Conditionally free traffic in affiliate marketing (CFT). CFT with TikTok and YouTube + expert-practitioners’ opinions

At the start, every aspiring webmaster wants to know where to find traffic at a lower cost, and even better, for free. After all, for most beginners, it’s a significant risk to be working with large budgets and promoting from expensive sources. That's why today we'll talk about one of the most exciting topics for webmasters – conditionally free traffic (CFT). In the first of a series of articles about CFT, we’ll discuss ways to acquire it from TikTok and YouTube.

 

Conditionally free traffic (CFT). What is it?

The key in the phrase “conditionally free traffic” lies in the word “conditionally”. Yes, you won't have to buy the traffic itself, but it’ll require a lot of time, manual work, and additional expenses to obtain it.

 

What paid tools are worth investing in if you want to achieve results faster:

 

• anti-detect browser;
• accounts;
• proxies;
• VPN;
• trackers;
• virtual phone numbers for receiving SMS;
• services for customization of creatives.

 

Perhaps, the most affordable way to acquire free traffic is through crowd marketing on thematic forums. You can post links in discussions and reviews on your own or use very inexpensive services. Yes, the results won't be immediate, and yes, it requires a lot of effort, but over time, it’ll all pay off.

 

The most expensive source of obtaining CFT is one's own website. Promoting a website in search engines is a costly and time-consuming process. Before engaging in SEO, it's worth considering several important points:

 

• the cost of a single drop can vary from $500 to $1000;
• even using 10-20 drops doesn’t guarantee placing the desired query on the first page of Google;
• additional expenses for creating content, services, software, and payment for the work of programmers.

 

All of this makes SEO a very expensive undertaking.

 

Despite the inevitable expenses in any of the sources, CFT is a good option for beginners. It can bring in the initial funds that can be reinvested for automation and scaling or directed to sources where there is less manual work involved.

 

 

Conditionally free traffic is most often directed towards nutra and dating. More challenges arise with gambling and betting, but webmasters manage them as well.

 

For affiliate networks, CFT is considered trash traffic. Not all of them even accept it. If you plan to use CFT, inform your manager right away so that they can properly select an offer for you.

 

Sources of conditionally free traffic in affiliate marketing

There are numerous sources for acquiring free traffic:

 

• TikTok;
• YouTube;
• Reddit;
• Telegram and other messengers;
• Crowd marketing (question-answer websites);
• Instagram;
• Facebook;
• Own website;
• Twitter;
• Bulletin boards.

 

But today, we’ll talk about TikTok and YouTube and focus on their specific features.

 

TikTok

An excellent source of free traffic in 2023 is TikTok. People are directing traffic from TikTok to dating, nutra, e-commerce, sweepstakes, as well as gambling and betting. The main challenge is the strict moderation. To obtain the desired almost free traffic, you can:

 

• post videos;
• conduct live streams;
• spam with massliking and massfollowing [considered as spam, and we don’t endorse it - ed.].

 

Let's delve a bit more into each.

 

Video content

The scheme here is quite simple:

 

• prepare 20+ accounts — you can either register them yourself or purchase a batch from specialized stores;
• create compelling creatives suitable for the chosen vertical;
• publish videos with a minimum 3-hour interval to avoid TikTok blocking the account for excessive activity;
• reach 1000 followers to unlock the option to add a link to the account;
• place a link to the pre-lander, landing page, Telegram, and any messengers, Instagram, email, etc., in the profile header.

 

An example of placing a link in a profile header

 

An example of filling out an account for promoting dating and nutra

 

Streams

In TikTok, you can conduct live streams. In this case, the scheme is straightforward and looks like this:

 

• register accounts independently or purchase them, for example, here: Funpay, Darkstore.store, Playerok, or lzt.market;
• upload videos to the account with hints about gaming slots if promoting gambling or any earning scheme, adding enticing text;
• add a link to the offer in the profile header or to your Telegram channel or Telegram bot;
• start a live stream on TikTok and show how you play. Don't forget to emotionally comment on what's happening.

 

 

The live streams of beginners on TikTok quickly gather thousands of viewers — and just as quickly end up being banned. Therefore, stock up on accounts.

 

Massliking and massfollowing

Massliking and massfollowing are simply spamming with likes and subscriptions. The scheme looks like this:

 

• register or buy an account;
• warm up in the first few days by posting one video a day, liking a couple of dozen videos with small time intervals, and making a few subscriptions. The key is to do this non-aggressively, simulating the behavior of a regular user;
• after a few days, choose an account with your target audience and start subscribing and liking all of its followers.

 

On average, 100 subscriptions bring about 40 profile visits, 10-15 reciprocal subscriptions, and 1-2 clicks on the link in the profile header. The process can be automated with a service like ToTop Tool or its counterparts.

 

YouTube

To obtain a stable free traffic from YouTube, it will require at least one and a half months of regular work on the platform.

 

Channel management

YouTube is often chosen for pouring CFT into e-commerce and nutra. Here you will find hundreds of thousands of videos with unboxings and demonstrations of products from AliExpress, Wildberries, and Amazon.

 

Examples of channels’ design for promoting nutra and goods

 

For channel promotion, dozens of videos are uploaded. The affiliate link to the product is inserted in the video description or in a pinned comment.

 

This is how links are placed in the description under the video

 

It's entirely possible to promote gaming, dating, and gambling in this way.

 

To avoid building a channel from scratch independently, you can purchase a ready-made YouTube channel on the exchange with existing subscribers. The cost of the channel will depend on the theme, number of subscribers, and the presence of strikes and warnings.

 

Streams on YouTube

Streams are typically used to promote gambling offers. YouTube penalizes direct links to casinos in streams. Fortunate webmasters may face deprioritization, resulting in YouTube recommending their channels, videos, and streams less frequently to viewers. Less fortunate ones may face a shadowban, causing YouTube to stop promoting their account. Many may receive a complete ban for violating platform rules.

 

This can be bypassed by directing traffic to an application or a Telegram channel. However, not everyone takes advantage of this in practice; many prefer to use a direct link. While it’s possible, a ban is just a matter of time and the channel's trust. And no disclaimer will help in this case.

 

An example of placing links in the description below the stream

 

YouTube Shorts

The idea here is as follows:

 

• create short videos or even image compilations;
• add text to the description, for example: “Results after a week of use, more details in the comments”, “Bonuses in the comments”, or “Want to see more, check the comments”. The contextual content of the text depends on the promoted offer;
• pin your link in the comments.

 

An example of placing links in Shorts comments when promoting gambling

 

The compilations of casino streams with the most vivid emotions and big wins are uploaded to the channel, and the link to a Telegram channel or directly to the offer is pinned in the comments.

 

Moreover, channels with Shorts are used as donors to redirect traffic to the main channel, where affiliate links are already placed.

 

An example of placing a link to transfer traffic from Shorts to the main channel

 

The method is quite effective but involves a lot of manual work. You’ll need to create several channels and produce a significant number of short videos, constantly diversifying and re-uploading them. In this case, in addition to managing the main channels, you’ll also need to work with dozens of donor channels, regularly uploading videos, monitoring their status, and creating new ones.

 

Expert opinions and forecasts

We became interested in hearing the opinions of affiliate experts on traffic obtained through conditionally free methods. Is it possible to make a good income from CFT today?

 

How is it working with CFT these days?

Ruslan Prox, expert in the adult dating niche: 

It can't be said that things with CFT are as good now as they were before. But overall, the direction is alive, it's just that approaches and sources are changing a bit.

 

If before, it was easy to find a social network that could be automated for promoting without any issues, generating traffic for months or even years, now, of course, it's a bit more complicated, with the introduction of new anti-fraud systems and captchas. Many social networks have already been scorched.

Most of my acquaintances have shifted to promoting on TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels. About 70-80% of CFT specialists have switched primarily to uploading videos. Some have built their teams, while others have developed their own software and manage huge farms. Many have launched their services, opened affiliate programs, while others went into crypto.

As for the old-timers who engage in classic CFT, acquiring traffic from social networks with automation, their numbers are dwindling.

In general, the CFT sphere is not as public. Many cases are simply hidden from public view. But there are still folks who make decent money with CFT. The same doorway masters are still driving traffic, and guys are working on email campaigns as well.

 

Violetta, solo CFT player:

If we talk about CFT in general, as usual, the market weeds out the weaker; more persistent individuals are in search of something new.

Many start their journey in CPA with CFT because it’s commonly believed that there are fewer expenses compared to paid traffic. CFT can be both high-cost and low-cost. It all depends on the source and the webmaster's desire to automate processes.

Many combinations from the public no longer work or bring in around $10 daily. However, if you delve into the combination itself and try to “optimize” it, you can increase it by 10 times. After that, you can build a team, create your own automation services, and so on.

If you manage to find a successful combination once, the experience stays with you, and further searches for something new become easier. However, it requires thorough understanding and a constant quest for something new.

 

What's next for CFT in affiliate marketing?

Ruslan Prox, expert in the adult dating niche: 

I believe, as long as social networks and various social media resources exist, CFT will continue to exist. The question is simply about the cost and complexity of obtaining it. Every year, it becomes more complicated, the entry threshold is increasing. Overall, I think with a well-thought-out approach, it's always possible to find traffic.

 

Violetta, solo webmaster: 

CFT has existed and will continue to exist. Yes, it has become a bit more challenging. Many sources no longer bring traffic as quickly and inexpensively as before. But there will always be new sources for CFT, new approaches are being invented, and simple automation services are being created.

 

Why it’s important 

The CFT approach can be used when working with almost all verticals, the main thing is to choose the right source, find an interesting combination, and scale it. Don't forget about automation tools – they’ll help save both time and effort and quickly see the desired leads in the stats. It's also very important to regularly request feedback from the advertiser when using CFT to maintain the quality of your traffic.