Hi Boox Popular Magazine 2024
When it comes to Amazon affiliate sites the last few years have been really noteworthy. Although they are not as popular as branded content and display advertising, affiliate monetization as a revenue stream has become tremendously popular amongst publishers.
The affiliate industry is growing at a rapid pace and according to Forrester; it has accumulated $6.8 billion till now. This exponential growth of affiliate and commerce monetization doesn’t seem to stop here and experts suggest that it would bolster further in the next 3-4 years.
Today, our topic of discussion will be one of the most profitable Amazon affiliate websites named The Wirecutter. Since its inception, this website has made waves in the affiliate industry. Today’s topic also includes our important takeaways that will help your online business grow exponentially. The WireCutter
WireCutter, an amazing review website for multiple niches, burst on to the scene in 2011. Brian Lam, the current CEO of WireCutter and former editorial at Gizmodo, founded it after he got fed up of the old branding strategies used to promote business’s online presence.
A few years back, when asked about the reason for starting WireCutter, this is what he had to say, “I was tired of doing posts that were obsolete three hours after I wrote them. I wanted evergreen content that didn’t have to be updated constantly in order to hunt traffic. I wanted to publish things that were useful.”
Currently, WireCutter is famous for creating in-depth and helpful product buying guides based on deep research and testing. This is why it’s considered as an authority when it comes to gadgets, gear, electronics, kitchen and dining, health and fitness, home, kids, and many others. Their highly researched buying guides enable the readers to make an informed decision and choose the best from a plethora of products in the market.
This highly trusted affiliate website, famous for being the best consumer guide, was acquired by The New York Times in October 2016 for more than $30 Million in cash.
WireCutter’s Content Strategy
WireCutter’s content strategy and product review have made them famous amongst their peers. Their fun test of different products and presenting them in an engaging manner is what enables them to go viral with every post.
According to our Content Editors, WireCutter’s review of ‘the best true wireless headphones so far’ is a fantastic example of how deep they go into a product. This is why other content creators must take a leaf out of their book.
They get hundreds of comments on their product reviews, which is kind of a new thing for us.
It seems as if they go through the Amazon and other E-commerce sites before crafting a one in a million product review. They choose the best selling items, buy them, test them thoroughly, and then put their word for it.
Another example of their mastery can be seen in The Best Photo Printers where they have put together in-depth content and detailed descriptions which gives them an edge over their rivals.
The number of WireCutter’s referring domains is over around 12000 and they are all well placed in Google for ‘best product’ search items.
They have also started another site by the name of The Sweethome. This sister site of Wirecutter is going great when it comes to home-related products.
Monetization strategy
Their media is quite clear regarding how they earn. WireCutter’s honesty and transparency in this matter is what helps them build trust with their audience. According to WireCutter, they make money through Amazon’s Associate program. Moreover, they also tap affiliate programs from other retailers.
Below mentioned are some of the monetization tactics they use.
They mention the best product and the runners up at the top of their article. This allows people to get some fast information after jumping into their content. If the readers want more, they will dive into it and go through the table of content for additional details.
Their strategy of using several affiliate links, in their content, on the top or most recommended products is proving to be quite lucrative for them.
They never forget to add a call out of their most favorite product at the end of the article.
Key Takeaways
The reason why they are so much famed is that they buy the products before reviewing them. This allows them to curate comprehensive and user-friendly content on all niches based on what they feel and experience. This gives them an edge over their competitors in getting links, traffic, and conversions. You should also try it.
They have built a long-lasting relation with their audience by providing them with in-depth and quality reviews. This trust enables them to enjoy a significant rise in conversions with every passing day. Success always demands that you provide your audiences with quality, informative, and useful content.
WireCutter’s 4 methods to grow their business
New content verticals
Back in the year 2011, when it was founded, WireCutter only included reviews about gadgets and electronic devices and appliances, etc. Now, you can understand the psychology and think behind its name. However, with the passage of time, as the readership grew, they also started covering a diverse range of products.
It started featuring a lot of categories like:
- Home and Garden
- Kitchen & Dining
- Travel
- Health & Fitness
- Finance
- Pets
- Baby & Kid
Their team of content strategists waits for the readers’ feedback to know which products they should review next. Plus they also analyze the search trends which help them to present the most useful products and guides that can be monetized.
Creating content about new and most in-demand topics enables them to attract new readers. Moreover, it also brings back the existing customers, in search of diverse content, to the site.
Deal event coverage
WireCutter’s diverse branding strategies made it a household name after they started writing on deals. Apart from the product reviews on the Wirecutter website, you can also find the information regarding the best sales going on, items on sale, and the dates of the sale.
Their deal coverage strategy involves the takeover of the website for all special and notable sales days and periods like Black Friday, Amazon Prime Day and Cyber Monday, etc. When people view a sale or deal offered on Wirecutter, the trust factor urges them to buy a specific product because it is endorsed by Wirecutter.
According to Brandezk, this is the exact reason why Wirecutter is enjoying huge success.
Wirecutter in August 2018 announced its own deal day by the name of ‘Wirecutter Deal Day’ to leverage the success and to reward its loyal readers. This enabled readers to take advantage of the amazing deals and in turn, the website saw a staggering rise in their affiliate revenues.
Wide partner base
If you have even a small knowledge of affiliate marketing you would know that a large majority of publishers begin their affiliate program by partnering with Amazon only. While some may go for affiliate network as it comes with ease of use.
On the other hand, WireCutter started partnering with a large number of retailers. Most of these partnerships were direct. These direct relationships allowed them more control over the revenue terms. Not to forget, sometimes WireCutter even negotiates on special deals for loyal readers.
As Wirecutter is a reading platform and prefers their readers over everything else, the content editorial team is not aware of their partnership and business side. They produce content intended towards helping readers and don’t always have an advertising touch to it. Believe it or not, for this specific reason, some guides posted on their site don’t generate any affiliate revenue.
Their business development team is always on the look for new retailers and brands whose products are reviewed to try and set up a partnership. This is one of their best branding strategies which has enabled WireCutter to collect a database of hundreds of retail partners.
Content distribution
When the most useful content was ready to drive revenue on their site, their team leveraged many mechanisms of content distribution. This enabled the WireCutter team to put the most useful and desired content in front of a large audience.
When it came to earning, they mainly focused on ROI positive channels which lead to them generating huge revenue from content distribution.
Final Words
If you follow the success pattern of Wirecutter, you will also notice that WireCutter’s main focus was to keep the reader happy and informed. Their content has enabled millions of people to make the right decisions when buying some of the most common products.
Their user-friendliness and putting the audience at the forefront is a secret to their enormous success. If you want also want to achieve long-lasting success in the affiliate world, you will have to follow the tactics of WireCutter, so that you also turn into a big name.
