A private offer — is an offer that isn't listed in an affiliate network's public catalog. Only affiliate marketers who have been manually granted access by a manager can see it. In affiliate marketing slang, such offers are called «privates».
Types of offer access
In affiliate networks, offers are divided into three types based on access:
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public — visible to everyone, and you can start driving traffic to them immediately;
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request-only — the offer is listed in the catalog, but you need to submit a request to get the link, and the manager decides whether to approve it;
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private — not listed in the catalog at all, and access is granted only by a manager.
Why private offers exist
This allows advertisers to limit who can promote their products and receive traffic from trusted affiliate marketers. Affiliate networks also use private offers to retain their best partners.
Private offers benefit affiliate marketers for two reasons. Their payout rates can be significantly higher than those of public offers. There's also less competition: only a few affiliates promote the offer, so the audience isn't oversaturated.
How to get access to a private offer
Private offers are given to affiliate marketers with a proven track record. To get access, contact your affiliate manager and provide results from your previous campaigns: statistics, traffic volumes and traffic sources. A beginner without statistics is unlikely to be granted access to a private offer.
Private vs. exclusive offers
These concepts are similar but different. A private offer is restricted within a single affiliate network: several affiliate marketers who have been granted access can promote it. An exclusive offer is provided by the advertiser to only one affiliate network or one partner and isn't available anywhere else. Payout rates for exclusive offers are usually higher, but traffic volume is often limited by a cap, so an exclusive offer isn't always more profitable than several public offers.
Important: if you're a beginner without statistics and a «manager» sends you a private message offering a private offer with a higher payout rate, that's a reason to be cautious. A legitimate affiliate network won't grant access to a private offer without a history of running campaigns, while scammers use such offers as bait.
