In recent years, traditional news publishers have faced significant challenges in maintaining advertising revenues. As online ad models shift, publishers are grappling with reduced ad spend, especially around sensitive topics like politics.
However, affiliate marketing has emerged as a promising solution for news media, offering a way to monetise content without solely relying on declining display ads. For affiliates, this shift presents new opportunities to partner with influential publishers and tap into their large, engaged audiences.
As we look to the future, affiliate marketing’s role in news media is set to grow even further, fuelled by major global events like elections and sporting championships. Here’s what this means for affiliates and how they can capitalise on these opportunities.
Why news media is turning to affiliate marketing
Historically, news publishers have relied on display ads as a primary revenue source. But over the past few years, this model has come under pressure due to several factors:
- Ad Blockers and Consumer Fatigue: Many users now use ad-blocking software, reducing the effectiveness of traditional display ads. Additionally, consumers have grown accustomed to ignoring banner ads, leading to lower engagement and click-through rates.
- Controversial Topics: Brands often avoid placing ads on news content that discusses sensitive or controversial topics, such as politics or global crises. This has resulted in brands keyword-blocking or ‘blocklisting’ certain types of content, reducing revenue for publishers during key events that attract high traffic .
- Declining Programmatic Ad Revenue: Automated, programmatic ads that once seemed like a goldmine for publishers have started to yield diminishing returns. Poor user experiences, with slow-loading pages and irrelevant ads, have only compounded this issue .
Faced with these challenges, many publishers are turning to affiliate marketing to monetise their content. This shift allows them to integrate affiliate links into their articles, reviews, and product recommendations, driving readers to make purchases while earning commissions.
What this means for affiliates
For affiliates, the growing reliance on affiliate marketing in news media opens up new avenues to generate leads, conversions, and revenue. Here are several ways affiliates can benefit from this trend:
1. Leverage high-traffic events
Major news events like the US presidential election, the Olympic Games, and European Football Championships drive huge spikes in traffic to news websites. As more readers flock to these sites for coverage, affiliate links embedded in relevant articles can drive a significant amount of conversions.
For example, an article on a news site covering election debates might include affiliate links to political books or merchandise.
Similarly, sports coverage could link to related apparel or fitness equipment. Affiliates who strategically partner with news publishers during these events can tap into this surge in traffic and boost their earnings.
2. Longer shelf life for content
Unlike social media posts, which often have a short lifespan, articles published by reputable news outlets can continue generating traffic—and affiliate sales—long after they’re posted. Evergreen content like product reviews, travel guides, or tech recommendations remains relevant for months or even years. For affiliates, this means a steady stream of revenue from content that continues to attract readers over time.
Affiliates working with news publishers can benefit from these long-tail opportunities by ensuring that their affiliate links are featured in high-quality, SEO-optimised articles that are likely to rank well in search engines.
3. Trusted brand partnerships
News publishers typically have high trust among their readers, which can work to an affiliate’s advantage. Readers are more likely to click on affiliate links and make purchases when recommendations come from a trusted source. Affiliates who partner with respected news outlets can benefit from this trust, driving higher conversion rates compared to other platforms.
For example, if a well-known news outlet publishes a review of a product that includes an affiliate link, readers are more inclined to trust that recommendation compared to an influencer or lesser-known blog.
4. Diversification of content
Affiliate marketing allows news publishers to monetise a broader range of content types. Beyond just product reviews, publishers are integrating affiliate links into everything from how-to guides and opinion pieces to in-depth analysis articles. This content diversification presents affiliates with new ways to promote products and services in more subtle and informative ways, which resonates well with readers.
Affiliates who can tailor their campaigns to fit these diverse content formats—whether it’s a guide to tech gadgets, a fitness routine, or a fashion editorial—will be better positioned to generate leads and conversions.
What Affiliate Managers Should Know
For affiliate managers, the growing role of affiliate marketing in news media means adapting strategies to take full advantage of these partnerships. Here’s what they should consider:
1. Focus on relevance
One of the key challenges for affiliate managers working with news publishers is ensuring that the products or services being promoted align with the article’s content. Mismatched or irrelevant affiliate links can damage the credibility of both the publisher and the affiliate.
Managers should ensure that links are placed within content that genuinely fits the product, whether it’s a sports article linking to related fitness gear or a political analysis promoting books on the topic.
2. Transparent tracking and attribution
Accurate tracking is essential for understanding the performance of affiliate campaigns. As news publishers deal with high traffic during major events, it’s crucial to have transparent systems in place for tracking clicks and conversions.
Server-side tracking and cross-channel attribution methods can help affiliate managers accurately measure the impact of their campaigns .
3. Be ready for major events
With global events like elections and sports tournaments driving traffic to news sites, affiliate managers should plan their campaigns in advance. Identifying key moments when traffic will surge and ensuring that affiliate links are strategically placed can significantly increase earnings during these high-traffic periods.
Conclusion
As traditional ad models falter, affiliate marketing is becoming a vital revenue stream for news media. For affiliates, this shift presents a wealth of opportunities to generate leads and drive conversions by partnering with trusted, high-traffic news publishers.
By focusing on relevant content, leveraging major events, and ensuring robust tracking, affiliates can take full advantage of this growing trend in 2024 and beyond.
