An affiliate network is where an affiliate picks an offer and gets paid for customers. It decides how much you earn — and whether you get paid at all. In this article we explain in plain words how to choose an affiliate network as a beginner, what approval rate, hold, cap and shaving mean, how to vet a network before you start and what to do if you think your leads are being cut.
What an affiliate network is, in plain words
An affiliate network (also called a CPA network or affiliate program) is a middleman between an advertiser and an affiliate.
- The advertiser is a company that needs customers: a casino, an online store, a service, an app.
- The affiliate (webmaster) is you. You buy ads, bring people and get paid for each target action.
- The network gathers offers from many advertisers in one dashboard, counts conversions and pays you.
An offer is a specific deal: what you need to bring (a sign-up, deposit, purchase or lead), in which country (that's the GEO) and how much it pays (the payout). For example: "Casino deposit, Brazil, $40".
If you're starting from zero, first read what traffic arbitrage is and how to start — it covers the basic model.
Beginner's glossary: approval, hold, cap and more
You can't avoid these words — managers and other affiliates talk exactly like this.
- Lead — a person who completed the action: left a request, signed up, bought something.
- Approval rate — the share of leads the advertiser accepted and paid for. You brought 100 leads, 60 were accepted — 60% approval.
- Hold — the time your money is "frozen" while the advertiser checks the customers are real. After the hold you can withdraw.
- Cap — a limit on how many leads per day or week the advertiser will pay for. Anything above the cap may not be paid.
- CR (conversion rate) — what percentage of visitors became leads.
- EPC — average earnings per click. It's more honest than the payout: a high payout with low approval can earn less.
- Postback — an automatic message from the network to your tracker: "there was a lead and it was approved". Without it you can't see which ads make money.
- Shaving — when you're deliberately credited with fewer leads than you actually brought. There's a whole section on it below.
How to calculate CR, EPC and ROI with real numbers: affiliate math.
What shaving is, in plain words
Shaving is when the network or advertiser deliberately "shaves off" part of your leads: doesn't count them or marks them as junk, even though the customers were real. You bring people and pay for ads, but don't get paid for some of them.
Example. You brought 100 leads. 70 of them are real people who actually bought. An honest network will approve about 70. A shaving one approves 45 and marks the other 25 as "rejected", "duplicate" or "fraud". The difference goes to the advertiser or the network, and you lose money thinking your traffic is bad.
How leads usually get cut:
- Lowered approval — some normal leads are marked "no answer" or "rejected".
- Missing conversions — the lead happened but isn't in the stats.
- Fraud claims — accusing you of low-quality or incentivised traffic without proof.
- Retroactive caps — saying the limit had already run out.
Important: not every rejection is shaving. Some leads are rejected fairly: wrong phone number, changed mind, failed verification. Shaving is when rejections are systematically higher than they should be and your traffic doesn't explain it.
How to choose an affiliate network: 8 criteria
1. Vertical and GEO that fit your traffic source
A vertical is the offer niche: gambling, betting, crypto, finance, e-commerce, dating. First decide which source and niche you'll work with, then look for a network that's strong in exactly that. A network focused on one vertical often has better terms than an "everything for everyone" one. Thinking about gambling? Here's how to start in gambling.
2. Payout model: CPA, RevShare or Hybrid
- CPA — a fixed amount per action. Simple and fast, the best fit for beginners.
- RevShare — a percentage of what the player or customer brings the advertiser, often for life. Money comes slower but can be bigger.
- Hybrid — part fixed, part percentage.
3. Not the payout, but EPC and approval
A $50 offer with 30% approval earns less than a $35 offer with 70% approval. Ask the manager not only for the payout but also for average approval and EPC for the offer on your GEO and source.
4. Hold, minimum payout and payment methods
Find out before you start: how long the hold is, the minimum withdrawal, how often they pay (weekly, on request) and how — crypto (USDT), card, Payoneer, bank. With a small budget, a short hold matters more than a high payout: money gets back into rotation faster.
5. Traffic rules
Every offer has a list of allowed and banned traffic sources. Break them and leads won't be paid — and that's not shaving, it's your mistake. Read the offer rules in full.
6. The manager
A good manager replies quickly, tells you which offers are currently profitable and helps sort out disputed leads. If they disappear or reply with templates before you even start, it'll only get worse.
7. Reputation
Look for reviews not on the network's own site but on forums and in affiliate chats. A list of active chats is in our roundup of Telegram channels and chats about traffic arbitrage. Pay attention to recent reviews with specifics: amounts, payout times, how disputes were handled.
8. Tools
The minimum: a postback for your tracker, clear stats with rejection reasons, ready-made landing and pre-landing pages. A plus: API and per-lead details.
You can compare networks by vertical and reviews in our affiliate network catalog.
How to vet a network before you start: checklist
Questions to ask the manager before the first click:
- What's the average approval and EPC for this offer on my GEO and source?
- How long is the hold and how often are payouts? What's the minimum withdrawal?
- What's the current cap? What happens to leads above it?
- Can I see the rejection reason for each lead in the stats?
- How do disputes work if I disagree with rejected leads?
Then run a small test: spend a small budget, make sure the postback reaches your tracker and wait for the first payout. Only scale after a real payout.
How to tell a network is shaving
One sign isn't proof. Be alert when several match:
- Your tracker and the network show very different numbers. A small difference in clicks is normal: bot filters, different time zones. But if your tracker shows noticeably more leads than the network and the gap keeps growing, dig in.
- Approval suddenly dropped while the traffic stayed the same. Same source, same creatives, same audience — and half as many leads approved.
- The same offer in another network gets higher approval. This is the best test: identical traffic split between two networks.
- Rejections with no reason or with the same excuse for every lead.
- "Fraud" with no proof — the network can't show what exactly is wrong with your traffic.
- Payout delays and constantly shifting dates.
What to do if you suspect shaving
- Collect the data. Export clicks, leads, subids and times from your tracker. Without numbers, talking to the manager gets you nowhere.
- Message the manager calmly, with facts: "for these dates my tracker shows this many leads, you show this many, approval dropped from X to Y with the same traffic". Ask for details on rejected leads.
- Check yourself. Did you break the offer rules? Any bots or incentivised traffic? If the problem is yours, fix it and carry on.
- Split the traffic. Send part of the same traffic to the same offer in another network. If approval there is consistently higher, the answer is clear.
- Leave if there's no answer. Don't argue for months: withdraw what you can and move your traffic.
- Leave a review with facts on a forum or in chats — no emotions, just numbers. That warns others.
You can't fully protect yourself from shaving, but a tracker, a small-budget test and a second network "for comparison" cut the risk dramatically.
Beginner mistakes when choosing a network
- Picking the highest payout without looking at approval and hold.
- Running traffic without a tracker — nothing to prove how many leads there were.
- Spending a big budget right away before the first payout.
- Not reading the offer rules and then calling a legitimate rejection shaving.
- Working with only one network — nothing to compare approval with.
Once you've picked a network, the next step is finding a working combination of source, offer and creative: what a setup is and how to find one.
FAQ
Which affiliate network should a beginner choose?
One that works with your vertical and source, pays CPA, has a short hold, clear stats and a responsive manager. Don't chase the highest payout.
What is shaving in affiliate marketing, in plain words?
It's when you're deliberately credited with fewer customers than you brought: some leads get "shaved off" so they pay you less.
How do I check a network for shaving?
Compare your tracker with the network's stats, and send identical traffic to the same offer in two networks. If one consistently approves less for no reason, it's time to leave.
CPA or RevShare — which is better for a beginner?
Usually CPA: money comes faster and payback is easier to calculate. RevShare suits you once you have stable traffic and a budget cushion.
Can I work with several networks at once?
Yes, and it's actually useful: you can compare terms and approval and don't depend on one company.
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