Whether you are an affiliate publisher or advertiser, the holiday season is one of the most profitable times of the year. That's why it's important to set yourself up for success long before holiday shopping gets underway. Here are four recommendations from our affiliate experts.
Step 1: Create a calendar targeting key shopping days
With your sales estimates in hand, it is time to establish your holiday calendar. Sales and click trends show that on average U.S. retailers experience 20% of their holiday sales during Peak Week (Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday), but don’t ignore rising days such as Green Monday and Free Shipping day. These days will be the most expensive to purchase exposure on sites and in newsletters. If you are an advertiser on a limited budget, consider increasing your commission rate to gain more exposure.
Step 2: Identify top performers and promotion methods
Here's where all of the testing and analysis you have been doing throughout the year pays off. Going into the holiday season, you should already have the data to identify your top-performing affiliates. Focus your efforts on top performers where you already have traction instead of trying to gain momentum from a new affiliate, especially at such a critical point in the shopping calendar.
Your data should also identify what types of promotions are most popular with your customers. You may have found that free shipping is desired by both users and publishers, but keep in mind that sales and coupon offers often perform at least 25% better than free shipping offers. If you haven’t already, try offering exclusive coupons on products already on sale.
Step 3: Keep mobile in mind
Mobile shopping continues to increase, with 50% of all affiliate sales occurring on mobile devices in 2024, according to Authority Hacker; the majority of those sales came from smartphones rather than tablets. Make sure that your websites and landing pages are mobile-friendly to capture these sales.
Step 4: Highlight pick-up in store options
Your online sales don’t need to suffer in the last few days before Christmas. Since the pandemic, there has been a sharp increase in the popularity of purchasing products online and picking up in store. If you are a publisher, be sure to highlight advertisers with this option so that your users can still get those last-minute gifts.
If you are looking for help with your affiliate sales to maximize your profit this holiday season, it's not too late to optimize your campaign! Check out our complete guide to affiliate marketing concepts and strategies, and reach out to the expert team at Informatics for more assistance—we're passionate about affiliate and ready to help!
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