Multi-step offers: one offer, paid at each milestone

Instead of a single price for an install, a multi-step offer pays for each event along the way: the install, then a level, then a purchase. Advertisers pay more for users who go further. Users earn as they go.

How it works

An offer has one or more steps. Each step has:

  • an event name the advertiser's postback reports, such as install or level_10;
  • a title the user sees, such as Reach level 10;
  • the advertiser price, the publisher payout and the user reward for that step;
  • optionally, different amounts in different countries.

Every step is its own conversion. The advertiser confirms each one separately, and each one is credited, paid and, if needed, reversed on its own. An offer can have up to 20 steps.

For advertisers

A single install price forces a guess about how many installers will turn into real users. Steps let you put most of the money where the value is. A typical shape is a small amount for the install, a larger one for a milestone that shows the user is engaged, and the largest for a first purchase or deposit.

Pick events your tracking already records and that a real user reaches in a reasonable time. Each one has to be sent as a postback with its event name, so it pays to name them clearly before the offer goes live. How advertising with us works.

For publishers

Users see the whole path up front, with the reward for each step, and earn as they reach each one. Someone who installs and plays for a day still gets paid for the install even if they never reach the last step. In the offers API, multi-step offers return a steps list, and each completed step arrives as its own postback with the step's event name and title.

Example shapes

OfferSteps
Mobile gameInstall and open, reach level 10, reach level 30, first in-app purchase
Subscription appInstall, start a free trial, first paid month
Finance appRegister, verify identity, first deposit

Questions

What is a CPE offer?

A cost-per-engagement (or cost-per-event) offer pays for something the user does after installing, such as reaching a level or making a purchase, rather than only for the install.

What is a multi-reward offer?

Another name for a multi-step offer: one offer that pays the user a separate reward for each milestone they reach.

Do I pay if a user only installs?

You pay for the steps your postbacks confirm. If the user only installs, you pay the install step and nothing else.