It’s a deal! How to monetize commerce content using coupons

In a previous post we told you that people love a deal. But when you’re a publisher that uses affiliate marketing to monetize your commerce content, you should be mindful of guidance around using coupons because there are rules publishers need to follow and merchants may cancel commissions if they aren’t followed correctly.

So we’ve put together this advice post, based on the IAB UK’s voucher code of conduct, which is the industry standard benchmark for using vouchers in commerce content.

Be honest, be accurate and don’t mislead people

Sounds simple, but it is written into the code that you can’t mislead people. If there are T&Cs or readers need to take an action to access the voucher, this information needs to be prominent, fair and intelligible to readers.

Accuracy also extends to ensuring that vouchers are up to date. If a voucher has expired, you need to clarify that’s the case.

You should also clarify what will happen when a reader takes action. If you’re redirecting them for example, they have to be aware that’s what will happen when they click on a button or a link in your articles.

Only monetise vouchers where you have advertisers explicit permission

The good news is that if you can see a voucher is live in the Offers section of the Skimlinks Publisher Hub you have permission to monetize it.

The bad news is that where you find vouchers elsewhere, through brands’ own websites or coupon sites, you need to read the fineprint. Brands will only allow you to monetise promotions with their explicit permission and they don’t put every deal live in their affiliate program.

If you don’t have their permission, you can expect the advertiser to reverse any sales driven through your commerce content, and you won’t earn any commission. So it pays to read the terms and conditions to make sure you can actually monetize the voucher in question.

This also applies where they’ve offered a promotion exclusively to one publisher. If you reproduce it, you won’t earn commission and will be in violation of the code.

And in a nutshell those are the main points. If you’re clear about any conditions on consumer use of the voucher and ensure you only feature promotions that the advertiser has said they will monetise through their affiliate program you should have no problems.

Explore our merchant pages and find offers you can write about here.