Guests: Tom Hor, Helen Robinson & Morgan Gillum
Tom:
Welcome to the Clear Ads Podcast: Highway to Sell. You’re listening to me, Tom Hor, and this week I’m joined by Helen Robinson and Morgan Gillum.
As always, don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode in the future.
This week we’re discussing how to prepare your Amazon advertising for Q2 and the upcoming seasonal holidays.
Let’s do a quick reminder of what’s coming up — especially if you’re based in the U.S.:
We’ve got Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and I think there are a few more…
Helen:
Yes — Teacher Appreciation Day and Nurses Day.
Tom:
That’s right. And we’ve also got Memorial Day, Flag Day, and some of the newer ones like Juneteenth.
And if you want to peek into early Q3, there’s Independence Day at the start of July. So there’s plenty to prepare for.
The biggest ones are likely Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Memorial Day, since those bring the most predictable spikes in shopping activity.
Helen:
And don’t forget, in the UK we’ve got the Coronation coming up — that’s going to be huge.
Tom:
True! The crowning of a new King after the passing of Queen Elizabeth — that’s going to be a major event.
So if you’ve got products that even loosely relate to any of these holidays — from party supplies to gifts — now’s the time to get ads behind them.
Think about people hosting street parties, family get-togethers, and celebrations. And remember, for holidays like Mother’s Day, it often extends beyond mothers — it can include grandparents, aunts, or mentors.
Morgan:
Exactly. And I wouldn’t underestimate how early sellers start preparing.
We’ve already seen a big rise in search volume around events like the Coronation — sometimes as early as two months in advance.
Helen:
Yes, but a note of caution — while searches might start early, purchase intent often doesn’t.
We’ve seen plenty of people window shopping right now but not buying yet.
Because delivery times are so fast these days, shoppers don’t need to buy that far in advance. So by all means, start early, but keep your bids low until conversions begin to rise.
Tom:
That’s a really good point.
We’ve mentioned before that Amazon is now as much a search engine as it is a shopping site.
People use it to research and compare prices — often cross-referencing Amazon listings with Walmart, Target, Etsy, and smaller online shops.
So keep an eye on search volume, clicks, and engagement. Once you start seeing steady increases, that’s when you raise your bids and budgets.
Morgan:
Yes, it’s all about finding that sweet spot. You want to enter the market before CPCs spike, but not so early that you waste spend.
If you ran ads last year, look back at when competitors entered and when traffic started to convert. That’ll help you time things better this year.
Tom:
Absolutely.
And something we do here at Clear Ads is create a marketing calendar for each client.
That helps us map out every relevant holiday in advance and analyse how those same periods performed in previous years.
For example, we’re already scaling budgets for Mother’s Day campaigns based on 2021 and 2022 data.
If you felt you launched too late last year, go in a week or two earlier this year. Or, if you went too aggressive and saw poor returns, scale back slightly and focus on higher-performing ad types.
Helen:
Exactly. Always build on last year’s learnings.
Tom:
Speaking of budgets, when moving into a seasonal period like Mother’s Day, what’s the right move — increase budgets or decrease them?
Helen:
It depends.
For clients who sell products that are directly relevant to the holiday, we absolutely increase budgets — that’s their time to shine.
But if you’re not in a directly related niche, the extra traffic could just lead to wasted spend. In that case, monitor your bids closely and protect your budget.
Tom:
Good point. Also, watch out for keyword crossover — you might start appearing for holiday-related searches that don’t actually match your product.
So, don’t spend unnecessarily just because traffic is high.
And remember, during these peaks, organic traffic naturally increases. You might not need to advertise as heavily if your listings already rank well.
Morgan:
Right — it’s different for every seller.
For example, one of my clients sells a product that naturally performs well during Mother’s Day, so we’ll increase budgets but with careful control.
If another client just happens to get a small bump in traffic without being directly relevant, we might hold steady or even reduce budgets slightly.
Tom:
Exactly. And don’t forget to track competitor pricing during these periods.
Are competitors raising prices because of demand? Are they adding coupons or discounts? Have they undercut you?
Even a few dollars can make a big difference to your appeal.
Helen:
Yes — and that ties into competitor targeting too.
Make sure your ads focus on competitors who are more expensive, have fewer reviews, or look lower quality. You’ll get more efficient conversions that way.
Tom:
Good one.
Now, on to forecasting — how should sellers plan inventory and expectations for these holidays?
Morgan:
Start by reviewing last year’s data.
Which products sold best? Which didn’t? Can any evergreen products be repositioned as seasonal this year?
Trends and buyer behaviour shift all the time, so testing is essential.
Helen:
Agreed. And one of our favourite tools for this is the Search Catalog Performance Report in Seller Central.
It lets you track how each ASIN performs — from impressions to clicks to conversions — and compare week by week or quarter by quarter.
Morgan:
Yes, and the Search Query Performance Report too.
That one shows which keywords are driving sales. If you start seeing search terms like “Mother’s Day gift” suddenly climb, it’s time to act.
Tom:
Perfect. And for anyone new to this — you can find both reports under Brand Analytics in Seller Central. They’re downloadable now too, so it’s easy to compare across time periods.
And while you’re forecasting, always check your inventory levels.
Even smaller holidays can create stock shortages. Make sure your inventory management tools or Amazon’s built-in dashboards are up to date — or use third-party alerts to track days of stock remaining.
Helen:
Yes — and if you’ve got excess stock, it’s a great chance to clear it.
Treat your store like a retail shop — drop prices slightly, update your images, or use sponsored brand and sponsored display ads to make older inventory stand out again.
And with Amazon’s storage fees increasing, it’s smart to move stagnant stock before it costs you.
Morgan:
That’s true. You can also use your Storefront banner to feature seasonal products more prominently — for example, swapping your header to promote a Mother’s Day gift collection.
That can drive more store visits and conversions.
Tom:
Great point. And I love what you said earlier about repurposing seasonal products.
Just because Valentine’s Day is over doesn’t mean the product’s done. You can reframe it for anniversaries, birthdays, or Mother’s Day — sometimes it just needs a new headline or image.
Helen:
Yes, exactly.
Even something as simple as a cutting board can be adapted for any occasion — “Mom’s Kitchen,” “Dad’s Kitchen,” “Grandma’s Kitchen,” “Happy Independence Day.”
If you’re creative, almost any product can be seasonalised.
Tom:
Love that.
And as for your imagery, you can reuse seasonal visuals year-round by tweaking the headlines. For instance, a Valentine’s Day photo with a couple could easily work with a message like “You’ll love our products”.
Helen:
We’ve done exactly that. For one of our skincare brands, we swapped pink hearts into a photo for Valentine’s Day — it performed so well that we kept running it!
We just changed the message from “Valentine’s Special” to “Why people love this product.”
Morgan:
And if you’re ever short on creative ideas, don’t forget AI tools like ChatGPT.
You can prompt it to generate seasonal headlines or A+ copy variations in seconds — it’s a great way to spark ideas when you’re stuck.
Tom:
Exactly. We even covered that in our “Scaling for Seven-Figure Sellers” webinar — how to use ChatGPT for quick copy prompts like “Write a 6-word headline for a Mother’s Day gift.”
It’s fast and surprisingly effective.
Now let’s talk about offers and deals. What have you both found most effective — price drops, coupons, or seven-day deals?
Morgan:
Right now, coupons are performing really well.
Not everyone remembers to redeem them — in fact, only about 30–40% of shoppers actually click the coupon.
That means you get the benefit of increased visibility without always paying out the full discount.
Helen:
Exactly. And a lot of people think the coupon applies automatically — it doesn’t. But by the time they realise, they’ve already bought the product and are happy with it!
Tom:
So true. And remember, a small visual discount like a strikethrough price can also drive urgency.
When people see a price drop — even a few dollars — it creates fear of missing out.
Helen:
Yes, but balance it with your ad spend. If you’re cutting prices and increasing PPC simultaneously, your margins shrink quickly.
It’s fine if you’ve got a repeat-purchase product — but for one-time items, be cautious.
Tom:
Good advice. And one more tactic: charm pricing.
If competitors are all at $10 and you were at $15, dropping yours to $10 with a visible strike-through makes shoppers feel they’re getting premium value at the same price.
You don’t have to go lower — perception does the work.
Helen:
Exactly.
Tom:
Now before we wrap up — at what point should a seller consider bringing on an agency like Clear Ads to manage their campaigns?
Helen:
Q2 or early Q3 is often a good time.
It’s between the major sales peaks, so it’s a great moment to review performance, run an audit, and build out a flywheel strategy for the rest of the year.
Tom:
Exactly. And for those new to the term — the Amazon Flywheel refers to the cycle where profitable products fund more advertising, which drives more sales, leading to greater visibility and the ability to launch more products.
It’s a self-sustaining loop of growth when managed correctly.
Alright — let’s finish with one top tip each for Q2 planning.
Helen:
Mine would be: review your listings carefully.
Add holiday-relevant keywords into your titles, bullet points, and A+ content. But remember to remove or update them afterwards — you don’t want “Mother’s Day” still showing in October.
Morgan:
I’d say: plan and track early.
Use tools like Helium 10 to monitor CPCs and keyword trends, and be strategic about when you increase bids — don’t just guess.
Tom:
Great ones. I’ll add: optimise your Storefront.
Create a dedicated seasonal subpage (like “Mother’s Day Gifts”) and direct your Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Brand Video ads there.
That way you can promote multiple products without splitting your spend across dozens of campaigns.
And a bonus tip — use Budget Rules. Let Amazon automatically increase budgets if your campaigns are still performing profitably. It’s a simple way to stay efficient during busy holidays.
Helen:
And one final note — if you’ve built a strong brand, don’t forget to remarket to your existing customers.
People who already trust your brand are more likely to buy your seasonal products too.
Tom:
Exactly.
Well, that wraps it up for this episode. Thank you, Helen and Morgan, for the insights.
And to everyone listening — if you found this helpful, please share the podcast with colleagues and other Amazon sellers.
You can also visit clearads.co.uk to book a call or request an account audit.
Until next time, thanks for listening — and goodbye from all of us.
Helen:
Bye!
Morgan:
Bye!
