How to bring the traffic to the Asian financial affiliate programs: personal experience by affiliates

Since the pandemic’s beginning, almost all affiliates who work in the PDL vertical have experienced a drop in conversions.

Accordingly, the income also fell, so they began to look for solutions: some switched to other verticals, and others gave up with the traffic arbitrage. However, many of them decided not to give up and continue their usual work, but with other countries – this option turned out to be very promising, although not without difficulties.

Affiliate managers of the SalesDoubler CPA network invited two affiliates who have been successfully bringing foreign affiliate programs for a long time for an interview. They told us about their first steps in this area, shared their own observations on working with the International, and gave valuable advice.

Why did you decide to start working with International in the PDL niche? Tell us about your first steps in this direction.

Zhenya: We have always strived to cover the maximum possible number of different GEOs since each country has its own drawdowns and force majeure. For example, the regulator came and contrived a new law for MFI. While all companies adjust to the new realities, the conversion can sag a lot. Other GEOs are pulling the situation in this case. Or, for example, during a lockdown in a certain country, the conversion also sags too much. In this case, other countries also help to stay afloat.

Sergey: Working with the International is especially relevant during a pandemic – it allows you not to keep all eggs in one basket.

There is a complete lockdown in one country, and it is impossible to get credits. In the second country, restaurants and shops just have opened, and people are actively spending money that why loans are in high demand.

What traffic sources do you work with? Why with them?

Zhenya: About 80% of all traffic comes from Google Ads. With Google, you can get the highest quality traffic, and the source itself is more or less stable for working with MFIs, which cannot be said about Facebook. Previously, we worked with SEO, but after the next Google update, when our sites dropped heavily in the search results, we freaked out and never returned to this issue :). I prefer to work with purchased traffic, where you can get the result right now, rather than waiting for several months. However, the conversion with SEO was of the highest quality.

Sergey: With PPC. They are more predictable than SEO.

Did you have any difficulties during startup? What did you fear the most?

Zhenya: There are a lot of difficulties and questions at the start of each GEO. Firstly, this is a complete misunderstanding of the country, its features, which creatives are better suited, for what purposes credits are mainly taken, etc. It is also a very difficult moment with the language. If we take Sri Lanka as an example, it is very difficult to find a good and responsible translator since it is very difficult to check the quality of translation from Sinhalese on your own :).

And about what I was afraid of, it was the shutdown of top affiliate programs. For example, if you take the Philippines, then there is not much choice, and a good envelope shows only 1-2 affiliate programs. And if one turns off, then in general, you can put GEO on stop.

How much did you spend on tests? Did you have any fakaps? What is the optimal amount needed to “feel” a new GEO?

Zhenya: As an example, for the Philippines, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka, $1000 should be enough to get started and start to bring the traffic in plus. At least in our case, having spent about $1000, we already perfectly understood the situation with these countries. But everything is very individual. The ability to work with advertising sources plays a big role. You can also start almost without financial investment, but that’s a completely different story … 🙂

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How much time does it take to get positive? What is your average ROI?

Zhenya: Here, again, everything strongly depends on the GEO. For example, in the case of Sri Lanka and the Philippines, when we launched them for the first time with Facebook, we immediately gained profit. The traffic was so cheap, and conversion was stable that the ROI was + 100-200% in the first days. Now, the average ROI for all GEOs is about + 70-100%.

Are there any global differences when working with financial traffic for UA and other countries?

Zhenya: For me, the biggest difference is in the language. Selecting semantics, creating creatives in Sinhalese, Vietnamese and other languages is not an easy task. In this case, it is much easier to work with Ukraine and, for example, Kazakhstan.

Sergey: Yes, but this is a market peculiarity in general. For example, Asians are very fond of spam, and they really write positive reviews in the spirit of “Very convenient service, I left my number, and within an hour, I received 5 SMS with affiliate programs and 3 emails. Thank you for taking care of me!”

How did the pandemic and quarantine affect the work in this area?

Zhenya: The pandemic has a very strong impact on every GEO. The conversion sharply sags, so you have to stop or screw up advertising campaigns. On the other hand, while a lockdown still exists in some countries, and many major players suspend their advertising campaigns, the auction in advertising networks hardly drops so that you can collect leads for peanuts. When the situation is restored, you can start working with them. It was the same in Ukraine when almost all MFIs were shut down during the quarantine. Then we collected leads on Facebook and Google Ads at a price 5-10 times lower than usual, since there was practically no competition. When the market began to recover gradually, we already had a ready-made and a rather large base of “hungry” borrowers for credits.

Sergey: Before the pandemic, we knew by heart the state and religious holidays of the GEOs we work with. Now we know exactly in which country when the lockdown began and when it should end.

Previously, it did not convert to holidays; now, it does not convert to lockdown.

Which countries are you focusing on now and why?

Zhenya: We are focusing on Kazakhstan and Ukraine – we have been working with them for quite a long time. These are stable and established GEOs with a large selection of affiliate programs and a good envelope.

Can you single out some affiliate programs that work well and have great prospects in your GEO?

Zhenya: If we talk about bourgeois, now we have the following top: Philippines – DiGiDo;
Sri Lanka – Loanme;
Vietnam – Senmo;
Kazakhstan – Zaymer.

What do you lack for scaling? What would you like to improve in your work?

Zhenya: I would like to see more good converting affiliate programs in each GEO. In general, we have enough for scaling now, and we are slowly working in this direction.

At SalesDoubler, we are actively involved in training affiliates: we conduct free webinars, and for beginners, we have created an open Starter TG channel with usefulness and starter kits.
What advice would you give to entrant professionals who want to try working in this direction and to yourself at the beginning of the journey?

Zhenya: Start with the least competitive GEOs. Let there not be a lot of earnings, but you will fill the bumps with the least financial losses. Test and use different traffic sources; diversification is everything 🙂 You should have at least two advertising sources because theoretically, at any time, Facebook will tighten the screws, and the whole process will be paralyzed for some period. Collect your bases and learn how to work with them; this is very important.

Sergey: Don’t bet on SEO: Google is “mad as a three-headed cat” (Vietnamese proverb). Study the sites and services of the countries you work with, since each of them has its own established standards in the interface, and it is much easier for locals to navigate what they are used to.

We thank Sergey and Zhenya for an interesting conversation.

We are sure that affiliates who work in the PDL vertical will find this information useful and, most importantly, it will inspire them to explore new territories in traffic arbitrage.

Register here and earn on good affiliate programs if you want to start driving traffic to the International!