Ask Shawn Collins: Best Holiday Offers

I keep hearing how it’s primetime to earn affiliate commissions in December. What are the best products or services to promote for Christmas?

Yes, December is the strongest time of the year for most affiliate programs. There are a handful of affiliate program types that have performed best for me over the years during the holiday season.

Traditionally, I’ve done best with electronics in the first week of December. As you hit the middle of December, it begins to become necessary for shoppers to pay for expedited shipping, which makes physical purchases a little less attractive.

So I usually shift to promote gift cards and subscriptions around the 15th of the month. Since consumers can buy either all the way through Christmas, they’re a fairly safe bet to promote.

Some people thing of subscriptions as magazines only. Free your mind – there are lots of other things to promote based on the subscription model.

One of my favorites, as an affiliate and a gift buyer, is Amazing Clubs. They’ve currently got 26 Gift of the Month Clubs. When a gift is purchased through this company, they give the option of having the recipient notified via a card in the mail or by e-mail.

And don’t make the mistake that many affiliates make – thinking that December 25 is the end of the affiliate year. There is still a great amount of opportunity after Santa Claus makes his rounds.

With the new year, everybody wants to go on a diet and lose those holiday pounds. So promote diet affiliate programs at that point. The weeks before and after New Year’s Day are great to promote diets. Happy affiliate holidays.