Black Friday is only three weeks away and, at the time of this posting, there are only 13 weekdays until the holiday shopping season kicks into high gear. To help cope with this busy time, the team at iAffiliate Management has put together a checklist to help make sure your affiliate program is ready for Black Friday & Cyber Monday.
Finalize Offers
Now is the time to finalize any sales or promotions you will be running over Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Once they’ve been finalized, try to communicate all sale and promotion information to your affiliates as soon as possible. If you have an offer you absolutely cannot share until Black Friday, you can still give your affiliates a general heads up regarding your plans.
Secure Placements
On-site placements or newsletter drops are a great way to gain additional exposure during this busy shopping season. If you have the budget to run paid placements with your affiliates, there is still time to make arrangements. However, inventory goes quickly at this time of year, so the sooner you can lock something in the better.
Set Aside Funds for Commissions
If you fund your affiliate program with an escrow account, make sure you have extra funds available going into the holiday. Increased sales volume over the holiday weekend could unexpectedly plunge your balance below $0 and cause your program to be temporarily deactivated. This will create a negative experience for your affiliates and possibly your customers.
Holiday Creative
Start putting together your holiday creative now so you’re not scrambling for it the day before Thanksgiving. Make sure any special offers are included and that there’s a clear call to action. Most affiliate networks should let you upload holiday creative now but keep it hidden until closer to when you will use it.
Review Your Performance from Last Year
Take some time to review your affiliate program’s performance over last year’s holiday season. You may find that some of your top affiliates have dropped off since then. If that’s the case it’s not too late to investigate the cause and to work together to get back on track.
Perform A Quick Program Audit
Black Friday is not the day to find out you have broken links. Take some time to make sure your program’s fundamentals are in good shape before the holidays. Verify all your links are going to the right page, your product feed is being properly updated with correct information, and all your affiliates are getting the correct commission rate.