One Year In, The Wall Street Journal’s Buy Side Is Fine-Tuning Its Affiliate Strategy

The business publisher The Wall Street Journal launched its affiliate commerce arm, Buy Side, last June, in a bid to parlay its recommendation authority and affluent readership into a new source of revenue.

One year later, despite a broader pullback in consumer spending, the division has found its commercial footing, refined its audience strategy and introduced a series of new initiatives, according to head of business development and marketing Emily Welsh.

In conversation with community editor Luz Corona during Adweek’s Commerceweek event in Manhattan, Welsh detailed a number of insights the division has gleaned from its first year of operation.

“Getting into this space and finding a new way to diversify our revenue stream were no-brainers,” Welsh said, “but we had to make sure that we created a product that readers could trust, especially because we are a part of The Journal. So far, I think we have been able to accomplish that.”

Although nascent, Buy Side has already provided its parent company Dow Jones with a promising new source of revenue, as well as valuable consumer data that it has used to inform its advertising products. 

The early traction comes as the affiliate marketing ecosystem more broadly prepares to navigate the potentially disruptive effects of generative artificial intelligence, which threatens to throttle search traffic, as well as the increasing saturation of the affiliate landscape.

Relatable personal finance content is a sweet spot

In its first year of operation, Buy Side has seen its lifestyle writing generate a significant audience, but personal finance content has, unsurprisingly, attracted its greatest readership, said Welsh.

The most-read financial articles from Buy Side have addressed the subject of savings accounts, specifically high-yield savings accounts, although Welsh wouldn’t share specific readership figures. Content exploring certificates of deposit (CDs) also performs well for the publisher.

Although The Wall Street Journal has a reputation for providing aspirational content, relatable personal finance reporting has really moved the needle for Buy Side, Welsh told Adweek. 

In particular, the most engaged-with article of its first year, Babies Are Expensive—This Amazon Credit Card Helps Me Ease the Sting—reflects how the division has paired an approachable tone and subject matter with an informed financial recommendation.

Anticipating shifting traffic patterns 

According to Welsh, Buy Side has taken a multifaceted approach to building its readership, including proactive and reactive efforts.

In particular, the commerce division has worked to strengthen its search engine authority through consistent back-linking to other sites within the Dow Jones portfolio, such as The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, IBD and MarketWatch. It also plans to increase the visibility of Buy Side content on these sites’ layouts, though Buy Side already has a dedicated carousel on The Journal’s homepage.

The affiliate division worked with a search engine agency to help optimize its search authority at launch, but the consultancy said it would take a minimum of two years before the site began accruing substantial search traffic.

To compensate for this maturation period, Buy Side has invested heavily in its audience development team to ensure that its content is available across every major source of readership, including platforms like Apple News.

It has also kept a close eye on developments surrounding Search Generative Experience, the effort from Google to answer users’ search queries without directing them to publishers’ websites, Welsh said. 

New initiatives and verticals

Heading into its second year, Buy Side has already unveiled one new initiative and has a second series of releases slated for later this year, according to Welsh.

In May, the publisher launched its program Buy Side Exclusives, which provides exclusive deals, discounts and perks to paying Dow Jones subscribers who opt into the program. So far, more than 800,000 paying subscribers have opted into the program, according to Welsh.

The trove of audience data provided by this program has opened up additional revenue opportunities. For instance, advertisers can craft special campaigns designed explicitly to reach these consumers, and retailers can offer specific deals designed to reach them. 

In the coming months, Buy Side plans to introduce a number of new editorial verticals, including one that focuses on when to buy certain items, Welsh said. 

“This is a long-term project and we are just finishing year one, but so far all the feedback has been very positive,” Welsh said.