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If you asked most affiliate marketers what verticals they think are going to be most profitable during the COVID-19 pandemic, you’d get some of the same answers: movies, e-commerce, sweepstakes, streaming, etc.

But what about dating? The dating vertical is evergreen (people are always looking for love!) and it’s not oversaturated right now like some of those other verticals.

Well, KJ Rocker had the same thought, so he wanted to run an experiment to see where the wind was blowing. And trust us, it’s a wind of change!

Who is KJ Rocker?

KJ Rocker is a power player in the affiliate marketing industry—and he has been for the last decade. He started out as a freelance web developer, but this didn’t satisfy his need for the freedom and excitement of the entrepreneurial life. With only $10 in his pocket, KJ Rocker threw himself into the affiliate marketing world. These days, he runs 05 Media Ltd, a UK based performance marketing company.

Naturally, KJ Rocker didn’t want us revealing all of his campaign secrets, so we’re respecting that request and only sharing some of the campaign specs. But don’t worry, it should be enough to help you get into the dating vertical too.

Ad Format: Push

Offer: Dating through chat service

Pricing Model: CPC

Device Type: Mobile

Campaign period: April 7, 2020 – April 15, 2020 (active for 6 days)

Number of clicks: 180,216  

Number of conversions: 255

Total spent: $611.63

Total Revenue: $765

Net profit: $ 153.37

ROI:  125% 

Strategy 

The Offer:

Right now, verticals like streaming and sweepstakes seem like low hanging fruit. But Kj decided to try out a different direction, and he opted for the dating vertical.

Like we said earlier, dating is an evergreen vertical. There are always going to be people out there looking for love and companionship. But right now, as social distancing is mandated and people are stuck at home, the dating vertical is hotter than ever—if you do it right. People are missing human interaction, and dating sites offer a feeling of connection, not to mention chatting with a potential dating partner passes the time. Even during COVID-19, the dating vertical can still be profitable, you just have to adapt to the current climate.

Testing Creatives

Kj started by testing five creatives with five different titles and narrowing down the best performing ones.

This might seem a little overwhelming, but it actually wasn’t. That’s because he used our awesome multiple creative tool, The Juggler. 

The Juggler helps affiliate marketers create multiple versions of one ad in the same campaign. It makes A/B testing a breeze because you can try out different copy, images, and CTAs all at once.

Thanks to The Juggler, Kj could test five different creatives. He used the same images for all of them but switched out the title and description. This is the best way to A/B test – only change one thing at a time for maximum results

The Juggler then gave him the accurate, relevant data he needed to pick the best performing creatives.

Optimizing

While running this campaign, Kj said he “wanted to filter out all the non-performing supply IDs which have spent more than the average CPA on SelfAdvertiser.”

So Kj optimized his campaign only for the creatives. We recommend combining creative optimization using The Juggler with traffic sources optimization for the perfect combo for Push Ads. Take a page out of Kj’s book and try our AutoOptimizer for sources optimization.

Budget

Kj started off with a pretty small budget because he wanted to dip his toes into the dating vertical to see if any fish would bite. That’s why his budget was relatively small, and the campaign period was short.

Now, after checking and understanding the potential, he can scale the budget and plan according to the data he collected. Knowledge is power (or in this case, profit!).

Conclusion

This campaign was just a test run. Kj saw some potential in the dating vertical and wanted to see if his hunch was right. Considering it was a test run, it was successful – plus, it gave him the experience and data to level it up.

Now with a bigger budget for his new dating campaign, and by using our new Auto Optimizer tool for Push (coming soon!) he’s getting even better results. 

What does this all mean? The dating vertical can work, even during COVID-19. All you have to do is use the right angle.

Our Tips for Running a Dating Campaign

If you want to get a slice of the dating offers pie, check out our tips and advice for crushing it in the dating vertical during COVID-19 and beyond:

Use the right angle

Read the room and change your angles to match the current situation. People are bored and stuck in their house, so creatives with phrases like “someone to talk too”, “pass the time”, “new generation of dating”, etc. are going to do well.

Keep your creatives relevant

The best-performing ads will always be the relevant ones, so make sure to stay up to date with your audience and technology.

Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3

Keep testing as much as possible. This is a new situation, so you need to figure out what works best right now. Even if you’ve had success in the dating vertical in the past, the same strategies and creative might not work the same. A/B test different options and keep a close eye on the numbers.

Work smarter, not harder

If you want to optimize your campaign as much as possible, you’re going to want to follow in Kj’s footsteps and use The Juggler (and The Auto Optimizer for Push that’s coming very soon!). These powerful tools will give you the data you need to know which sources and creatives to cut out of your campaign.

Kj’s secret to success

If we had to guess why Kj’s offer was so successful, our money would be on his one consistent message. Make sure your creatives match the general message of your offer and your landing page. When the message is consistent the users who click the notification have a higher intent and therefore – the conversion rate will increase.

Personalization, please

If you want conversions, you’re going to have to keep your messaging modern, intriguing, and personalized. That’s why you should try some emojis in your title. And don’t forget to use the local language and dialect to make the ad seem more personalized for the GEO you’re targeting.

What’s the lesson here? There are lots of different verticals that are still profitable, even during an international pandemic. Don’t be afraid to do what Kj did and test out some different campaigns. Just remember to A/B test and listen to the numbers—they’ll never lead you astray.