PA Media believes affiliate marketing can be an increasingly lucrative source of revenue for publishers of all sizes – as long as they avoid the potential pitfalls.
“Both old-school media titles and digital-first publications are getting involved in affiliate deals,” says Prudence Wade, PA Media’s assistant Lifestyle editor. “They know this is where the power is.”
According to The Affiliate & Partner Marketing Association, UK brands are spending almost £1.7bn year on acquiring customers in this way.
Its latest ‘State of the Nation’ report revealed publishers generated around one million sales every day in 2023, while total tracked online purchases for the entire year came in at £21bn.
However, there are downsides. Affiliate marketing done badly can be a poor experience for readers and there legal pitfalls for publishers to be wary of.
PA Media offers product-led pieces that can generate commission for publishers as part of its broad portfolio of content services.
The company – which already works with titles in gaming, food & drink, gadgets and gardening – sees this as a growth area for the next few years.
Here PA’s Prudence Wade explains what makes an ideal affiliate marketing article, the common problems that can get editors into hot water, and how PA Media can make life stress-free for publishers.
What is affiliate marketing and why is it growing in importance for publishers?
“They are essentially shopping pieces that are published because the title has a deal with a brand that pays commission whenever anyone clicks through and buys certain items.
“However, these articles must strictly follow the guidelines laid down by the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) so can’t just tell people to buy the product. They need to be balanced and educational.
“As well as mentioning the positives, they need to acknowledge any negative comments that may have been received while also mentioning comparable products from rival brands.
“It’s all about fostering consumer and reader trust by providing a more rounded picture of a product that enables them to make better-informed buying decisions.”
What makes a good affiliate marketing article?
“Affiliates traditionally had a reputation for being dry and boring, but we have proved that it certainly doesn’t have to be that way. It’s all about giving readers useful information.
“The best affiliate marketing pieces highlight the positives about a product, while also outlining any negative issues that should be factored into the decision-making process.
“There are many ways to add value that go beyond just providing a description of the product. For example, air fryers are really popular at the moment but instead of outlining the basic specification, you can include facts such as how much they cost to run.
“This gives readers a bit more information so that they feel entertained, as well as armed with more information on which to base their purchasing decision.
“We believe best practice is always to think of it like a reader. You wouldn’t want to read something that’s just advertising jargon. It needs to be interesting and informative.
“A key element is making sure there are affiliate links throughout the piece to make it enticing for them to click through when you’ve caught their interest.
“It’s also worth taking a digital-first approach as Google rankings are important these days so you need to make sure that everything is SEO-friendly.”
What affiliate marketing services does PA media provide?
“Most publishers already have their own deals with retailers like Amazon or Argos but our role is to work with publishers to produce the content required.
“We focus on offering a more bespoke service because everyone has different needs and tones of voice, so it’s a case of what works for individual clients.
“If publishers give us access to their CMS we can write the piece, pop in the pictures and sub it. This takes all the legwork out of it for them.
“Alternatively, we can just send over the copy. We’ve been doing this for such a long time that we can tailor it to whatever a publisher wants, whether that’s targeting deals or providing roundups.
“As we have expertise in this area, publishers know they won’t fall foul of ASA guidelines and that everything we provide will be legally watertight. Our experts can also make pieces more valuable.”
What about pictures?
“Really beautiful lifestyle shots are much better than just product cut-outs because they enable you to imagine a particular item in your home.
“For example, a vacuum on a white background isn’t as visually interesting as an image of someone hard at work gathering up a load of dog hair.
“Videos don’t tend to be that popular except if it’s a TikTok recommendation. So-called ‘CleanTok’ is huge at the moment so if you can embed a video of a gadget that helps in cleaning then that will add a lot of value.”
How important is speed when it comes to affiliate content?
“Affiliate marketing needs to have a very fast turnaround because deals are only live for a certain amount of time and that’s certainly something we can provide.
“It’s what sets us apart from the competition. We can have fully built, subbed, valuable pieces ready to go in around half an hour.
“Our expertise within certain areas can really add value, rather than just mentioning a product and an overview of the reasons you might buy it.
“We can actually make it into more of a feature that gives more information to the reader and it’s still easy to tell the difference between a good affiliate piece and one written by AI.
“I sit on the Lifestyle team and this is perfectly placed for affiliates because we can bring our expertise to subsections such as food and gadgets.”
Why is PA Media offering affiliate content?
“We have been looking at ways to diversify our offering and realised that affiliates offered tremendous potential, which is why we launched into this area with gusto.
“It’s a really exciting space to get into and one in which we have the know-how required, as well as the flexibility to offer a truly bespoke service.
“We’re just really open to having those conversations with publishers about the ways in which affiliate marketing can work best for their titles.”
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