New Streams and Established Methods: Working with Podcast Affiliates

Prior to Sarah Koenig’s Peabody Award winning podcast, “Serial,” the term, “podcast,” debatably did not exist in the popular lexicon. For those that are not yet aware, a podcast is essentially a recorded audio program that can be accessed via an RSS feed. Think of it as a radio program that does not comply to the strictures of time and space. Podcasts have been around for over a decade but were not necessarily mainstream until a few years ago. To give you some frame of reference, Apple launched their podcast listings back in 2005, but the practice existed even a few years prior.  According to an article by Fast Company, as of March of 2018, Apple Podcast has passed 50 Billion downloads of its over 500,00 podcasts being broadcast in over 100 languages. Literally any topic you can think of, someone is making a podcast around that idea. The growth in popularity has been astronomical and continues to grow, mainly due to the very low barrier of entry in terms of creative endeavor. Last year, Spotify became the newest platform to host podcasts and for the first time in podcasting history, Apple began releasing podcasters listenership metrics.

Prior to this release, podcasters were flying blind in regards to their reporting and statistics. As such, an entire industry was on edge; worried that the podcast bubble would burst as they had no numerical way of viewing their listenership other than page impressions. Once these metrics were finally made available, it became abundantly clear that podcast listeners are an exceptionally engaged audience with a higher-than-average income. Due to the nature of podcasting, there is also an intimacy between the podcaster and their audience that accounts for a much higher product retention rate, and a nearly unfathomable conversion rate.

Tapping into this revenue stream starts by implementing our Advanced Tracking Pixel. While this integration has many uses, including sku-based commission structures and the x-type parameter, which makes for near limitless attribution options, the coupon level tracking has the most relevance for podcasting affiliates. As an audio medium, they mainly rely on verbally sharing information. Unlike affiliates with websites, podcasters can’t rely solely on links to promote products or brands. Instead they rely heavily on unwritten forms of expressing brand promotion. The most common way for them to share information and make money through affiliate marketing is through coupon codes. While these codes can be used by any type of Affiliate, it is of most benefit to Social Media Influencers and Podcasters. 

Take a look at how you can create an exclusive coupon and get started working with podcast affiliates.

Create a coupon code unique to your podcaster.

Set the coupon code to private and supply that Affiliate’s ID. Please note: for this to track properly, you will need to supply a specific coupon for each Affiliate.

Toggle “Forced Exclusivity” to “ON.”

This will allow the Affiliate to be credited commissions for any transaction created using this coupon code, regardless of whether the customer clicked an Affiliate’s link.

Be sure to include some copy or talking points, and a call to action so that your Podcast Affiliates can easily integrate the coupon codes into their podcast. This will allow your Affiliates to better monetize the project that they may have been passionately making for years, while driving dedicated and attentive customers to your site.

Not only are podcasters an up-and-coming Affiliate group, but many bloggers are also turning to podcasting as another means of supplementing their blog content, similar to their social media platforms. As audio platforms build a stronger voice and authority of influencing customer purchasing decisions, it is critical for brands to get their Affiliate program set up now, so that they can easily integrate new podcasters in their Affiliate marketing strategy and overall digital marketing strategy.

Want more information on how to set up your program for exclusive coupon codes? Contact our Merchant Development Team.