The PR Adviser: Affiliate Marketing Is the Cost of Coverage

Dear Lilian, 

One of my clients is based in Denmark. The communications director does not get that American culture and media consumption habits are vastly different than in Denmark. I’ve been trying to get them on an affiliate network, and no matter how I explain that it’s rare to almost impossible to get into a consumer magazine without it, they continue to insist on Vogue, Elle, and other affiliate-driven platforms for publicity.

How can I get them to understand what works in Denmark doesn’t work in the United States of America?

Sincerely,
Lost in Translation

My Dear Foreign Correspondent, 

You’re neither the first nor last PR professional to endure this migraine. If it wasn’t for this popsicle margarita I’m currently sipping poolside at the Four Seasons Fort Lauderdale, I would have skipped your email entirely because of my own PTSD with international clients on this subject.

God bless tequila’s liquid courage and the Evelyn restaurant’s bartender for making it strong! 

Once upon a time, in a body far less achy than the one I currently inhabit, I made the impossible happen for a client. I guaranteed an all-cash deal and distribution across all Neiman Marcus locations after securing the coup de grâce of press placement battle royales, “Oprah’s Favorite Things.” 

Alas, it’s almost impossible for me to do this again given my luxury clientele. Why? 

Because the items selected for “Oprah’s Favorite Things” are now chosen from brands selling on Amazon. Oprah may love your peacock-inspired sapphire, ruby, and emerald ring, but she likes the money Amazon deposits in her bank account more! 

Amazon is the Oprah of the affiliate world, handing out cash to publishers like she once handed out brand-new cars. 

While some affiliates offer generous commissions on a layered pearl necklace an article helped sell, Amazon gives the article publisher commissions on everything the customer buys with the necklace, including the crystal tiara, oversized cat-eye sunglasses, opera-length cigarette holder, and black elbow-length gloves as they prepare for breakfast at Tiffany’s. 

But I’m getting ahead of myself.  

Let’s go further back in history to a time when the world wide web was eating the print publishing world’s three-martini lunches and Le Bernardin dinners. 

Magazines were shutting down as brands got wise to the fact those $100,000 ad buys were no longer generating sales. This led to the heads of the seven publishing families— Hearst, Condé Nast, Meredith (now People Inc., formerly Dotdash Meredith), Gannet, Newscorp, Time Inc. (now part of Meredith), and eventually Vox Media—devising a new racket to keep the money flowing.  

“Say,” said one crafty executive, presumably wearing a fedora and a pin-striped suit while puffing on a Cohiba, “Why aren’t we getting a cut when John Hardy sells that Naga bracelet we just featured on our site?” 

And thus birthed the e-commerce editor, or shopping editor, depending on which of the remaining six families you’re offering tribute. Their job is to determine which brands are handing out the fattest envelopes if an article leads to a sale.  

Note the key word here is “if,” meaning, the kickback only happens if the customer clicks the article link to buy.   

If, however, Alexis Bittar’s “Solanales Gold Crystal Infinity Link” necklace in PeopleStyle’s latest newsletter caught a customer’s eye, but their birthday is still months away, the customer isn’t likely to demand their significant other use the newsletter’s link when the time comes.  

A former client of mine missed this loophole when she insisted that in her country, they don’t pay for editorial. 

Well, you’re technically not paying for editorial. You’re sharing the wealth if that editorial helps you make a sale.

The magic begins when you join an affiliate network. And wouldn’t you know, I’ve prepared an e-book for you that breaks them all down!

Head over to The PR Advisor website now to download your copy.

When you join a network, you integrate a code into your site and set up a dashboard to announce to publishers (this includes bloggers, content creators, and social media influencers) how much of the wealth you’re willing to share.

That code then tracks sales, calculates commissions, and arranges payment to the appropriate parties. Easy peasy!

Except for the commission demands. When I last spoke to Vogue, they wouldn’t consider my client’s more than $10,000 products without at least a 30 percent tribute. Yes, friends, greed is why Vogue is still standing today while other publications are sleeping with the fishes.

Before reaching for your smelling salts, know some affiliate platforms let you choose who gets what. Vogue’s palms can be generously greased while smaller rackets only get a five or 10 percent taste. 

Lost, my lovely, explain to your client there are many ways to work this in their favor. But what won’t work is insisting the American publishing industry do it like Denmark!

Even as I now enjoy the Pour Decisions gelatin martini shot, Matthew, the hotel’s lead mixologist, handed me, I see from their website the hotel is on an affiliate network.

While I attest the Four Seasons Fort Lauderdale is everything Condé Nast Traveler describes, the affiliate relationship assures Condé Nast is also getting tipped for good service. 

Let’s be clear: There’s still an independent editorial process.

Offering 90 percent commission on the world’s ugliest collection isn’t going to guarantee a Town & Country inclusion. Affiliate relationships only guarantee you won’t be excluded from consideration.   

You still need your PR consigliere to negotiate. Every product request I now receive asks which affiliate network my client is on. If my client isn’t juiced in, the journalist acts like I’ve broken omertà and disappears before their editor-in-chief capo breaks their kneecaps for recommending a deadbeat. 

But back to your Danish dilemma, Translator, my Troubadour! Sing this to your client:

Alas, I know you don’t like to share,
And commissions being demanded are a scare.
But if you want U.S. publications to mention you,
You must replace lost print advertising revenue.

But know this very important fact:
The affiliate commission requires an immediate act.
So, if I read about your earrings but don’t buy today,
Yet I remember your name for a birthday,
Going to your website directly without clicking a link
Means you keep the whole sale and your kitchen sink!

Look at affiliate relationships as a marketing expense
A necessary evil in your branding cadence.
Without it, few publications will utter your name.
But with it, you build your recognition and fame.

And with that, dear readers, I must get dressed for the La Rioja wine tasting dinner at the hotel’s newly minted Michelin-starred restaurant, Maass. 

I’m writing on what would have been my mother’s 81st birthday. I can’t thank the hotel enough for making this second birthday without her something she would have relished as one of our annual birthday trips. While I’m savoring a glass of La Rioja Alta Gran Reserva 904, don’t forget to grab the e-book I’ve prepared for you on affiliate networks. 

Until next time, i miei compari.