Readers want beauty to be recommended, not sold, to them.
Readers want beauty to be recommended, not sold, to them.
Net-a-Porter’s beauty vertical is switching to “an editorial-style affiliate model.”
Hello everyone. I’m writing this from the library at FIT. I wanted to look at some Vogue issues from 2002, to see what women’s media looked like in the wake of 9/11.
It’s funny, many of the stories are about “solving” the same problems that we’re still trying to solve today. The Cut published a story about perfect teeth this week, and Tama Janowitz was writing about the same thing in 2002:
Sarah Brown wrote about the women dabbling in liposuction in 2002, and we’re over halfway through 2024 and I still can’t open an email from Lauren Sherman’s Line Sheet without seeing an Ozempic mention (can’t wait to read what she has in store this week):
And five years ago, Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone to the planet Earth, we were thinking about narcissism (today that mirror would’ve been a front-facing selfie):
No big takeaways here, but it’s such a luxury to be able to look through all these old issues. And man, to have the budget of American Spirit cigarettes in 2002…..
Today’s newsletter includes
on Net-a-Porter’s new content strategy, affordable housing in the Hamptons, and some very familiar photos that Sofia Coppola took of her daughter, Romy.Customers want beauty to be recommended, not sold to them.
This morning, BoF announced that Net-a-Porter’s beauty section is switching to “an editorial-style affiliate model.” The affiliate-focused editorial model isn’t unique to magazines—New York Magazine has The Strategist (which is currently hiring), The New York Times has Wirecutter (which was looking for a beauty writer earlier this year), Glamour and Vogue are both currently hiring commerce writers, and many of your favorite beauty Substacks use affiliate links on their product recs. But when e-commerce sites spin out these editorial projects… it’s a bit more unusual.
Which is why it was so exciting when Glossier brought back Into the Gloss last year (Daise, you’re killing it) after a several-year hiatus. Not only does Into the Gloss interview relevant, interesting people (everyone from The Polo Bar’s iconic maître d, Nelly Moudime, to
, to Fara Homidi) but we also get the most detailed breakdowns of their medicine cabinets—the consistent format checks off the boxes for voyeurism and beautiful product photography. But Net-a-Porter’s inventory is far more luxurious than the average Into the Gloss Top Shelf. Recently added items on the site include a $1,900 light mask and a $900 serum… which makes me wonder if people will swipe their card as easily as they would on the secret drugstore pleasures that Into the Gloss often features.Brand editorial sites are hard to nail. I’ve seen them go from decent to cheap really quickly, and it’s rare you’re getting enough traffic to justify the work that goes into them (interviews, photography, and occasional talent fees for the people you’re featuring). But I think there’s a bigger story about affiliate marketing here, and how when the right person pushes a product on TikTok Shop or Substack or Instagram, it can sell out within hours.
I reached out to
to see what she thought about the Net-a-Porter announcement: