Hey Insiders!
With just one week left in August, this is the perfect time for creators to set clear goals and put systems in place for September. Once October arrives, the pace picks up quickly, and the holiday season does not leave much room for catching your breath. Campaign briefs come in fast, deadlines overlap, and it is easy to feel like you are playing catch-up instead of sticking to your plan.
September is your chance to prepare for Q4 so you can hit your income goals and still have the space to enjoy the holiday season without feeling overwhelmed.
Clean Up and Refresh Your Links
The easiest place to start is with your links. Whether you use a Link in Bio tool, an Amazon storefront, or platforms like LTK and Mavely, it is important to check that every link is working correctly and leading to the right products.
Shoppers will be looking for giftable items and seasonal promotions, and brands will be updating their catalogs to reflect that, which means the links you set up months ago may no longer be the most effective ones to feature.
By creating updated collections or curated lists now, you give yourself a smoother process later when you need to move quickly. It is much better to set the table in advance than to realize halfway through a campaign that traffic is being lost to outdated or broken links.
Batch Evergreen Video Content
Another smart use of September is building a small library of evergreen content that can fill in the gaps when your schedule becomes dominated by sponsored campaigns. Q4 often brings back-to-back partnerships, which can cause your feed to feel overly promotional if there is not a balance of content types.
Filming a handful of short tutorials, lifestyle clips, or product highlights that are not tied to a specific campaign allows you to maintain consistency and keep your audience engaged even on the busiest weeks. Having these pieces ready to go ensures that your feed does not lose its authenticity at the exact moment when trust and connection matter most.
Warm Up Your People
Audience trust is built over time, not in the middle of a holiday promotion. September is the time to re-engage with your audience and strengthen that connection before the season of constant sales messaging begins. Share content that feels authentic and personal, encourage conversations through polls or questions, and simply show up consistently so your followers are reminded why they value your perspective.
The creators who make space for this now will find that their sponsored content performs better in Q4 because their audience is already tuned in and receptive. If you only appear with promotions, your content will blend into the noise, but if you have spent the month showing up in meaningful ways, your audience will pay attention when it matters most.
Reach Out to Brands and Affiliate Managers
Brands are already planning their Q4 budgets and locking in placements, which makes September the ideal time to reach out and express interest in holiday campaigns. By contacting affiliate managers and brand partners now, you position yourself as proactive and ready, which often leads to access to bonus commissions, exclusive coupon codes, or priority placement opportunities.
Even a brief message letting a brand know that you want to support their holiday promotions can make a difference, since many opportunities are reserved for creators who ask early. Waiting until November almost always means missing out, so use this window to secure the partnerships that will carry you through the busiest season.
Organize Your Workflow Before Things Get Busy
Finally, September is the right time to put systems in place that will make the pace of Q4 more manageable. Simple steps like mapping out a content calendar around anchor dates such as Black Friday, Amazon Prime Day, and holiday shipping cutoffs will save time later when you are juggling multiple deadlines.
Create folders to keep campaign deliverables organized and explore scheduling tools if you are not already using them, because the less time you spend searching for files or writing from scratch, the more time you have to focus on creating high-quality content. The goal is not to overcomplicate things, but to create a workflow that allows you to handle the fast pace of Q4 without losing momentum.
Final Thoughts
September is not about trying to get ahead; it is about setting yourself up so you can execute your plan with confidence once the holiday season begins. Taking the time to update links, batch evergreen content, warm up your audience, connect with brand partners, and organize your systems now will pay off in smoother campaigns and stronger results later.
Q4 will always be busy, but with the right preparation in September, it can also be the most profitable and rewarding season of your year.
~The Apogee Team
