OMG SO MANY SALES

The promotions section of your inbox is probably inundated with 4th of July sales, but we’re focusing on the big four: Target Circle Week, Walmart’s Deal Days, Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale, and Amazon’s Prime Days.

I’m making this stat up but 95% of the people who follow you are going to buy something from one of these sales. If you don’t get the commission, someone else will and we can’t have that!

Let’s get into it.

Target Circle Week: July 7-13

From the brand: Target Circle Week, our biggest sale of the summer, is coming July 7-13 with deep savings of up to 50% off, smart ways to save on early back-to-school shopping and so much more. Exclusively for Target Circle members, it’s one of the ways we say ‘thanks’ for being part of our free-to-join program.

Walmart’s Deal Days: July 8-11

From the brand: Walmart is announcing its largest savings event ever: “Walmart Deals.” Starting Monday, July 8 at 5 p.m. ET through Thursday, July 11 at 11:59 p.m. ET, customers can shop thousands of deals on popular items from electronics, home, toys, travel and more – including must-have items heading into the back-to-school season. Walmart+ members will have early access to shop the hottest deals of the season beginning at noon ET – five hours before anyone else.

Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale: July 15 - August 4

From the brand: Our biggest fashion event of the year, the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, is coming July 15, 2024. Early Access to Anniversary Sale is available to all Nordstrom cardmembers. It's a sale like no other, a limited-time opportunity to save big on brand-new arrivals—plus all the essentials.

Amazon’s Prime Days: July 16-17

From the brand: Amazon’s 10th Prime Day event starts July 16 at 12:01 a.m. PDT and runs through July 17. Prime members will get exclusive access to millions of great deals on brands like Clinique, Allbirds, and Kiehl’s. New deals will continue to drop as often as every five minutes during select periods throughout the event, so members can come back and shop often to find something they love. Invite-only deals are also back this year, which means Prime members can request an invitation to exclusive deals that are expected to sell out. Some of the top Invite-only deals to put on your radar include up to 40% off Sony Wireless Headphones and up to 30% off Peloton products.

CALENDAR REMINDERS LOCKED AND LOADED… NOW WHAT?

Your stack is the list of platforms you’ll need to be successful during the Super Bowl Summer Of Sales.

Now nooooormally these would all be affiliate links, but since I’m still recovering from P.P.I.S (Procrastination. Perfectionism. Imposter Syndrome), and signing up for the platforms, getting approved, and making affiliate links would probably delay this newsletter by at least a week, some are organic links. I too am SHOCKED and APPALLED. But if you love me, and you plan on signing up for any of them, hit reply and tell me which one. I’ll dig up a link for you.

HOWL (or your affiliate platform of choice)

Ok, I’m biased because I work here buuuuuuut we can hook you up with your Walmart, Target, and Nordstrom links. Oh and for Nordstrom we have the highest rates, the longest attribution window (14 days instead of 7) and all sorts of fun perks. Plus you’ll get coaching from yours truly. Sign up using this link, let me know when you’re in, and I’ll give you the goods.

Manychat (or LinkDM)

Manychat is that girl. Not only can you send links right to your audience, but the auto reply to a comment pleases the Instagram Algorithm Gods. This is what I use and I love it. LinkDM is also getting a lot of shine lately*, but I haven’t used it so I can’t vouch for it 100%. Sign up using this link

Flodesk / Substack (or email client of your choice)

I am a longtime fan of Flodesk. And even though this newsletter is written on Beehiiv (more on that in a later issue) Flodesk is my favorite email client for influencers. It’s beautiful, comes with a ton of templates, there’s free access to Flodesk University, and it gives you everything you need and nothing you don’t. Sign up using this link and save 50% off your first year.

You could also go the Substack route which is turning out to be SUPER lucrative. [For creators and former bloggers, Substack offers a renaissance — and a new revenue stream - Glossy]

Instagram Broadcast Channel

I asked clients about their revenue sources and some have told me that 70% of their affiliate money comes from an Instagram Broadcast channel. If you have the feature, set it up.

1. It’s the one place where you are safe from the algorithm.

2. Audience members opt-in so you don’t have to worry about “too many links.”

3. You have the ability to create multiple channels for your primary niche and categories you KNOW are lucrative (like tech! Because why you are not linking your $800 TV I’ll never understand)

4. New members have access to every broadcast no matter when they joined

5. They are a low lift since it’s a one-way channel but high touch because you can use tools like Q&A and polls to get a sense of what your audience is shopping for, which retailers they love, and what is most likely to convert.

P.S. If you were on Howl you would have gotten a whole webinar from me on Broadcast channels for free-ninety-nine during BFCM 2023!

WHO’S CRUSHING IT?

Whenever I try to preach the gospel of affiliate marketing, influencers are always waxing poetic about brand deals. Yes, yes, I love them too, but people with 30,000 followers are making $100K per year off of affiliate links. I know one who makes that every… single… month.

No pitching, no negotiating, no usage, no exclusivity, no briefs, and no waiting for invoices to be paid. Just commission hitting the bank account on a regular basis.

But to show you what’s really possible, let me show you some of the best.

TIBAL (@things.i.bought.and.liked on Instagram)

You can’t talk even talk about affiliate without talking about Things I Bought And Liked. She tells her audience to add to cart and they ask how many. I’ve never seen someone move so much product with a story in my life. And she’s not even on her feed. All her audience knows is that her name is Sarah.

Laura Reilly (@magasin on substack)

So. Much. Text. I’ve never seen a fashion newsletter have so much text and so few photos, but it works. Her audience is dying to hear what she has to say and they snap things right up.

Signed Blake (@signedblake on Instagram)

She hasn’t had a ton of Amazon drops for no reason. If Blake has posted about something, especially a coat, and it’s been more than an hour, forget about it. You’re not getting it. It’s day 34689327493 of me asking her to set up Instagram subscriptions so we can shop before the masses. I missed a coat last year and I’m still salty about it.

Julianna Claire (@julianna_claire on TikTok)

I don’t shop often, but when I do it’s from her feed. She’s also not in the content ya’ll. I could literally make a boutique from all the stuff I’ve bought from her Amazon store. And the way she reuses video clips is absolute genius. This aesthetic doesn’t work for everyone, but if it works for you, GET ON IT.

Lindsay Silberman (lindsaysilberman.com)

Did you think you were getting a list without Lindsay on it? That’s funny. I can’t even open her newsletters because I’ll buy something. And she has so many series, I know exactly what I’m getting with each send. Sign up and get the gems dropped on you.

Erin Schrader (livinginyellow.com)

Erin sends text messages with affiliate links in them. TEXT MESSAGES. And her two Facebook pages/groups have almost 1,000,000 members between them. She is definitely in the 1% of Elite Earners.

Stephanie Trantham (@the_broadmoor_house on Instagram)

Stephanie could sell ice in the winter, fire in hell, and she could even sell water to a whale. (That doesn’t even rhyme, how did we let JAY-Z get away with that?) Want a masterclass in selling through stories? Watch hers. It’s an art and a science.

OK, So this was insanely long…

I promise you, every issue won’t be this long. There was just a loooooot to unpack and limited time since the sales are starting next week.

That’s it for this edition of Elite Earners and I hope you’re excited for Campaign Closers and Stripe Sessions.

If you loved it, please hit reply and let me know.

And if you want to buy something, you can see what’s on summer sale here.

*Note: an earlier edition of this this newsletter said LinkDM was integrated into LTK (I saw it on a very trusted site but I won’t drag them here.)

Straight from LTK: "LTK has not integrated LinkDM. LTK built its own automated DM feature. LTK DM is the third distinct tech in this category that LTK has launched: 1. Like to know it - the original email service we offered, 2. Screenshot via app, 3. LTK DM - the latest iteration of what LTK started 10 years ago. It's worth noting that LTK has a robust patent portfolio in the automated communications space, that LTK has been building on since 2014.”