The Four C’s of Bottlespark

Published by Amanda Nisius on

What are commission models?

These are ways companies can payout for your time and space.  At Bottlespark, we look at four different models.  CPM, CPVM, CPC, and CPA.  Some of these we use more than others, but we want you to be familiar with all four of them.  Below, we will explain each model type.


CPM is very popular with blogging.  It is the cost per thousand views.  You can track how many people visit a website per day with various programs.  For every thousand views, a company would be willing to pay X amount.  For example, a company may offer $10 for every thousand views.  If your website gets 7,000 views a day, you would get $70.


CPVM is something newer that Bottlespark uses a lot.  It is the cost per viewer minutes.  Like CPM, it is a set amount a company is willing to pay, but it is per viewer minutes.  How is a viewer minute tracked?  Well, if you have 10 viewers in your stream, for every minute, that counts as 10 viewer minutes.  If you keep those 10 viewers for a 120-minute stream, then you have 1200 viewer minutes.  If a company was willing to pay $.01 per viewer minutes, with the 1200 viewer minutes, you would make $12.00.


CPC is the cost per click  This is where a company is willing to pay out for every time a customer clicks on an advertisement.  The customer does not necessarily need to purchase anything, they just need to click on the ad.  So, if a company is willing to pay $5 for every click, and you get 100 clicks over the course of the contract, you make $500.


CPA is the cost per acquisition or cost per action.  This is where a company will pay out if a customer clicks on the ad and they do a certain action.  Although the most common example of this would be purchasing a product, there are other actions.  It could be something like signing up for a newsletter or a rewards program.  If a company is willing to pay $20 per every action or acquisition, and you get 20 acquisitions over the course of the contract, you would make $400.

Bottlespark uses a combination of most of these.  A lot of it depends on what the sponsor or advertiser is offering.  Whether you are working with Bottlespark, another company, or representing yourself, make sure to read your contract so you know how you are getting paid.

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