AFFILIATE MARKETING

The New Requirement for Landing Media Coverage

Published

1 year ago

March 17, 2023

The New Requirement for Landing Media Coverage

When Valeria Palmertree, an independent public relations consultant, was working to place one of her clients, a “small, sophisticated jewellery brand” on the website of a lifestyle magazine, she thought it would be a seamless fit. She had a good relationship with an editor, and said the brand was “very well aligned” with the outlet’s overall aesthetic and ethos.

But there was a roadblock: the brand wasn’t yet part of an affiliate network, the platforms that track when readers make a purchase, allowing publications to get a commission on sales when readers click on links to products in their articles.

Her client, Palmertree said, was wary of giving up a cut of their profits when they were still operating on such a small scale. But after over a year of trying for editorial placements to no avail, she convinced them to try signing up for ShareaSale, an affiliate network that works with top publishers.

“We set her up, we pitched the brand, and within a matter of weeks, there was an inclusion,” she said.

To nab a mention in a major publication online, offering affiliate links has become something of a requirement in today’s media landscape. In a survey of over 100 brands and agencies from Awin and Digiday, nearly half plan to allocate at least 40 percent of their marketing budgets to affiliate programmes this year, and 17 percent plan to allocate over 80 percent.

As the traditional media business model of selling ads has become less lucrative, publishers have sought alternative ways to generate revenue. Revenue from affiliate links has made up for some of the decline, a trend that accelerated during the pandemic.

Publishers have put muscle behind these efforts, adding teams tasked with creating shoppable content. Vogue’s masthead lists seven full-time commerce staffers — more than it has on its features team. InStyle has a commerce team of 16, including a writer dedicated to Amazon; there are 13 people on its editorial team. Glamour has a commerce team of four compared to a traditional fashion editorial team of two. Cosmopolitan employs a shopping (another term for commerce) team of four.

Spokespeople for DotDash Meredith, Hearst and Condé Nast did not respond to requests for comment for the story.

The growing importance of affiliate income to media companies’ bottom lines has fundamentally changed how fashion editors choose which clothes, bags and shoes to feature.

“Editors have a much larger job these days,” said Kelsey Ogletree, a journalist and the founder of Pitchcraft, a software platform connecting publicists and small businesses with writers and editors. “They’re considering not only is this product worthy of editorial coverage, but also what is the money-making potential for their publication.”

However, the growing importance of affiliate links to the bottom line brings with it questions around whether they’ll eventually hit a point of diminishing returns. If a magazine recommends a product, is it because an editor has truly tested and loved a product? Or is it because that product sells particularly well, or that brand offers a higher commission to the publisher than a competitor?

Those lines have always been blurred — editors have long been encouraged to feature advertisers in photos or other editorial content. But brands, publicists and marketing experts say link between conventional ads and content wasn’t so all-consuming.

“With media, there’s an expectation going in that these are supposed to be places you can trust for product recommendations, there’s supposed to be that separation of church and state with advertising,” said Palmertree. “It feels like there’s a little bit of a blurred line there now that maybe didn’t exist before.”

The Changing Landscape

Affiliate links have prompted a shift for publicists, too, as they now must make affiliate placements along with organic press mentions. The expectation is that they’ll be able to guide their clients through the affiliate network onboarding process, then land placements in shopping round-ups. The holy grail is having a product reviewed on its own.

Jennifer Bett Communications launched an affiliate division last year specifically focussed on getting clients placements in link-driven shopping roundups or articles, one of several public relations agencies to create such a team. As well, affiliate marketing agencies have started hiring more traditional publicists to integrate that aspect into their businesses, said Parrish Essell, agency new business team leader at ShareaSale.

Uniting the press and affiliate links placement teams under one roof leads to “higher quality affiliate content,” said Melissa Duren Conner, JBC’s managing director.

Affiliate networks themselves also have direct relationships with publishers, added Essell, who will ask for recommendations on brands with interesting, unique products — and a compelling commission rate.

“The business side and the editorial side used to be really separate,” she said. “What we’re hearing from a lot of our publishing partners is that those … have to work together.”

The Cost

Affiliate marketing is more time and labour-intensive than other forms of marketing, like paid social, which simply involves creating the ad and uploading it to the platform. Affiliate involves maintaining relationships with publishers, and often requires the manpower of an in-house expert or an agency partner.

And it requires giving up a percentage of earnings — publishers often expect or require as much as 20 percent, said Essell, higher than an influencer typically receives.

“Five beauty brands vying for one spot, what helps them get over the edge? Likely the affiliate rate,” said Duren Conner.

There are still some holdouts: Zara doesn’t participate in affiliate programmes. But many brands feel they don’t have a choice but to play the game.

Otherwise, “there are just gonna be certain stories that you’re going to wish you’re in that you may not be,” said Duren Conner. “It’s going to make it harder, especially if you’re a young brand.”

There are other ways to secure a coveted media mention such as through stories that focus on a brand’s backstory, business strategy or its founder, rather than purely encouraging readers to make a purchase.

Though editors are often still thinking about affiliate links, even then.

“The first couple of years of telling the brand’s story will determine how well a brand can convert and perform on an affiliate piece down the line,” said affiliate marketing consultant Emma Grace Moon.

The Benefits

Apparel and accessories brand Frances Valentine waited six years after its 2016 debut to launch a full-blown affiliate program. Originally it was meant to increase awareness among influencers, but it’s led to an influx of traditional press coverage, too, said Florencia Gilardoni, the company’s marketing director.

After launching its affiliate program, “it skyrocketed as one of the top channels that consistently gives us revenue,” said Gilardoni.

That press coverage has paid off for Frances Valentine in multiple ways. The brand dressed Melissa McCarthy for Booking.com’s Super Bowl ad that aired last month, a high-profile opportunity that Gilardoni said was made possible by the boost in media attention.

“That’s something that probably would not have happened without the press coverage for her stylist to notice us,” she said.

For Jeannie Shin, director of marketing at luggage brand Calpak, she also found that joining an affiliate network in 2018 encouraged editors to link directly to their website, rather than one of their retail partners, always a wish for brands.

Before adding affiliate to its marketing mix, the brand was losing out on valuable data.

“We’re not seeing who the customer is, we’re not able to retarget this audience and grow that business,” she said.

Of course, just as influencers have had to contend with the question of trustworthiness in their recommendations, so do publishers. Shilling every product that might convert, no matter if it’s a fit for the publication appears in or not, rarely ends well.

“Editor picks do lose some of their meaning when they’re being driven by affiliate programs,” said Ogletree.

Related Topics:Coverage Landing Media Requirement seo

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How to Get Beat Out Your Competition by Making a Lasting Impression

Published

11 hours ago

May 13, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

How to Get Beat Out Your Competition by Making a Lasting Impression

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

I’m in the public relations space, and as of last count, there are more than 48,000 other PR firms in the United States. A large fraction of these compete with my agency in the five hub cities where I operate. Yet mine consistently ranks among the highest in those cities — Nashville, for example.

Is it because I know my industry better than my competitors? Because I land more placements for my clients? Because my team is more talented or my network of connections more expansive? As much as I’d like to think that I’m running with the front of the pack based solely on the quality of my services and the effectiveness of my methodologies, it’s far more likely that I earn rave reviews and generate referrals from my clients due to two words: personalized attention.

More specifically, my team and I go well above and beyond to create an exceptional customer experience at my firm because I’ve learned over the years of running my own business that it’s the client’s impression of you that matters most — that’s what informs all other aspects of customer relations, drives all other client decisions and determines if they’ll stay with you or not (even more so than short-term results).

Even in the digital age we all inhabit, with so many automated tasks and productivity tools that populate our workplaces, personalizing the professional is a surefire means to client retention and satisfaction. Here are five practices I regularly follow to make the most positive impression on my clients I possibly can.

1. Get a copy of your client’s org chart

When you understand the structure of your client’s business, you understand who does what, who reports to whom, and, in turn, you know who to go to for what. Not only is this an immense time-saver — as in not filling people’s inboxes unnecessarily with work that doesn’t pertain to them — but your clients will also appreciate that you did your homework on their staffing.

It’s so much more impressive to send a note that says, “Would your team like to see this before we send it up to Jeremy?” or “I believe Bettina has the final sign-off here” than “Are you the right person to contact about this?” And note the use of actual names here — learning the first names of everyone you’ll be working with moves you into first place faster than you’d think!

2. Use proper grammar and punctuation

Make sure that all your communications to your client — and, far more importantly, all the communications you prepare on their behalf — are written properly. Yes, it takes some extra work to eliminate errors. Still, it’s absolutely worth the effort when you consider how much just one typo can mar an entire project (ever seen “pubic” instead of “public”?) and how poorly faulty grammar can reflect on quality output, education level and attracting the intended audience.

Though it may be true that language standards are slipping in America, that doesn’t mean nobody’s noticing the shoddy quality of copy. Some people still notice and care. If your client is one of them, you’ll earn bonus points by knowing the difference between “compliment” and “complement” by not allowing both “San Antonio Riverwalk” and “San Antonio River Walk” in the same publication. Use your grammar checker. Always do a spell-check. Re-read everything you produce. And if you don’t have a language maven on staff to serve as your in-house proofreader, hire an affordable freelancer who can provide quick turnaround times.

3. Choose video over audio

Whenever possible, schedule video calls and videoconference meetings over phone calls and phone meetings. The day and age of in-person meetings is quickly becoming obsolete. Still, there will never be a replacement for face-to-face interaction, eye contact, observing facial expressions and showing your client with every head nod and eyebrow raise that you’re following what they’re saying and closely attending to your conversation.

During the pandemic, cultivating one-on-one relationships over Zoom and Teams became the new norm, and most people are entirely fine leaving it that way! Interacting over a screen instead of a conference table is just more convenient, time-effective and environmentally friendly. Nevertheless, we can’t afford to lose the “one-on-one interaction” part of business relationships. Remember the old Bell advertising slogan? Well, video is the modern-day equivalent of “the next best thing to being there,” so leverage your camera as often as possible to “see” your clients, not just talk to them.

4. Mark your calendar!

Notate birthdays, business anniversaries, baby due dates. Keep a record of your client’s big meetings and conference attendance. On those days, send a person-to-person text or email. And the more specific, the better, such as “Hope your coffee product presentation in Jersey went well and the traffic wasn’t too bad on the Parkway!” Or “Congrats on baby Elliot. That was my grandfather’s name, and I hope it serves your brand-new son as well as it did him.”

By incorporating the personal into the professional, which is a pillar of my own approach at my company, clients value your role more because you’ve actively endeavored to become part of their lives, not just an appendage of their business. In other words, when you add personal touches to your communications and conversations, your clients can’t help but think of you on a more human level rather than just a professional contact with whom they can easily cut ties.

5. Observe the line between personal and professional, but use both — often

On a related but separate note: As much as I’m saying to weave personal connections into your daily dealings with your clients, you never, ever want to go too far. You can use humor, but not off-color humor. You can show vulnerability, but you don’t want to appear weak or indecisive. You can ask questions and admit what you don’t know, but be strategic (not lazy) about trying to resolve issues yourself before coming to your clients with them. And be yourself, absolutely always be genuinely yourself, but don’t expose so much that you cross the line into overintimacy or inappropriate divulgence.

By speckling your client interactions with individual touches as you simultaneously maintain proper decorum, you will put a personal face on your business name. And that name will leave more of a mark on your customers precisely because of your adept balancing act between the personal and the professional.

Part of making a meaningful impression on your clients is consciously putting your best face forward every day, in every way. Don’t let them see a messy office behind you on Zoom, but let them vent about their kid’s tonsillitis for 10 minutes if needed. Don’t bad-mouth other clients or finger-point when things go wrong, but get to know them well enough that you’d love to grab a drink next time you’re in town.

Take every opportunity you can to show your clients — and then remind them often — that “business as usual” to you means being prepared (as in learning an org chart), producing quality output (that’s been proofed), scheduling face-to-face encounters, observing special occasions in their lives and sharing your authentic self, who happens to be a multifaceted, wonderful human being with flaws who’s also an utter professional and a real pro at what you do!

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Protect Your Business Computer From Hackers and Trackers with This $70 VPN Deal

Published

1 day ago

May 12, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

Protect Your Business Computer From Hackers and Trackers with This $70 VPN Deal

Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you’ll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners.

Browsing online and using public networks can make your computer vulnerable to a wide range of hackers and trackers. For entrepreneurs running a business, being bogged down or having your team members bogged down by dangerous, cost-threatening disruptions like these is unacceptable.

A good way to keep you and your team safe and working fast while online is with a reliable VPN subscription. To help, this Windscribe VPN Pro Plan three-year subscription is available for $69.97 (reg. $207) through May 12th at 11:59 p.m. PT.

Windscribe can be a great VPN subscription for entrepreneurs and small businesses because it supports unlimited devices. Going beyond typical VPN services, Windscribe offers itself as a desktop application and browser extension. All-in-all, it can be used to unblock websites, block ads, and keep you safe without expecting you to configure a wide range of complicated settings.

Windscribe’s no-logging policy will keep your team safe, and its high-end encryption methods will keep their data safe from hackers and trackers.

This service runs on a system of servers in more than 69 countries and 112 cities. It uses something called split tunneling, which allows users to choose which apps use the VPN and which ones don’t. This is a great feature for teams with remote employees who toggle between work and personal programs on the same screen.

Windscribe is rated Very Good on Tom’s Guide and 4/5 stars and above on Tech Radar, PC World, and G2.

Don’t forget that this Windscribe VPN Pro Plan three-year subscription is available for the best-of-web price of $69.97 (reg. $207) only through May 12th at 11:59 p.m. PT.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

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Get Microsoft Office Plus Windows 11 Pro for $70 This Week Only

Published

2 days ago

May 11, 2024

Entireweb News Bot

Get Microsoft Office Plus Windows 11 Pro for $70 This Week Only

When you run a company, you need every basic tool available to streamline your communications, content creation, and sales abilities. You also need to operate on a computer outfitted with a capable and robust operating system designed to support modern productivity.

Through 11:59 p.m. PT on May 12th only, you can get The Ultimate Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows: Lifetime License + Windows 11 Pro Bundle on sale for just $69.97 (reg. $438).

Known by many for a long time, Microsoft Office Professional features a suite of apps designed to help you write, present, organize, email, and more. Unlike with Microsoft 365, there are no additional monthly fees with Office. These are the ones included with this lifetime license:

Access
Publisher
OneNote
Teams
Outlook
PowerPoint
Excel
Word

This bundle also includes Windows 11 Pro, the latest Microsoft operating system, which offers advanced security features and productivity elements that can help keep any modern professional on task and safe.

On the security front, the system uses tools like Smart App Control, biometric logins, and TPM 2.0 to help keep you protected. When it comes to productivity, it offers tools like improved voice typing and the support of AI-powered tools like Microsoft Copilot. And because Office includes Teams, you get a hub of communication for your team.

This deal has several 5/5 star ratings on the Entrepreneur Store, and Windows 11 Pro is rated 4/5 stars on PC Magazine and TechRadar.

Through 11:59 p.m. PT on May 12th only, you can get The Ultimate Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows: Lifetime License + Windows 11 Pro Bundle on sale for just $69.97 (reg. $438).

StackSocial prices subject to change.