BFCM puts more pressure on an affiliate program than a typical promotional period. The brands best positioned to capture that demand use the weeks beforehand to build their affiliate base, test their approach, and prepare partners to promote.

To understand how brands are approaching that preparation, we spoke with our Customer Success team about how leading brands set up their program during BFCM: from when brands begin recruiting and testing to how they structure incentives and activate affiliates.

This article breaks down the common approaches brands are taking to prepare their affiliate programs for BFCM and what you can apply to your own strategy.

When brands start preparing for BFCM

Every brand’s BFCM timeline looks a little different.

We see brands start planning in September, August, or even earlier.

Our customer support team recommends giving your affiliate program at least 30 days to prepare. That gives you time to onboard new affiliates, set commissions and offers, plan communications, prepare campaign materials, and get your operations in place.

In practice, though, many brands leave these changes until the week before they go live. Competing priorities push BFCM work later, leaving little time to test changes or get feedback from affiliates.

Starting earlier gives you time to test in October and move what works into implementation in November.

The BFCM affiliate preparation timeline

Here’s a typical timeline that Social Snowball’s customer support team sees across brands:

This isn’t a fixed schedule. 

Smaller brands often start closer to October, while larger brands may stop enrolling new affiliates toward the end of October. Many brands even finish their setup the week before launch.

Recruitment and activation happen in parallel

Brands don’t finish recruiting before they start activating affiliates. In many cases, the two happen at the same time.

The approach is based on the size and strategy of the brand.

• Larger brands may stop broadly enrolling new affiliates toward the end of October and focus on activating the partners they already have.
• Smaller brands often continue recruiting through Q4 and BFCM, giving them a larger pool of potential affiliates to work with.

Social Snowball’s customer support team recommends staying selective while continuing to recruit during BFCM. You don’t need to wait until your affiliate roster is complete before you start preparing partners to promote.

Activation window starts before BFCM week

Brands start activating affiliates before the BFCM sale window. Social Snowball’s customer support team sees a few tactics come up repeatedly:

• Start with a clear welcome email: Brands outline the commission, customer discount, campaign brief, posting guidance, and tips for creating BFCM content.
• Follow up consistently: Brands send weekly emails to keep the campaign in front of affiliates instead of relying on the initial announcement.
• Use email and Instagram together: Brands use both channels to reach affiliates and encourage more creators to participate.
• Respond quickly: When creators reply with questions or interest, move fast instead of leaving them waiting.
• Use founder-led communication for key affiliates: Founder emails and videos can give top affiliates a more direct push ahead of BFCM.
• Prepare content ahead of time: Brands work with creators to get BFCM content ready before the sale begins.
• Keep recruiting: Brands continue to promote their affiliate program on social media and reach out to VIP customers and frequent buyers while activating existing affiliates.

Test your BFCM strategy in October

October is when brands test the changes they’re considering for BFCM. These can include:

• Commission structures
• Discounts
• Product gifting
• Affiliate signup forms
• Affiliate emails
• Content creation

Testing gives brands a chance to get feedback from affiliates before committing to changes for the sale. Changes that work are typically moved into implementation in November or during BFCM week.

How much you test depends on how established the affiliate program is. Brands that are new to affiliate marketing are more likely to test their commission structure ahead of BFCM, while established programs tend to have a structure in place and make more targeted changes for the season.

How brands approach affiliate incentives for BFCM

BFCM usually comes with changes to the affiliate offer. The team at Social Snowball usually sees commissions increase by around 5–10% during BFCM, alongside other changes such as performance bonuses, additional gifting, or incentives tied to specific products or performance.

The timing matters, too. Commission changes often start in November, with many brands making their final adjustments around BFCM week. 

Starting earlier gives affiliates more time to understand the offer and plan their content, which is especially crucial since top affiliates are promoting multiple ecommerce brands during the same period.

Common BFCM incentives include:

• Higher commissions across the program
• Product-specific commissions
• Performance bonuses
• Tiered incentives
• More gifting for top affiliates
• Leaderboards and other gamification
• Giveaways for top performers
• Higher commissions tied to new product launches

The right approach depends on the brand’s margins and discount strategy. Smaller brands tend to be more selective with commissions and may limit higher rates to specific products, while larger brands may increase commissions across the program or attach them to a new product launch.

Get your affiliate program BFCM-ready with Social Snowball

BFCM preparation starts long before the sale. The weeks (and months) leading up to it are your time to recruit affiliates, test offers and commissions, gather feedback, and prepare creators to promote.

If you’re starting an affiliate program ahead of Black Friday or moving from another platform, Social Snowball’s team can help you get set up quickly. From migrating your existing program to recruiting and onboarding affiliates, our team is here to help you have your best BFCM yet.

Get your affiliate program battle-ready in time for BFCM. Book a demo.