How Premium Publishers are Winning at E-commerce
E-commerce has become a significant revenue source for many premium publishers.
In fact, The Wirecutter, owned by The New York Times, generated $150 million in commerce revenues in 2015.1
“E-commerce is the future of publishing,” writes Sebastien Blank, Chief Revenue Officer at Skimlinks.
“It is by no means the only alternative revenue stream open to publishers, but it is one of the most lucrative if they get it right. … Unlike most traditional counterparts, they’re earning dollars every time someone clicks on a link in their article and makes a purchase on a retailer’s website.”2
Here are some of the most effective ways premium publishers are executing e-commerce initiatives.
Affiliate Marketing
In 2015, The New York Times bought Wirecutter,3 a product review website that was initially focused on tech gadgets, but has since expanded to other areas like health, fitness and baby products.
Wirecutter makes money by including links in its reviews to e-commerce websites like Amazon, Llbean, and Rei. Each time a Wirecutter reader purchases a product through one of the linked sites, the Times takes up to a 10 percent cut, depending on the retailer. If a user navigates to a linked site, but does not make a purchase, The New York Times does not make any money.4
The publisher’s aim is to maintain readers’ trust by providing quality guides linking to quality products.
“We’re helping readers navigate a really complicated thing and you don’t really know who to trust,” said Karron Skog, an editor who coordinates between the Times and Wirecutter.
CNN is another recent example of a premium publisher delving into e-commerce. In November 2017, the publisher launched CNN Underscored, an online shopping guide focused on tech gadgets, wellness and travel.5
Like The New York Times, CNN receives a commission each time a consumer clicks an Underscored affiliate link and makes a purchase.6
CNN’s takes a multi-faceted approach to Underscored. The publisher has hired a full-time staff of writers dedicated to the initiative. Its research is data-driven, and the publisher promises to only select products that are thoroughly vetted, either by first-hand testing or product ratings and comments.7
CNN has stated that it will use its website, social media channels, newsletters and search engines to promote CNN Underscored.8
Buy On Site
In addition to using affiliate links, like The New York Times and CNN, BuzzFeed has expanded its e-commerce business to include its own proprietary products, which are available on a BuzzFeed-owned website built via Shopify’s e-commerce technology.9
“We wanted to have full control to experiment and figure out what worked best for our company and customers so as a result we felt that building our own site on Shopify best fitted our needs,” said Tesssa Gould, a former head of commerce at BuzzFeed.10 “That’s not to say we won’t sell elsewhere in the future; we’re always looking into selling on other platforms and re-evaluating our strategy as we build it out.”
Gould describes the e-commerce initiatives as a “proactive” commerce strategy, rather than a “passive one,” which relies solely on affiliate links.11
Some examples of proprietary products sold by BuzzFeed include “Tasty” cookbooks, Homesick candles, and fashion merchandise designed by the publisher’s illustrators and designers.12
In addition to promoting its e-commerce properties on BuzzFeed, the publisher uses its Gift Guide email newsletter13 and a Facebook messenger bot to increase sales. The bot will ask consumers questions like “Who are you shopping for?” and “How much do you want to spend?” and subsequently generate one or more product suggestions.14
But it’s not all smooth sailing
When it comes to e-commerce, publishers face two primary challenges.
First, the increasing popularity of mobile content consumption poses an e-commerce revenue challenge.
“People are doing more of their reading on mobile phones, which aren’t always the easiest to shop from. And not only do publishers not profit if the product gets returned, they don’t get credit for the sale if the shopper doesn’t make a purchase directly from their site,” writes Lucia Moses, co-executive editor at Digiday.15
In other words: Many consumers will learn about a product on mobile, but will only make an actual purchase by navigating directly to the product on desktop. The result: The publisher won’t be attributed, and won’t get a cut of the sale.
Second, publishers that use affiliate links to generate revenue can face platform dependency issues – Platforms like Amazon and Alibaba control affiliate commission rates, not publishers.
“For some publishers, Amazon represents 80 percent of their affiliate commerce revenues, and its penchant for dropping the commission rates on certain categories of goods has the ability to make or break entire business strategies,” writes Max Willens, platforms reporter at Digiday.16
E-commerce, for many premium publishers, has become a proven alternative revenue source. It’s as simple as a user clicking on an article link and making a purchase.
Indeed, getting e-commerce to work isn’t always easy. But when executed well, it can certainly be a lucrative revenue stream.17
1. Kludt, Tom. “New York Times Buying The Wirecutter, and a New Revenue Stream.”CNNMoney, Cable News Network, 24 Oct. 2016.
2. Blank, Sebastien. “The E-Commerce Battle: Why Comtent Should Be Your Priority in 2017.”Fourth Source, 13 Mar. 2017.
3. Sutcliffe, Chris. “Land of the Giants: Where Do Publishers Fit in the Ecommerce Ecosystem?” TheMediaBriefing, The Media Briefing, 24 May 2017.
4. Patel, April 26 2017by Sahil. “In the shadow of the duopoly, media rivals are becoming allies.” Digiday. N.p., 21 May 2017. Web. 28 June 2017.
5. “CNN Digital Unveils E-Commerce Platform ‘CNN Underscored.’” CNN, Cable News Network, 2 Nov. 2017.
6. IBID
7. IBID
8. IBID
9. Rey, Jason Del. “BuzzFeed Is Building a Team of Writers to Sell You Stuff You Didn’t Know You Wanted.” Recode, Recode, 24 Apr. 2017.
10. Sutcliffe, Chris. “Land of the Giants: Where Do Publishers Fit in the Ecommerce Ecosystem?” TheMediaBriefing, The Media Briefing, 24 May 2017.
11. McAlone, Nathan. “BuzzFeed Has a New Plan for Making Money: Selling You Clothes.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 12 Oct. 2016.
12. Rey, Jason Del. “BuzzFeed Is Building a Team of Writers to Sell You Stuff You Didn’t Know You Wanted.” Recode, Recode, 24 Apr. 2017.
13. Willens, Max. “With Its Gift Guide Newsletter, BuzzFeed Gets Serious about e-Commerce.”Digiday, 29 Sept. 2016.
14. Weib, Marcel. “How BuzzFeed, Time Inc. Are Using Facebook Messenger Bots to Create Gift Guides.” Early Moves, 22 Dec. 2016.
15. Moses, Lucia. “The Newest Rainmaker at Publishers: E-Commerce Editors.” Digiday, Digiday, 12 Apr. 2016.
16. Willens, Max. “How Publishers Are Trying to Amazon-Proof Their e-Commerce Strategies.”Digiday, 29 Sept. 2017.
17. Blank, Sebastien. “The E-Commerce Battle: Why Comtent Should Be Your Priority in 2017.”Fourth Source, 13 Mar. 2017.