Can’t Get Approved on Pay Per Call Networks?

If you’re a publisher who’s having trouble getting approved on a network, then don’t feel too bad, you’re not alone. It’s getting tough for publishers everywhere.

Many networks are closing their doors to publishers with thin resumes due to the high cost of doing business with them.

I’m an Account Manager at Palo Media Group. It’s a commission based position and here’s what I’ve discovered over the last year or so.

Brand New Affiliate Marketers

I had a lot more trust in publishers when I got started. I did everything I could to make their experience a good one. However, it didn’t take long to realize that all my effort was doing nothing to my bottom line and the whole “plant the seed and watch it grow” mentality was dumber than trying to get rich off lottery tickets.

Every chat, every voice conversation, ever email, takes time. With a brand new publisher, you feel the time-draining effect 100x times more than one experienced, pay per call publisher who knows how to generate revenue.
So if we are not a charity, then why would I expose our network to publishers who can’t generate revenue or shoulder the burden of taking them by the hand and showing them how to run pay per call offers? It’s a bad business decision and all the pay per call networks know this. So here’s how to fix that.

How to get Approved on (most) Pay Per Call Networks

Truth be told. You have to work your way to the top now. The coveted publisher approval is not very easy any more on most pay per call networks. You need to prove that you are worth the time and energy and how do you do that?

  1. Avoid Pay Per Call. Seriously, go grind your teeth and get your experience on an easier, cheaper kind of offer. It’s going to be easier to sign up for a CPA network, like Maxbounty (who also has a pay per call program), and find a cheaper traffic source, like pop traffic, to work with.
  2. Sign up to CPA networks that have call programs. I can think of two networks off the top of my head that can help. Mundo Media, and Max Bounty. If you can prove yourself as a CPA marketer, then you can apply for pay per call offers on the same network. If you can make pay per call work on a CPA network, then you can start exploring opportunities on dedicated pay per call networks like Diablo or Palo Media Group because you’ll have evidence to support it.
  3. Already a skilled marketer? What if you already have marketing skills, and your generating revenue on other networks? If you’re looking to jump into pay per call and you are already experienced, then the easiest thing to do is make it hard for an account manager to say no. How do you make it hard to say no?
pay per call application
Free-Photos / Pixabay

Pay Per Call Publisher Application. Fill it out 100%.

When you sign up to a new network. Fill out the application in it’s entirety. If you cannot honestly fill out the application then you’re not ready.

It’s extremely important that you consider your publisher position at an affiliate network, like a business partnership.

You are attempting to enter into a business agreement with an affiliate network when you sign up, am I right?

Fill out the application like you were applying for a job or a business license. If it’s not important to you, then it’s most definitely not important to the network in which you are applying.

Honestly, do not give me or any other account manager an excuse to disapprove you. Make it hard. But do not lie. That’s the worse thing you can do.


If the application asks for references, then provide something useful, like your affiliate manager from an other network. Not your cousin, and not some person who you did business with in the past. Have an actionable item in there like a skype name or an email address.

Don’t have an account manager to use as a reference? Well, there you go. A task. Go find an affiliate manager and get good at communicating with them. That’s what we’re looking for.

With Palo, we require a picture ID, affiliate manager references and other forms of proof that you help validate you as a potential business partner. Fill all of that stuff out. Explain who you are, where you come from, and what your business goals are. Transparency is how we help each other.

If you think this is too much, then good luck. There’s too much fraud. Most affiliate networks will get stricter about their application process and you’ll end up working with the poor networks, who cause more trouble than they are worth, if you take the easy approach.

MMckein / Pixabay

Have good intentions when you apply.

I had a guy apply to Palo sometime ago and the guy was honest. “I run nutra and I’m tired of my adwords accounts getting banned. I want to use your network to warm up my accounts.”

As much as I appreciated this publishers honesty, I disapproved him.

It ticked me off when I discovered that all he just wanted to use us for was to ‘warm up’ his adwords accounts so he can turn around and sell overpriced garcenia cambogia to duped house wives. 

This guy was a blackhatter, only looking out for himself and had no situational awareness of all the others involved in his success. Not my idea of what a good business partner should be. 

Communicate with the network at least two times per week

It helps to communicate. Most people in the AM space have skype. Don’t be a loan wolf. Seriously, just say hi. Part of your job as a publisher is to keep the gears turning.

Take ownership. If the campaign isn’t working, then don’t pause and quietly fade into oblivion. But instead, voice your concerns and work with the network to achieve a win/win. 

One last tip on working with networks  

The more dedication you put towards one network, the more trust you establish, which opens you up to private offers, higher payouts, and customized offers for your traffic.

In other words, making money gets easier.


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I created a course that walks you through the process of setting up a click to call campaign on google adwords. 

Start setting up your call-only campaigns like a pro now, so you can focus on the important stuff, like becoming an adwords wizard that turn clicks into thousands in revenue, daily.

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