How to crush Q4 as a content creator - ep 120
Welcome to the absolute creator Olympics: the holiday season.
If you’ve been hanging around the digital space for any length of time, you know that the fourth quarter isn't just about cozy sweaters and festive vibes—it is hands-down the most lucrative, high-stakes stretch of the entire year.
Brands are actively scrambling to spend the rest of their annual marketing budgets on eager holiday shoppers, which means you have a massive window to turn your content into serious income.
I’ve worked on holiday campaigns with powerhouses like Walmart, Pinterest, Gleem, and Sephora at Kohl’s, I’m breaking down the exact strategy you need to book brand deals, maximize affiliate revenue, and crush Q4.
Create & Consume:
What Austen is creating: 10 years of NYFW blog post
What Austen is consuming: Giants winning their first game of the season against the Cowboys!
In this episode:
Strike while the iron is hot: pitch your brand partners now
Q4 brand budgets are being locked in right this second, so waiting until November is a guaranteed recipe for missed paydays.
Pull up your contact list today and segment your outreach into three distinct tiers: past brand partners who already love your work, warm leads from recent PR lists or events, and those holy-grail dream brands you’ve been dying to pitch.
Come to the table with hyper-specific execution ideas, highlight upcoming sales, and share your last-minute availability across LinkedIn, Threads, or in an email newsletter to your contacts.
As those contracts start rolling in, remember to balance sponsored posts with organic content, pay eagle-eyed attention to exclusivity clauses, and check out my e-book Right on Pitch if you need an exact roadmap to closing the deal.
Showcase past wins and high-impact metrics
Brands don't just want pretty visuals during the holidays; they want absolute proof of return on investment before cutting a big check.
Take your best seasonal work from previous years—whether that's festive Instagram Reels, gift guides on your blog, or YouTube vlogs—and package them into a Canva PDF deck or dedicated site page.
Make sure you pair those examples with hard metrics, highlighting engagement rates, reach, and click-through rates (CTR).
Reassuring potential partners that your content actively drives sales and traffic is the fastest way to turn a hesitant "maybe" into a signed contract.
Turn up the heat on your affiliate engine
Brand deals are fantastic, but affiliate links are your secret weapon for making bank while you sleep.
Sign up for key platforms like LTK, ShopMy, and Amazon, while building out storefronts for major retailers like Target, Home Depot, or Macy's.
Start integrating seasonal products across every channel right now—pin high-intent visual inspiration on Pinterest, post evergreen shoppable guides on your blog, draft high-converting Substack newsletters, and weave casual product drops into long-form YouTube videos and podcast episodes.
Work smarter by cross-repurposing your content: turn a podcast gift guide into a Substack listicle, or grab the transcript from a YouTube holiday makeup tutorial and morph it into a shoppable blog post.
Get creative, plan ahead, and protect your peace
To stand out in a sea of generic holiday guides, get creative with your content angles.
Attend local seasonal events for fresh vlog material, collaborate with creator friends on round-up posts like "our favorite gifts," or tap into adjacent niches like festive cocktail recipes or luxury gift-wrapping tutorials.
Build in plenty of lead time by posting Thanksgiving ideas in early November and Christmas or alternative holiday content shortly after.
Most importantly, batch and schedule your posts early so you can actually step away from your screen and enjoy a well-deserved, peaceful break before the New Year.
Summary:
By proactively pitching early, backing up your value with solid metrics, and smartly diversifying your content across multiple platforms, you can turn this hectic holiday season into your most profitable quarter yet while staying completely sane in the process.
Listen on Apple
Listen on Spotify