Sign-ups were up. Only some readers could actually fund an account.
A real story about reading our partner's own deposit-methods page for the first time. Only three options: bank card, crypto, or e-payment.
3
Deposit methods listed
$10
Minimum deposit
0
Domestic bank transfer options
9 slides
2
We never questioned tracking sign-ups
2 / 9
Clicks came in, sign-ups happened, and we called it working.
We kept our genre wide — broad side-hustle content for almost anyone curious. When asked how many registered readers actually started trading, we couldn't answer.
💡 All we had been tracking was the front door — the sign-up itself
3
Reading the deposit page for the first time
3 / 9
💳
Bank card: credit or debit
₿
Cryptocurrency: sent from an exchange
💰
E-payment: e-wallet systems
⚠️ No domestic bank transfer listed (minimum deposit: $10)
4
Two different questions
4 / 9
We promoted "a place you can register," not a place everyone could fund.
Domestic cards can fail with overseas services. If a card doesn't work, what's left is crypto or e-payment.
💡 A reader already comfortable with crypto won't find this step an obstacle
5
Who were we actually reaching?
5 / 9
Reader type
Distance to funding
Our read
Holds a crypto exchange account
Short
Likely to reach funding
Curious, never used crypto
Long
Likely to stop at sign-up
Assumes a domestic card works
Uncertain
Risk of drop-off
6
Sign-up counts alone would have missed this
6 / 9
We'd have kept assuming "the wider the audience, the better."
Only by tracing the funnel back to deposit methods did we catch this gap. We had been writing broad side-hustle content, start-up guides, and tax basics.
✅ Don't judge reach by sign-up count alone
7
Shifting our audience
7 / 9
🎯
Priority: readers already familiar with crypto, Web3, or binary options
📉
Deprioritized: index investing, point-earning apps, and general frugality content
💡 Individual creators already running their own exchange links are the closest fit
8
A checklist for your own referral partner
8 / 9
1️⃣
Read the deposit-methods page directly. Don't rely on an old impression
2️⃣
Question whether a domestic card actually works. It varies by country and issuer
3️⃣
Treat "can register" and "can fund" as separate metrics. Track both
4️⃣
Picture your readers' distance to a working deposit method. Adjust who you write for
The step after registration: funding the account
1
"Can register" and "can fund" are different questions. Track both separately
2
Read your own partner's deposit-methods page directly, on the official help center
3
Readers already familiar with crypto have a shorter distance to funding
4
Today, go check your own partner's deposit-methods page