November and December are two months of major spending, particularly with a 15% increase in online revenue from 2010 to 2011. In fact, there were 10 days during this period last year when more than $1 billion was spent on online purchases.

How are you going to capitalize on this spending frenzy? Deals stores are the perfect way to cash in on the action, allowing you to target key advertisers and drive a burst of revenue growth.

Last year, the Quad-City Times generated over $140,000 in gross revenue from two holiday stores – a Cyber Monday store in November and a Stocking Stuffer store in December. Tim d’Avis and Keely Byars from the Quad-City Times joined me to share some tips and tricks for capitalizing on the season of spending in our webinar “Deals Stores for the Holidays.”

Check out these takeaways for inspiration and best practices as you begin to set up your own holiday deals store.

1. Start early and plan ahead. The biggest opportunities for driving revenue from a deals store are Cyber Monday (November 26th) and the week before Christmas. In order to be in the best position to take advantage of this spending, you want to send your sales team off to the races as early as mid-September.




2. Run a contest in advance of deals store. The most effective way to bulk up your deals email list before the holidays is by running a contest in October or early November. Always include an opt-in for your deals program! A simple sweepstakes with a fantastic prize is your best bet.




3. Pitch multiple deals to your advertisers. By planning your deals stores in advance, you’ll be able to line up key advertisers with the best deal offerings.




4. Get in the holiday spirit. Give your site, emails and promotional asset a refresh for the holiday season.




5. Include a mix of deals. Use your holiday store to expand and diversify your deals line-up, both for the holidays and year-round. Stores are the perfect opportunity to include deals that are too small to run by themselves, but will complement each other well in the context of a store.




6. Target the right categories. Restaurants are a natural fit for the holiday season, but you should also be securing deals for health and beauty, entertainment and seasonal recreation, retail gift cards, photo services. Save your fitness deals for January, when New Year’s Resolutions kick in.




7. Bundle promotional assets to secure quality merchants. Use all promotional vehicles in your arsenal for securing those tough-to-get merchants.




8. Make it fun for your sales team. By running a contest for your sales team, you will introduce a little friendly competition and make selling deals fun.

Deals stores are a fantastic way to drive significant revenue during the holiday season – and throughout the year! Remember that a deals store can be a Win-Win-Win for consumers, advertisers and you.

What best practices to put to work when running a deals store?