The holiday shopping season is a magical time for affiliate marketers. As consumers flock online to find the best deals for gifts, affiliate promos for Black Friday and Cyber Monday present a massive opportunity to capitalize on high spending and boost profits.
In 2022, online sales hit record highs over $10 billion during Cyber Monday alone, according to Adobe Analytics data. With early holiday discounts already rolling out this year, the 2023 shopping season is shaping up to be even bigger.
As an affiliate, you have a prime chance to grab a piece of this profitable pie if you play your cards right. In this article, we'll explore how to:
- Target the top-performing verticals
- Choose the optimal ad formats
- Create high-converting creatives and landing pages
- And more!
Follow these tips to make this holiday season your most lucrative ever.
Top Verticals to Target
The first step to affiliate success around Black Friday and Cyber Monday is targeting offers in verticals poised for massive spending spikes.
Here are the top categories to have locked and loaded:
Hot e-Commerce deals: Without a doubt, online retail sees some of the biggest gains over the holidays. According to National Retail Federation data, over 196.7 million shoppers hit the e-commerce stores from Thanksgiving Day through Cyber Monday in 2022. Electronics, clothing apparel, accessories, beauty products, and video games tend to be top sellers. Shoppers flock to score deals from popular stores like Amazon, GameStop, Apple, and Samsung.
For affiliate promotions, focus on highlighting the specific savings in percentage or dollar amounts. For example, "Get 60% off item" or "Save $200 on item". The more you can quantify the exact deal, the more enticing it becomes.
Lead gen freebies: While consumers open their wallets more around the holidays, they still love scoring freebies and discounts.
Lead generation offers that promote free trials, samples, gift cards, and coupons tend to see a lift during Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Emphasize the free aspect in your headlines and ad copy to catch their attention. Make sure the offer delivers an irresistible deal that actually nets them something for free after they sign-up.
Gambling and betting bonuses: In the world of online gambling and sports betting, the holiday season brings a surge in activity as well. Many players feel luckier this time of year and are looking for entertainment.
Promote signup bonuses, free spins, free bets, and other specials from leading real money gaming brands. With potential players in a spending mood, bonuses that offer extra value for their buy-in help generate more signups.
Streaming services and mobile apps: As shoppers take time off over the Christmas holidays, mobile activity surges with people looking for entertainment and things to occupy their downtime.
This makes mobile apps, games, and video streaming services another prime category. Highlight any holiday specials, free trial offers, or discounted subscriptions in your promos. Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, and major mobile game apps see uplift.
Travel deals and getaways: Finally, the holidays often inspire dreams of getaways to escape and relax after stressful shopping. Travel affiliates have reported great success promoting discounted airfare, hotels, vacation packages, cruises, and other trip deals. Pitch sales in your ads like "25% off Mexico All-Inclusive Resorts this Holiday Season" or "Kids Fly and Stay Free Family Vacation Sale". Family getaways tend to perform especially well. For this, promoting travel offers from Booking.com makes the biggest returns.
Choosing the Right Ad Formats
Once you've picked winning verticals, the next key is selecting ad formats that align with customer behavior during the holidays.
Here are the top-performing options:
Push notifications: With nearly everyone glued to their smartphones over Black Friday weekend, push notifications enable you to reach users at the moment with timely, relevant deals. They work great across top categories like e-commerce, gambling, lead gen, and travel. Design attention-grabbing messages and leverage real-time triggers like "Cyber Monday Deals Live Now!" or "Last Chance for Holiday Bonus!"
Pop-unders: Contextual pop-under ads that display based on keywords mentioned on a page can drive higher relevancy. For example, target pop-unders on pages discussing iPhone deals if promoting a deal for iPhone accessories. Or show a Las Vegas travel offer on pages mentioning Las Vegas. Gambling, e-commerce, video games, and adult niches tend to see strong performance.
Social media ads: Finally, social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest enable you to get an offer in front of users where they scroll through holiday ideas and recommendations. Engaging creative with social proof can spread organically via shares and tags, amplifying your reach for free. E-commerce, travel, mobile apps, and video games work very well.
Creating High-Converting Ads and Landing Pages
As the competition heats up over Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it becomes even more critical that your ads and landing pages stand out and persuade visitors to convert.
Follow these tips to maximize your promotions:
- Lead with exclusive holiday deals: Your headlines and image creative must instantly convey a sensational Black Friday or Cyber Monday deal to catch attention. Include the exact details — 30% off, $500 in Bonus Cash, etc.
- Add urgency and scarcity: Countdown timers, limited quantity claims, and expiring language heighten the fear of missing out. For example, "Only 500 Bonus Spins Left" or "Ends Tonight at Midnight!". Don't falsely claim a deal is scarce if it's not.
- Ensure mobile-friendly pages: With heavy mobile traffic over the holidays, all your landing pages must render and convert well on small screens. Test them across devices.
- Display trust symbols: Show security badges, satisfaction guarantees, and customer ratings to quickly establish credibility. Visitors are more cautious of unknown retailers.
- Curate relevant product images: Displaying attractive, relevant product visuals helps visitors envision the deal and gets them excited to buy. Avoid generic stock photos.
- Share customer testimonials and reviews: Sprinkle in positive social proof like ratings, reviews, and quotes from real verified buyers. This provides authenticity.
- Segment your offers: Create ad variations that appeal to different user segments - women, men, different age groups, geo-targets, etc. Personalization converts.
- Test different messaging: Try multiple ad copy angles to determine what resonates best. Test savings focus vs product features vs lifestyle imagery, etc. By sharpening your customer targeting, ad formats, and conversion optimization tactics - you'll pull off a blockbuster Black Friday and Cyber Monday as an affiliate. Remember to track results closely and double down on what works.
Additional Tips to Boost Holiday Profits
Beyond mastering your promos, here are a few more tips to maximize your earnings:
- Start Early: Begin campaigns and outreach 1-2 weeks before Black Friday to build momentum. Last-minute efforts miss the opportunity.
- Offer Lifetime Value: Promote high-ticket items like software, memberships, or continuity programs that pay you beyond just the initial sale.
- Retarget Engaged Users: Remarket visitors who engaged with your ads but didn't convert yet via social and search ads.
- Promote Pre-Black Friday Sales: Capitalize on early holiday deals kicking off before Black Friday.
- Use Influencers: Recruit influencers to share your promos with their loyal audiences for more reach.
- Don't Forget Cyber Monday: Extend campaigns through Monday as online spending stays high.
Conclusion
With the right preparation and strategy headed into the 2023 holiday shopping surge, affiliates can lock in record profits this Black Friday and Cyber Monday season.
Remember to target hot verticals like retail, lead gen, gambling, and travel — combined with the optimal ad formats. Laser focus on creating compelling, trust-building promotions. Then track and iterate on what converts.
The holiday table is set for a tremendous feast of sales. You surely don’t have to miss out. Now is the time to get your campaigns primed, so you can outsmart competitors, delight customers with unbeatable deals, and make this holiday season your most bountiful yet as an affiliate marketer.
