21 Tips to Boost Affiliate Sales on Black Friday & Cyber Monday in 2024
Christmas comes a little early for affiliate marketers. While the holiday shopping season is important, Black Friday and Cyber Monday are prime opportunities for affiliate marketers and affiliate program owners to boost their earnings. It’s that time of year!
In 2023, e-commerce and m-commerce sales grew while in-store retail sales slowed down on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Amazon sold over one billion items, the biggest Black Friday and Cyber Monday ever!
With online shopping continuing to grow, 2024 is set to be bigger than ever. In 2024, 70% of Americans will shop online. Retailers are preparing, and so should affiliate marketers and affiliate managers. During this time, partnerships with influencers and bloggers on various social media platforms are common.
Read more: Discover 5 Types of Affiliate Partners & How to Recruit Them
To help you make the most money from your affiliate sales and income during this critical time, we've compiled 21 helpful tips to help you beat the competition, reach new customers, and get more conversions. This is the ultimate guide.
Preparation is Key
Black Friday sales and Cyber Monday sales are no easy feat. Affiliate marketing is one of many marketing strategies companies with an affiliate network implement. It works during this time and needs a plan. You need an affiliate marketing strategy to hit your affiliate marketing sales targets. Here’s how to start.
1. Start Early
Begin your Black Friday & Cyber Monday preparations at least 2-3 months in advance. This gives you ample time to research deals, create content, and build anticipation among your audience.
2. Analyze Past Performance
Review your affiliate sales data from previous years to identify top-performing products, promotional strategies, and areas for improvement. Should you change any of your special offers? Has unveiling new products during this time improved sales?
3. Research Upcoming Deals
Stay in close contact with your affiliate partners for early information on their Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers. This allows you to plan your content and promotions effectively.
Optimize Your Website
Once you’ve researched and put together a strategy, it’s time to execute. Optimizing your website should be part of that strategy. This will help you rank in the search engines and attract customers. Whether your website is on WordPress or Ycode, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is vital to attracting customers to your product pages and more.
4. Create Dedicated Landing Pages
Develop specific landing pages for Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Improve these pages for relevant keywords, such as "best Black Friday deals" or "Cyber Monday discounts." You can also add website pop-ups that give away promo codes, coupon codes, or other incentives to convince customers to buy! Make sure to insert a call-to-action (CTA).
5. Improve Site Speed
Ensure your website can handle increased traffic. Optimize images, leverage browser caching, and consider using a content delivery network (CDN) to improve load times. Top affiliates and affiliate managers understand the importance of this.
6. Mobile Optimization
With more shoppers using mobile devices, ensure your site is fully responsive and provides a seamless experience across all devices. You can also add mobile-only incentives. This might be helpful if you have an app.
Content Strategy
SEO checked? Now, it’s time to look at your broader content strategy. Beyond your website, planning your content strategy across all your channels is essential. Cover all your traffic sources for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
7. Develop a Content Calendar
Plan your content strategy well in advance, including blog posts, emails, and social media updates leading up to and during the sales period. If you are an influencer, think about your social media posts on TikTok, Instagram, and other platforms you are active on! Connect with your community.
8. Create Buying Guides and Shopping Tips
Produce in-depth buying guides that showcase the best Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals in various categories–include visuals! These guides can rank well in search results and drive significant traffic. You can also offer shopping tips for Black Friday & Cyber Monday bargains.
9. Write Product Reviews
Publish detailed reviews of products likely to be discounted during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Include pros, cons, and your honest recommendations. You can include other reviews to avoid bias.
10. Comparison Articles
Create comparison posts that compare similar products, helping readers make informed decisions during the sales rush. This will help them make confident purchase decisions and increase your conversion rates.
Read more: How to Create Great Content for Better Partnership Marketing (Part I)
Email Marketing
Another avenue to prepare for Black Friday and Cyber Monday is your email marketing. This is where you can release coupon codes, promo codes, and more. Build hype. You can also be transparent about commission rates.
11. Build Your Email List
In the months before the event, use lead magnets like exclusive Black Friday deal alerts to grow your email list. As your email list grows, you’ll have more people to reach during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
12. Segment Your Email List
Divide your subscribers based on their interests and past purchasing behavior to send more targeted, relevant offers. This is important for affiliate marketers who are promoting several products.
13. Create an Email Series
Develop a series of emails that build anticipation for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, starting weeks before the actual events. You can set up and automate your email sequences to save time.
Read more: 9 Email Marketing Tips to Grow Your Newsletter Referral Program
Social Media
Lastly, use social media. If you are an influencer, you’ll be doing this anyway! Here are some ways you can use social media to boost your affiliate income.
14. Use Social Proof
Share user-generated content, testimonials, and reviews to build trust and encourage purchases through your affiliate links. Social proof can also help to improve your credibility.
15. Use Platform-Specific Features
Use features like Instagram Stories, Facebook Live, or Twitter polls to engage your audience and promote deals creatively. Be consistent during Black Friday and Cyber Monday to stay connected to your audience.
16. Create Shareable Content
Make eye-catching graphics, pictures, and short videos that show the best deals. This will make sharing and spreading the word easy for your followers. The more shares there are, the more reach you get!
Promotional Tactics and Incentives
Here are other promotional tactics and incentives you can consider.
17. Offer Exclusive Deals and Bundles
Work with your affiliate partners to get special discounts or early access for your audience. This will give them a good reason to buy through your links. Create unique product bundles or package deals that offer additional value to your audience.
18. Use Countdown Timers
Implement countdown timers on your website and in emails to create a sense of urgency and encourage quick decision-making.
19. Implement Goal-Based Rewards
Motivate your affiliates to push harder during Black Friday and Cyber Monday by setting up goal-based rewards. Use a feature like Partnero's Goal-Based Rewards to create enticing incentives for top performers. For example:
Set a revenue target: If an affiliate generates more than $10,000 in sales during the event, they receive a one-time bonus of $500.
Create tiered goals: Establish multiple tiers (e.g., Bronze, Silver, Gold) with increasing rewards for higher sales volumes.
Offer non-monetary rewards: Consider exclusive perks like early access to new products or a featured spot on your website for affiliates who meet specific goals.
Goal-based rewards make your affiliate program more fun. They encourage competition and help affiliates do better than usual during this critical sales period. Communicating these special incentives will give your affiliates ample time to strategize and aim for these bonus rewards.
Tracking and Analytics
Once everything is in place, it’s time to track and analyze your data.
20. Use Proper Tracking
Ensure all your affiliate links are properly tagged and tracked. Consider using link management tools to organize and monitor your links effectively.
21. Real-Time Monitoring
Keep a close eye on your analytics during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Be prepared to adjust your strategy based on real-time performance data.
Read more:
21 Essential Affiliate Marketing Benchmarks & KPIs for Success in 2024
What is Affiliate Tracking? A Beginner’s Guide to Getting Started (2024)
Manage Your Black Friday and Cyber Monday Affiliate Sales with Partnero
By implementing these 21 tips, you'll be well-positioned to significantly increase your affiliate sales during Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2024. Remember, success in affiliate marketing during this period requires thorough preparation, strategic promotion, and responsive customer engagement.
Start planning now, and you'll be ready to take advantage of the biggest online shopping days of the year. With the right approach, Black Friday and Cyber Monday can become your most profitable days as an affiliate marketer.
Affiliate managers should also consider tools to help them manage affiliate sales during this busy weekend. This is where Partnero comes in. Join Partnero today to identify your top affiliates and make more money on Black Friday and Cyber Monday.