So Black Friday and Cyber Monday are right around the corner, which means that e-commerce site owners as well as affiliates are all getting busy to give their shoppers the best possible experience and try to draw as many of them as they can to their site. But how should you do it as an affiliate? What sites should you promote and why? Here are a few pieces of advice that affiliates will find useful:
Look for Merchants that Offer Great Deals and Free Shipping
There are many reasons why people shop online: good prices, convenience and the ability to find products that they wouldn’t be able to get in stores. But in the case of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, people will be looking for more than “good” deals, they want great ones. Look for merchants who will be giving their customers special offers that have prices far below what they would normally charge during the shopping holiday.
Also, another thing to watch out for is free shipping. Research has shown that online shoppers are more likely to make a purchase at a site that offers them free shipping on their order. After all, what good is it to save $25 on a product if you need to pay $30 to have it shipped to you? This is why you need to look after sites that ship for free, either just for the holiday or all the time. Also, be careful about free shipping that comes with conditions, such as requiring that shoppers spend $50, $100 or more before being eligible to get their items delivered for free. While this may work for certain items, you should prioritize sites that give free shipping without any conditions attached. Finally, make sure to emphasize the “free shipping” part in your marketing materials.
Be Mindful of Mobile Shoppers
A recent survey published at Market Watch finds that about 4% of e-commerce transactions come from mobile devices and this is expected to nearly double in the next 4 years. This shows that there are many people who shop from their mobile devices like tablets or smartphones, but these aren’t yet the platforms that are preferred by shoppers, who will mostly be using a regular PC. Smartphones are the most popular mobile device at the moment, but tablets are rapidly catching up and are expected to become the main mobile device used for shopping in the next 5 years. Still, this doesn’t mean that you should ignore mobile shoppers.
The most simple thing you should do is ensure that your site will display properly when viewed on a smartphone or tablet PC. Even though the percentage is small, remember that there are millions of online shoppers out there and that there’s a relatively good chance that some of your sales will come from them. Test out your sites and also ensure that any affiliate links work properly when they are accessed from a mobile device.