Getting Started for Publishers

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What is a publisher?

For the purposes of this resource guide, publishers are website or application owners that have online games on their site. Developers can also be publishers, for example, if they run a website showcasing their own games. Publishers can also be considered sponsors, which are websites that pay developers for the right to have branding or access to their games.

How do publishers make money?

Publishers typically derive their revenue from advertising and occasionally direct sales. This is a brief break-down of how they make money:

On-page advertising - Publishers monetize the traffic on their site by showing ads. Ad networks such as Google AdSense or Tribal Fusion pay for the traffic.
- Affiliate or Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) advertising - This can be considered a subset of on-page advertising. Publishers run ads for specific services such as signing up for an online MMO or buying a downloadable casual game. Based on the actions taken by the user to purchase a game or sign up as a member for the online games service, the publisher will receive a payment for the action.
In-game advertising - Publishers working with Mochi Ads or other in-game advertising networks receive a share of the ad revenue generated by the ads which show in the game.
Subscriptions or Virtual Goods - Publishers sell subscriptions or virtual goods directly to the consumer. For example, Club Pogo is a subscription service which offers paid users exclusive benefits to premium games, items and services on their site.