As we know, WordPress is very versatile with the types of website it allows you to run. Right now, in the affiliate world, coupon codes are big business. Before a buyer purchases something online, they are very likely to search around to see if there is a discount coupon code they can use to get some extra money off their purchase. This is where you can come in; by running a coupon code website you can offer the buyer the code they are looking for and collect a share of affiliate refferal money at the same time.
I have found myself, running my own premium WordPress plugin that a coupon code really pushes up sales conversions so it makes sense for the retailer to offer them and you to provide them to potential customers. Luckily there are a number of plugins that take the hassle out of running a coupon code website which will be taking a look at.
Coupon Press
Coupon Press from Premium Press is an excellent-looking premium plugin with a good range of features and some attractive default themes :
- Click to Reveal or Copy Tools – so you get the affiliate refferal
- Did it Work? – to get rid of expired codes
- Website Thumbnail API – display site thumbnails automatically
- Coupon Search Tools
- Affiliate Ready – import codes via CSV or Feeds
What is impressive is that the plugin ships with 23 different colored themes, here is a shot of the blue version :
The admin panel that ships with it is also very impressive looking with a range of stats & analytics all right there :
Click Here to Visit Coupon Press
WP Coupon
WP Coupon is a full system for converting a WordPress install into a coupon website, it is very versatile and includes a host of features :
- Different coupon types – printable & online codes
- Store Subscriptions – Subscriptions for updates to specific stores
- Automatic Coupon Update – Connects to various coupon feeds
- Affiliate Link Management System – Redirects and cloaking of affiliate links
- Sponsored Categories – Allow retailers to sponsor a category of their choice
- Custom page Templates – Page templates allready created for you
The default theme that ships with WP Coupon, is not the most attractive but Im sure with some tweaking it could be made to look fine :
All in all it looks to very a very solid system with the main features you will need, I like the inclusion of the automatic coupon update – that will take a lot of the work out of running such a site.
Click Here to Visit WP Coupon
Conclusion
These are both great looking plugins, for me CouponPress wins out – with a more attractive default theme and its very impressive admin panel this is the option I would choose.
If you decide you are going to setup a coupon code website, I would stay away from offering a generic site as there are allready huge sites such as Retail Me Not and My Voucher Codes which are so big and heavily trafficked you wouldnt be able to compete without a large amount of resources and money. Where I really see these types of sites working is with niche coupon code sites. For example, you could specialise in coupon codes for WordPress theme / plugin companies, Coupons for fishing equipment, Coupons for Anti Virus software etc.
Whatever the market you decide to go into, make sure you research it thouroughly and make sure there are codes you can acquire – even approach companies directly and see if you can obtain one-off codes for your site, that is how I think you can get an advantage by providing codes that other sites dont have. You can also fill your site with other backup codes from sites that provide coupon feeds, such as iCodes and For Me To Coupon.
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