The 60-day Monetization Action Plan for Editorial Leaders

At Stay22, we’ve seen firsthand how thoughtful commerce strategies can generate real incremental revenue without compromising your brand. In our first article, Why Incremental Revenue Is the New King, we laid out the big-picture shifts reshaping the industry. 

It’s not just about adding links or widgets, it’s about embedding commerce into your content strategy in a way that enhances reader value and supports your mission.

Media revenue is changing fast and editorial teams that treat monetization like a creative discipline, not a tech add-on, will win.

Here’s how to lead that shift in just 60 days.

Week 1: Audit Your Content and Traffic Sources 
Week 2: Optimize Your Monetization Goals 
Week 3: Refine Existing Content for Commerce 
Week 4: Test and Launch New Monetized Formats
Week 5: Improve Internal Workflows and Tech Stack
Week 6: Optimize Promotion and Distribution
Week 7: Measure, Learn, and Scale 
Week 8: Build a Long-Term Monetization Roadmap

Let's dive in...

Week 1: Audit Your Content and Traffic Sources

Estimated Time: 4-6 hours

Before you make changes, know what’s already working.

• Identify your top 25 traffic-driving articles (organic, social, and referral)
• Map content types to user intent (e.g. informational vs. transactional)
• Note any existing affiliate placements, CTAs, or revenue-generating elements

This audit gives you a baseline for improvement—and reveals low-hanging fruit to monetize immediately.

👉 If you haven’t yet, grab our free Monetization Canvas for Editorial Leaders to help you audit your content strategy.

Pro tip: Cross-reference this with your analytics to see what converts and what just drives eyeballs.

Week 2: Optimize Your Monetization Goals

Estimated Time: 3-4 hours

At this stage, you likely already have monetization goals in place—whether that's increasing revenue per session, diversifying income streams, or improving partner performance. The next step is to optimize those goals so they’re tightly aligned with your editorial priorities, traffic potential, and audience intent.

Use this week to:

• Reassess performance benchmarks: Are your current targets realistic given your traffic mix and content formats?
  
  
• Segment goals by content type or audience: Not every page or vertical needs to serve the same objective. Some pages drive clicks, others conversions. Treat them differently.
  
  
• Align editorial KPIs with revenue KPIs: Make sure your teams are rowing in the same direction, and that monetization is part of your editorial planning—not an afterthought.
  
  
• Refine partner strategy: Which affiliate or commerce tools are delivering? Where can you consolidate or expand?

Week 3: Refine Existing Content for Commerce

Estimated Time: 4-5 hours

This week, focus on enhancing high-performing articles with smarter monetization tactics that align with user intent and preserve editorial integrity.

Action steps:

• Identify top 10–15 evergreen pieces with consistent traffic.

• Layer in high-converting affiliate links tied to relevant destinations or experiences.

• Audit CTAs for clarity, placement, and alignment with reader journey.

This isn’t about adding more links—it’s about precision. Commerce should feel like a natural extension of the content, not an interruption.

Week 4: Test and Launch New Monetized Formats

Estimated Time: 6-8 hours

Now that your existing content is optimized, it’s time to create with commerce in mind.

Consider:

• “Best places to stay” city guides
• Gear or product roundups
• Curated trip itineraries or travel checklists
• Affiliate-friendly review pieces

Each of these formats balances editorial value with revenue potential – and integrates easily with Stay22’s tools. 

For example, Stay22's Spark – the brilliant AI affiliate link creator, can boost publishers' earnings by up to 12% just by scanning content and identify missed affiliate opportunities. Spark seamlessly inserts hyperlinks into your existing content – without altering a single word of your writing.

Week 5: Improve Internal Workflows and Tech Stack

Estimated Time: 3-4 hours

To make monetization sustainable, it must fit seamlessly into your team’s editorial operations.

Ask yourself:

• Are we tagging monetized content in our CMS?
• Do we have a centralized doc of affiliate links and partners?
• Is someone tracking performance weekly or monthly?
• Are we leaving money on the table by missing out on new monetization tools?

Small tweaks in your workflow can save hours—and unlock new scale.

Week 6: Optimize Promotion and Distribution

Estimated Time: 3-4 hours

This week is about refining your distribution strategy to prioritize high-conversion channels and maximize the visibility of revenue-generating content—without adding unnecessary workload to your team.

Consider:

• Prioritizing owned channels like newsletters and homepage modules where you control the context and placement
  
  
• Revisiting SEO strategy to ensure your monetized content is optimized for high-intent search terms, not just traffic volume
  
  
• Cross-linking strategically between monetized and editorial content to increase time on site and funnel engagement toward revenue-driving pieces
  
  
• Evaluating social and referral performance: Which platforms actually drive qualified traffic that converts?

You don’t need to be everywhere—you need to be effective where it counts.

Revisit your team’s promotional routines and ask: Are we amplifying the right content in the right places to meet both editorial and revenue goals?

Week 7: Measure, Learn, and Scale

Estimated Time: 4-5 hours

Now that your system is running, dig into the results.

• What articles are converting best?
• Which formats are most profitable?
• Where are users clicking – and bouncing?

Set up regular review meetings to share findings across editorial, revenue, and product teams. Transparency builds momentum.

Week 8: Build a Long-Term Monetization Roadmap

Estimated Time: 3-4 hours

You’ve made it 60 days – and you’ve built a foundation. Now document:

• Your content formats that drive revenue
• Tools and partners you rely on (like Stay22)
• Your monetization checklist for every article
• Quarterly goals for growth

Final Thoughts

Monetization doesn’t have to mean compromise. It can mean innovation—especially when it’s driven by your editorial values, not just short-term dollars.

This 60-day plan is your starting point. Use it to move quickly, learn fast, and build a sustainable revenue strategy that respects your audience.

👉  Ready to plan your monetization strategy?

Download the Monetization Canvas for Editorial Leaders

Stay tuned for the next article in our series—and in the meantime, start turning your content into a commerce engine that works for your team and your readers.

Get started with Stay22 today