It’s easy to become overwhelmed as an affiliate marketer as the holiday shopping season approaches.

We put together a cheat sheet on how to adjust your marketing approach for the rest of the year to ensure you experience the magic of the season. We guarantee that in the end, you’ll be in the holiday spirit and free of holiday stress.

How can affiliate marketers prepare for the Holiday Shopping Season?

First of all, keep important dates in mind.

First and foremost, mark these dates on your calendar to consider how you will alter your Q4 marketing tactics to accommodate these big holidays:

Pre-Thanksgiving: On or before November 25th

Although 38% of holiday shoppers start shopping in October, another 23% start shopping before Cyber Week. Take advantage of this moment to reach out to customers before the competitors.

November 25th – November 29th: Cyber 5

It is critical to have a solid plan in place for these five days. Rotate different offers every day, and place your best sales on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Thanksgiving is on November 30th

Every year on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, Giving Tuesday urges individuals to give back. Promote your firm in promoting your brand.

December 13th: Green Monday

Green Monday, launched by eBay, is the largest online shopping day in December. It’s the season’s second-largest internet shopping event, following Cyber Monday.

December 18th: Super Saturday

This is going to be the last Saturday before Christmas Eve, sometimes known as “Panic Saturday,” as shoppers rush to fulfill their shopping lists. Use this opportunity to promote expedited shipping.

Boxing Day is on December 26th.

Boxing Day is an official holiday in the United Kingdom, and it is celebrated with sporting activities and, yes – you guessed it, even more shopping.

Post Holiday Shopping

Many brands around the world continue to push sales as they clear out inventory and prepare new products for the post-holiday season.

Understand When and What to Offer

People expect more savings around this time of year, but you don’t have to go out of your way to get the deal. Create a campaign based on the following tactics to keep your clients pleased while minimizing income loss:

Holiday Shopping Incentives

This time of year, sales become competitive, and if you aren’t offering a deal, you may lose conversions. This does not imply that you must sell everything at a discount. Offer incentives in exchange for shoppers’ email addresses so that you have new leads to file after the holidays.

Free Gift with Purchase

When looking for gifts, shoppers adore hearing the word “free.” Offering a free gift with purchase can result in a 44 percent increase in conversion rate. Go over your inventory and look for seasonal products that you can use.

Shipping is always free.

If it’s not within your budget to offer free shipping to everyone, develop a promotion in which shoppers must meet a certain threshold to receive free shipping. Determine how much they must spend to make it worthwhile for your company.

Shipping in a hurry

We’ve all been those shoppers who shop at the last minute. Rush shipping effortlessly converts more shoppers by relieving them of the worry of packages arriving on time.

Make Use of Technology

It is important to assess your affiliate program and adjust your affiliate marketing methods in order to prepare for holiday traffic. Consider working with a technology partner like UpSellit to reduce your workload and help you come up with innovative methods to engage clients when it matters the most.

Conversion Strategies Must Be Adapted and Optimized

Ask yourself crucial questions to narrow down what needs to change in order to achieve your objectives. Are you attempting to reach a new audience? What are they hoping for? What seasonal promotions will you offer to increase sales?

Communicate with your technology partner to ensure that your seasonal marketing strategies are in sync. Here’s a list of strategies that are especially useful at this time of year:

Utilize “Urgency” Tactics

Using a countdown timer or low stock warnings can boost sales by 60%. Shoppers are more likely to convert if they know a deal is only available for a limited time.

Remarketing can help you stay top of their mind.

Send tailored emails to shoppers to keep them organized. Remind shoppers of shipping deadlines and integrate back-in-stock messages so they can tick more items off their list. They’ll be inundated with festive emails, so make yours stand out.

Use Shoppers’ Wishlists

holiday shopping frenzy

It’s easy for online shoppers to become disoriented as they search through hundreds of products and services. Save their cart’s contents and create a wishlist to remind them to visit your website again.

Play a Role in Seasonal Marketing

Everyone wants to jump into the holiday mood! Make your page and emails into a holiday shopping experience by using festive themes and gamification.

Coordinate Your Affiliates

Once you’ve devised a strategy, communicate with your affiliates ahead of time to ensure they have what they require. Give them updated marketing materials, keep them up to date on promotions, and supply assets for social media to promote your brand.

It’s also important to identify which affiliates to work with based on their role in your program. You might even think about boosting the amount affiliates can earn. To reward their partners, several advertisers offer a larger commission rate during the season. Make the most of your affiliate program and network with your contacts to discover where you can expand your reach this season.

Conclusion

You are now officially prepared to get into the holiday spirit! We promised to put you at rest so you could go back to singing carols and preparing your own holiday parties. You have everything you need to be successful this holiday season.

Last Updated on May 24, 2023

Author

Elizabeth is a Senior Content Manager at Scaleo. Currently enjoying the life in Prague and sharing professional affiliate marketing tips. She's been in the online marketing business since 2006 and gladly shares all her insights and ideas on this blog.