Background
Historically, November is the peak for online advertisers, with year-on-year growth that has already been staggering — and the trend continues. Not only do we have the usual suspects (Singles' Day, Black Week, Black Friday, Cyber Monday) at play, but the rise of online shopping has made Q4 more important than ever for advertisers — and publishers too.
Key considerations
Here are some things every advertiser should think about. You already know it's an important period — but what specifically should you do?
Preparation is key. Being early and planning ahead also means you can react faster when something unexpected happens. This is always true in business, but especially during Q4 when everything seems to be happening at once.
Start early by breaking down the whole period into bite-sized pieces. Here's a checklist:
- What is my overall affiliate/partner strategy for this period? Do I use one flagship discount? Do I skip the Black Week mayhem entirely in the name of brand positioning?
- Which are the key dates? Beyond the usual suspects, there's significant variation depending on where your customers are located.
- Do I have all the promotional material I need?
- Have I talked to my existing partners and planned together with them?
- Have I checked what new specialised partners I should recruit for this season?
This list will change depending on your business and strategy, but it's a solid foundation. Once you've gone through the checklist, start executing — one step at a time. And remember to delegate to your agencies, partners, and networks. They exist for a reason, and they're happy to get your message through to all your customers and channels.
Conclusions
- Plan. There's a reason the British Army uses the 7 Ps: Prior Preparation and Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
- Use Q4 to sharpen your planning and delegation skills — these are muscles worth building.
- Delegate. Use your partners, networks, and agencies. They will be glad to help. If they're not, that tells you something.
- Understand that it's not a one-time effort. The same checklists and methods apply to every major sales period throughout the year.
Clear communication with partners is essential: What do you expect of them? What is their priority? What can they do better?
At GrowthLift, we'll be happy to jump on a call and help you plan for this year — and next year too. Whether it's Black Friday, Christmas, Mother's Day, or any other peak period, let's make sure you're ready.
