Publisher Spotlight: The Daily Beast

By Alex Cramer

Credibility is at the heart of what makes affiliate marketing work because if you don’t have trust, you can’t make a sale. Credibility is also at the heart of what makes journalism work because, without trust, no one is going to read your news.

The Daily Beast succeeds as one of our top affiliate publishers because they understand that simple but powerful principle. So whether they’re delivering the hottest breaking political news, the most salacious celebrity gossip or recommending the best vacuum for picking up pet hair, their audience knows that they’re getting information from a source they can always trust.

We’re proud of the partnership that we’ve built with The Daily Beast and we spoke with John Doe to learn how they became one of the top affiliate publishers on the web.

AP: What makes The Daily Beast a top affiliate site?

DB: The Daily Beast delivers award-winning original reporting and sharp opinion at the intersection of culture and power across politics, entertainment, science, technology, and food and beverage. In the same way that readers trust The Daily Beast to navigate the news, they also trust Scouted to navigate the abundant world of internet shopping. We do this by surfacing brands and products that make their lives easier and more enjoyable. Our product curation and service journalism with a perspective blurs the lines between aspirational and practical recommendations, prioritizing whatever is worth the investment.

AP: How have you seen consumer behavior change in the last year?

DB: Our readers, more than ever, need to trust the author and voice behind the content in order to open their wallets and make a purchase. Luckily, Daily Beast has been around long enough to have an established voice that our readers trust to learn and explore difficult social and political topics. E-commerce and products are no exception. In Q4 in particular, consumer behavior shifts from making purchases for themselves to gifting for others. We also see dedicated gift-themed posts perform well as well as content that promotes a sale or new product launch.

AP: What have been your top-performing verticals? What are the requirements to be a part of your affiliate program?

DB: We’ve seen a lot of success with CBD, health & wellness (including sexual wellness), style & fashion, food & drink, home & garden, pets, personal accessories such as jewelry, bags, etc and technology.

We do require that all of our advertisers become a part of our affiliate platform.

AP: You’ve been in partnership with Advertise Purple for X years now. What has that relationship been like for you?

DB: Working with Advertise Purple has been a true partnership. As a publisher, it’s not common to work so hands-on with an agency. The Advertise Purple Team understands our audience and core business which allows us to work together to build and foster positive partnerships between advertisers and our readers. I believe this understanding is what makes our partnership so successful.