Are you Ready for Holiday? #35

Are You Ready for Holiday? #35 🎄

Ok, gang!

It’s time for the next deep dive from Your Guide to 2023 Affiliate Marketing Holiday Preparation!

Last week, we covered Amazon (for affiliate marketing). This week, we discuss perhaps the most critical factor…

Collaborate with your Top Partners 🤝

Why?

Unlike programmatic channels, affiliates, publishers, and influencers are often the media or currency. It requires a relationship and a negotiation with the partners.

Some partners are gearing up all year for Q4/Holiday and will sell out of their inventory, so time is of the essence.

While we often see costs going up for all media in Q4/Holiday, the benefit of affiliate is that much of that cost is tied to actual revenue and purchases rather than a dynamic auction based on a click or impression that can spike on some days.

Yes, prices go up in Q4 for affiliates, too, and some flat fee is involved; it can often be more predictable, less volatile, and more diversified across hundreds of partners compared to Google and Meta spend.

How?

If they are an existing partner, in particular, a top partner:

1. Ask them about their plan, timeline, and calendar of options.

2. Share your plan, timeline, and promotional calendar with them.

3. If applicable, agree on a commission structure, flat fees, and performance bonuses.

4. Lock in your Insertion Orders and agreements via your affiliate network and ensure those are signed and the budget is set aside to pay out accurately and on time.
   Once a timeline and goals are shared and agreed on; the rest is in the execution.

5. Provide them with the following on an agreed-upon timeline:

   1. Landing Page

   2. Offer / Coupon / Deal

   3. Expiration Date and exclusions

   4. Creative

   5. Brand Guidelines if any changes have occurred

   6. Program Terms & Conditions if any changes have occurred or any reminders need to be communicated

 Value

Suppose your hot, high-growth EComm brand “Turbo Man” generates $100M in revenue.

You have a healthy, active-managed affiliate program that has been live for at least two years; It drives 15% of your revenue, or $15M.

70% of your affiliate revenue can come from your top 10 partners, making up $10.5M.

As we break this down to a partner, campaign, and seasonal level, you can see how valuable your partners can be.

When managing a mature program, thoughtful affiliate management is critical to ensure a team approach to your most significant time of year.

Because affiliates are often entrepreneurs and innovators, have skin in the game, and often understand multi-channel performance marketing utilizing SEO, SEM, Social, Email, and Organic, we highly recommend listening to their ideas and at least take them into consideration.

Affiliates and Influencers can be great partners in developing creative ideas, strategizing, and planning to ensure your holiday campaign planning is successful.

Take Actionable Steps 🎬 😉 

1. Engage Early and Strategically: Prioritize early engagements with top partners, aligning on plans, timelines, and promotional calendars to secure premium inventory and avoid potential bottlenecks in the high-demand season.

2. Mutual Goal Setting: Establish clear, mutually beneficial goals, lock in Insertion Orders to ensure seamless execution, and allocate budgets accurately to meet the agreed-upon commission structures, flat fees, and performance bonuses.

3. Enhanced Collaboration: Leverage the entrepreneurial spirit and multi-channel marketing knowledge of affiliates to co-create innovative strategies and creative ideas, tapping into SEO, SEM, Social, Email, and Organic channels for holistic campaign success.

4. Optimize & Diversify: Given that a considerable 70% of affiliate revenue is attributed to the top 10 partners, diversifying partnerships and optimizing the management of existing ones is pivotal for mitigating risks and ensuring sustainable growth.

5. Value-Driven Approach: Embrace a collaborative and value-driven approach with affiliates, underscoring shared goals and mutual growth to harness the full potential of affiliate marketing during the holiday season.

By leveraging these data-driven insights and actionable strategies, brands can optimize their affiliate partnerships, drive impactful holiday campaigns, and elevate their revenue trajectory in the competitive Q4 landscape.

I hope your brand’s holiday dreams come true and you knock it out of the park!

Here to help you jingle all the way!

Tye