Publishers (also known as “affiliates”) play a highly important role in generating leads for advertisers. Selling call-based leads to a pay-per-call campaign is a great way to monetize your reach entirely or in addition to your pay-per-click or lead selling efforts.

In the pay-per-call space, publishers use a tracking number to send calls to an advertiser’s offer or a programmatic pay-per-call network. To generate calls, publishers promote the tracking number using a variety of methods including online sources such as paid search, social media marketing, and organic website traffic as well as offline sources such as print advertising, billboards, or television. A pay-per-call network will typically qualify the call, and calls become billable when they reach the advertiser’s specified duration requirement.

For publishers who already have ad space or lead generation practices in place or for those who are new and looking to monetize their lead generation skills, selling calls is a quick and easy way to earn money. For publishers who are new to the pay-per-call scene, here are 4 steps for getting started.

1. Sign up with a pay-per-call network.

The first step in getting started is to sign up with a pay-per-call network. Although some publishers sell calls directly to advertisers, there are several key benefits that come from working with a network:

• Sell calls at scale – working with a network helps you maximize your earnings by allowing you to focus on generating calls instead of negotiating with advertisers for more budget or a better bid price.

• Easily find offers that match your traffic – a pay-per-call network will connect you with advertisers across hundreds of business categories and geographies so that you can choose the offers that best fit your traffic.

• Insights into campaign performance – the best networks enable you to track your calls in real time so you can optimize your campaign’s performance and get more bang for your buck.

Related: Learn more about the CallThread pay-per-call network

2. Apply to an offer.

Once you join a network, browse their offers to find an offer that interests you, and apply to send call traffic to that offer. Before approving you for the offer and assigning you a tracking number, most networks will require you to provide information about the methods you use to source calls to ensure you meet the advertiser’s restrictions. Sometimes, you’ll even be asked to provide examples of ad copy and creative work. This is all a part of the process to make sure you’re a good fit for the offer so both you and the advertiser succeed.

Note: if you choose to sell your calls programmatically, this process will look a little different. You’ll need to apply to join a programmatic pay-per-call network and you’ll usually need to sign up to access the network’s API. Once you are connected to your network’s API and obtain your tracking numbers, the network will automatically connect any calls you generate to the most competitive offer available at the time and in the location of the caller. This means you get the best payout available for your call traffic, but you won’t necessarily know what the payout will be until after your call becomes billable.

Related: Learn more about programmatic pay-per-call and its benefits with this free resource > Real Time Bidding and Ping Post Explained

3. Generate calls and get paid.

Once you’ve been approved, you can start sending traffic to that offer. For each call that meets the quality and duration requirements specified by the network, you will receive a payout in the amount agreed upon in the bid price.

4. Track calls and monitor performance.

Some networks will provide you with the necessary tools to track calls so you can identify which of your sources are performing, and which aren’t. Using these insights, you can optimize your call generation process by cutting out the underperforming call sources. This will help you to stay competitive and maximize your earnings.

Why CallThread?

CallThread is one of the largest pay-per-call networks in North America, providing access to offers across hundreds of business categories. Our core verticals include Insurance, Pest Control, Home Services, Medical, Debt, Auto Travel and Legal. Access our publisher portal to start selling calls today.