Those are the 4 segments or groups that make up my audience.
By promoting a range of deals, you have the ability to promote offers that are targeted to each sector or group within your audience.
And since the sales are typically very brief, its easier to promote different offers to different groups. Youre not asking them to devote to weeks of e-mails about the exact same item. Youre providing a quick opportunity and carrying on.
This variety also secures you. Youve got others that might overperform if one deal underperforms.
Look for products for different sections. Dont simply promote sophisticated courses if half your audience is just beginning.
Look for items of various types. Mix courses with software. Include physical products together with digital ones. Include services if they make sense for your audience.
Hit various rate points. Promote offers for everything from $0.99 to $500.
The beauty of vacation promotions is that individuals remain in purchasing mode across ALL price points. Someone may grab a $7 ebook on Monday and a $297 course on Friday.
Discovering low priced deals that have longer (or lifetime) cookies is a particularly great concept, due to the fact that the entry deal is so low, and then if they purchase later on, you get credit!
Amazons cookie lasts 24 hours. However if someone includes something to their cart utilizing your link, you get credit for everything they purchase because session, not just the item you promoted.
That $12 book you promoted might become a $400 commission if they decide to buy a TV while theyre at it.
If you do it right, vacation promotions can make up 30-50% of your affiliate income for the entire year. Today I will share with you 10 ideas for increasing your affiliate revenue through holiday promos.
Everyone believes of buying presents and getting deals during the vacations, but have you considered MAKING cash throughout the holidays?
Promoting affiliate deals during the vacations can lead to significant affiliate income without needing you to develop items, handle inventory, or handle client service.
Dont get me incorrect, Im not a fan (or advocate) of “get rich fast” schemes, but the truth of the matter is, as an affiliate you can piggyback on the excitement produced by significant sellers for deals throughout the vacations to create affiliate income on your own.
The psychology is already working in your favor. Consumers EXPECT offers throughout the holidays. Theyre actively looking for them. Their wallets are already open, and theyre in purchasing mode.
When we ran the Shutterfly affiliate program, 60% of our annual affiliate revenue came in between Black Friday and December 18th. Let me repeat that: MORE THAN HALF of our whole years income can be found in less than a month.
Thats the power of holiday promotions.
People are trying to find offers, and your audience is no different. Theyre scrolling through their inboxes trying to find the very best deals. Theyre inspecting social networks for discount rate codes. Theyre asking buddies what deals theyve found.
The question is: Will YOU exist with the ideal offer at the best time?
What I Mean By Holiday Sale
When I state “holiday sale” I am talking about a sale that is based around a vacation. The most common are around Thanksgiving (Black Friday, Cyber Monday) and Christmas, however it could be 4th of July, New Years, Memorial Day or any other vacation.
Think beyond simply the major shopping holidays. Valentines Day is HUGE for particular niches. Moms Day and Fathers Day drive major earnings. Back to School season in August measures up to some winter holidays for particular items.
Even lesser-known holidays can work if your audience celebrates them or if they align with your specific niche.
These sales also tend to be really compressed– anywhere from 4 to 48 hours long. This compression creates seriousness, which is among the most effective motivators in marketing.
The much shorter the window, the more effective the seriousness.
Here are 10 pointers for making the most out of holiday affiliate promos.
1. Plan, Plan, Plan
I discuss this throughout my course, No Product, No Problem, the secret to any successful promotion is to have a strategy. Not a perfect plan, just a plan.
Heres what happens when you DONT plan: Its 9am on Black Friday. You all of a sudden remember you desired to promote something. You scramble to find your affiliate link. You throw together a half-hearted email. You send it out with a typo. And you make a portion of what you could have made.
Noise familiar?
Preparation prevents that headache circumstance.
Start by asking yourself these questions:
What are you going to mail about?
What days/times are you going to mail?
Will you do an article?
Will you tape-record a podcast episode?
What graphics will you use?
Who on your team needs to be included?
Whats your backup strategy if the deal sells out or the link breaks?
Asking these questions BEFORE the discount and making a strategy will have a significant influence on how well you carry out in vacation promos.
I advise creating your strategy at least TWO WEEKS before the promo begins. This provides you time to prepare your material, get your graphics prepared, and schedule everything ahead of time.
The finest affiliates I understand have their vacation promos planned by mid-October. They understand precisely what theyre promoting, when theyre promoting it, and how much profits they expect to create.
FREE RESOURCE: Click Here to get our sample Promo Prep Plan.
2. Find a Variety of Offers
Let me provide you an example. My audience is broken down into essentially 4 different segments or groups.
I truly wish to find out affiliate marketing and they are brand new
I really wish to concentrate on affiliate marketing and Ive made a couple thousand dollars online
I want to find out how to run an affiliate program
I desire to do affiliate marketing AND run an affiliate program
3. Get Clear On The Days and Times
During holiday sales a lot of times the start and end days and times will be very particular.
When we worked with Shutterfly, we would have offers that were ONLY valid from 3pm to 8pm Pacific time. 5 hours.
Because of this, ensure that you know exactly when the start and end days and times are for the deals you are promoting.
Write them down. Put them in your calendar. Set THREE reminders (not just one, because youll dismiss it and forget).
Take notice of time zones. Thats 3am YOUR time if youre on the East Coast and the sale starts at 12am Pacific. Plan appropriately.
It goes without stating, however you do not wish to email your list about a deal that ended an hour before they got the email.
Ive seen this happen more times than I can count. An affiliate gets thrilled, writes a great email, but forgets to inspect the time zone. Their audience clicks through to discover the sale is over.
It will frustrate your audience and expense you money. Worse, it damages your credibility. Your audience begins to wonder if they can trust your recommendations.
Double check. Triple check. Then inspect one more time.
4. Tease It In Advance
If I was going to have a Black Friday deal on my website later today (and I am …) I would desire to be telling you that it was turning up now.
HEADS UP: Be watching for our CRAZY Black Friday deal, starting 6am ET Friday, November 24th.
^ ^ Just like I did there ^ ^.
This is called “seeding” and its one of the most underutilized strategies in affiliate marketing.
When you tease a deal in advance, youre doing several things:.
First, youre developing anticipation. People begin expecting your email. Theyre primed and all set to purchase.
Second, youre training your audience to do something about it quickly. They know this is time-sensitive, so when your e-mail strikes their inbox, they open it instantly.
Third, youre increasing your open rates. Theyre more likely to open it when individuals are expecting an email from you.
You wont always send a dedicated email about these deals, but mention it in a post (like I simply did), mention it in a newsletter, post it on social, etc.
Drop tips all over. Make it a breadcrumb trail that causes the sale.
Start developing a little buzz and excitement. I generally start teasing major vacation promos 5-7 days beforehand. For smaller flash sales, 2-3 days is plenty.
5. Ask For Holiday Themed Creatives.
Ask for graphics and other creatives that are vacation themed.
Having graphics, for example during Christmas that have snowflakes or are red and green themed can move the needle, specifically in social media and sidebar ads.
This appears like a small thing, but it makes a BIG difference.
Believe about it: During the vacations, individuals are seeing red and green EVERYWHERE. Theyre seeing snowflakes, turkeys, fireworks, hearts (depending upon the holiday). When your marketing graphics match what theyre seeing all over else, it FEELS like a holiday deal.
It sets off that psychological action: “This is unique. This is minimal time. I need to focus.”.
A lot of affiliate managers will produce holiday-themed graphics if you ask. Heres the thing: most affiliates DONT ask.
They simply use the basic graphics and question why their conversions are lower than expected.
Dont make that error.
If the affiliate manager does not have vacation graphics, ask if you can produce your own (ensure you get approval first). Or utilize tools like Canva to add holiday components to the existing graphics.
6. Request An Exclusive Code.
Among the biggest things I see with brand-new affiliates is they are afraid to request things like exclusive codes. Regardless of how small you are, if you request a special code, you simply may get it.
For me, as an affiliate supervisor, its actually just simpler to provide you an unique code, despite your audience size than it is to make the effort to ask how huge your audience is, what your social media reach is, etc.
Heres why exclusive codes are so effective:.
They make your audience feel special. “Wow, Matt got me an unique code just for his audience!”.
Theyre simpler to keep in mind and share. Your audience can really remember “McWilliams” versus “Save20wx10”.
They assist you track your results more precisely. When somebody utilizes your special code, you KNOW they came from you.
They can really increase conversions. Research studies reveal that customized discount codes transform 15-25% much better than generic ones.
Not all business will offer exclusive codes, but considering that my website is mattmcwilliams.com, a special code like “McWilliams” will convert better for me than “Save20wx10”.
So do not hesitate to ask. The worst they can say is no, and youre no worse off than before.
Individuals who get them are the individuals who request for them.
7. Treat it Like A Big Launch.
Go huge. If you only have a 48-hour window that you plan on promoting, plan on sending out 4 or 5 (or 6 or 7) emails in that timespan.
I understand what youre believing: “Wont people unsubscribe if I send that many emails?”.
Maybe. A couple of may. Heres what Ive found out over 15+ years of doing this:.
Individuals who unsubscribe throughout a promotion were never ever going to purchase anyway. They were dead weight on your list. Let them go.
The people who DO desire the offer will appreciate the reminders. In truth, much of them will thank you for advising them before the due date.
Focus on the due date.
Think when the majority of the sales are made in a 48-hour sale? The last 4 hours.
Guess when the majority of the sales are made in a 17 days sale? The last 4 hours.
Nothing moves individuals like a deadline.
In one current holiday promo, we made 68% of our total income in the final 6 hours. Thats more than two-thirds of ALL sales happening at the very end.
Youre leaving cash on the table if youre not sending by mail numerous times on the last day. Lots of it.
Heres a sample mailing schedule for a 48-hour Black Friday promo:.
Friday, 6am: “The sale is LIVE!” Friday, 2pm: “Dont miss this …” Friday, 8pm: “Last chance to save 50%” Saturday, 9am: “24 hours left” Saturday, 2pm: “This ends tonight” Saturday, 6pm: “Final hours” Saturday, 9pm: “Going, going …” Saturday, 11pm: “Gone in 60 minutes”.
Thats 8 emails in 48 hours. And it works.
RELATED POST: How To Close Sales On The Final Day Of A Launch.
8. Focus On The Transformation, Then Scarcity.
Leading up to the discount, concentrate on the value, the benefits, and the change. Whatever leading up to the promo should be about what the product will do for you, how it will change your life or your business.
This is where you paint the image. You show them whats possible. You get them thrilled about the result.
If youre promoting a course on efficiency, you talk about how it will help them get 3 hours back in their day. You describe what theyll make with that extra time. You make them WANT the improvement.
The moment the sale begins, focus on deficiency only.
When a sale only lasts 24-48 hours, you dont have time to focus on improvement once the sale begins, its a total shortage play.
Your e-mails ought to seem like this:.
” The clock is ticking …”” Only 12 hours left to conserve 40% …”” This deal ends in 3 hours …”” Last call …”.
When the sale starts, the time for advantages, value and change is passed. Everybody whos going to be persuaded by the advantages has already been persuaded.
Now youre simply advising them that the window is closing. Youre activating their fear of losing out (FOMO).
This approach has actually consistently generated 40-60% greater revenue for us compared to continuing to focus on advantages throughout the sale duration.
9. Use Blog Posts, Social Media and Sidebar Ads.
With regular promotions, post, social media and sidebar advertisements just arent very reliable. The ROI merely isnt there for longer promos.
However when youre speaking about holiday and flash sales, they are GREAT locations to offer.
Email is still the absolute best method to sell, however post, social networks and sidebar advertisements are a close second throughout holiday promotions.
If e-mail is king (and it is), then these 3 are queen.
Heres why they work so well during vacations:.
Blog Posts: People are actively looking for offers. An article entitled “The Best Black Friday Deals for” can drive organic traffic for days.
Social network: Your audience is scrolling more during the holidays. Theyre trying to find present ideas and offers. A well-placed social post can produce considerable sales.
Sidebar Ads: With the seriousness of vacation sales, those “disregarded” sidebar advertisements unexpectedly get attention. The ticking clock makes them impossible to disregard.
Post the deals youre promoting on your blog site, share them on social networks, add sidebar advertisements to your website.
Create multiple touchpoints. Someone may see your sidebar ad, scroll past it, see your social post, disregard it, then lastly open your email and buy.
Specifically when youre promoting inexpensive deals, there is no barrier to entry, so social media works effectively. A $7 ebook? Thats an impulse purchase that takes place right there on Facebook.
10. See What Other People Are Doing.
Youve heard me estimate Picasso many times when he says,.
If you do it right, vacation promotions can make up 30-50% of your affiliate income for the entire year. Today I will share with you 10 suggestions for increasing your affiliate revenue through holiday promos.
By the time the next holiday season rolls around, Ive got lots of tested concepts to pick from.
Go find one offer (or more) that you can promote during this vacation season and take action. Have you promoted vacation deals?
Enjoy what others in your market and niche are doing. Register for their email lists. Follow them on social networks. Take note of their methods.
See what and how they are promoting Black Friday offers.
What time do they send their e-mails? How lots of e-mails do they send out?
Bear in mind. Screenshot everything. Produce a swipe file of ideas.
Not so much so you can change what youre doing this year (see # 1 above about planning …), but if you will enjoy and remember this year when the next holiday promo happens youll have the playbook!
I keep a running file of vacation promotion concepts. Every time I see something smart, I add it to the file. By the time the next holiday rolls around, Ive got dozens of proven ideas to select from.
This is how you improve year after year. You gain from whats working in the marketplace and adapt it to your own design.
Now you have 10 suggestions for promoting vacation uses as an affiliate.
Now all you need to do is perform.
Go find one offer (or more) that you can promote throughout this holiday and act. Start with your plan. Discover your deals. Set your calendar reminders. Produce your teaser content.
The opportunity is sitting there awaiting you. The only question is whether youll make the most of it.
I think youll find, if done right, holiday offers will become a few of your preferred affiliate promotions! Theyre fast, theyre fun, and theyre exceptionally successful.
Have you promoted vacation deals? If so, how did it go? If not, what has held you back?
Concerns?
Text me anytime at (260) 217-4619.
Or … take a look at some of my free reports to help you get on the right track:.
