Sources get picked on cost per click alone, and that is the main reason a first campaign does not pay back. There are four properties, and they conflict: cheap is slow, fast needs budget, high-volume is heavily moderated.
The four properties
- Cost per contact. What one person who sees your offer costs.
- Launch speed. From decision to first clicks.
- Volume ceiling. How much you can take before the source runs dry.
- Risk. Bans, moderation, account closure — and what you lose.
Paid ads
Fast, high-volume, expensive. Launch in a day, volume nearly unlimited, price rises with auction competition. Gambling, betting and much of nutra do not pass moderation at all, so the high-payout verticals are pushed out.
Buying posts in channels
You pay an admin for a post. Price fixed and known upfront, no moderation. The downside is unpredictability: a channel with inflated numbers eats the budget without clicks, and you have to check before paying — see spotting fake subscribers.
Comments and chats
Free in money, expensive in time. You appear where the person already reads, with no ad format at all. The ceiling is your number of accounts, not budget.
Direct messages
The most direct contact and the most ban-prone. Highest response rate of any source, and the highest complaint rate too.
Your own content
Channel, blog, video. Slowest start — months — and the only source that gets cheaper over time instead of more expensive.
How to choose
By whichever you have more of: money or time. Budget and no time means paid. Time and no budget means comments, chats and DMs. More on the approach on the traffic arbitrage page.