Achieve 183% ROI using HilltopAds Popunder traffic for Non-Mainstream Dating Offers

Last updated on Jun 27, 2024

Hi there! Today we will talk about launching an offer in the Non-Mainstream Dating vertical.

Dating offers are affiliate programs that pay for each user who registers on a dating site. This vertical is suitable for both experienced and novice media buyers. There are no sharp fluctuations in demand, and the number of available offers and the audience interested in dating products is constantly growing.

We decided to target traffic to Germany, which is a profitable GEO. The reason is that Germany has a high engagement rate in the dating industry.

Dating effectively taps into basic human instincts, as the desire not to be alone is one of our fundamental needs. People visit dating sites to find romantic partners, socialize, or simply pass the time.

So, let's explore how to most effectively drive traffic to Non-Mainstream Dating offers and maximize profits in this vertical. We will examine various methods and strategies that will help you achieve the best results, as well as share valuable tips from HilltopAds managers and practical recommendations for successfully launching your ad campaigns!

Key Points

Offer: Non-Mainstream Dating
GEO: DE (Germany)
Traffic: Non-Mainstream High and Medium Activity
Ad Format: Popunder mobile
Ad campaign period: 3 June - 11 June
Revenue: $6,792.84
ROI: 183%

A bit about the vertical

Millions of internet users are ready to join non-mainstream dating sites because, let's face it, millions of people are looking for relationships with continuation 👀. Not to mention millions of aroused individuals. Sure, looking at pictures of hot models is nice, but personal contact is much better. And that’s exactly what non-mainstream dating sites offer.

In 2014, Internet users spent half a billion dollars on services provided by online non-mainstream dating sites. Although current figures are not much higher, it’s safe to say that overall metrics have grown since then. Non-mainstream content still commands a significant share of web revenue, and it would be foolish to ignore the audience of non-mainstream dating sites.

Two markets are developing in parallel to each other. Single individuals seek love and intimacy, and when they cannot find love, they turn to explicit content. As is often the case, after watching explicit content, a person still feels lonely, and the cycle continues. Therefore, non-mainstream dating sites provide an opportunity to connect with people who have similar goals and interests.

If you are planning to promote a non-mainstream offer, there is no more logical path than transitioning from explicit content to dating. These niches are interconnected. Non-mainstream dating sites have a long-term track record of success, and the opportunity for face-to-face meetings is what drives this success!

Why should you launch ad campaigns on Non-mainstream Dating offers?

Here are several compelling reasons why you might choose to promote Non-Mainstream Dating offers:

Wide audience. Non-mainstream dating offers typically resonate with a broader audience compared to other non-mainstream verticals. Millions of people worldwide are interested in intimate relationships and closeness. For instance, at the peak of the pandemic, specifically on March 29, 2020, Tinder alone recorded over 3 billion swipes per day.
High demand and engagement. Many offers promote platforms that encourage users to engage in conversations and build deep connections, which can lead to increased customer engagement and long-term user retention.
Emerging niche. The non-mainstream dating industry is constantly evolving with the emergence of new platforms, features, and technologies. In response to this, offers are also adapting, keeping their marketing strategies fresh and appealing.
Non-binding free registration. Most dating sites offer free basic membership to everyone who signs up via email. Benefits of the basic free membership on dating sites include the ability to view profiles, create and publish a biography, and contact potential partners, albeit on a limited basis, among other features. Taking advantage of the free period, participants gladly upgrade to a paid membership to access the site's full range of functionalities. Over time, this can lead to decent commissions and earnings from the offer.
Paying audience. Every person who clicks on an erotic-themed creative wants to satisfy their physiological needs and is therefore willing to pay to fulfill their desires. There is no place for schoolchildren and teenagers here.

Strategy

Dating offers can be divided into two major categories: finding a long-term partner and short-term hookups with a pleasant continuation. In the first case, creatives are selected to be more "light" without explicit content or vulgarity. In the second category, aggressive and explicit creatives are your best friends. We work with the second category, so we can afford to be imaginative and use provocative material, but within the bounds of decency!

For this offer, we decided to drive traffic to a popunder, as this format has no additional conditions. There’s no need to worry about creatives or forcing users to subscribe to something — conversion is just one step away.

For non-mainstream dating, you can use both pre-landers and landing pages as creatives. Pre-landers usually engage the user, often using pages with calls to "rate the girl" or warnings about the uniqueness of the site. The landing page contains the registration fields for the service.

And remember the main thing — be honest with your audience and don’t promise what you can’t deliver. Many affiliate marketers strive to get more leads, but this often leads to poor results: conversion rates drop and the risk of getting banned by the advertising network increases.

Next, let's consider the GEO.

Geography

Germany is a Tier-1 country with a highly affluent audience, which also has its own challenges and "pain points." Furthermore, it has a diverse demographic profile with high disposable incomes, and German men are inclined towards explicit entertainment and seeking women from around the world through online dating sites.

Regarding internet behaviour statistics in Germany:

66% of all users prefer mobile devices for internet surfing.
Men spend 40% more time online than women.
The adult population of Germany (40 years and older) has a very favorable attitude towards non-mainstream advertising, so you can get creative and use bolder ads, as Germans appreciate it.

If we talk about the challenges and characteristics of German users:

One-third of marriages end in divorce.
In a social survey conducted among men aged 30 to 45, more than 60% of respondents stated that they visit dating sites at least once a month, and 29% of them admitted they are looking for a one-night stand.

It's also important to note that working with Germany is worthwhile if you have a substantial budget. If the budget for the campaign is small, in the range of a few hundred dollars, it is better to choose countries with lower non-mainstream traffic. Specifically, Denmark, Brazil, Spain, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Singapore, etc.

Now we will show you the campaign settings in more detail ↓

Settings of the ad campaign and its Optimization at HilltopAds

Before launching an advertising campaign on HilltopAds, you need to register as an advertiser. You can register using this link.

Next, to create an advertising campaign, you need to:

Go to the Manage Campaigns section
Click the Add Campaign button
In the campaign creation section, select the Popunder mobile ad format
In the Traffic Channels section, choose non-mainstream high and medium activity

Next, it's essential to set up the Postback to track the results of your ad campaign.

For a detailed description of working with Postback and the available placeholders, check out our guide.

In simple terms, for the final URL of the offer, we need to insert parameters to pass conversions and source IDs. The parameter for passing conversions is click_id, and the source ID is zone_id.

As a result, our Final Destination URL should look like this:

https://my_offer.net/?&click_id={{ctoken}}&s1={{zoneid}}

{{ctoken}} - HilltopAds parameter for passing conversions.
{{zoneid}} - HilltopAds parameter for passing source ID.

In general, you can add absolutely any parameter from the available options that is necessary for further campaign analysis. However, remember that it is essential to include the click_id parameter in the final link to pass conversions.

Next, we set the necessary targeting settings:

GEO - DE (Germany)
Language - German
Device - mobile/tablet
Interests - OnlyFans, dating

In the advertising campaign, you can add targeting by interests such as dating and OnlyFans. This allows you to reach a wide audience interested in intimate dating and non-mainstream content.

However, if the offer is aimed at dating with local women, you should additionally add interests based on nationalities. For example: Asian, African, Bokep, Latina, etc. This will help fine-tune your targeting and attract an audience looking for dating with specific ethnic groups. It all depends on the region where the traffic is directed and the preferences of the target audience.

You can also configure campaign filters and allow/disallow Proxy and WebView traffic from the campaign. However, in our case, for the Utilities offer, we have included webview traffic:

Proxy - disallow
WebView - allow

WebView is software that opens a landing page with an offer within a mobile application. In other words, upon opening the application, users are directed to a single-page website with the offer.

You can set limits based on your daily and overall advertising budget. However, the daily limit should not be less than $20.

During the first 3 days of testing, we decided to set a daily campaign limit of $200:

Daily limit of the advertising campaign budget

If needed, you can also set campaign limits or display schedules. The final step before launching the ad is to specify the cost per thousand impressions (CPM). Here, we pay attention to the Traffic Volumes graph in the top left corner, which calculates premium, minimum, and recommended CPM rates.

We initiated the ad campaign with a bid of $2.13, based on the provided recommended CPM price.

Our advice: to test a new offer, start with the recommended CPM. This will show whether the offer is effective and whether the campaign needs optimization.

So, the key settings of the advertising campaign are as follows:

Ad format - Popunder mobile
Traffic Channels - Non-Mainstream High and Medium Activity
Geo - DE
Device - mobile/tablet
CPM rate - $2.13

Optimization and intermediate results

We applied the Automatic Optimization tool from the first day of the campaign launch, selecting a 48 hour period and an eCPA of no more than $2.3.

To learn more about the capabilities of automatic optimization with HilltopAds, you can check out the article on the website.

Auto Optimization is a tool for automatically adding non-performing traffic sources. Thanks to this feature, the HilltopAds system removes non-profit sources from your advertising campaign and adds them to the BlackList.

After 3 days of testing the advertising campaign, we decided to increase the limits because the campaign was successfully optimized and we can now expand the reach to achieve better results. We hit the current limits, and since there were no significant downsides in the zones, and we needed more traffic, the limits were increased.

So, the daily budget was increased to $300. Notably, when we increased the daily budget, the effective cost per action (eCPA) became cheaper, and this also led to a reduction in costs per conversion.

Results

After carefully tuning the advertising campaign for 9 days, we achieved the following results:

Total Costs (Spent) - $2,400
Total Earnings (Profit) - $6,792.84
ROI (Return on Investment) - 183%

ROI is one of the key indicators in digital marketing that allows you to assess the profitability of an advertising campaign. In simple terms, ROI shows you the percentage of advertising investments that you have managed to recover through earnings from the ads.

The formula for calculating ROI is:
ROI = (total earnings - total cost) / total cost * 100%

In this case, the return on investment is 183%.

Net Profit

The net profit derived from the Non-Mainstream Dating offer launched on the HilltopAds platform illustrates compelling return on investment. With a total revenue of $6,792.84 and advertising expenses amounting to $640, the campaign yielded a net profit of $4,392.84.

This emphasizes the effectiveness of the HilltopAds advertising network as a valuable platform for promoting offers such as Non-Mainstream Dating in Tier-1 countries.

Wrap-up

Here are some tips and a conclusion for launching Non-Mainstream Dating offer advertising in German:

Creative Strategy: Given that German users appreciate bold and provocative content, consider using aggressive and explicit creatives that resonate with the non-mainstream dating niche. Ensure your creatives are attention-grabbing but within acceptable limits.
Ad Format: Opt for popunder ads as they are effective without additional user commitments like subscriptions. This format ensures a straightforward path to conversion with minimal user friction.
Campaign Budget: Allocate a substantial daily budget to effectively scale your campaign. Based on successful optimization and initial results, increasing the budget can lead to lower effective cost per action (eCPA) and higher overall ROI.
Compliance and Honesty: Always ensure your ads comply with local regulations and advertising standards. Be transparent with your audience about the offer's benefits and avoid misleading claims to maintain trust and improve conversion rates.

By following these recommendations, you can effectively set up and optimize your advertising campaign for non-mainstream dating, particularly in attractive GEOs like Germany.

As always, we're delighted to offer you a promo code: DATING10 Just enter it when you make your first deposit of $100 or more at HilltopAds and you'll get an additional +10% bonus.

We hope this case study was helpful to you. If so, why not register with HilltopAds and start earning profits today?

Create a campaign!