The Ultimate Guide to Using VigLink (Sovrn): It is currently a thriving industry worth multiple billions of dollars. People are making six figures a year by making content and then sharing it with people who like the same things they do.
If you have the right strategies and tools, you can take charge of your piece of the digital pie.
However, here’s the catch:
it takes a long time to see results from using content marketing. It might be anywhere between six and twelve months, depending on who you ask.
What’s the worst about it?
Just getting people to look at your pages is only the beginning of your challenge. After you have resolved the challenges you were having with traffic, the next thing you need to do is figure out how to turn your chilly readers into leads and customers.
The affiliate network known as VigLink (kinda) comes to the rescue in this predicament. With VigLink, you can quickly and easily monetize whatever material you already have online.
I’ll show you how to make money as an internet marketer with VigLink by taking you step-by-step through everything you need to know to get started in this guide.
Let’s dive in.
What exactly is this VigLink (Sovrn) thing?
A service that allows publishers and bloggers to monetize their content, VigLink (now known as Sovrn Commerce) was formerly known as. VigLink is an advertising and marketing company that specialises in contextual advertising.
To put it more simply:
They uncover chances for affiliate marketing within your published articles, bridging the gap between content and commerce.
Since its inception in March 2009, Viglink (Sovrn) has rapidly expanded to accommodate more than 250 million daily active clients on its network. The annual sales are greater than one billion dollars.
There is no affiliate programme associated with VigLink. It is a place where affiliates and merchants can meet. This place is called an affiliate network.
They collaborate with over 60,000 different businesses, some of the most well-known of which include Amazon, Nike, and AliExpress.
The key differences between VigLink (Sovrn) and other affiliate networks
There are many distinguishing characteristics that make VigLink stand out.
You will normally need to complete the following three stages in order to get up and running on a typical affiliate network (such as AWIN or CJ Affiliate):
1. Search all of the available programmes on the network to find one that meets your requirements.
2. Use marketing by obtaining affiliate links.
3. Include the links in the information you’re selling so that potential customers will click on them.
This is not the case with VigLink.
They accomplish this by utilising a bespoke tracking system that converts regular outbound links into affiliate links. This expedites the process leading up to the transaction.
The most exciting part?
You will be able to save numerous hours that you would otherwise have to spend manually updating links in your posts because everything will be done automatically.
How to sign-up as an affiliate
The first step is to click on the “sign up” link, which may be found either on the homepage or on the far right side of the menu:
Another page will emerge.
The Second step is to determine whether you want to register for the service using your Gmail account or another one:
I decided to go the Gmail route so that I could save time and avoid the headache of coming up with passwords.
The account is pre-loaded with all of the necessary information by default.
The third step: From the list, choose where or how you want to publish your content:
Choose the relevant option.
Hit ‘next step’ to continue
The fourth step is to decide where you want to promote your links.
Verify that all of these are relevant to your situation.
Don’t forget: Your chances of finding retailers who meet your requirements will improve in proportion to the number of locations you select.
The fifth step is to choose the major content that has been published on your site:
Throughout the entirety of the process, you will have access to a handy back button. This is helpful in the event that you wish to go back to a prior phase because you missed anything there.
Step 6: Grab the code and insert it on your site:
To validate the code that you just copied and pasted, select the checkmark icon from the toolbar.
Hit ‘next step’.
You will then get a message congratulating you on your achievement.
You should now be good to go.
How does VigLink work?
So, how exactly does the network function?
After you have included the JavaScript code on your website, the Viglink engine will begin its operation by the following:
- Scanning all content on your site for brand mentions
- Checking if mentioned companies or products have affiliate links
- Searches through a massive 70k+ merchant catalogue to find an affiliate link match
- Inserts the link on the highest paying (and converting) affiliate program
What is the result?
Making money off of your website is now much simpler.
There will be no ridiculous advertising. There was to be no dithering.
Convert and Insert is the name of the feature that I’ve just been describing. You can put this functionality into action from the VigLink dashboard at any time by:
By going to the “settings” section of the menu. After that, locate the box labelled “Insert” by scrolling down.
Check the right side of the panel for the toggle switch, as shown here:
Make sure the toggle switch is set to the appropriate position. That sums it up nicely.
There is a second method via which the system operates…
If you can’t put JavaScript code on your website, you can use VigLink Anywhere to fix the problem.
The following is a rundown on how to use VigLink anywhere:
- Get a link to the product that you want people to buy from you.
- Navigate to the “Anywhere” tab located on the dashboard of your account.
- Simply select the “establish a link or Create a Link” option.
- Copy the link and paste it into the box that says “input a URL.”
- You will be provided with a singular link that may be promoted wherever.
Yes, in any location! You only need to remember one link to use it across all channels. on your website, Facebook page, Twitter feed, or in the forum that you favour the most.
The most exciting part? There is no need to use JavaScript.
Look at the explanation down below (click to view it in a larger format):
The system also has the added capability of automatically shortening links with the Bit.ly service (a popular link shortener). This is fantastic news given that some affiliate links can be quite lengthy.
Which kinds of affiliate programmes are available to me?
The question now is, what kinds of programmes are available on VigLink?
The following is a list of some of the programmes that are available on the platform:
- Art & Entertainment
- Cameras and photo
- Cell Phones & Mobile
- Consumer Electronics
- Family & Baby
- Fashion & Accessories
- Firearms and Hunting
- Gaming
- Health & Beauty
- Home & Garden
- Music & Musicians
- News, Books & Magazines
- Pets
- Sports & Fitness
- Toys & Hobbies
Everyone can find something that appeals to them here.
If a programme piques your attention, investigate it further by examining the following terms that are vital for the merchant:
- Pricing: Which Should You Choose, CPC or CPA?
- Program Approval—Are you eligible or ineligible?
- What is the rate of commission, and how much will you be paid?
See the places that are highlighted below (click to view them in greater detail):
You can use this information to assess whether or not the programme is worthwhile for you to participate in.
In addition to that, don’t be afraid to go to the website itself. Keep an eye out for discount coupons, sales, and other materials for promotions. There are a wide variety of promotional channels available, depending on the type of retailer you work with.
How can I locate the most lucrative affiliate programmes that are available on the network?
Locating the programmes that will bring in the most money is simple.
To begin, you can access the dashboard by going to the far right of the menu and selecting “trends.” When you launch the Trends Explorer, you will be able to view all of the products that are currently popular. There is an option to search by category. You also have the option of restricting your search to only the previous seven or thirty days.
Secondly, make sure you are keeping up with the platform’s blog. It compiles a list of the products that have been selling the best and publishes it every week.
Look quickly through the list to find products that fit with what your audience is interested in.
Thirdly, you can choose merchants from the dashboard menu to learn more about well-known merchants like:
On top of the list are prominent retailers who offer tried and tested products. Make use of the search function to hunt for retailers who offer products that correspond to your specialised market. You have the option to narrow your search by:
- Category
- Country
- Pricing
To find top programs:
Go to merchants ➢ select a category ➢ check ‘preferred merchant’ ➢ search
Boom! It then displays a selection of excellent programmes, including:
Preferred Merchants are businesses with which VigLink has reached an agreement to increase the commissions paid to affiliates. Because of this, the commissions that these firms offer if you sign up through Viglink are greater than the commissions that they offer if you sign up directly.
These organisations are displayed at the very top of every search result. After that, the remaining merchants are listed in alphabetical order. On August 1, 2010, this entry was published.
A quick overview of VigLink dashboard
The control panel is uncluttered and organised very well. Clear and concise, but comprehensive without becoming cumbersome:
You are provided with an overview of all the important metrics, including the following:
- Total revenue
- Gross Sales
- Pageviews
- Clickthrough rate
- Clicks
- Earnings Per Click (EPC)
Numbers displayed cover a 30-day period by default. You can easily optimise this by choosing a preset range or setting your own. You can filter the data in your dashboard by the campaign. And, you’re able to download graphs and CSVs.
The dashboard shows aggregated data from all campaigns.
You can also drill down on the numbers per merchant:
This provides you with an in-depth perspective of your performance with regard to each affiliate programme.
You might be scratching your head and wondering what the heck EPC stands for:
EPC is a metric that determines how much money is made on average from each click on an affiliate link.
Add together all of the earnings from a particular marketing effort or time period so that you can calculate it. The solution can be found by first dividing it by the total number of clicks, then multiplying it by 100.
Is that not the case? Even for mathematically inept individuals like myself:)
When it comes to important concepts to learn,
Let’s take a closer look at two additional phrases that crop up frequently not only on VigLink but also in the wider realm of digital marketing in general.
What’s the difference between paying for leads and paying on a cost-per-acquisition basis?
Cost-per-acquisition, sometimes known as CPA, is a performance-based marketing model in which affiliates are paid a commission whenever a prospect completes a predetermined activity, such as:
- Watching a video
- Requesting a quote
- Filling a form
- Signing up for a trial
- Registering for a webinar
- Downloading an app
Pay Per Lead (PPL), which is closely related to Cost Per Action (CPA), is a business strategy in which the affiliate is compensated for each lead that they create (as long as the lead meets the criteria set by the merchant). Think of mortgage broking, life insurance, and financial advising as some examples of businesses that are prepared to pay top cash for qualified leads. PPL may be quite lucrative because of this trend.
Viglink Shortcuts designed to assist you in generating additional income through the network
The following are some pointers that can assist you in getting the most out of the affiliate network:
1. Set links to open in new tabs.
The more time people spend on your site, the more affiliate products they will buy in the end.
When people stay longer, more of your affiliate links are displayed to them. Making sure that all of your links open in new tabs helps to retain readers on your page.
The procedure is as follows:
Navigate to Settings > Convert > Link target from the dashboard of your Viglink account.
Make sure the ‘new window’ option is selected.
This assures that readers will return to the post in order to devour the rest of it. They are more inclined to click on more of your links as they read more of your content.
2. Write thorough reviews of popular products
A review that is objective and comprehensive will establish you as an authority.
The greater the degree to which individuals have faith in you, the more likely it is that they will carry out your suggestions. In addition, you will make more purchases because you are providing reviews of well-known products.
3. Group many deals into a single post
Good deals are like fantastic gifts. They are so interesting that you can’t get enough of them!
You may double the potential earnings from a single piece of labour by compiling a list of killer bargains into a single post and sharing it with your audience.
This is the procedure to follow:
- Identify red-hot deals in your niche.
- Pick out a common thread among the deals to form the basis for your post.
- Write a post that refers to all the brands that offer these amazing deals.
- Let VigLink automatically insert affiliate links to all the mentioned brands.
After publishing the piece and making significant efforts to promote your content, you can (hopefully) sit back and watch the sales roll in.
4. Use social media to your advantageÂ
When applied appropriately, social media may be an extremely useful instrument.
If you are just starting out in affiliate marketing, you should limit your attention to no more than one social media outlet at a time. A strategy that is guaranteed to fail is when newbies try their hand at too many different things all at once in the vain hope that one of them will stick.
Therefore, if you do decide to concentrate on expanding the number of people who follow you on social media, publish frequently. Provide value. Encourage participation from both new and old followers.
Your fans will respond favourably if you maintain an active presence on social media. It encourages them to lend a helping hand to you.
These followers engage with your offers by clicking on them.
An excellent illustration of this is Jaime Derringer’s art and design website, which goes by the name Design Milk. There are 2.2 million people that are following the account on Twitter.
On Twitter, Jaime provided mouthwatering morsels of content for her fans. They went with her to the location she had chosen. The outcome was a massive increase in the amount of traffic. They discovered her VigLink affiliate connections as they read more pieces on the blog and appreciated them more and more.
The rest is up to you to figure out.
Since beginning to use Viglink, Design Milk has seen a sevenfold rise in its overall revenue.
Jaime’s interest in interior design began as a hobby when she set out to buy a beautiful sofa for her home. This is where Design Milk got its start. And these days, it has grown to attract over a hundred thousand in organic monthly traffic from Google and has been purchased by a publicly traded e-commerce firm known as Ahalife.
Customer Support
You’ll need some assistance to work through some problems from time to time.
You can get in touch with the customer service team by using the contact form. Look for the answers you need in their large knowledge base before getting in touch with them. It offers a plethora of instructions and articles that provide responses to the most frequently asked questions:
There is neither live assistance nor phone support available. However, their ticketing system is really effective.
VigLink Pros and Cons
The question now is, what are VigLink’s strong and weak points?
- Saves time– because you don’t have to add links manually.
- Easy to use– the platform is simple to use even for newcomers or technically not so savvy.
- Wide choice– with 60k+ merchants to choose from you won’t be short of options, regardless of niche.
- Flexible payment options– 4 payment options, the platform does better than most competitors. Supporting PayPal, a popular choice for many is a big plus.
- Timeless JavaScripts– using JavaScripts means you never need to manually update affiliate links.
- Supports many CMSs– VigLink is compatible with all the popular CMSs out there. Whether you are on WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr or Type Pad integration is possible.
- Search engine friendly– all affiliate links are no-follow so your site doesn’t give away valuable link equity.
Downsides
- Low payouts– VigLinks places many links from low margin products from large brands like Amazon and eBay. For example, Amazon Affiliate pays a paltry 1-10% commission. eBay Partner Network only pays 50-70% of final value fee listings.
- Limited features– their features are bare and not as rich as some affiliate network competitors like Skimlinks.
- Limited control over anchor text– while automatic link insertion is great, you have no control how VigLink displays the anchor text.
- High cut from earnings- the platform gets 25% of your earnings. That’s a lot of Darwins to give up if you ask me. And, remember that their cut comes after the merchant has taken theirs. So it’s a bit of a double blow.
Q&As
The following is a brief question-and-answer section that will address any concerns or questions you may have with VigLin.
What are the fees involved in becoming a member of the network?
The term “cost per action” (CPA) refers to the fact that publishers (affiliates) are entitled to a commission on any sales that meet the criteria.
CPC stands for “cost per click,” and it refers to the fee you must pay each time someone clicks on your advertisement. Let’s imagine you spent $200 on an advertising campaign and, as a result of that campaign, you obtained 100 clicks on your ads. Your CPC would be fifty cents (clicks earned divided by the cost of the campaign equals CPC).
How does VigLink pay out commissions?
- Check– for United States residents only.
- ACH– for United States residents only.
- Wire transfer– available for all countries.
- PayPal– available for all countries (good news for those outside the US)
The minimum required to make a payment via PayPal is only $10, whereas the threshold for all other payment methods is $50. It is a versatile arrangement that welcomes participation from all parties. You get your money in the manner that you choose.
Is VigLink worth it?
In general, the platform is an excellent choice for novice bloggers. Joining does not cost anything. It is simple to install, and making use of it does not require a lot of effort.
If you are a blogger with a little more expertise who is interested in getting engaged in affiliate marketing, you will also adore the automation skills that VigLink provides. You will have the ability to test the waters without having to spend several hours of your valuable time manually going through the motions.
