Data aktualizacji: 09.01.2026

A thriving network of virtual publishers is the key to a successful affiliate program. How do you build and grow it?

We covered how to be a good advertiser in the article 10 commandments of a good advertiser. Now we’re answering the question of how to create and develop an effective publisher network. Let’s start from the beginning…

Publisher network – who is a publisher?

A PUBLISHER is any entity operating online (an individual or a company) that earns money by recommending products or services offered by advertisers, under performance-based settlement models: CPS (Cost Per Sale – a commission on sales) and CPL (Cost Per Lead – a fixed rate for delivering a specific action).

Who can become a publisher?

Anyone who operates online in any capacity and wants to earn money can become a publisher. You don’t need to run a business to be a publisher. It’s enough that a person or company:

• runs a niche website

• writes a blog

• runs a social media account (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest)

• has a discount or cashback website

• operates a product search engine or price comparison site

• has a legally obtained email database

• communicates with an audience or friends via email and online messengers

Publisher network – how do publishers work and promote advertisers?

To promote advertisers within affiliate programs, publishers use tools provided by the affiliate network:

• XML File

For an online store, price comparison engines, or product search engines, an XML file is essential. The XML file contains data such as the product image, name, price, and a link to the store. This tool is therefore reserved for larger sites offering many products.

• Affiliate link

One of the simplest and most popular tools among publishers is the affiliate link. It’s used mainly by bloggers, vloggers, social media users, discount and opinion websites, and email-list publishers. An affiliate link can be attached to any graphic, logo, or text, which makes promotion non-intrusive.

• Widget

A widget is an alternative to an advertising banner and a less intrusive form of promotion that can be embedded between sections of text. It is most often used by bloggers, niche portals, and opinion websites. Importantly and conveniently, products in the widget load automatically.

• Banner

Attractive advertising banners are still eagerly used by publishers—again mainly bloggers, niche portals, and opinion websites. A banner is a form of brand campaign for which the advertiser does not incur additional costs.

Publisher network – how to build it?

We start, of course, by setting up an affiliate program. The first and most important step is behind us… So what’s next? At this stage, an affiliate network comes to the rescue. Of course, you can run a program on your own and launch it using your own system, but building a publisher base requires more than just good technology. And that’s where we come in 🙂

Thanks to working with an affiliate network, the advertiser doesn’t have to search for potential publishers on their own. Instead, they get access to a powerful and constantly growing publisher database within the affiliate network. We, as the network, cover the costs of acquiring new publishers, and then make them available to our advertisers.

Through the affiliate marketplace available in the advertiser panel, the advertiser can also browse the publisher database themselves and invite selected partners to cooperate. The advertiser can also ask the affiliate network for help finding publishers that match their profile. The experience of a partner network can therefore be a major support in building a consistently successful program.

Publisher network + many benefits of working together

Access to a broad base of publishers willing to cooperate in a performance-based Cost Per Sale model is only one of the many benefits that come with partnering with an affiliate network. The advertiser also receives:

• a complete technology stack for running an affiliate program

• real-time traffic and sales statistics

• an integrated settlement/payment system for publishers

• promotion through a variety of affiliate tools

• the ability to launch premium programs

• distribution of discount codes and special campaigns

• access to an affiliate marketplace

• ongoing support from an account manager and an affiliate manager

Publisher network – what to do to grow it?

Publishing information on your website about the option to join your affiliate program (along with a link to the landing page in our service) is one of the best ways to systematically increase sales through a growing publisher network.