7 Ways To Make Money Online On Thanksgiving (That Actually Work)

Thanksgiving is not just turkey and football. For people who know where to look, it is one of the most concentrated money-making windows of the entire year. The holiday kicks off a stretch of intense consumer spending that runs through Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas, and New Year’s, and you can get positioned right now to capture a real slice of it.

In this video, Alston walks through seven specific methods you can use to earn money online using Thanksgiving as your starting point. Every one of these methods also applies to the wider holiday season, so even if you are reading this in October or early December, the strategies still hold. Pick the one that fits where you are right now and start moving.

What You’ll Walk Out With

A step-by-step plan for selling Thanksgiving SVG digital products on Etsy without creating anything yourself
How to build a Black Friday YouTube channel that earns from affiliate commissions and ad revenue simultaneously
The exact affiliate programs to join for NFL Thanksgiving football content
A surprisingly underused insurance affiliate angle tied directly to Thanksgiving traditions
How to use Google Trends and Twitter to find trending topics and turn them into affiliate income the same day
A recipe content strategy that earns year-round, not just on the holiday
A look at the NFT opportunity Macy’s opened up and what it signals for digital creators going forward
Your fastest path to knowing which of these seven methods fits you right now: finder.platformproof.com

Method 1: Selling Thanksgiving SVGs on Etsy

Etsy is not just a crafts marketplace. It is a giant search engine, and like any search engine it rewards people who create content that matches what buyers are already typing in. When Alston pulled up Etsy and searched “thanksgiving svg,” hundreds of results filled the screen immediately. He narrowed it to “thanksgiving svg for kids” and found a thriving market of digital clipart, cut files, and design packs.

SVG files are vectors. A buyer downloads the file and uses it with a cutting machine, a printer, or design software. You create the file once, list it, and it can sell every single day with zero additional work. That is true passive income. One design sitting on an Etsy shelf does not require restocking or shipping. People buy it while you sleep.

The first objection most people raise is that they do not know how to create SVG files. That is where Fiverr comes in. Alston searched “etsy svg” on Fiverr and found 133 services available, with some sellers creating custom SVG packs for as low as five dollars. You describe the concept to the freelancer, they deliver the files, you upload the listing to your Etsy shop. That is the whole workflow.

For keyword research, Alston uses Ahrefs and types in etsy.com, then filters organic keywords by the term “svg.” The results show you every keyword people are actively searching for on Etsy, ranked by volume. You could see demand for sunflower SVGs, pumpkin SVGs, family reunion SVGs, and dozens of other variations. Thanksgiving gives you a seasonal anchor but the same shop can run designs year-round for fall, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and beyond.

The economics work because Etsy handles the traffic. You do not need to build an audience. Buyers come to you because the platform surfaces relevant listings when someone searches a term. Your job is to get the listing up, price it fairly relative to competitors, and use strong images. After that, the digital product does the rest.

Method 2: Black Friday Affiliate Content on YouTube

Black Friday begins showing up in search trends at the start of November, and by the time Thanksgiving hits, consumers are actively hunting for deal recommendations. Alston pulled up keyword data showing 29,000 keywords and 2.6 million searches connected to Black Friday product terms. That is a massive pool of people looking for content to help them decide what to buy.

The method is straightforward. You pick a retailer, go through their Black Friday ad or online listings, compile the ten or fifteen best deals, record a YouTube video walking through them, and put your affiliate links in the description. When viewers click and buy, you earn a commission. You also earn ad revenue from YouTube if your channel meets the YouTube Partner Program threshold of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours.

Alston showed a channel called “Black Friday Deals” that had uploaded a video about Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops nine days before Thanksgiving and already had 1,600 views. That channel was pumping out two or more videos per day through the entire month of November, covering everything from Dyson to DeWalt to airpods. Low competition, high purchase intent, and clear affiliate opportunities.

One nuance Alston pointed out: not every retailer runs an affiliate program, but their competitors often do. If Farm and Fleet has a great deal but no affiliate program, Lowe’s might carry the same product or something comparable and they do have an affiliate program. You recommend the option that pays you without sacrificing the viewer’s trust, because you are genuinely pointing them toward a good deal.

The best part of this approach is the shelf life. A Black Friday video published in November earns traffic and commissions through the holiday period, then sits dormant until the following October when people start searching for the next year’s deals. The channel builds up a library of these videos, each one continuing to bring in views and income every year without additional work.

Method 3: Thanksgiving Football Content and NFL Affiliate Programs

Three NFL games air on Thanksgiving every year. The first game alone generates enormous search traffic, social media activity, and purchase intent around jerseys, apparel, and fan gear. Alston used the example of the Chicago Bears versus the Detroit Lions, the traditional first game of the day, and pointed out that the Bears had significant news that week around internal team conflict. That is content.

You can build a content strategy around any Thanksgiving game by summarizing the week’s storylines, previewing the matchup, and then linking to NFL Shop or Fanatics in your video description as an affiliate. Sports talk radio gives you a ready-made roadmap for topics because those hosts spend four hours a day generating conversation around the exact stories that drive search traffic. You synthesize what they covered and publish it as a YouTube video or blog post.

The NFL Shop runs a Salute to Service promotion each November, featuring alternate uniforms, commemorative jerseys, and apparel lines. Alston pulled up the Bears section and noted ugly sweaters, cold weather game-day gear, and sideline apparel as specific product categories you could feature. When a viewer watches your Thanksgiving preview video and clicks your Fanatics affiliate link to buy a jersey for the game, you earn a commission.

You do not need a large channel for this to work. Early videos in a niche like “Bears vs Lions Thanksgiving preview” face low competition because most creators are not targeting narrow, time-specific topics. That is where new channels can actually rank and get views quickly.

Method 4: Insurance Affiliate Programs

This one is a bit unexpected, but Alston included it and it makes real sense once you hear it. One of the most consistent Thanksgiving traditions in America is the backyard football game before the feast. Grown adults who have not exercised since the last Thanksgiving go out and play tackle or touch football on uneven grass, often without warming up. Injuries happen every single year.

Beyond the backyard game, the holiday season is statistically one of the higher-risk periods for accidents, whether from travel, cooking, or the general intensity of activity. That means there is a real, legitimate audience looking for information about health coverage, accident insurance, and liability protection around this time of year.

Insurance companies like Liberty Mutual run affiliate programs. If you create content about sports injuries, holiday accident prevention, or health insurance for independent workers, you can include affiliate links for insurance services. This is not about exploiting anyone’s misfortune. You are providing genuinely useful information to people who are likely already thinking about coverage gaps, and you earn a commission when they sign up.

The commissions in the insurance affiliate category are among the highest in affiliate marketing. Some programs pay anywhere from $15 to over $100 per lead, not just per sale. If you already have a health or fitness audience, this is a natural fit for Thanksgiving content.

Not sure which of these seven methods fits your background and goals?

Answer a few quick questions and get a personalized recommendation at finder.platformproof.com.

Method 5: Google Trends and Twitter Trending Topics

Google Trends is one of Alston’s favorite tools because it shows you in real time what people are searching for right now, yesterday, and what is trending seasonally. On Thanksgiving, the trending tab fills up fast. Alston pulled up Twitter and showed the trending section with DraftKings, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Chicago vs. Detroit game drawing over 1,000 tweets, and dozens of other real-time conversations happening at scale.

The strategy is to jump into trending conversations with content, not spam. You find a topic trending with thousands of engagements, create a short YouTube video or blog post about it, and include relevant affiliate links or ads. If the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is trending, you write about the best moments, the most-discussed performances, or the collectibles and merchandise tied to the event. You join the conversation first, earn attention from the traffic spike, and monetize through affiliate links or ad revenue.

Twitter trending topics in particular move fast. Something that has 1,000 tweets at 10 AM might have 50,000 by noon. If you can publish a short piece of content early in a trend and attach it to the right hashtags, you pick up organic reach that would otherwise cost money to replicate through ads. This method rewards speed and consistency more than production quality. A clear, accurate five-minute YouTube video can outperform a polished 20-minute production if it publishes two hours earlier on a trending topic.

Alston pointed out that DraftKings was trending on Twitter on Thanksgiving, which opens another avenue entirely: daily fantasy and sports betting affiliate programs. These programs pay per sign-up or per depositing user and typically offer competitive commissions. If your content naturally touches sports or gaming, this is a direct fit for Thanksgiving weekend.

Method 6: Thanksgiving Recipe Content

Recipe content is one of the highest-traffic categories on YouTube and Google during the holiday season. When Alston searched “thanksgiving recipes” on YouTube, channels were pulling in hundreds of thousands to millions of views on individual videos covering Thanksgiving dinner, desserts, side dishes, and substitutions for dietary restrictions.

The monetization angle is straightforward. You create a video or blog post about the best Thanksgiving recipes, whether that is your own original recipes, curated recipes from public sources, or a review of a popular cookbook. Then you include affiliate links for relevant products: the cookbook itself if it has an affiliate program, kitchen tools featured in the cooking process, specific pantry items available on Amazon, or meal delivery services running Thanksgiving promotions.

Recipe content has a seasonal peak around Thanksgiving but does not vanish afterward. A video about turkey brining techniques will still get searches in December, January, and next November. A post about the best pie recipes stays relevant through the whole fall and winter holiday cycle. You are not creating content that expires after one weekend. You are building a library that compounds in search rankings over time.

The simplest starting point for someone with no cooking experience: find five to ten highly rated recipes from different sources, compile them with your commentary on why each one is worth trying, film yourself walking through the pros and cons, and publish the video with affiliate links to the most popular ingredients or tools in the description. That is a legitimate, helpful piece of content that can earn ad revenue and affiliate commissions indefinitely.

Method 7: NFTs and Digital Collectibles

Alston was upfront that he was not an NFT expert, but he included this because Macy’s was actively auctioning Thanksgiving Day Parade NFTs on the holiday itself, including what one headline described as “a creepy elf.” Macy’s launched an Ethereum NFT collection tied directly to the parade, which generated real coverage and real buyer interest during the 2021 Thanksgiving window.

The money-making angle here has a few layers. If you already participate in the NFT space, holiday-themed digital collectibles represent a seasonal drop opportunity. You can create limited-edition digital art tied to the holiday, list it on a marketplace, and benefit from the elevated cultural attention Thanksgiving brings to the topic. A “Thanksgiving 2021” collection of 10 pieces is the kind of thing that gets attention when a major brand like Macy’s is doing the same thing and the press is covering it.

The content angle is simpler. Even if you are not minting your own NFTs, you can create YouTube videos or blog posts explaining what Macy’s did, how Ethereum NFT collections work, and where to find other Thanksgiving or holiday-related digital drops. NFT content was pulling enormous search traffic during this period and the audience was hungry for clear explanations. You do not need to be an expert to be helpful. You just need to be one step ahead of the person searching.

Alston searched “thanksgiving nft” and found crypto Thanksgiving roundups, NFT drop calendars, and coverage of holiday-themed digital art releases. That search volume represents real people looking for information and direction, and content creators who showed up early captured that traffic and the affiliate income attached to it through crypto platform referral programs.

Honest Drawbacks of Holiday-Based Online Income

These seven methods are real and they work, but you should go in with clear expectations about what they are and what they are not.

Most of them are seasonal by nature. Etsy SVG sales and Black Friday content spike hard in October through December and drop sharply in January. If you want year-round income, you either need to layer multiple niches or build into evergreen content that earns steadily regardless of the calendar. Alston notes that the methods can be applied to other holidays like Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa, which helps extend the window, but there are still slow months.

The YouTube Partner Program threshold of 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours takes time to reach. If you are starting a brand new channel for Black Friday or football content this November, you will probably not qualify for ad revenue in time to benefit from this year’s holiday traffic. Affiliate commissions do not require any threshold, which is why Alston emphasizes them as the primary income source for newer creators.

NFTs specifically carry risk that the other six methods do not. The market is volatile, the technology changes, and what worked in 2021 looks different today. If you are new to this space, starting as a content creator explaining the concepts is far lower risk than investing capital into minting and listing your own collections.

None of these methods produce instant results. You will not publish one Black Friday video on November 23rd and have $1,000 in your account by the weekend. The creators making real money from these approaches built consistent publishing habits over weeks and months, not a single viral upload.

Which Method Should You Start With

Here is a simple framework based on what you already have going for you:

If you have no audience and no skills yet: Start with Etsy SVGs. The barrier to entry is low, Fiverr handles the creative work for five dollars per design, and Etsy provides the built-in traffic. You do not need subscribers, a following, or a website.
If you are comfortable on camera or writing: Black Friday affiliate content is the highest-ceiling option. The keyword volume is massive, the competition is low relative to evergreen topics, and the affiliate commissions from retailers like Cabela’s and Lowe’s are meaningful. Two videos per day through November can build a channel that earns passively every holiday season from now on.
If you already follow sports: Football content is a natural fit. You already know the storylines, the players, and the stakes. You are not learning a new topic. You are just translating what you already consume into content with affiliate links attached.
If you want to earn from something that has nothing to do with creating content: Recipe affiliate content through a simple blog and the insurance affiliate angle are the most hands-off once set up. They also carry into the full holiday season without requiring you to stay on top of breaking news or trends.

Find Your X

Seven methods is a lot to sort through. The fastest way to figure out which one fits your specific background, schedule, and income goal is to let the finder do the work. Head to finder.platformproof.com, answer a few quick questions about where you are right now, and get a personalized starting point instead of spending another week thinking about all seven options at once.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to wait until Thanksgiving to use these methods?

No. Most of these methods work before, during, and after Thanksgiving. Black Friday content performs best when published in early November so it has time to rank in search. Etsy listings benefit from being live weeks before the holiday so they can accumulate reviews and appear higher in search results. The earlier you start, the better your results will be by the time the holiday actually arrives.

How much money can I realistically make with Etsy SVGs?

It depends on the number of listings and how well you research keywords. A single SVG listing priced at three to eight dollars can generate dozens of sales in a busy holiday season. Creators with full shops of 50 to 100 listings across multiple holidays report consistent monthly income from digital products alone. The key is volume of listings and relevance to what buyers are already searching for, which is why the Ahrefs keyword research step matters.

Can I do Black Friday affiliate content if I have zero subscribers?

Yes, and in some ways a zero-subscriber channel is easier to grow fast with niche content. A channel with no existing audience is not pigeonholed into any category yet, which means YouTube is more willing to test your content with new viewers. Focus on narrow, specific topics rather than broad “best Black Friday deals” videos. “Best Black Friday deals at Cabela’s 2024” beats “best Black Friday deals” every time because fewer people are competing for that specific phrase.

What affiliate programs should I join for Black Friday retailer content?

Most major retailers with large Black Friday promotions have affiliate programs through networks like Commission Junction, ShareASale, or Impact. Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops, and Lowe’s are specifically mentioned in this video as options. Amazon Associates covers almost any product category. Always check whether the specific retailer you are covering has an affiliate program before you invest time creating content around their deals, and look for alternatives if they do not.

How do I find the NFL Shop or Fanatics affiliate program?

Both NFL Shop and Fanatics run affiliate programs through major networks. Search “Fanatics affiliate program” or “NFL Shop affiliate program” directly in your browser and you will find the signup page. Commission rates vary and change seasonally, but the sports apparel category typically pays a percentage of each sale. Thanksgiving weekend and the days surrounding it are among the busiest periods for jersey and fan gear purchases, so the timing of your content matters.

Is the recipe content strategy still relevant if I am not a cook?

Yes. The most effective recipe content is often curated and reviewed rather than original. You do not need to invent a new dish. You can compile the five most popular Thanksgiving recipes from established sources, walk through why each one works, point out common mistakes, and link to cookbooks or kitchen tools in your description. That is genuinely helpful content that earns affiliate commissions without requiring you to be a chef.

Does the Google Trends strategy work for topics outside of Thanksgiving?

Absolutely. Google Trends is a year-round tool and the strategy of jumping on trending topics early works for any news cycle, sporting event, cultural moment, or seasonal shift. The skill you build during Thanksgiving weekend translates directly to Super Bowl, March Madness, tax season, summer travel, and back-to-school. Once you understand how to spot a trend early, create lightweight content fast, and attach affiliate opportunities to it, you have an income method that works 12 months a year.

Should I try NFTs if I have no experience with crypto or blockchain?

Alston was honest that NFTs were not his strongest area, and that transparency matters here. If you have no background in crypto, jumping into creating and selling NFTs on a holiday timeline carries real risk of lost time and money. A safer entry point is content creation: explain what projects like Macy’s Ethereum NFT collection are doing, how holiday NFT drops work, and where to find them. You can earn from this as a content creator without ever owning or minting an NFT yourself.

Sources

Alston Godbolt YouTube video: “How To Make Money Online On Thanksgiving – 7 Ways To Make Money Online” (youtube.com/watch?v=ECKBUv5flhw)
Etsy search: “thanksgiving svg for kids” – etsy.com
Fiverr search: “etsy svg” – 133 services available at time of recording – fiverr.com
Ahrefs keyword research tool for Etsy organic keyword analysis – ahrefs.com
Black Friday keyword data: 29,000 keywords, 2.6 million searches (as shown in video)
NFL Shop Salute to Service collection – nflshop.com
Fanatics affiliate program – fanatics.com
Google Trends – trends.google.com
Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade NFT collection on Ethereum (reported November 2021)