It’s gift giving season again!
During November the online shop traffic starts to increase quite rapidly. Many people have already started their shopping and others, are looking for shopping guidance. I have found myself time and time again turning to bloggers gift guides to help me find the perfect gift for that one person. That means more people searching and shopping online, and more chances for you to increase your affiliate income. As a blogger, affiliate income is just one of the things that make me money. I use affiliate links in most of my posts to make a few dollars when I am suggesting products and clothes that I love and use. I’m going to be sharing my tips for making the perfect gift guide that increases affiliate income for your blog in 2018!
How to Make a Stunning Holiday Gift Guides that Increase Affiliate Income:
Use a real-life example
Abbott Lyon – Personalized Handbag and Watch
Who’s one person in your life that you have to buy something for? What do you think they’ll like? I like to make my gift guides around a certain personality, hobby or interest a person might have. Sometimes when I’m searching for a gift, I might not really know a lot about the person. For example, my cousin Albert (I don’t have a cousin Albert), he likes Star Wars and Eating Pizza. But I don’t want to get him just a pizza gift card for Christmas. I would look up gift guides for star wars fans or pizza lovers to get some ideas.
Use price points
Not everyone is ready to spend $100 or more on a holiday gift for someone – especially if it’s for a random person. The most popular general value for a gift is $20-$50. I like to make a few gift guides that gear toward the people who don’t like to/don’t have a lot of money to spend. Try using different price points for your gift guides.
Use graphics
Cozy + Pink Gift Guide: Presents for Your BFF
Okay, its really great that you reworded the product description, but how about letting me actually see the gift idea? I find that the gift guides that make the best impression use a variety of graphics and images. I like to make one larger numbered image the directs to the details of the product below. Plus, if I can, a small image of the product actually beside the description.
Looks are important!
So get creative with it! I like to use Canva and Sketchbook to make my graphics stand out. Using different fonts, clip art, images and text can make your content more interactive and eye-catching.
Use real suggestions
At the end of every gift guide, I like to include products/ideas that I personally can recommend. Things that I have at home already or have bought for people in the past. This tends to make gift guides a bit more realistic.
Make sure links are updated
You could be losing out on potential affiliate income if one of your links is broken. I recommend checking over your links every few weeks to make sure everything is working properly. I use a free online tool called a broken link checker. You can try it by using Google Search Console. You can also see here what websites are backlinking to your page and where your blog content is being shared.
Stay Relevant
My Top 10 Favorite Holiday Lipstick Gift Sets + Liners
Suggest products and gift ideas that people are already searching for. Take a quick peak at gift guides that are offered by top retailers and check in with what is trending right now. I like to look through the most popular tab on the website I’m linking from.
Include professional photos
I’ve already started getting some of my gift guides and photoshoots ready for this year. I always find my affiliate links convert more when the viewer sees me actually using the product. Clothes always look better styled on you than a websites white background image. Toys always look better when kids are actually playing with them. And gifts always seem more purchasable when you show the person they are being gifted to!
Don’t just try to make money
You have to be real and sensible! Have you ever read a gift guide when someone is trying to say you should buy your mailman a Gucci belt. Like, what? Studies have shown that most people are searching for ‘cheap gifts’ or ‘gifts under $x’. Not everyone likes to spend it all on the holidays. Showcase appropriate products and only include products that you would GENUINELY suggest.
Create a header
Add a Holiday Section to your menus
For the holiday months, highlight your gift guides and holiday posts front and center on your blog. I like to add a ‘Holiday’ option on my menu bar (as you can see above). I also like to link to some of my past gift guides (the relevant ones to the post) at the bottom of the gift guide. If I’m talking about a product that I already blogged about, I also like to link that in the product description too.
Write meaningful descriptions
She’s gonna love it because she’s gonna! Again, what? Give me a meaningful description that highlights the best product features. If you’re suggesting something that pairs perfectly with something else, mention that! Give an example of who you’d gift the item to and things they/you loved about it. I always like to include the price in the description because it’s relevant to everyone!
Gift Guides can be a great way to make some extra affiliate income during the holidays. Make sure you are putting the love and care that you normally would into the gift guides. However, gift guides are just one small portion of growing your blog during the holidays. Check out my post on Holiday Strategy Breakdown for Bloggers to learn more on how you can make an impact this holiday season!
Click HERE to read the post.
