The Publisher Playbook for Recruitment, Activation, and Engagement
With a little bit of love and a whole lot of knowledge, I'm excited to share what's worked for me.
Use this playbook to go beyond publisher recruitment when they join your program or platform. It’s about building partnerships that activate, engage, and scale.
🤝 Recruitment Is a Relationship
DO:
Go beyond simply approving publishers in your platform or program.
Prioritize building rapport and context from the start.
HOW:
Start with warm leads - existing connections, referrals, or event contacts.
Personalize your outreach. Reference their past work, audiences, or monetization models.
➡️ WHAT I’VE DONE: If I don’t have any warm leads to assist with an intro, I go to LinkedIn and find people in the ideal role I’m looking to connect with. I’ll send a connection request to 3-4 people and as soon as they accept, I write a personalized message. I introduce myself, tell them about what I do, what I hope to accomplish, and provide a potential solution for them. My success rate is 25-33%. It only takes one response to make it to the next step.
🧠 Perfect the Pitch: Inform, But Don’t Overload
DO:
Craft your outreach to spark curiosity and open a conversation.
Research the partner. Thoroughly. 10 minutes on their site/app can tell you a lot more than just their URL and/or app store description.
HOW:
Share what sets your brand/platform apart, what you’re offering, and how it can benefit them.
Leave room for questions. Curiosity drives engagement.
➡️ WHAT I’VE DONE: I personalize messages with intent. Publishers can sniff out a canned response a mile away.
🔍🧵 Know the Landscape & Curate Engagement Opportunities
DO:
Understand the partner’s world and tailor your engagement accordingly.
HOW:
Start with research. Use tools like CashbackMonitor to benchmark commission rates (at least for loyalty partners) and identify what’s trending in your category.
Learn which demographics are buying what, and what is being promoted successfully within your vertical.
Identify your competitors publishers are already working with and how they are currently being promoted.
Then go deeper:
Ask questions that spark meaningful dialogue. Try:
“What strategies have worked well for you in the [X] category?”
“What kind of content or offers resonate best with your audience?”
“What would make us more competitive compared to similar brands you promote?”
Use what you learn to co-create offers, campaigns, and activation paths that are mutually beneficial. The more you understand their playbook, the more likely you are to become part of it.
➡️ WHAT I’VE DONE: This goes back to doing your research! One of the things I learned as a publisher is that brands appreciate it when you’ve presented a full picture with options, so they only need to look at it and say yes or no. This can be true for partner engagement. Show them the cards in your hand and let them decide if they want to call or draw.
🎯 Incentivize Activation Strategically
DO:
Create structured, realistic goals that drive publisher action.
Set up a stretch goal for the overachievers.
HOW:
Offer tiered commissions, bonuses, or exclusive promo codes.
Align short-term (initial traffic or sales) and long-term (sustained growth) KPIs.
Track milestones and celebrate progress.
➡️ WHAT I’VE DONE: This is where you set up your partner for success. The first 30 days should focus on traffic, making sure your partner has everything they need to make that happen. By 90 days the goal is to have conversions. These early conversations will shape what realistic goals look like, and you can use your data to support what makes the most sense based on benchmark CTRs and CRs.
🌟 Share the Spotlight: Help Publishers Win
DO:
Make your partners feel seen, supported, and appreciated.
HOW:
Offer “Partner Spotlights” through newsletters, social media, or blog content.
Share what’s working and amplify their success stories.
Provide exposure to help them grow their business too.
➡️ WHAT I’VE DONE: This is my favorite part of engagement! There are thousands of partners fighting for a chance to take up space. It’s said that 20% of your partners make up 80% of your revenue, which means there are a whole lot of partners trying to figure out how to crack your top 20, 50, or even 100 list. Nothing says you care about the well-being of the partnership when you shine a spotlight on their business.
📍 Be Present Where Publishers Are
DO:
Make the most of physical and virtual events.
HOW:
Attend industry conferences, meetups, and webinars.
Don’t just network - create shared moments that lead to follow-ups.
Host dinners, sponsor mixers, or co-host panels with strategic partners.
➡️ WHAT I’VE DONE: This is probably controversial, but it’s being done by all parties. We know when and where major industry events take place, and who hosts them. That doesn’t mean you should stay away if it’s your competitor hosting. There are plenty of pre-show happy hours, mixers, and dinners to be had. Plus, you’d be surprised to find out the number of people hanging out near the event that didn’t get their ticket, but they are still showing up to network. Just keep things professional - we’re a tight knit industry, and bad-mouthing any person or company makes it much harder to grow your business.
📊 Monitor and Maintain Program Health
DO:
Build structured, ongoing communication with partners.
HOW:
Create regular check-ins: monthly, quarterly, or seasonal.
Share new campaigns, promos, and updates on your side.
Plan for peak seasons and develop game plans for quieter periods.
➡️ WHAT I’VE DONE: For long-term planning, I loved it when a brand would share their marketing calendar with me. Obviously, plans can change at a moment’s notice, but it gives the general idea of what to expect. Publishers have their own calendar of events and since partnerships are a two way street, ask to see theirs and work out shared events together.
If you are collecting all marketing calendars, automation (and even AI) can help organize this data for you, so you can keep track of what is happening when, what terms should be, and reminders to prepare planning for the next event.
💡 Final Thought:
Being a great partner means showing up, staying informed, and staying curious. Whether you're working at a brand or a platform/network, the most successful publisher relationships are built on trust, value exchange, and ongoing collaboration.
➡️ Your Turn: What Have You Done?
This playbook is a guide, but your experience brings it to life. Reflect on how you've applied (or plan to apply) these strategies in your role.
Can you share…
🔄 A recruitment success story: How did you turn a cold lead into an active partner?
🧠 A pitch that worked: What messaging sparked interest and got a “yes”?
🔍 A competitive insight: What data helped you onboard a key publisher?
🎯 An activation tactic: What offer or goal structure led to strong performance?
🌟 A spotlight moment: How did showcasing a partner help amplify results?
📊 A process check-in: How do you keep partners engaged and aligned year-round?
Drop your notes, wins, and learnings in the comments👇
➡️ In need of a fractional affiliate expert to launch and scale your partnerships program?
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