Editor’s Note: I met Stephanie Agresta last month at the BlogWorld Expo in Vegas—the girl’s got a wicked craps toss, I can tell you—where she spoke on the panel, “Bloggers and Online Merchants: Affiliate Marketing Synergies.” With more than 12 years of experience in online marketing, Stephanie has survived plenty of Cyber Mondays.

As we noted in a previous post, joining an affiliate program and negotiating direct ad sales can be great ways to boost your publishing revenue. Well, I learned that from Stephanie. For you publishers who are combining an affiliate program and direct ads with your Yahoo! Publisher Network ads Stephanie offers up ten survival tips to help get you through the holidays and into the black.

“Cyber Monday” has come and gone. While many news outlets focused on the “big bang” in sales that this day is supposed to represent (like its offline sister, “Black Friday”), online sales have grown at steady and steep rates each year for a decade. For 2007, initial reports point to even better-than-expected growth in the run-up to the holidays. More money for online advertisers means more revenue for publishers. Time to pop the Veuve Clicquot! 

But as anyone who has been in e-commerce for the last 10 years knows, with all this growth comes more competition and more stress for marketers. Consumer expectations are higher, there are more advertisers to choose from and manage, and—of course—there is significantly more competition (and expense) to secure those precious eyeballs! What is an online publisher to do?

Here are a few quick tips to help you navigate this hectic time. If you can keep these guidelines in mind, you may come out of the holiday season full of good cheer.

10. Speak with your audience and keep them top of mind. It is so easy to get caught up in the holiday hubbub and forget the basics. As a publisher, the most valuable tactic you can use is to stay focused on your readers and ask for their feedback. Start a conversation.

One simple idea is to create a holiday gift guide that suggests great ideas that you think they will love and asks for their product recommendations. If you’re a blogger, comments from readers can be a wealth of information on top-selling products and great content for future posts.

9. It’s all about the data. Set weekly and monthly goals for your affiliate commissions and contextual ad revenue, and run reports more frequently. Look at the numbers more closely and stay in tune with sales trends. Daily review of activity is a necessary component to making the season a success.

8. Stay on top of cultural trends. Who knows more about cultural trends than Oprah? As many of the pundits have pointed out, her annual list drives a huge number of online purchases. Tune into this and other trend-spotters now and throughout the year. If you aren’t already reading the Trend Watching briefings, sign up ASAP!

7. Read More Blogs. Does it sound crazy that, at the busiest time of the year, I am suggesting that you dedicate more time to reading blogs? Well, reading other thought leaders has a way of inspiring me. For online publishers who seek to increase their revenue, immerse yourself in the writings of Shawn Collins, Lisa Picarille, Sam Harrelson and Jim Kukral (in addition to this fabulous Yahoo! Publisher Network blog). You won’t be sorry.

6. Update your website with holiday images. Seems like an obvious one, but it is always a good reminder for busy publishers. Seasonal images help drive sales. Imagine shopping in an offline store that had no decorations up for the holidays. BORING!

5. Reach out to your top advertisers. This is always a tough one for some publishers. As someone who has been on the advertiser side for years, I cherish online publishers who take the time to make personal contact and share specifics about their site and the demographics they work with. It always helps to have a real person to contact with questions, so take time to make sure your top partners know who you are.

4. Try new methods of reaching out. As a follow up to #5, I must remind you that email and IM are so 2006. If you don’t already have a Facebook profile or Twitter account, give it a try. While it may take some getting used to, you will find that many of your colleagues are already there, and communication becomes that much easier.

3. Check your data feeds (if you use them). Another simple reminder—but vital during this busy traffic season—is to make sure that your site is up to par: no broken links to advertiser sites. If you find an advertiser that has not done an update to its data feed in awhile, send a polite note asking them to provide you with the tools you need to sell their products.

2. Don’t forget the long tail. While Top 10 product lists are great, let’s not forget that this is a time of year when individuals go out of their way to find unique and special gifts. Spend time building out lists of keywords (including five-plus word keywords). If you do any online marketing, such as through Yahoo! Search Marketing, use these in your campaigns. Even if you don’t do any online marketing, be sure to sprinkle these keywords throughout your copy to help get your site more visible in organic search rankings.

1. Get in the spirit. Most importantly, take a moment to be thankful for your direct advertising partners, if you have any. Not only is it good karma, but it goes a long way to enhance your working relationship all year long. Snail mail, old-school holiday cards are wonderful, but e-cards or online videos work, too. Give to receive!

Don’t Forget: It’s not too late to still capture the holiday spirit and boost your sales online. Keep in mind that many gift advertisers register about 60 percent of their sales in the fourth quarter, the bulk of which is in December. Plus, January is a big month for most e-retailers—with all those gift cards burning holes in consumer pockets.

—Stephanie Agresta, Stephanie Agresta Consulting