Holiday Survival Tips from Industry Insiders

Interviewed by Team BeCurious

'Tis the season for e-commerce! Are you fa-la-la-la-frazzled already? Over the next two weeks, hear from performance marketing industry insiders on how they stay on their A-game during the most wonderful (and busiest) time of the year and what they do to unwind once the snow globe settles. Stay tuned to our Instagram @team.bespoke for the featured insider of the day. Follow along here to learn their pro tips and find out who is on the naughty list.

How long have you been working in this channel? 

I have been in the affiliate channel for over 9 years now, but because of the fast pace and incredibly hectic travel schedule it can often feel like dog years ;)

What is your favorite ecommerce holiday and why? 

Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year! You feel the kindness and love in the air and being able to help advertisers drive revenue, while also shopping off of these sites to share gifts with my family and friends makes it so much fun.

What is your favorite part about the holiday crunch?

Q4 is incredibly important to every single party involved in affiliate marketing. So I love being strategic and getting our partners set up for success during the holidays.

What are your Top 3 #ProTips for getting through the craziness of the holiday season?

Top 3 Tips: 1. Make sure you know exactly what you are looking for early so you can get your gifts ahead of time (hint: Black Friday seems to come a lot earlier these days) 2. Amazon doesn't always have the best prices, so make sure to shop sites like joinhoney.com that will help you get better prices + points. 3. Take time for yourself. It's easy as a working mom to focus on everyone else, but if you aren't taking care of you then no one will be happy.

What advice do you have for a newbie to this channel during holiday? 

Stay organized, stay focused on your main objectives and have fun! The affiliate channel is so unique and you can make good friends while helping them drive revenue. I call that a win-win for everyone!

How do you wind down from holiday?

My family normally takes a trip right after the holidays to Florida to warm up, reconnect and relax!

What’s on your shopping list? And which affiliate link do you use?

I have twin 13 year old girls, so I have Apple Watches, Sephora makeup, jewelry and clothes on my list of gifts to buy. Working at Honey I love that I am able to shop and also receive Honey Gold points that I can redeem as gift cards. I am hoping this helps with the Apple Watch purchase. 

Are you naughty or nice? 

I'm really nice....but if you know me well then you know I am also naughty ;)

How long have you been working in this channel? 

7 years!

What is your favorite ecommerce holiday and why? 

I love Thanksgiving, from both a personal and professional perspective. All that mobile browsing between turkey and naps!

What is your favorite part about the holiday crunch? 

Collaborating with colleagues at Bloomingdale’s and all across the affiliate industry to work towards a successful holiday season.

What are your Top 3 #ProTips for getting through the craziness of the holiday season? 

Be organized (have checklists, reminders, and emergency contact numbers on hand throughout holiday travel!), be responsive (you never know when an emergency will pop up) and be ready for anything!

What advice do you have for a newbie to this channel during holiday?

Go with the flow as best you can – don’t overthink things!

How do you wind down from holiday?

By testing out all my holiday goodies and enjoying time with my family.

What’s on your shopping list? And which affiliate link do you use? 

All things toddler, for my daughter Stella. I love Ebates, but also get lots of inspo from my favorite mom bloggers!

Are you naughty or nice? 

Nice!

How long have you been working in this channel? 

4 years!

What is your favorite ecommerce holiday and why? 

I'd have to go with Amazon Prime Day. In the past two years at Conde Nast my entire team has sat in a giant conference room together and it's been a great bonding experience for us. I truly have the best coworkers and team!

What is your favorite part about the holiday crunch? 

I'm obsessed with numbers and data and I love watching the numbers rise so rapidly and calling out the awesome things my team members are doing to get to their goals. When I see a spike in a dashboard I immediately dig in to see what caused it. I feel so lucky to work with so many driven and awesome people. 

What are your Top 3 #ProTips for getting through the craziness of the holiday season? First of all, find yourself a good organizer. Make sure you have a plan you can back up with key data for attacking this beast of a season. Second, try to remember to sweat once a day. Whether it's a brisk walk on your lunch break or a spin class before work those endorphins will become key in you staying sane and remaining calm during this key time. Remember, exercise gives you endorphins and endorphins make you happy and, well, you know the rest. Third, breathe. You're not doing heart surgery, you're pushing traffic around the internet. If you make a mistake it's not the end of the world.

What advice do you have for a newbie to this channel during holiday?

 Grab yourself a solid pump up playlist, you're going to need it.

How do you wind down from holiday? 

Reading! So much reading. It's the thing that I simply can't make time for in the holiday season and I use the week between Christmas and New Years to catch up on my list. 

What’s on your shopping list? And which affiliate link do you use? 

HAHA as IF I have time to shop with everything going on. Lucky for me Hannukah is December 22-30 this year so I'll hit the after-christmas sales to cover everyone on my list. In terms of affiliate links, depends which title I want to reward that day ;)

Are you naughty or nice? 

Depends on who you are...and whether or not you've made my list.

How long have you been working in this channel? 

Just over 9 months!

What is your favorite ecommerce holiday and why?  

Black Friday of course! The biggest money-maker of the year!

What is your favorite part about the holiday crunch?  

Our publishers are all hands-on-deck to produce best-in-class content surrounding all deals/sales from our largest advertisers.

What are your Top 3 #ProTips for getting through the craziness of the holiday season? 

1. Over-prepare: pre-plan content, know what advertisers/publishers you want work with, know what your consumers want to buy, have your deals in place early!

2. Negotiate upfront:  talk to your publishers/advertisers ahead of time to negotiate better rate/terms to be included in more content.

3. Cover all categories: Black Friday is not just about electronics anymore; make sure you think about all categories including fashion, home, travel, retail, jewelry, beauty, etc.

What advice do you have for a newbie to this channel during holiday? 

Breathe – if you’ve done the work upfront, you can just enjoy watching the register ring.

How do you wind down from holiday?  

Vacation! And lots of massages to work out all the holiday knots.

What’s on your shopping list? And which affiliate link do you use?  

Bedding from Parachute from one of our many publishers who will be covering their sale.

Are you naughty or nice? 

I’m nice…with just the right amount of naughty.

How long have you been working in this channel?

Seven glorious years. 

What is your favorite ecommerce holiday and why?

Single’s Day – it's the best time to treat yo’ self!

What is your favorite part about the holiday crunch?

Stress-eating decadent holiday treats.

What are your Top 3 #ProTips for getting through the craziness of the holiday season? 1) To-do lists save lives

2) Just. Keep. Going.

3) End a stressful day with a generous glass of wine.

What advice do you have for a newbie to this channel during holiday?

Stay focused, take your vitamins, and enjoy the season because we’re all in this together!

How do you wind down from holiday?

Catch up on sleep! #hibernationmode

What’s on your shopping list? And which affiliate link do you use?

A new coffee maker since I’ve worn down my trusty little Mr. Coffee machine. Is it sacrilegious to say I like to shop in-store? Please don't hate me. 

Are you naughty or nice?

Just the right mix of naughty & nice…holiday brackish, if you will. ; )

How long have you been working in this channel? 

Almost 9 years now! I started with Rakuten Marketing (then LinkShare) when I was 23 years old.

What is your favorite ecommerce holiday and why?

I'm a fan of Labor Day sales because of the discounts on fall fashion. You see a lot of new launches come out at that time, and heavy discounts on some of my favorite brands.

What is your favorite part about the holiday crunch? 

Working on the publisher side of the business, I love how busy it gets. Nobody wants to be bored at work, and I can barely sit still as is, so it's great to have something to do non-stop.

What are your Top 3 #ProTips for getting through the craziness of the holiday season? 

1. Drink water (not just coffee) because you will crash

2. Get out of the office for a walk and see some daylight every day

3. Eat all the snacks that people bring into the office to share

What advice do you have for a newbie to this channel during holiday? 

I feel like the Affiliate Marketing channel has grown so much that every season is busy season (with the exception of early summer), and most of these newbies are way smarter than me, so my advice would be to not stress out about work. We're not saving lives, and stressing will just make you forgetful, and probably unlikeable in the office 😋.

How do you wind down from holiday? 

By eating my way into a new gym membership.

What’s on your shopping list? And which affiliate link do you use? 

That's a great question hmmm... I tend to shop for a lot of home goods during that time (furniture, rugs, house plants etc.), so brands like Houzz and Overstock.com are usually go to sites for me.

Are you naughty or nice? 

I'm like a smiley-naughty.