Publisher Marketing is still a rather confusing discipline for many advertisers. The reason might already lie in the name "Affiliate Marketing," as it doesn’t truly align with the traditional concept of marketing. And this is where the first—and perhaps most important—recommendation for 2025 begins.

Recommendation #1: Shift Your Mindset About Publisher Marketing!

Publisher Marketing isn’t a traditional marketing channel—it’s a digital sales channel.

Why? A publisher only gets paid after they’ve delivered a sale, revenue, or a customer to your business. This means the financial risk lies entirely with the publisher. You, as the advertiser, bear no financial risk. You first receive the revenue or customer, and only then does the publisher earn their commission.

Respect this dynamic and try to see things more often from the publisher’s perspective instead of always through your own “marketing lens.” Once you’ve done that, you can still put on your “marketing lens” afterward.

Actionable Tip:

Start viewing Publisher Marketing less as a marketing channel and more as a digital sales channel. This shift will help you better understand your publishers, which in turn will allow you to approach the partnership with a completely new mindset.

Recommendation #2: Remember, Publishers Are Not Obligated to Promote You!

This is another mindset issue that’s often overlooked in Publisher Marketing, causing publishers to avoid working with you. And without them, you miss out on sales and revenue.

As mentioned in Recommendation #1, publishers take on 100% of the risk. This means they don’t have to promote you—let alone in the way you want them to. If you try to force your “way” onto a publisher, it’s likely they won’t work with you at all.

Actionable Tip:

Give publishers (especially influencers) creative freedom while providing them with valuable resources and compelling offers. Supply ready-made posts, deals, and high-quality images or videos—and do this consistently. By reducing their workload and showing that you genuinely care about your publishers, you’ll stand out as an advertiser worth partnering with. This can make all the difference!

Recommendation #3: Forget About "Individual Cases"!

Consistency is key. Structure your partner program in a way that is always clear, straightforward, and easy to understand. For publishers—the ones who bring you customers and sales—there’s nothing worse than overly complicated structures or confusing descriptions.

This is especially crucial when working with a platform like Selecdoo. Avoid approaches such as:

Such scenarios should not occur or become an issue. In a well-structured partner program, these contingencies are addressed and handled through technical solutions. Below are example responses to the previous cases:

Example 1: "But this sale was generated by a different publisher."
Response: That’s possible, but the user clicked on another publisher’s link last. Therefore, the sale is technically attributed to the publisher responsible for the last click. Unfortunately, this is bad luck for the other publisher.

Example 2: "But this customer had already purchased from me without a publisher before."
Response: That’s true, but this time, the customer made the purchase via a link or coupon code provided by a publisher. Without the publisher’s efforts, the customer might not have bought from you at all—perhaps they would’ve gone to your competitor instead.

Example 3: "But the customer didn’t use a discount code."
Response: That’s not a requirement, and it’s actually a win for you! You earned more profit, and the publisher earned their commission. The sale happened because the customer was directed to you via the publisher’s efforts. It’s a WIN-WIN for everyone.

Actionable Tip:

Set up your partner program with clear rules and straightforward descriptions. This will save you time and provide publishers with well-defined guidelines. Publishers who raise such questions are often the ones driving the least amount of sales. Why? The more successful publishers won’t even notice the occasional sale—it’s just part of their flow.

Recommendation #6: Respond Quickly!

When you receive a request from a potential partner, speed is essential. No matter what or how they’re asking, the fundamental intention behind their inquiry is:
"Hey Advertiser, I like what you offer and want to work with you on a commission basis."

Actionable Tip:

Act fast and take care of the request immediately. If you don’t, the publisher’s interest will fade, and they’ll strike a deal with your competition. And all because you might have thought, "Oh, it’s just a commission deal—it’s not that important." Don’t let that happen!

Recommendation #7: Only Work with Reliable Coupon Publishers!

It’s common to hear about massive revenue increases—quickly and effortlessly—after launching an affiliate marketing program. But on closer inspection, roughly 90% of that revenue often comes from sources that aren’t truly new. Instead, coupons are spread by platforms that either (sometimes automatically) collect existing codes or, in the worst-case scenario, invent their own.

The result:

You end up paying commissions for sales that would very likely have occurred anyway. Additionally, these publishers often operate unethically by sharing fake, made-up, or outdated coupons, which can damage your brand and reputation.

Pro Tip:

Selecdoo has developed an AI that scans search engines monthly, analyzes results from coupon sites, and cross-checks them against the Selecdoo Blacklist. This prevents tracking and commission payouts for such sales. While this doesn’t stop the coupons from being listed, it ensures you don’t pay commissions for those sales. (Disclaimer: This feature is only available to Selecdoo customers.)

Actionable Tip:

Work exclusively with one or two carefully selected coupon publishers and maintain close coordination with them. If you’re willing to invest, you can use screening tools (though they can be quite expensive). However, you’ll still need to manually cancel sales or remove problematic publishers from your program.

Conclusion: How to Succeed with Publisher Marketing

Publisher marketing isn’t a no-brainer or a quick-revenue scheme. However, it remains one of the best digital sales strategies for reliably boosting both your revenue and profit.

The key is to truly put yourself in your publishers’ shoes—and act accordingly. This will help you develop a deeper understanding and improve with every campaign.

It’s also crucial to recognize that publisher marketing is an action-driven channel. This doesn’t mean you have to constantly offer discounts, but it does mean that nothing will happen unless publishers have a reason to talk about your brand or feature your products in their content.

The Most Important Takeaway:

Give your publishers consistent and compelling reasons or incentives to introduce your brand to their followers and community. Stay engaged, try out different approaches, and refine your strategy over time. Many platforms also offer additional support to help you along the way.

Final Thoughts:

By following these simple yet powerful hacks, you can save both time and money while driving sustainable growth for your business and partner program. And the best part? You don’t need to invest any money to get started—you just need to take action!

Question: What should I do if I don’t have time for this?

Answer: Then, unfortunately, you’ll need to make time for it or hire someone to handle it for you. Otherwise, you should seriously consider whether the publisher marketing channel is the right fit for you.

Question: How can I find out if unreliable coupon publishers are listing me?

Answer: Simply search for your brand name and the word "coupon" on Google.

Question: Can I use the Selecdoo AI tool if I’m not a Selecdoo customer?

Answer: Unfortunately, no. This tool is exclusively available to Selecdoo customers, and even they don’t use it proactively. The tool consists of various AI agents that work proactively and automatically in the background.

Question: What happens if I can’t respond quickly enough to a publisher’s request?

Answer: The publisher will likely work with another advertiser. That’s the harsh but clear reality of competition in publisher marketing.