Why Publisher Diversification is Key to Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate Marketing Essentials: Mastering Publisher Diversification
Welcome to Affiliate Marketing Essentials, our brand-new blog series designed to help you master the world of affiliates. Whether you're just starting out or looking to scale, we’ve got you covered with everything you need to build a high-performing affiliate program.
We’ll break down key topics including affiliate payments, performance tracking, publisher recruitment and much more, giving you the insights and strategies you need to grow your affiliate programme effectively. In our first blog of the series, we’ll dive into one of the most crucial aspects of scaling your affiliate program, publisher diversification. With industry insights from our team, we’ll guide you through why it matters and how to do it right.
What Is Publisher Diversification in Affiliate Marketing?
Publisher diversification is all about having a varied mix of publishers from multiple verticals in your affiliate programme, to target different parts of the customer funnel. Put simply, you don’t want to rely too heavily on just one or two publishers. When one publisher ends up driving more than 50% of your traffic, it puts your entire affiliate programme at risk.
Why? That publisher could experience a sudden drop in traffic as a result of anything from SEO updates, seasonal dips, technical issues, or even a shift in consumer behaviour. If they’re your main source of traffic, your entire programme takes a hit. By working with a variety of publishers, you’ll make your programme more stable and less dependent on a single publisher.
But diversification isn’t just about reducing risk, it’s a fantastic growth opportunity too. By onboarding publishers from different verticals, you’ll get the chance to introduce your brand to entirely new audiences. More exposure means more people become familiar with your brand, which builds trust and credibility over time.
It also opens the door to experimenting with different strategies. Every publisher brings something unique to the table, and by testing a variety of approaches, you can figure out what works best for your programme. Maybe one vertical performs better than another, or perhaps a certain type of audience converts more effectively. The insights can be invaluable.
How to Implement Publisher Diversification into Your Affiliate Marketing Strategy?
Diversifying your publisher mix doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Follow these actionable steps to get started.
- Review Your Current Publishers
Start by reviewing your top performers and checking how the traffic is split across them. Are one or two publishers dominating the channel, or is the traffic spread more evenly? If one publisher controls most of your traffic, that’s a red flag, it means your programme could be at risk if something happens to that partner.
- Spot the Gaps in Your Publisher Mix
Next, conduct a gap analysis. Look at the bigger picture of your programme. Are there any verticals missing? For instance, maybe you’re strong on cashback sites but lacking in content creators or influencers. Think about which areas you’d like to focus on, and where adding new publishers could make a real impact.
- Introduce New Publishers
Once you’ve identified those gaps, start prospecting for publishers in untapped verticals. Adding new publishers can boost your traffic and help you reach new audiences, which naturally makes your programme more stable.
- Get More from Your Existing Publishers
Don’t forget about the publishers you already have. Some of them might not be performing to their full potential, and a bit of attention could change that. Maybe they need updated content, better positioning, or extra exposure on their site. Small tweaks like these can help them perform better and take a bigger share of your channel, further reducing your reliance on just one or two publishers.
- Find More Like Your Top Performers
If you’ve got top-performing publishers, they’re obviously doing something right. So why not find more publishers like them? For example, if Media Houses are driving great results, look for more to onboard onto your programme. Instead of relying on one or two, you could have three or four, which spreads the risk and strengthens your programme further.
Overcoming Publisher Diversification Challenges
Publisher diversification isn’t without its hurdles, but these challenges are manageable with the right strategies.
1. Budget Constraints
Working with lots of different publishers can get expensive, especially if some require flat fees just to get started. Here’s how to stay within budget:
- Try negotiating with publishers to get the best deal - some might be open to lower fees or performance-based commissions instead.
- Focus on quality over quantity - work with publishers whose audience actually matches your brand, so you get the best return on your investment.
2. Not Knowing Where to Start
You know you need to diversify, but how do you actually do it? Which verticals should you invest in? Where will you see the biggest impact?
- Look at what’s already working - if a certain type of publisher is driving results, find similar ones to spread that success across more partners.
- Test new verticals in small doses - try new types of publishers, see how they perform, and scale up the ones that work.
3. Finding the Right Publishers
It’s tempting to onboard as many publishers as possible, but if their audience doesn’t align with your brand, it's unlikely you won’t get the results you were expecting. Driving high volumes of traffic is great, but if those users aren’t genuinely interested, it won’t lead to long-term success.
- Be selective - choose publishers whose audience will actually engage with your brand, rather than just clicking and leaving.
- Focus on long-term value - a few strong, relevant publishers will always be better than loads of low-quality ones.
What Results Can You Expect to See?
By diversifying your publisher mix, you’ll unlock a host of benefits for your affiliate programme.
- Expanded Reach: Partnering with new publishers helps introduce your brand to more audiences, driving brand awareness.
- Higher Conversions: A broader mix of publishers often leads to increased conversions as you engage diverse audiences.
- Data-Driven Insights: Gain valuable insights into audience preferences, helping you optimise future strategies.
- Program Stability: If one publisher’s performance dips, others in your programme can balance the impact.
For example, our fintech client, Plum, experienced incredible results after diversifying their publisher mix. Going into our 5th year of partnership, we’ve successfully onboarded over 200 partners, with 75% actively driving conversions. Similarly, our healthcare client Gainful, saw an impressive 10% increase in monthly growth within just six months of implementing this approach.
Final Thoughts: Why Publisher Diversification Is a Must
Diversifying your publisher mix takes a bit of time and effort, but it’s worth it. By managing your budget wisely, making smart choices about where to expand, and working with the right partners, you’ll build a stronger, more stable affiliate programme that will grow over time.
Follow our steps and you’ll build a programme that’s much more balanced and less vulnerable to any sudden changes. At the same time, you’ll be opening doors to new audiences, fresh strategies, and long-term growth. Publisher diversification isn’t just about playing it safe, it’s about setting your programme up for success.
Fancy leaving it up to the experts?
Ready to future-proof your affiliate programme and unlock new growth opportunities? Our long standing relationships we have as an agency with key publishers, combined with our extensive publisher network (which is constantly growing) is key to our clients’ success. Simply fill out our contact form to get started with our team of experts!
