Keeping your affiliate promotions up to date is no small task during the holidays. From now through the end of the year, deals will come and go fast and furious. But your readers depend on you for current, accurate shopping information — and this year they’ll be more focused on deals than ever before.

Luckily Sovrn is here to help. Read on for a quick rundown of a November promotion you won’t want to miss, plus details on our holiday deals tracker to help you monitor and make the most of the shopping season.

Walmart’s month-long holiday shopping event

ICYMI, Walmart recently announced the return of their “Black Friday Deals for Days,” a holiday shopping event that spans the entire month of November. The promotion actually includes four separate shopping events. Deals begin on Walmart.com every Monday in November and continue in-store later in the week.

While product and pricing details have yet to be released, Walmart promises “exciting deals from top brands like Apple, Dyson, and LEGO.” The company’s press release notes that Walmart has prepared for months to ensure strong inventory of in-stock Black Friday deals throughout November.

A resource to rely on, all season long

Of course, Walmart isn’t the only retailer to watch. Experts are predicting deep discounts this holiday season, so promotions will pop up in the blink of an eye — and end just as quickly. 

To help you keep up with the season’s best promotions, Sovrn’s Merchant Promotions spreadsheet highlights deals from Top 100 merchants — including brands like Overstock, Wayfair, and more. Our Merchant Team will continue adding promotions through the end of Q4 as soon as they’re received, so bookmark the page and check back often. That includes deals for Walmart’s month-long promotion, which are released about 48 hours before the start of each weekly event. 

The spreadsheet provides detailed information for each deal, including merchant name, promotion description, promo code, start and end dates, and average commission rate. We’ve also included a “Notes” section to highlight any special brand instructions or embargo details.

View Deals (expired)

Tips for using the spreadsheet

Following are some tips and suggestions to help you make the most of this valuable resource:

• Remember, brands will be introducing deals throughout November and December — not just Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
• The list will be updated constantly, so check back often for new opportunities.
• Pay attention to the “Notes” column for special brand instructions and embargo details.
• Check the tabs at the bottom for information specific to UK, Canada, and Cyber 5 deals.
• To ensure you receive commission on affiliate promotions, make sure to verify that you’re approved to work with each merchant. This information is available in the Approved Merchants section of the Sovrn Commerce platform.

View Deals (expired)

Looking for more?

Sovrn is dedicated to helping publishers drive revenue during the holiday season and beyond. Our Q4 2022 Shopping Calendar is a comprehensive guide to the season’s holidays and shopping events, including tips on top merchants and high-performing categories. 

We’ve also crunched the numbers to uncover current trends in EPCs, conversion rates, and average order values. Download our Q3 Data Insights report for intel on buying patterns, brand reactions, and current economic conditions, to help you maximize affiliate revenue this holiday season. 

The post Your Guide to the Holiday Season’s Best Deals appeared first on Sovrn, Inc..

But we don’t leave you to navigate the selection process on your own. Sovrn provides tools and support to help you find the merchants that best align with your commerce content strategy — and those that can help to maximize your earnings.  

Here are three ideas to help you find the best merchant partners for your commerce program.

1. Browse the Approved Merchants dashboard

Our easy-to-use Approved Merchants dashboard lets you identify merchants who sell your target products with just a few clicks. You can also explore detailed information about each merchant, including commission rates, payment methods, approved countries, affiliation status and more to help you make smart merchant selections.

While it may seem logical to simply choose merchants with the highest commission rates, there are other factors to consider. The Approved Merchants dashboard also displays metrics like average conversion rate, average order value, and earnings per click for every merchant, to give you a more holistic view of your potential affiliate earnings. 

2. Install our Chrome extension

Researching possible merchant partners is as easy as shopping online with our Chrome extension. Simply search for the product you want to feature, then navigate to the product page with any merchant. If they’re part of our vast merchant network, you can view commission rates and other earnings information, instantly create an affiliate link, and share across your website and social channels.

You can even see other merchants who sell the same product, to compare potential earnings and identify the partner who will pay you the most.

3. Access exclusive merchant programs

As your affiliate program matures, you may have the opportunity to partner with merchants that aren’t available to everyone. Sovrn has relationships with thousands of exclusive merchants outside of our standard Approved Merchants list. These “closed” merchant programs are highly selective about their affiliate partners — and they pay higher commission rates that reflect their premium status. 

Each of these closed programs has its own unique approval criteria, which may include specific requirements around audience quality, site traffic, content, conversion rate, and more. Our support team can help to evaluate your affiliate performance and determine whether you qualify to work with any of these closed-merchant programs.

Ready to earn more affiliate revenue with Sovrn?

The Sovrn Commerce platform is the fastest, most flexible way to build and manage your affiliate marketing program. As a Sovrn affiliate partner, you have access to a wide variety of innovative tools and capabilities to enhance your affiliate program, including:

• Shopping Galleries: Create a customized carousel to highlight products from one or more merchants. The more products you offer, the better the opportunity to increase dwell time and revenue.
• Comparisons: This tool lets you deliver a great shopping experience by displaying “real-time” product prices and removing out-of-stock products, then automatically showing alternative retailers selling the same product.
• UTM tracking: Track affiliate link performance using five UTM parameters. Break down performance data and get granular insights on every link to easily assess what’s working — and what’s not.
• Robust reporting: Optimizing your affiliate program is easy when you have the right data. Commerce reporting functionality includes five new reports for detailed insights on merchant approvals, merchants at risk, non-monetized clicks, and more.

If you’re a current Sovrn Commerce affiliate partner, feel free to reach out with questions. Our support team is standing by to help you reach your audience and meet your revenue goals. 

If you’re not already earning with Sovrn Commerce, sign up for a free account! It only takes a few minutes. And once you’re approved, you can start earning right away.

The post 3 Ways to Select Merchants for Your Affiliate Program appeared first on Sovrn, Inc..

As online shopping habits evolve, ecommerce is becoming an increasingly attractive revenue opportunity for publishers. We can’t predict what will happen as the pandemic wanes, but prominent studies suggest that ecommerce will continue its upward trend in the coming years.

Given this rosy outlook, now is a great time to investigate the potential of ecommerce (or revisit your strategy). But ecommerce success isn’t guaranteed. It takes careful planning, smart choices, and the right technology partner.

If you’re looking for expert perspective on the key elements of a successful ecommerce strategy, take the time to read Ecommerce in Publishing: Trends and Strategies. Sponsored by Sovrn and published by What’s New In Publishing (WNIP), this new report offers deep insights into the ecommerce space to help publishers develop a winning ecommerce strategy (that goes beyond affiliate). It also provides insights on how to deliver an exceptional shopping experience and maximize revenue.

3 considerations for your ecommerce strategy

Whether you’re just starting out looking to enhance your strategy, there are certain key topics you’ll need to consider. Here are three of the big takeaways from our report:

1. Changing technologies

As ecommerce becomes increasingly enmeshed in the day-to-day digital experience, it’s easier than ever for consumers to make online purchases. And purchase capabilities now span a wide variety of channels – from traditional websites to social media outlets, mobile apps, and more. For publishers, this opens up new ecommerce opportunities that go far beyond traditional affiliate marketing, like curated online stores, subscription boxes, buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) models, and more.

Things move fast in the world of online publishing, so there’s always a new tactic or technology to explore. At the same time, tried-and-true revenue sources can fall out of favor without warning. We’re seeing this play out before our eyes in recent months, with Facebook’s first-ever decline in usage and the phenomenon of “subscription fatigue.” Publishers who tap into multiple selling channels will have more revenue opportunities — and better protection from market volatility — than those who stick with a single online platform or property.

Look for flexible, easy-to-use solutions that work with almost any type of commerce content and one that evolves along with the industry. We believe personalization that delivers a unique shopping experience tailored to readers is the right approach. Also, tools such as price comparison make it easy to cut through the noise and help your readers find the best deals on the products they want.

2. Culture and content fit

It’s important to recognize that ecommerce is not a one-size-fits-all venture. Some ecommerce tactics will work better than others for your brand, your content, and your unique audience. Gaining a deep understanding of your reader base is a fundamental step in developing an approach to ecommerce that will resonate with your audience and selecting the products and merchants they’ll love.

Make sure you analyze which products and merchants are most appealing to your readers. For example, your audience may have strong engagement with certain content, or they may prefer a certain brand that’s featured on your site.

With a better understanding of your overall affiliate program, you can continue to refine your affiliate strategy and drive more revenue. A dashboard can help you identify these trends, by displaying performance metrics and delivering insights on what’s working (and what’s not).

3. Merchant diversification

Ecommerce success requires forming mutually beneficial partnerships with merchants that appeal to your audience. Most publishers start out promoting a single merchant like Amazon or Walmart, because they offer affiliate programs that are easy to understand and implement. But these internal programs rarely offer the highest rates or the most desirable products — and when your earnings rely on a single merchant, any change in commission structure can devastate your revenue stream.

By diversifying your merchant mix, you can ensure that no single vendor has a disproportionate impact on your earnings — and you’ll be in a better position to adjust your strategy in response to market fluctuations. Of course, your target merchant list may change over time as your content and your audience continue to evolve. You may also discover that individual merchants revise their requirements for affiliate approval from time to time — so it can be challenging to maintain a steady mix of merchants on your site.

Maximize your ecommerce potential

Undoubtedly, we’ve seen an acceleration in the adoption of ecommerce that presents an enormous opportunity. Media companies that offer content that fits seamlessly into the shopper’s journey are in a position to benefit from this trend. With the right strategy in place, publishers are poised to be a vibrant part of the growing ecommerce marketplace.

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Affiliate marketing is a popular monetization tactic for many kinds of content publishers. It’s easy to understand, simple to get started, and it offers countless ways to generate revenue by capitalizing on purchase intent. Lifestyle influencers can earn commissions by sharing their favorite health and wellness products. Mom bloggers can build a commerce strategy around child- and family-focused items. Tech and electronics sites can review new product releases. The possibilities are endless.

While building an affiliate program is pretty straightforward, keeping it optimized can be a challenge. Over time, you may wonder, “How can I be sure I’ve chosen the right merchants to maximize earnings? What happens if those merchants pause or even cancel their affiliate program? Would I even know if some of my affiliate links stop driving revenue?” 

Managing your affiliate program can become complicated as you build more content and create more affiliate links — but Sovrn is here to help. The Sovrn Commerce platform is designed to help publishers manage all their affiliate efforts in a single, easy-to-use solution.

1. Take control of your merchant mix

In order to optimize your affiliate program, you need current, accurate information about your expected earnings. Our Approved Merchants dashboard lets you search your list of approved merchants to find out which ones are offering affiliate payments on any given product. It also displays pricing and performance metrics so you can select merchants that are most likely to maximize your earnings. 

Keep in mind that commission rate is only one piece of the affiliate earnings puzzle. That’s why the dashboard also includes data like pricing model (CPA or CPC), average conversion rate, average order value, earnings per click, and more. Performance data is calculated on a rolling average and commission rates are refreshed daily so you always have the most up-to-date information at your fingertips.

2. Keep an eye on your earnings

It’s important to remember that affiliate earnings fluctuate over time. Merchants may raise commission rates during the holidays or offer a temporary rate increase on featured products. More importantly, they may reduce commission rates or even stop their affiliate payments altogether due to budget constraints, strategy shifts, or any number of factors.

Unless you’re aware of these important changes, your affiliate earnings could suffer. That’s why we created a report that details merchants at risk, an overview of the merchant programs that have recently been paused, canceled, or otherwise stopped paying for clicks. The report also shows how much revenue you earned from each merchant over a given period, so you can easily assess the impact to your affiliate program.

To generate your personalized report, just visit the Commerce Analytics page (also called the “Publisher Dashboard”) in the Sovrn platform. Click on the “Reporting” button and select the site for your report. Then choose the “Merchants at Risk” report from the list and click “Send.” Your report will be delivered directly to the email address on your account — usually within a matter of minutes. For more information and detailed instructions, check out this article. 

3. Update affiliate links in a flash

Once you know a merchant is no longer paying, you’ll want to remove them from your affiliate links as quickly as possible. Commerce makes it easy to edit your links without making manual changes to your website. 

Rather than combing through all your site content and social media posts, you can simply scan your list of affiliate links within the Commerce Create Links page in the Sovrn platform. Find the links that include the non-paying merchant, change the target URL to a different affiliate merchant, and the links will automatically be updated in your content. For more information and detailed instructions, check out this article.

Ready to start driving more affiliate revenue? 

These are just a few of the many ways Sovrn can help you optimize your affiliate marketing program. If you’re not already earning with Sovrn Commerce, sign up now! It only takes a few minutes, and once you’re approved you can start earning right away.

If you’re currently a Sovrn Commerce affiliate partner, feel free to reach out with questions. Our support team is standing by to help you reach your audience — and your revenue goals.

The post Smarter Merchant Management appeared first on Sovrn, Inc..

Google’s announcement introduced two new best practices that are clearly intended to discourage fake reviews:

1. Product reviews should provide evidence that the product in question has actually been used by the person reviewing it, to reinforce the authenticity of the review. Examples cited include visuals, audio, or other links demonstrating experience with the product.
2. Product reviews should include links to multiple sellers, to give the reader options for purchasing the product from the merchant of their choice.

These best practices are incorporated into Google’s documentation page for writing high-quality product reviews. You can read all the details here, but highlights include:

• Demonstration of knowledge about the products reviewed to show expertise.
• Share quantitative measurements about how a product stacks up in various categories of performance.
• Explain what sets a product apart from its competitors.
• Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of a particular product based on original research.

If you’re already publishing high-quality commerce content, these new best practices from Google shouldn’t be a problem but it’s always good to understand how your content is being evaluated. 

Product reviews can be a great addition to your commerce content strategy because they simplify the comparison shopping process for your users and drive more affiliate revenue in the process.

Provide multiple sellers to follow best practices

Improve your search results by offering multiple retailer options to your readers while improving their shopping experience. Comparison shopping has become a way of life for today’s consumers. In fact, more than 90% of online shoppers read online reviews and compare prices before making a purchase. 

Sovrn has solutions to meet the second new requirement from Google: price comparisons and linking to multiple sellers. We offer price comparison tools for publishers, whether you’re looking for easy implementation or direct product feeds.

• With Sovrn Commerce Comparisons, it’s easy to get started. We’ll identify an existing product URL and display alternative retailers selling the same product. 
• With Sovrn Commerce Product API, you get access to over 500 merchant product feeds and 150M+ products plus additional customization options and functionality. Detailed product and merchandise data integrates directly into your CMS to help drive more informed content decisions and increase conversions.

Price comparisons can be seamlessly integrated into various content types, including buying guides, “top gifts” listicles, product reviews and recommendations, daily deal promotions, and much more. Depending on the solution you choose, you can even customize the style and layout to work smoothly within your content flow.

Our price comparison solutions make it easy to deliver a great shopping experience for your audience by automatically:

• Displaying a variety of merchants who are selling the same product, along with current pricing 
• Updating availability and pricing information in real time
• Flagging out-of-stock products and replacing them with alternate offers
• Geo-locating users to serve up local merchants and pricing in local currency

Improve your search results and grow your revenue!

Price comparisons aren’t just a good business practice — they can also boost your affiliate earnings. In fact, price comparisons can drive up to 179% higher earnings per click and up to 200% more clicks and conversions.

If you’re ready to see Sovrn’s price comparison solutions in action, just request a demo by emailing sales@sovrn.com and our team will be happy to help.

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