High converting offers during lockdown

As the coronavirus sweeps across the globe and millions of people are in lockdown here are some tips from TORO Advertising to help you as an affiliate continue to convert your offers, but first let's look at the current state of the market:

A massive target market: Millions of people are staying at home 24/7 in lockdown, and they are bored! They are all going online searching for things to do and to buy. 

They can afford to spend: People living in tier1 countries and are either teleworking from home or their Governments are still paying their salaries, which means they have income available to spend.

Media consumption: They are all consuming content on their devices, looking for news updates on the pandemic and looking for entertainment to escape the unsettling reality.

More Impressions: There is not much else to do besides look at content so naturally there is an enormous increase in traffic to websites leading to even more ad impressions.

Less competition: Some advertisers, especially big brands, have cut their ad budgets for now, which means there are fewer advertisers bidding for ad zones, this means that CPMs & CPCs are lower, so if you stick with offers that are still converting, you can gain an advantage.

Some tips

Which sites should you target? Content consumption has increased on news sites as the target market is constantly checking for news updates both globally and locally, Facebook and Instagram for humorous memes, videos about COVID-19 to relieve tension. Entertainment sites such as adult, streaming and gaming have seen big spikes in traffic as well as sites with health related content such as fitness, immune system boosting tips, and recipe sites as people look for meal ideas. All these are great options to run native ads.

Device targeting and campaign timings: Generally, advertisers target mobile during the day when people are commuting to/at work and evening is considered to be better to target at desktop, however, with people at home all day and night, test out mobile and desktop campaigns to see which converts better for your offer.

Ad creatives: Be careful how you position your offer during this crisis, many affiliate networks including TORO Advertising will not accept references to Coronavirus/COVID-19 in any advertising materials or landing pages. Instead think about the target market’s needs during lockdown and use ad texts to drive clicks. Here are some examples:

• Health products - Boost your immune system
• Entertainment/gaming products - Forget lockdown, escape reality with product X
• Dating products: Can’t meet face to face but you can still flirt and explore romance virtually. Meet someone for a virtual date via video, etc
• Finance & loan products: Don’t stress about money, use our loan to cover living costs until you get a Government payment

What offers are working right now? Digital products are converting better than hard goods due to COD and delivery difficulties. The following verticals are performing well right now:

• Entertainment like VoD, games, surveys, sweepstakes and gambling.
• Software and utilities for desktop and mobile as users are constantly consuming on their devices.
• Health and fitness as people want to ensure they are strong enough to combat diseases and release energy while confined at home.
• Financial offers as they wait to receive government support for their salaries while not being able to work.
• Dating, many people live alone and dating sites are a great way to combat loneliness by chatting with someone and getting to know them.