Discover the Ultimate Secret to Success: Timing Your Affiliate Marketing Campaigns For Maximum Profits

If you’re an SME selling online, you’ll know how important seasonal retail dates are to sales and how they can make or break the entire year.

With Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Black Friday, Cyber ​​Monday, and Christmas just to name a few, you could easily spend all your time planning seasonal promotions and bidding on increasingly expensive digital ads, to Compete with the big brands and competitors. .

But what if we told you there is a way to reach your potential customers and have someone else do some of the legwork? That’s where affiliate marketing comes in.

‘Many customers using Awin see an average return of £14 for every £1 spent’

What is affiliate marketing?

affiliate marketing It is what is known as “results-based marketing”. An e-commerce website, known as an “advertiser”, will reward a chosen partner, known as a “publisher”, for successfully driving an agreed action on their website. This action is usually a sale, but it can also include other valuable interactions, such as filling out an online form or submitting an email address.

This can often mean access to a large number of new customers that can be difficult to reach alone or through other expensive digital ad platforms, so it’s a great way to spend valuable marketing budgets.

read our complete guide to affiliate marketing for more information on how this marketing channel can generate huge benefits for an SME.

What is the best time of the year to start an affiliate marketing campaign?

Do your homework on seasonal dates that mean something to you.

Ten years ago everyone focused on December as the main retail sales period. Now, with so many celebrations throughout the year, it’s important to maintain good relationships through an affiliate program throughout the year. By doing so, you can measure performance and collect enough data to know where to pay more attention.

A 2023 study conducted by the influencer marketing hub He said that more than 80 percent of marketers use affiliate marketing at the earliest stage of the customer journey; when trying to build awareness with new customers. So it’s also good to maintain a year-round presence if it’s a niche or luxury product to increase the chance that people shopping for that payday gift or gift for a loved one will find you on the market. through your chosen partner. in the right moment.

Affiliate marketing provides a reliable, low-maintenance stream of income, making it an ideal choice if you’re looking for a steady source of income. Every time you choose to join an affiliate platform, you have the opportunity to make great profits.

If you’re specifically thinking about preparing for the busy winter retail season, many retailers now start their sales as early as October. To get the most out of this spike, it’s best to set up and explore the partnership options at your choice. affiliate platform in early September, so you can take advantage of specific promotional pushes or marketing opportunities they offer for days like Black Friday and Cyber ​​Monday.

About 30-40 percent of customers attracted by an affiliate partner are new, according to data from Awin. That figure can rise to more than 50 percent depending on the partners you choose, showing just how impactful it can be for SMEs that rely on these key retail dates.

Top 5 Tips to Prepare for Seasonal Retail Dates

#1 – Hang out where your customers hang out

A great digital marketing strategy is about more than the number of channels used. You should also focus on channels that your specific target audience uses regularly and is comfortable with.

Using a wide range of channels allows you to explore where customers interact best, and this will help you shape your strategy. For example, you may have already tried Google Ads with some success, but you struggled and didn’t see any real sales. How about getting featured on a cash back or coupon code site? Or get a man of influence in your industry to give a product demo or unboxing to your loyal fans?

The biggest benefit for an SME of working with partners through an affiliate platform is that you only pay them when they bring a customer to you and complete an action that you agreed to. So it’s easy to see great ROI on a tight marketing budget. In fact, many customers who use Awin earn an average return of £14 for every £1 spent.

#2 – Go early

Do your homework on all the peak events during peak retail seasons. Don’t see days like Black Friday as a one-day sprint, but rather as a month-long marathon.

Retailers are kicking off their Black Friday and Golden Quarter sales as early as October, and consumers are hunting for bargains well before Christmas. You’ll need to think about how to keep promotions across multiple sales events and spread your deals out over the months instead of splurging on a generic promotion.

By partnering with affiliate partners through a trusted company affiliate platform, can be integrated with your marketing and experience plans. This allows you to build on the hard work they’re already doing to reach their audiences across different seasons and sale dates.

With the Awin platform, once you’re set up and have selected the perfect partners for you, you can talk to them directly through our communication hub about seasonal date ideas. Whether it’s a feature on a “Top 10 Mother’s Day Gifts” social reel or a blog about “The Best Christmas Gifts for a Cycling Lover,” you can let them do the heavy lifting.

#3 – Play to your strengths

Online SMEs have quite a few things going for them when it comes to working with affiliate partners. First, you can be agile, flexible, and quick to respond to new opportunities when they arise.

Awin works with different technology providers who can help you address low visit-to-sales conversion rates, or companies that can prevent so many customers from leaving your site before buying. The biggest brands can take months to implement technology like this. As an SME, you can avoid lengthy internal processes and activate quickly through one platform.

Lessons learned from the pandemic show that consumers are moving to support small and local businesses. Use this to your advantage over large corporations and find ways to boost your small business credentials on your banners and offers. Find affiliate partners who want to support smaller businesses, or select micro-influencers who may have a smaller but loyal following.

#4 – Don’t Assume Peak Season Is Only For Retail Or Gifting

You may think that people focus solely on gifts for friends or family on key retail dates. Awin Data shows that many people are looking to buy both for themselves and for others.

Think about how this might affect your messages, instead of just focusing on the gifts. Speak directly and entice buyers to get that payday gift.

Other interesting Black Friday trends show that people are looking to buy all sorts of things online, not just at brick-and-mortar retail. So even if you’re selling things you don’t think fit into the regular Black Friday or seasonal categories, like phone contracts, insurance, or experiences, you can still take advantage of the spike in online traffic at the end of November and in Golden. . Room.

Where do I start?

Awin’s affiliate marketing solution, Awin Access, has generated over £200m in sales for SMEs. It’s the perfect first step to prepare for the busy season, reach new customers and increase your online sales.