In-app today is all about clear algorithms, flexible scaling, and analytics focused on results. Here, traffic is predictable, fraud is minimal, and there's plenty of room for creativity.
To showcase the reality of working with in-app, we interviewed one of the media buyers from the current team. Under the terms of the NDA, we cannot disclose his name, but we can honestly say that this article is based on real-life experiences, without any embellishments or fantasies.
In this article, we will discuss the processes that keep media buyers in shape, the causes of burnout, how to structure your day, and what not to focus on.

How is your workday going? What are the tasks you have to do?

Media Buyer: I start working at 9-10.
The first task is to log in to Keitaro and view the metrics for active campaigns. I check the deposits for offers and ГЕО, then log in to the source and review the active campaigns, their spend, and statistics.
On average, these tasks take half of the workday, after which the creative part of the work begins: reviewing spy services, developing and creating hypotheses, and communicating with designers and motion designers.

How often do you analyze your advertising campaigns? What metrics do you look at?

More than 50% — we pour it without optimization and continue to accumulate statistics;
0-50% — we optimize companies, test different approaches to creatives, and actively optimize inventory and exchange campaigns;
<0% — we often change the offer if we have information that all the components of the bundle are verified and consistently generate a profit;
Based on this data, decisions are made about the further use of creatives, offers, and geo-locations, both those that have been tested and those that are currently being tested. In some cases, it may be necessary to make adjustments, while in others, it may be necessary to completely stop the display.

Media Buyer: I have been analyzing active campaigns for a long time over the past 3 days: watching every day is not entirely relevant due to periodic traffic spikes.
For new companies for less than a week, I look at statistics every day or even every hour.
I analyze advertising campaigns based on indicators such as ROI, CPA (deposits and registrations) and CPI.

If the ROI is:

How do you test the new creatives?

Media Buyer: First of all, in order to test the creo, you need a proven bundle. It should have a proven offer and a proven application. If the creative is new, I give it the maximum amount within one deposit. If it doesn't reach, I turn it off and analyze it.

Are campaign reports being kept?

Media Buyer: Yes, reports are made on spend / geo / deps / ROI. Specifically, I collect a table weekly: I look at how much the campaign spent, how many deposits I have, and evaluate the effectiveness of campaigns, creatives, geo and offers.

How did you get into In-app ads?

Media Buyer: I started with Facebook, but after the routine of bans and repetitive actions, it stopped being attractive. In-app gave me more predictability and stability.

Which sources do you like the most, and why?

Media Buyer: My favorites are Moloco and Ironsource (Moloco for its super-cool algorithms, and Ironsource for its publisher priority). However, a few years ago, I was able to reach a wide audience with Unity without bidding on specific publishers, using blacklists and whitelists.

How were In-app things going before Moloco & Ironsource were found?

Media Buyer: There was a small share of algorithms that personalize traffic in campaigns and, as a result, more risks of losing the budget. But this was offset by less competition, so by working at random, it was possible to fill almost anything. With the arrival of optimizations for events from various sources, it became much easier to work, but the market also grew.

What is missing in the daily work with Moloсo?

Media Buyer: It is not convenient that creatives on a new app need to be re-approved each time: for example, it is not possible to combine them into a group and use one creative for several apps.

Do media buyers burn out at work? How can they cope with it?

Media Buyer: There is such a situation:
buyer well performs his work: and creatives selects, and launches new campaigns and tests new hypotheses, but all this is not enough. Often, for some offers, a sharp decrease in conversion: such a tendency takes place especially by the end of the month. Thus, when the main pool of working offers dies out for any reason – buyer burns out, tired of banging his head against the wall because of the conditions that he simply cannot influence.
To prevent demoralization, the head and bizdev should keep their finger on the pulse and, if necessary, support the buyer, either morally or by providing a wide range of offers and bundles. This is achieved through team communication and advice: it's easier to pour together.

How much can a media buyer make working in in-app? Beginner / Pro?

Media Buyer: As for earnings, it is difficult to identify exact figures, as it all depends on the level of the specialist and the rules of the team. Previously, for example, many buyers worked on the same terms, receiving only a percentage of the profit from the poured traffic, but now each team has its own approaches to methods of motivation and remuneration of employees.
There are guys who work for 5% of the profit, but at the same time sit on a salary, for example, 2k$, pouring 40−100k$/month.
I can't guarantee that my assumptions about the payers' profits are accurate for all teams, but I can assume that the average conditions in teams are as follows: 1k$ salary + 10-15% of the profit. Therefore, a midler who earns 30k$ can earn 3-5k$ from this amount.

Therefore, if we distribute by position:

Junior – 1-2k$
Middle – 3-4k$
Senior – 6-10k$

At the same time, it is important to keep in mind that the revenue as a percentage is directly related to the profit made by a particular buyer.

What would you have advised yourself to do on the first day if you were starting solo?

Media Buyer: If I were to start solo, I would advise myself to start by testing a large number of variations of offers and combinations, and then by developing my ability to see creatives. I would not start with a noname affiliate program, but rather with some of the larger players that are well-known. It is important to understand that the path to solo is extremely challenging, as the affiliate program conditions will not be as favorable as they could be in a team, and information about each aspect will need to be gathered piece by piece. The most important thing at the start of solo is to reduce all the unknowns (application, creative, offer) in the "equation" to a minimum through constant testing. The share of tests should not exceed 50%, otherwise you will start to drain your budget.

How can I explain the job of a media buyer in simple terms?

Media Buyer: A specialist in attracting new users to a specific product.

What would you recommend to experienced buyers who want to switch to In-app from other platforms?

Media Buyer: Being familiar with creatives and understanding the basics of building links is where you should start. This is the foundation, and it doesn't depend on the source. The key is to give yourself time to explore everything to the last detail, understanding how the source works and how to test it. This way, you can confidently enter the in-app space without worrying about daily routines and focus on analysis and creative exploration.

Conclusions

If you want to run ads on Moloco, IronSource, Unity Ads, or Facebook with minimal hassle, we at Profit Rental provide rental agency accounts, help you at every stage, and make sure your campaigns are successful.
Do you want to rent a Moloco DSP account and start driving traffic with us?
Contact us via bot
Follow the insights, cases and news — subscribe to our Telegram-channel.
Huge profit to you!

Share an article