TwinRed explains how to set up sources, which settings to start with, and standard campaign creation

Which campaign can guide you toward your aspirations? This is a common question we receive, so it’s about time to show you how a perfect campaign setup on TwinRed looks like. Sure thing, there is more than one route toward profit, but the method we are going to provide you with tends to be the most universally applicable. Whether you’re a seasoned marketer or a newcomer, knowing the ideal template can help you plan your own campaigns better. At least you will always have a reference point to stick to.

In this article, we will go through all the stages of making a perfect campaign, like RONing it with average bids, separating favorite sources, testing a bunch of creatives, and targeting broad. Think of it like the alchemist’s recipe for gold… except less esoteric and more proven science. So, let’s go through the steps, one by one.

Define your purpose and set up the sources

Start off by figuring out the purpose of your campaign, establishing objectives for testing, and communicating with your account manager to accumulate all the necessary insights. Long story short, begin as broad as possible, to learn everything about traffic performance. Specifically, target all the devices 24/7 — open targeting at its best. Then, make data-driven optimization to minimize your risk of error — let the stats do all the talking.

When targeting all the websites, in other words going RON, it is a good practice to divide your campaigns into placements. Optimizing subgroups in future is much easier than struggling with a heap of campaigns at once. But it’s not only about making your work easier, it is also about distributing your budget fairly across all the sources. Favor the top performers by allocating more funds and decrease the bids for relatively low-hanging fruits.

Consider 3 + 1 placements as your default template for campaign organization:

1. Exclusive sources — exclusive spots, sold 100% to TwinRed. These spots are relatively high in demand, which is why higher bids might be required — it costs money to make money.
2. Direct sources — these are direct sites, where we don’t have exclusivity.  Here, we suggest setting up an average bid for the GEO and targeting of choice.
3. Partnering network exchange — this is the inventory from either 3rd parties or other networks, marked by large volumes and mixed traffic. In order to counter the latter, use a domain tracking token, so you can optimize your campaign on a per-domain basis by setting up a lower bid, which can be increased afterward, if need be.
4. (Bonus) Favorites — once you get some data, we encourage you to set up the 4th placement for the best converting websites. Add potent and prodigious websites here, allocate higher bids to them, and don’t forget to blacklist them in other placements to avoid mish-mashing.

Initial campaign settings

Make sure to dividedivvy up your campaigns by device. The purpose of this is twofold: some devices (depending on the offer specifics) enjoy more demand than the others, and your bid should reflect that. Secondly, the devices will perform differently over time, and it would be easier to see the change and directly optimize for it.

When it comes to testing and picking the creatives, stick to 3–4 per campaign. Don’t forget to establish the frequency capping to match your creatives, so that each is shown at least once a day for the A/B test results to be valid.

Let open targeting be your compass: all browsers, all operating systems, all languages (if the offer allows), and no schedule. It doesn’t matter whether some settings have proven their reliability when you worked on another network or just ran a highly successful streak of campaigns. The truth is that each network, site, offer, and GEO are different. Resist the temptation of following your gut and previous experiences, because there is no way to predict how the campaign will perform under a new set of circumstances — only stats can show you the right way forward.

Get the data first, then the decision of how to optimize your campaign should become obvious. Only then you can start capitalizing on a certain source. If you do it the other way around, you might miss a couple of lucrative sources, their respective audiences, and invaluable conversions. And remember, RON is not about wasting your money left and right — no. Rather, it is about investing in your Research & Development to save on opportunity costs.

Post scriptum about manager

A dedicated account manager is here for more than just providing insights before launching a campaign. Your manager is your ally, you can rely on during the whole campaign and even longer. Don’t be afraid to ask a seemingly stupid question, because being safe feels much better than being sorry. The AM can shorten your RON period, suggest new prospective sources, help you save your funds, and make a louder bang for the same buck.

Conclusion

To sum it up, RON is the quarry from which you will draw upon, consisting of a bevy of sources and information derived from lightly restricted split-testing and wide targeting.

Now it is time for the miller process, the purification. Make your gold shine — divide your sources into exclusives, direct, and partnering ones and allocate your budget accordingly — prioritizing the exclusives. Create a dedicated placement for your favorites and block’em off from the initial placements to avoid overlapping. On top of that, divide all your campaigns by device for even better optimization in the future — every dime counts. Test 3–4 creatives per campaign, and don’t forget to cap their frequency evenly for objective A/B testing.

Profit is your treasure, and your AM can help you fill your chest with it. Working in tandem with you means that both your goals are aligned, so you can trust them. Their advice is gold.