Digital marketing is extremely versatile because it allows you to generate revenue in a huge variety of ways. Today, the easiest method for consumers to find and learn about new products is to run an online search, so the internet is the best way to connect with users who are actively looking to make a purchase.

With the above in mind, there are dozens of different digital advertising models you can adopt. You may choose to become a traditional affiliate marketer and run your own website, or you can take a more dynamic approach and become a media buyer that purchases placements on different websites.

There are many similarities between being an affiliate media buyer and running your own platform, including the fact that you need to know the audience. However, becoming a media buyer is a unique journey that can produce fast results and generate significant profits without having to manage a platform of your own.

Below, we’ll go over the definition of media buying, explain how the process works, and give you tips on setting yourself up as a successful media buyer.

What is Media Buying?

Before going any further, let’s answer the question “what is media buying?”

Media buying is by no means a new concept. For decades, marketers and companies have been scrambling to acquire the best pieces of marketing real estate at the lowest price. In other words, purchasing the placements and time slots that get the most exposure and are therefore more likely to yield paying customers without burning through the established budget.

In the digital world, the concept of media buying is the s"ame. The main difference is that there are billions of quality placements available, so you have to learn to navigate the world of affiliate media buying to ensure the best results.

It’s important to note that becoming a successful media buyer requires constant learning. Like other forms of online marketing, you can analyze data before and after purchasing specific placements. This allows you to determine how successful each placement is, so you can use these statistics to guide your future decisions.

What’s an Affiliate Media Buyer?

An affiliate media buyer is a digital marketing professional that promotes affiliate offers through media buying campaigns. Unlike affiliate marketers, media buyers don’t own their own platform but focus on purchasing the best placements and running campaigns through different platforms based on what the advertisers need.

Although it’s possible for a media buyer to work with individual websites, these affiliate professionals often rely on ad networks to connect them with the quality publishers. Additionally, you also need to develop a toolkit that allows you to evaluate the platforms where your ads are being placed, track your campaigns, and identify the best keywords for your ads.

The Stages of Affiliate Media Buying

Media buying is a gradual process because it’s hard to objectively evaluate a network or publisher without extensive research. Not only this, but simply entering the industry may require some groundwork.

Individuals who want to transition into media buying need to be patient and remember that the only way to shorten the learning curve is to practice as much as possible.

While media buying may vary from one industry to the other, the path to becoming a successful buyer can usually be divided into three different steps. These are establishing relationships with the right stakeholders, learning about your options, and negotiation to get the best deals.

Establish Relationships with Publishers and Ad Networks

Assuming that you’re familiar with the basics of affiliate marketing, the first thing you should do is forge strong relationships with publishers and ad networks that have the best inventory. In case you need to hit the basics, it’s important to understand that publishers and ad networks will allow you to access the best placements, so you’ll want to stay on their good side.

For beginners in the digital marketing world, the easiest option may be to work with a network until you can determine which individual publishers are worth the effort. Seasoned marketers should go the extra mile and explore both alternatives, as well as identify new publishers that offer relatively low prices for potentially valuable traffic.

Investigate All of Your Options

Publishers and ad networks should be atop of your list, but you also need to determine the elements that need your attention and figure out how you will set up your campaign. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, so you have to evaluate different CPA networks, tracking software, keyword research tools, and all other tools you’ll need to find the best fit.

Your expertise level should greatly influence the resources you pick. If you’re not familiar with the advanced capacities available in some of the platforms, you can choose basic packages and upgrade once you’ve mastered the beginner features.

Negotiate the Best Deals

One thing that hasn’t changed about media buying is the need to negotiate to get the best deals. Even though you’ll find different packs and set prices, there is always room for negotiation with publishers and networks.

When negotiating directly with independent publishers, you have the chance to work out long-term commitments that help ensure lower costs. If you’re working with an ad network, it’s important to have a good relationship with the sales team and make it clear that you would like to work with the platform that gives you the best deals.

Advantages of Media Buying

One of the reasons why media buying has become a popular practice is because it offers an array of benefits without sacrificing profitability. Not only this but by learning the basics of media buying, you can branch out and specialize in other forms of digital marketing that work well with this approach, thus generating better results.

Media buyers are among the most flexible marketers because they learn to blend different strategies into one successful campaign. Additionally, some of the innate benefits of media buying include:

Fast Turnaround

The turnaround, or the amount of time that passes before you’re allowed to withdraw your earnings, is usually affected by different variables, like the CPA network you work with. However, from a general perspective, media buying campaigns tend to have a shorter turnaround because they are designed to last less time than traditional affiliate campaigns.

Becoming successful as a media buyer requires a lot of experience, so designing your campaigns to run a shorter period of time is always a good idea. This will help identify important patterns and allow you to learn from each campaign without having to go over the designated budget.

No Website Maintenance Required

Despite the fact that publishers may feel more in control, the truth is that running your own website is a full-time job. In addition to server performance, you need to test your platform regularly to verify that all features are working properly, ensure that the right security certificates are in place, and make sure that it follows whatever compliance protocols it needs to adhere to.

Media buyers may have to spend a bit more to run their campaigns, but they also have a lot of time to devote to monitoring and optimization because they don’t need to focus on site maintenance.

Competition is Not as Tough

There’s no denying that affiliate marketing is growing in popularity, but the media buying industry is regarded as less competitive than other forms of digital advertising. Most marketers that enter the ecosystem look to establish their own site with the idea of raking in more profits. Even though a portion of them also transitions into media buying, there is relatively little competition so you can still find quality placements at a fair price -- as long as you research your options thoroughly.

Better Budgeting and Resource Allocation

Because you don’t have to pay for server space and other overheads, media buying simplifies your budgeting and resource allocation processes. Instead of having to track different expenses, your calculations will only include the cost of your ads and your business tools, so you can easily calculate revenue and determine where your next investment should go.

How to Establish a Solid Media Buying Campaign

Becoming a media buyer may take some learning, but it’s a great way to generate revenue without having to run your own platform. What’s more, there are many tips and tricks that can increase your chances of success and help you get the most out of your ads.

For instance, you should remember to:

Choose a Successful Product

It doesn’t matter how well you understand your audience and how hard you work on building the perfect campaign, if your product is not appealing there’s a strong chance your ads will not succeed. When choosing a CPA offer to promote in the spots you’ve purchased, make sure you select an alluring product that has value to consumers.

Integrate Landing Pages

In the most simple model, successful media buying campaigns should follow a “click->click->convert” flow. It means that users should ideally click on your ad, then click on one of the CTAs on the landing page, and take the final step to become a conversion.

If you send potential leads to the offer page too early, you run the risk of triggering an undesired action.

The good news is that landing pages can help explain your product and allow interested users to flow seamlessly into a purchase.

Combine Media Buying with Other Affiliate Techniques

Whether you’re transitioning into media buying from another type of marketing or starting from scratch, you should consider combining this approach with other techniques to increase your chances of success.

For example, you can launch social media campaigns that somehow integrate into your campaign and boost traffic on the page that’s housing your ads.

Learn More About Becoming a Successful Media Buyer

Becoming a successful media buying is not easy or straightforward. Even marketers that are familiar with the ins-and-outs of digital marketing need to get used to the nuances of this unique approach.

But, once you understand the slight differences between media buying and traditional affiliate marketing, you’ll be able to craft winning campaigns that produce exceptional results.

If you’re interested in learning more about succeeding as a media buyer or affiliate marketer, follow our blog or get in touch with lemonads today and we’ll be glad to help.