
Some popular ones right now are:
- Health verticals, focusing on niches such as eye care, sleep improvement, brain function, hair regrowth, and more.
- Adult products such as erectile dysfunction pills, male enhancement supplements, breast enhancers, and similar products.
- Weight loss offers such as keto diet pills and slimming coffees.
- Skin and beauty products.
More networks are following suit.
How to Earn with COD Affiliate Offers?
You might be thinking that to generate a conversion from a COD offer, the customer must accept the order first. If that is the case, then waiting for a conversion to happen can take weeks!
Thankfully, getting a conversion is actually much easier than this; the customer only needs to confirm his order once the merchant’s call center service makes a callback.
No need to wait for the order to be delivered, as there are a hundred different factors that can affect the acceptance of a package (delivery speed, availability of the customer during delivery, state of the package, etc.) This, therefore, makes for easier conversion flow.
There are three conversion status types for COD offers:
Hold or Pending
This is when an order has been completed online. The user completed and submitted the form, very much like a Lead. Payment for the lead will be put on hold until such time that it has been confirmed.Approved
This is when the customer has received a callback from the merchant’s call center and his order has been confirmed. An approved COD conversion will be paid. Moving a conversion status from pending to approved normally takes 12 to 72 hours.Rejected or Declined
This means the lead is disapproved and will not be paid.Super affiliates who work on COD offers recommend that beginners pause their campaigns within the first two days of running them (if they receive conversions). This is because they cannot fully optimize their campaigns until the conversions are approved.
If your Pending conversions have not been approved after 72 hours, it would be wise to move on from them and consider them Declined. If their status becomes Approved in the future, then great! If not, at least you did not waste your time waiting for the status to change.
5 Tips to Improving Conversion Rates on COD Offers
While COD conversion flow has been around for several years now, it is still considered relatively new in the industry. Many super affiliates have made millions from it, though.With the right technique, you can make boatloads of money from Collect on Delivery offers. Here are some tips to help you get started (or to help you improve your ROI if you are already running such offers):
1. Localize your landing page.
While it may sound pretty obvious, other affiliates still overlook this step. Using the local language on your landing pages gives the impression that the offer or product is available in the viewer’s location. You want to give your potential customer the sense that they will receive the package in a reasonable amount of time as expected in their country or area.2. Integrate a VoIP service in your lander.
If VoIP services are available and common in the target country, then you must integrate this into your landing page. Conversions happen upon phone call confirmation, yes? It would then make sense to immediately lead the customer to a phone call, therefore increasing the chances of the order being confirmed (and counted as a conversion) right away.3. Make it clear that the user will receive a callback.
Asking for the customer’s contact number doesn’t automatically give the impression that someone from the merchant’s company will be calling that person for order confirmation.It must therefore be clear to the user that he will be receiving a callback. If you can, include a time frame for when they should expect the call to happen, such as in a few minutes, in a few hours, or within the day.
4. Show your ads during the call center business hours.
You can get this information from the affiliate network or the advertiser himself. Showing your ads during the call center’s business hours ensures that someone will call your potential customer within the same day, or maybe even within the next few minutes.The faster someone calls and confirms the order, the better. This is so the customer will not have a lot of time to mull over whether or not he should proceed with the purchase. This helps for offers that fall under the “impulse buy” category.
If the phone service is closed during the weekends, pause your ads. It will take one to two whole days before someone gets in touch with the customer, which is a day too long. He might have already forgotten about the order or worse, he had thought deeply about it and decided not to proceed.
5. Limit the use of the word “Free”.
While it is a great way to attract potential customers, it reduces your chances of getting confirmed leads. Keep in mind that during a callback, the customer service representative will likely ask or inform the customer that the product must be paid upon delivery (after all, it is cash on delivery).If the customer realizes that he has been duped by a fake “free” offer, then he will get angry and will not want to proceed. Not only will you have a rejected lead, but your quality will also be affected negatively. The advertiser might remove you from the offer altogether.
If you’re interested in running COD offers, check out these great threads on the topic:
There are also lots of data (competitor ads and landing pages) from spy tools like Anstrex and AdPlexity to help you get started. What are you waiting for? Get crackin'!
