The Evergreen Content Playbook: A Look at SETHLUI.com’s Approach

In our most recent case study, we had the privilege of interviewing Rex Tiwary, Deputy Editor at SETHLUI.com, to gain insights into their captivating commerce content journey with Skimlinks.

Tell me about your commerce content strategy

Seth launched SethLui.com 10 years ago this year and our central content philosophy has always been to reward our audience with value for the time they choose to spend with us. Our commerce strategy is built around the same principle; through conversations with readers and viewers across multiple platforms, we understand their interests and give them more of what they want. It’s a more organic version of creating ‘Buyer Personas’ that has worked for us.

How long have you focused on affiliate marketing

Our first foray into affiliate marketing was in 2020, primarily with our sister site, Hype & Stuff.  While mildly successful, the results weren’t exceptional. Seth partnered with Skimlinks just prior to my joining the team in late 2022, and those 2 beginnings coincided nicely. Over the past 18 months, we have invested considerable time and effort into building a strong repertoire of content that we believe our audience wants to read and view, and which can also be enhanced with affiliate marketing integration.

How has your strategy developed in recent years 

2023 was our first full year of creating content with affiliate links at SETHLUI.com. It’s clear from the data we have gathered that consumer purchasing behaviour is cyclic and seasonal. As publishers, we have to ride the reader-consumer wave to increase revenue; that’s a skill we continue to refine.

As a publication known for food-related content, our initial strategy was to use affiliate marketing for food and food-adjacent products, e.g., cookware and kitchen appliances. However, we found that high trust and website Domain Authority (DA) allows us to rank organically for a much wider range of products. Our strategy today has evolved to target what our readers are searching for rather than just what we previously thought they want to see.

Tell me about your commerce team

With our focus on food-related content, we have a Business Development (BD) team that handles marketing and advertising but not a commerce team directly involved in our affiliate marketing efforts. The success of our affiliate marketing program comes from Seth’s directional choices and BD’s input as they both contribute to shaping our path.

How do you decide which merchants to feature

Reader trust is invaluable, and we gain that trust by featuring merchants and companies that we know offer the best products and services. That means a lot of product testing, hands-on practical use, and endless hours of comparison and research. We have been fortunate that brands such as Samsung, Jabra and SharkNinja send us their flagship products to test and review.

Our audience is always on the lookout for deals so we also feature platform ‘double digit’ sales as well as merchants that are slashing prices. Skimlinks has been very helpful in that respect with their regular newsletters and other communications with us to highlight upcoming sales and offers.

You have been successfully producing evergreen articles. Could you share with us the process of creating this type of article?

An organic approach trumps strategy, all other things being equal. SethLui.com took off a decade ago when Seth published his viral list of 30 famous local foods to eat before you die. Why? It gave a straightforward answer to a question many Singaporeans and visitors to Singapore have. Today, we regularly update it because it continues to get views. It’s the same with our other content and this authentic, people-centric philosophy is fertile ground for evergreen article ideas.

How do you use data to make decisions about content creation

We have embraced data in a big way because it’s all information that tells us what our audience wants to read, see and, potentially, buy. When I open up my browser in the morning, my startup pages include Google Analytics, Google Trends, SEMRush and, of course, the Skimlinks snapshot tab.

While revenue is an important metric, our prime focus is on views, particularly metrics such as time on page, number of pages visited, entrance and exit pages, and the navigation between them. We try to identify patterns in this information and use it in A-B testing to streamline and evolve our content creation strategy. To put it simply, our audience tells us what they like with their clicks and we love to listen.

How do you see the importance of mobile distribution?

You simply cannot overstate the significance of mobile distribution in today’s digital consumer landscape. Data shows us that the majority of our content is viewed on mobile devices. We have intensified our efforts to enhance and expand our video content, strategically catering to the preferences of mobile viewers.

Search engines increasingly prioritise mobile-friendly content, thereby enhancing both our ranking and SEO scores. By optimising our content for mobile platforms, we not only cater to the evolving preferences of our audience but also bolster our visibility and accessibility in search engine results.

Ultimately, embracing mobile distribution isn’t merely a choice but a necessity to effectively reach and engage with our audience while simultaneously enhancing our online presence and performance.

What are your plans for peak season?

We always watch out for content suggestions from Skimlinks in the leadup! Our strategy is to closely align our content with anticipated consumer demand. In that respect, vendors have an invaluable understanding of market trends and consumer behaviour, so we take our cues from them to fine-tune our approach.

What do you love most about Skimlinks?

One of the standout aspects of Skimlinks for us is undoubtedly the exceptional team they’ve assembled. From literally day 1, their support has been invaluable – consistently responsive, and addressing our queries and concerns with expertise and practical solutions.

Skimlinks has a swift onboarding process that lets us start monetising content right away. We’ve seen significant growth in the affiliate performance of SethLui.com and we see plenty of potential with their growing network.

In essence, Skimlinks has not only facilitated our monetisation efforts but has also strengthened our ability to connect our audience with quality products and services at competitive prices. Seth and the team are grateful for the partnership and the opportunities it continues to bring.