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...
Estimated Time: 4-6 hours
Before you make changes, know what’s already working.
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.
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:
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.
Estimated Time: 6-8 hours
Now that your existing content is optimized, it’s time to create with commerce in mind.
Consider:
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.
Estimated Time: 3-4 hours
To make monetization sustainable, it must fit seamlessly into your team’s editorial operations.
Ask yourself:
Small tweaks in your workflow can save hours—and unlock new scale.
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:
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?
Estimated Time: 4-5 hours
Now that your system is running, dig into the results.
Set up regular review meetings to share findings across editorial, revenue, and product teams. Transparency builds momentum.
Estimated Time: 3-4 hours
You’ve made it 60 days – and you’ve built a foundation. Now document:
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.