Summer started in June, and then we blinked. Yes, it’s time to prepare for Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM) once again. It feels like a small amount of time, but by no means is that week insignificant. North Americans spend billions of dollars on all types of holiday gifts during BFCM. And as a business owner or marketing team, it’s something you’re going to want to capitalize on.
Affiliate marketing has also experienced significant growth in recent years, as digital shopping continues to expand and customers increasingly rely on their favorite influencers for product recommendations. This multi-billion-dollar industry is making businesses unfathomable amounts of money in passive income. Health and wellness, cosmetics, fitness, food subscriptions, you name it. Every sector grows with affiliate marketing.
If you have an affiliate program up and running, here’s how to fine-tune it to make this BFCM the most successful yet.
BFCM is just a sliver of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but it could make or break your entire fiscal year. For many, the effectiveness of Cyber Week can last more than just seven days… if it’s planned well.
That’s why businesses need to prepare their promotions well in advance. A marketing strategy takes weeks to plan and execute, especially if you’re collaborating with dozens of affiliates. Hype up your team and affiliates now to make BFCM as successful as possible.
Before you do anything, you need to understand your starting point. Evaluate your affiliate marketing efforts as they stand, and determine:
This is also a great time to conduct some benchmarking against your competitors and compare your current performance to last year’s. You’re going to want to set goals and identify what worked well last year, and what didn’t. Once you know what you’re shooting for, it’ll be easier to hit your targets.
The landing pages and product pages (PDPs) accurately reflect not only the product, but the specific deal you’re advertising. Will you be using special pop-ups? Banners? Something else to signify the sale?
Your affiliates will be driving significantly more traffic to these pages than they usually would. So, it’s important that whoever clicks through to buy knows precisely what kind of deal they’re getting. You could even consider making dedicated landing pages for your top earners. This will give audiences a heightened sense of exclusivity, making purchasing even more enticing.
It’s a good idea to provide your affiliates with special assets for specific dates. But you may not want to spoil exactly what the deals look like until they’re almost here. Your deal drops for affiliates to promote should be sent to them the morning of, or the day before, they go live. Your calendar should include when you’re sending your assets out, but also:
Each day should also have a checklist for necessary assets, including the individuals to whom you need to email them.
Speaking of assets, don’t forget to spend time making BFCM exclusive ones! Affiliates rely on the brands they work with to provide high-quality, creative assets, such as videos, GIFs, images, banners, and messaging, so they can create the most effective affiliate posts.
Make sure all assets you create include the promotion details, the last day for shipping for holiday arrival, new product information, product features, complementary products, and their unique discount code. The more you can arm your affiliates with the right material, the more revenue they (and you) will generate.
One of the worst things you could do in your BFCM prep? Blindsiding your affiliates. These influencers will be a significant part of your holiday campaign, and they need to know what to expect from you so they can prepare their content promptly.
You don’t need to give them details like “Black Friday will have 40% off Keurigs!”, but you can tell them you’ll be having a sale on your coffee products so that they can prepare their best barista clips. Be sure you’re also communicating with your affiliates during the actual campaign. If someone needs help with the messaging or an updated affiliate link, and you don’t respond, it could result in lost revenue.
Want your affiliates to feel extra motivated to sell for you? It’s time to ramp up the incentives. The goal here, of course, is to make them feel rewarded for working so hard for you. You value your partnership with them, so let that shine.
Offer them a free product, tell them their commission will be higher for this period, or inform them that the top 10 best-performing affiliates receive a bonus. Anything you know that works to inspire your affiliates, do that, but bigger and better than ever. We trust that you won’t go overboard. We also trust that it will generate a substantial amount of extra income for you and your affiliate.
You’re spending months meticulously organizing everything and getting your strategy just right. Why let everything go out the window with an overly complex affiliate marketing software?
Get an app that makes things easier. Look for features like automatic payouts, smart affiliate performance dashboards, KPI tracking, and other handy management tools. Remember, using software that works doesn’t have to also break the bank.
Simple Affiliate is exactly the software solution you’ve been looking for. We offer all the features you need, while maintaining a user-friendly interface. We grow with you and your business, without the complexity. Users can enjoy automations (including automated tax forms), and dedicated support.
Book a demo with the team today, and learn how BFCM can be, well, simple.
