Website monetisation for publishing houses
Written by Claire Mullan on 2 minute read
Affiliate marketing enables media owners like The Independent and Shortlist Media to maintain their editorial integrity whilst increasing revenue streams.
At the start of 2018, Awin saw a 53% growth in sales for traditional publishing houses, with conversion rates slightly higher than the affiliate industry average. Within the business, those taking responsibility for an affiliate programme will have questions to overcome, mostly due to lack of understanding of this relatively new player in the media owner’s monetisation mix.
How does it work?
When an article is published, and it mentions a product or a brand (for example, Carphone Warehouse or Ticketmaster) somebody in the team will insert a trackable link, so that the brand can pay the publisher a commission on any products sold.
It is possible to choose which links track and what pages they are on through one of Awin's automated tracking tools. All sales and click reporting can be found on the Awin User Interface in real-time. As well as trackable links, some brands may pay for sponsored content through Awin. For more information on what Affiliate Marketing is and how it works, please see our explanatory article.
Affiliate Marketing will frequently be used for travel, tech reviews, deal articles, and works well for clothing and beauty products. See our case study on how ESI media use affiliate marketing.
What about GDPR?
Awin are aware of our commitments under GDPR and ensure we adhere to the principles.
Editorial integrity
Not only does the affiliate channel enable media owners to diversify their revenue streams, it also enables the editorial team to continue to write in the style they wish without interruption to the reader experience. This also enables the editorial team to only foster relationships with brands that they love.
How to get started
Contact Awin’s Media Partnerships Manager who works with some of the biggest media owners in the UK to find out more.
