Finding merchants for your discount code website may sound an easy task at first, but get going and it is more involved than you might realise. Here is why.

Finding merchants that you will promote through your discount code website is actually very easy in a way. All that you need to do is to go to a few large affiliate program directories, sign up to as many merchants as interest you and that is really it.

These merchants will then start to send you regular emails of their latest discounts and offers. There will be emails that you can copy or retype onto your website and XML feeds that you can import in bulk if you are technically competent. So, where is the big problem?

This ease of access is a big problem
Well the problem is this. Every affiliate operating a discount code website in your country will be using the same basic set of merchants and promoting the same discount codes as they become available. Visitors looking around your website will see that it is full of the same offers that they have seen elsewhere and decide that they might as well just stick with what they know. Worse, if the site they are already with is doing the job properly, then you will have less offers and that certainly will not encourage them to come over to your service.

So you need to expand your offering outside of the immediate affiliate programs. And I know from experience that not only does this satisfy visitors, but because you are listing discounts and offers that are not on other websites there is a good chance that people will be finding you more easily on the search engines.

Find some non affiliate merchants
What you need to do is to start thinking of big name merchants (they do not have to be the leading names, just national names) and working out whether they offer affiliate schemes. You are looking those that don’t. Also, you can use keyword research tools to see what merchants people are searching for discount information on and check which of these do not run affiliate programs. It doesn’t matter so much if they have just an in house affiliate program, it is mainly the big network affiliate programs you are steering clear of.

Now quite simply look around the websites if all of these merchants and find their newsletters and sign up for them. Most will make this very easy to do and then all you have to do is to wait for the newsletter to arrive and upload those details.

The vital extra offering
And this second step is actually more critical than the mass joining of affiliate programs. By displaying discount codes that are more difficult to find and interesting to your visitors they are more likely to follow your site and sign up to your newsletter. It is also some great search engine bait.

So use some imagination when you are finding merchants for your discount code website!