As online ad spending skyrockets to a projected 900 billion dollars by 2028, publishers are looking for ways to help brands stand out.
You can help brands reach consumers during pre-purchase research, which is becoming an increasingly important part of the new digital marketing funnel.
Affiliate marketing offers a lasting, flexible revenue stream that capitalizes on this trend while preserving the reader experience. That’s why one impact.com study found that 81 percent of the major media publishers say that commerce content plays a vital role in their media portfolio.
Let’s break down how affiliate partnerships can help your publication grow sustainably.
Key takeaways from this blog
- Affiliate marketing helps you earn while sticking to your publication’s values, style, and content strategy.
- Partner with brands compatible with your existing content so you can recommend products your audience will love.
- Affiliate links streamline the customer journey from initial interest to final purchase—making the process as easy as possible.
- Well-maintained affiliate links in your content library are easy ways to keep earning commissions over time.
- Joining an affiliate network and marketplace like impact.com is an effective way to get in front of more high-quality brands.
Affiliate marketing in action: how partnerships work from the publisher POV
You make a commission when your audience clicks on a link, buys a product, or signs up for a service based on your recommendation.
Product promotions and recommendations feel natural when both partners align on shared goals, style, and values.
Right now, over 80 percent of brands have an affiliate program. So, you can easily find a brand with products your readers will love. You’ll start earning when your audience follows through and taps the affiliate link—a unique URL provided by brands.
Design and lifestyle publication Eyeswoon seamlessly incorporates affiliate links into its content. In this example, the article pairs a delicious lamb chop recipe with a list of items to help readers realize their culinary dreams.
5 standout benefits of affiliate marketing for publishers
Strong affiliate partnerships offer a lot more than one-time commission checks. With the right strategy, you’ll build a lasting income stream to monetize your current content library and future projects.
Here are some concrete benefits of growing your partnerships and adding affiliate links to your content.
1. Give your audience genuine reviews and recommendations
Unlike display ads, affiliate partnerships don’t disrupt your audience’s experience. Instead, your recommendations can perfectly mesh with and enrich your content.
Affiliate links enhance the reader experience by providing additional value. When strategically incorporated, they serve as helpful resources that offer readers solutions or products that meet their needs.
By preserving authenticity and reader experience, you can balance monetization goals and audience satisfaction. This thoughtful approach ensures the content remains engaging and valuable to readers while generating revenue.
Finding the right products is key to seamlessly incorporating affiliate links into your content. If you’re writing about travel, look for outdoor clothing brands, flight comparison companies, or hotel chains with affiliate programs. If you’re covering technological advances, collaborate with a secure VPN company or a custom phone case brand.
Your recommendations feel authentic when you align your affiliate promotions with your audience’s interests, preferences, and needs. This subtlety enhances engagement and trust with your audience, fostering a stronger connection and loyalty.
The Quality Edit pulled together a helpful piece about taming hair in the summer heat, creating a practical guide that seamlessly integrates products relevant to the subject matter.
2. Test a new monetization strategy cost-effectively
Branching out into affiliate partnerships is low-risk. You can begin without a huge upfront investment since many programs are free to join, you can generate affiliate links easily, and you can place those links into content you’re already creating. This allows you to generate revenue without assembling a large team, like those you might need for ad sales or similar income streams.
Between the ease of joining affiliate programs and the low start-up costs, affiliate marketing empowers you to diversify your income streams and seamlessly explore collaborative ventures with brands and networks.
3. Scale up your content with feedback and results
Once your partnerships begin to pay off, it’s easy to scale up your efforts. Thankfully, you don’t have to rely on guesswork. You can see exactly what resonates with your audience using affiliate tracking to glean in-depth insights that can guide your strategy.
By analyzing performance metrics, you can identify which products drive conversions effectively and optimize your approach to maximize profitability. The detailed link data also helps you better understand audience behavior, allowing you to tailor your content and offerings to your audience’s preferences.
This data-driven approach empowers you to make informed decisions, refine your partnerships, and continuously improve program performance. Powerful affiliate marketing platforms like impact.com give you access to the detailed analytics you need so you can follow clicks, conversions, sales, and more all in one place.
4. Stay flexible with different content formats and brands
You don’t need to stick to one script or formula to benefit from affiliate marketing. You can add affiliate links to a variety of content types. Try adding them to multiple forms of articles, YouTube video descriptions, and more.
Actionable tracking data helps you quickly test the performance of different content formats, review styles, product verticals, and more. Routinely check in on your link data to guide your content plan, including:
- Content traffic and engagement
- Click rates
- Sales
You can continue refining your content with the right approach to drive greater success.
As you continue experimenting with different content types, you may find new ways to leverage your existing partnerships. For example, if a particular product resonates with your audience, consider incorporating it into another content type to optimize conversions.
Rank & Style features affiliate links for the Supergoop! Glowscreen SPF 40 Sunscreen in multiple articles throughout its website, each taking different angles to engage the reader.
5. Earn passively with evergreen content
Affiliate links offer a continuous opportunity to earn from your content. As your content remains online and gains traction with search engines, your content library will continue generating engagement and earnings.
This means your efforts can continue to generate revenue long after the initial publication date. Keeping affiliate links updated and functional opens the door to ongoing sales and commission payments.
As you scale up, that back catalog becomes even more valuable. Your audience will continue to discover and engage with your older content, leading to a continuous stream of potential sales through your affiliate partnerships.
Maximize your publication’s earnings with affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing punches above its weight as a monetization strategy, offering you more flexibility and growth opportunities than traditional advertising.
Finding partnerships and getting your program started is easier than you might think. You must apply to brand affiliate programs directly or sign up for an affiliate network such as the impact.com Marketplace. The Marketplace connects you directly with top brands that match your readers’ preferences.
Still exploring how to start an affiliate program? Check out these resources:
- The ultimate guide to becoming an affiliate publisher (ebook)
- How to find products for affiliate marketing content: A guide for publishers and creators (blog)
- How to create affiliate links: The complete guide for publishers (blog)
FAQs
It depends on the brands you’re working with. For some products and services (like credit cards), publishers are often paid by the lead or signup Retail brands often pay a fixed commission for each sale.
Find out more about these common commission structures here — and how to choose the best one for you.
Your success depends on your audience, your recommended products, your program’s payment model, and other key factors.
One of affiliate marketing’s key strengths is flexibility. With the right partners, genuine endorsements, and clear calls to action, you can make affiliate marketing a key income stream for your publication.
Start by focusing on brands matching your content topics. What would resonate well with your audience? Then, search for open programs to join. Look at their reward options and compare commission structures—and reach out.
You can also connect with a wide range of brands on impact.com’s Marketplace—easily negotiating contracts and sharing resources with partners.
