Thanksgiving typically ranks one or two on “most popular holidays” lists.
It’s a holiday people spend big bucks on food and decoration… but that’s not all.
The holiday falls on November 23rd (2017) which gives you plenty of time to begin affiliate campaigns and promotions. There are many worthy holiday items that will boost your affiliate commissions.
Let this be your guide for easy Thanksgiving affiliate promotions.
Thanksgiving Affiliate Programs
Yes, there are whole affiliate programs dedicated to Thanksgiving.
Why not, right? It’s one of the biggest holidays of the year so if a business can capitalize on the hype and big money spending people are doing then it makes sense.
It also makes sense for you to get on board with the program.
Blue Apron
Blue Apron delivers fresh, healthy ingredients based on recipes chosen by its subscribers. The program would offer a neat alternative for those too busy, during the holiday, having to do trips to the store.
It offers $18.00 commission per order.
Affiliate program: via VigLink
Walmart
The largest physical retailer that will cover all the main items we’re looking for this holiday season. It has brand authority and good prices. Plus, their 2-day shipping and in-store pickup are excellent selling points. It’s a program that will go perfectly when promoting cookware and décor.
It offers 4.00% commissions on most items.
Affiliate program: via VigLink
Thrive Market
Mentioned in our Food & Drinks affiliate programs round-up, Thrive Market offers a wide selection of healthy, organic choices from popular brands. The site offers a deep 25-50% discount making it a great seller if you’re targeting the organic, non-GMO types.
It offers $25 commissions for each paid member.
Affiliate program: via Thrive
Minted
Minted is a design marketplace where users can create fantastic designs for stationery, gifts, cards, and all other sentimental items. They specifically have a section dedicated to Thanksgiving cards. The program could show longevity throughout other holidays and events since these are commonly associated (and purchased) items.
It offers 10%-12% commissions on all sales.
Affiliate program: via Minted.com
You could dump these programs once the holiday season is over. But, until that time, give them a go to see what exclusive offers they have lined up for their affiliates. These companies dedicated to Thanksgiving are bound to have optimized their campaigns – let them do the heavy work!
Products Offers
There are no restrictions on what you could promote during Thanksgiving (and this month in general). But, it’s best to stick to the popular products since people don’t deviate far from their holiday traditions.
There are a few types of items to keep in mind:
- Ingredients
- Cookware
- Family games
Look no further than what you (and your family) use to make up the big dinner for seed examples.
Otherwise, Amazon top sellers list and major retail newsletters will give you equally good ideas.
Here are a few products to try promoting this November:
- Instant Pot Multi-Use Cooker
- Crock-Pot 6-Quart Programmable Cooker
- Baker sheets
- Keurig single-serve coffee maker (and k-cups)
- Oster 2lb Expressbake Break Maker
- Storage containers
- Cuisinart Electric Knife
And then you have the random items:
- Yard games
- Placemats
- Flowers
- Board and card games
- Label (or label maker)
A lot of your older crowd will likely have these items already. But, there are always fresh faces!
New couples and young families are starting their traditions.
They may have received some items from their parents, but they want to make something of their own. This is the perfect crowd to promote these long-lasting items.
Otherwise, it never hurts to have a few extra pieces of cookware when the whole family is coming!
Services Offers
We celebrate Thanksgiving at home so there isn’t a lot of opportunities to promote services during this day since most businesses are closed. Or, people simply don’t want to bother others because of the whole “they should be at home with their family!” stance.
Well, services do go on and not everyone is spending time at home – so, try promoting these:
- Catering – Drop-off catering is quite a popular alternative for busy families.
- Photography – Hiring a photographer to capture the holiday is a trending tradition.
- Pet or House Sitting – Since many are traveling to see their family this holiday.
- Decorations – Lights often go up around this time and many don’t have the energy.
Thumbtack has an affiliate program that offers these services. Else, Care.com could provide the necessary affiliate links when promoting these topics.
Bonus points for those that can make these services into a family affair.
Selling your audience that these services are good for the whole family will increase the sales amount meaning higher commissions. A lot of these services will have steep discounts around this time which should help with the promotion.
Content Ideas
Let’s add some gravy to this train…
The content can follow similar formats you’d normally include in your affiliate site. The only real difference is the inclusion of Thanksgiving-related keywords and phrases.
Those would include Thanksgiving + :
- “Grateful/Thankful for”…
- Recipes
- “What to cook for Thanksgiving”
- Decorations
- “Thanksgiving food ideas”
- Games
- “Gifts for Thanksgiving”
- Ideas
From these, you could create content like:
- A “grateful” post explaining the good things that have happened this year
- A top 10 list of the best turkey day recipes no dinner would be without
- A selection of printable decorations or games for the home and family
- A bunch of reviews about the various cookware that’s commonly used this day
Personally, we’d leverage personal posts talking about family events and traditions during this holiday since it will give you a great opportunity to plunk in affiliated products. It’s an easy way to inject a bit of T-day promotion no matter what type of niche you’re in.
Even Quicker Ideas
Want a quick way to find what to cover?
- Talk with an affiliate manager since these individuals will have market data
- Keep an eye out for banner ads and which products/services are being promoted
- Ride the “daily deal” promotions which can accompany related offers
Otherwise…
You could swap reviews of a slow cooker to include additional information about cooking turkeys and other common food items on the holiday.
It could have a CTA pushing the urgency that it’s important to be prepared (so they better order now).
Basically:
Plan several holiday-related articles/emails that will go out the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving.
Gobbling Up the Commissions
You could, theoretically, make an affiliate project directed at the Thanksgiving Day niche by creating a dedicated website and social profile.
It would include the same process you’d take when building a website but with minor tweaks:
- Autumn color themes
- Family-oriented
Work on the site could continue through the year by creating content related to the holiday and the products/services typically found during the festivities. Example: Side dishes.
This would give you a full year to build search presence to the site.
Wait for it… The Thanksgiving Niche Blueprint
Then, you’d unleash a massive promotion once retail stores begin to shift over from Halloween – letting you ride the interest and hype.
It would be quite easy when combined with outsourcing content development and using design templates for social media assets. Else, you could commit to writing a dozen product reviews and pieces related to family get-togethers to bring it all together.
And what about pivoting?
The site may not have much use outside of this sole holiday but there’s always room to direct people from your email list and social profile to upcoming promos around Christmas and New Years!
Either way, it’s something to consider when playing the short or long game. There’s good money to be made during this holiday season so the sooner you can get those promos rolling the better.
What are YOU thankful for on this day of turkey eating goodness?
