{"id":79180,"date":"2023-10-30T08:37:03","date_gmt":"2023-10-30T12:37:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/network.napco.com\/total-retail\/?post_type=article&p=79180"},"modified":"2023-10-30T12:23:08","modified_gmt":"2023-10-30T16:23:08","slug":"4-best-practices-for-affiliate-marketing-q4-prep","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/www.mytotalretail.com\/article\/4-best-practices-for-affiliate-marketing-q4-prep\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Best Practices for Affiliate Marketing Q4 Prep\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

The idea that Q4 makes or breaks retail and e-commerce companies every year isn’t new, but the actual impact of the holidays is staggering. In 2022, Cyber Week sales in the U.S. hit $35.2 billion,<\/a> with that one stretch representing a huge chunk of the year’s revenue for brands across industries.<\/p>\n

We’re well into Q4, which means that for most brands we’re at least a couple of months into prep for holiday high tide. And there are still a few big initiatives to lock in to ensure you’re laying the groundwork for a great quarter (and beyond). This is especially true in affiliate marketing, which has a full-funnel ecosystem of partners, each with its own quirks and nuances.<\/p>\n

In this post, I’ll talk about business alignment, communication, QA, and a system for collecting and storing insights from the wave of activity about to hit — and why all of that matters a ton for affiliate success in Q4.<\/p>\n

1. Align on goals (and double-check).<\/b><\/h3>\n

If you haven’t yet, now is the time to define your overarching affiliate goals and expectations (return on investment, return on ad spending, net-new customers, and other key performance indicators in focus). This is hugely important. Even if you defined these goals months ago, it’s worth confirming them for Q4 before you communicate them with your partners and\/or agency team. It’s also important to get margin targets, which will give you guardrails for working with partners on possible discounts and promotions.<\/p>\n

From there, sub-goals to establish are placement budget and strategy (e.g., CPA vs. flat fee pricing).<\/p>\n

2. Button up your Q4 communications.<\/b><\/h3>\n

Given the segmented affiliate partner landscape, communication is absolutely critical to success, especially in the frenzy of Q4. Make sure you’re doing the following well before Cyber Week:<\/p>\n