Sponsored content unlocks new ways for marketers to connect with audiences and communicate value.
If you’ve already booked one of our thousands of sponsored content opportunities, congratulations! If not, head over to Syndicate to find your perfect placement.
We put together this guide to answer common questions we get from first-time sponsors. Keep reading for the top 10 things marketers should know before running sponsored content campaigns through BuySellAds.
1. Publishers have the right to decline working with the sponsor if they feel it’s not the right fit.
Sponsored content works best when the brand, audience, and publisher align. In the interest of audiences (and your marketing budget!), publishers may opt to decline a sponsorship. In this case, you can choose to refund the full amount of the sponsorship to the original payment method or your Syndicate account balance to use on another publication in the network.
2. Syndicate and GatherContent are different things.
We use an external service called GatherContent to collect creative materials from you for sponsorships. This service allows you to keep these materials and any exchanges you may have with Syndicate account managers in one place rather than multiple email threads.
Once you’ve submitted finalized content, your work with GatherContent is finished. From that point forward, keep an eye on your SyndicateAds.net dashboard for campaign performance.
3. You can check order status and performance on SyndicateAds.net.
Your Syndicate account can tell you if everything is running as expected. Go to SyndicateAds.net, then navigate to the “Campaigns” page using the dropdown menu in the top right corner. This page has information on your order status as well as click performance of web, newsletter, and podcast sponsorships.
We will contact you directly should any issues arise with your campaign.
4. There currently aren’t any automated notifications for order status.
At the moment, there are no alerts to let you know when sponsorships have been published. Keep an eye on your SyndicateAds.net Campaigns Dashboard for live URLs or monitor the website, podcast, or newsletter at your convenience. Of course, this could change as we continuously update and improve our sponsored content program.
5. For dedicated email sponsorships, most publishers request HTML templates.
Please keep in mind that we won’t edit HTML templates, so all tracking needs to be set up before the template is sent to us. Performance information like the exact number of subscribers the email was sent to, unique opens, and unique clicks is available upon request a few days after the email is deployed.
6. Be sure to make your changes early.
Unfortunately, we can’t guarantee that changes to a sponsorship will be made if submitted less than 48 hours in advance. Content sponsorships are great because your message is delivered with a personalized human touch… but do keep in mind this means humans, not robots, are at work here!
Have requests for additional reporting, tracking pixels, batch sending of emails, or anything else? Reach out to us before a sponsorship is booked so we can verify that the publisher can deliver on exactly what you need.
7. Just like display ads, performance isn’t guaranteed.
It’s impossible to predict how sponsored content will perform because so many factors go into how content reaches and influences audiences. The publication, the product being offered, and the creative are just a handful of variables that impact the success of a sponsorship.
Of course, there are ways to make sure content performs well. Read our guides on writing advertorials that sell and producing powerful podcast ads.
8. Click performance isn’t guaranteed.
Related to the last point, sponsorships cannot be refunded unless the publisher makes a mistake that affects the timely publication of the sponsorship. In this case, we work with both parties to arrange a fair make-good.
9. We shorten URLs to track performance.
We shorten provided URLs for web sponsorships and newsletters. You’re welcome to provide UTM parameters to your exact specifications, but using our shortened links lets us track clicks so marketers have accurate data from their placements. We cannot guarantee that publishers will be able to provide additional data like page views and email opens for these sponsorship types.
10. Creative deadlines are actual deadlines.
Last but not least: creative deadlines must be met in order to keep campaigns on schedule. Submitting content late can lead to a delayed sponsorship. If the timeline we establish is simply not doable for you, let us know as early as possible so we can modify scheduling as needed.
Ready to launch your sponsored content campaign? Go to Syndicate to find your perfect placement.