Covid-19 (coronavirus) has affected businesses all over the world, particularly here in the United States. Movie theatres, airlines, restaurants, special events and many more businesses are literally struggling to keep their doors open…with many of the smaller businesses shutting down for good. Don’t think that because the affiliate marketing is an online business venture, it’s immune to the struggles other businesses are going through. It’s not.
Unemployment is at an all-time high. You here about people getting their hours cut or being laid off altogether, which is causing them to cut back on their spending…only buying the bare essential things they need…which is justifiable.
Many experts believe things are going to get worse before they get better. For instance, the United States alone saw 76,600 new cases in just one day…July 17th according to the New Yourk Times.
All-in-all, it will cost the American economy roughly $7.9 trillion over the next decade.
Sadly to say, the consequences of covid-19 on the affiliate marketing industry cannot be prevented. As stated at the beginning of this writing…this industry was not immune to the struggles that other businesses are going through.
Some affiliate programs are delaying their commission payouts or cancelling them altogether, while others are cutting their commission payout rates. You’ll find that the ones that are cancelling their programs aren’t just closing down their programs, their links are still working, but what they’re doing is they’re just not paying for the sales. You end up getting a notification stating that they’re reducing the commission rate or cutting the commission to 0%.
Just take a look at one of the more reputable affiliate programs… Amazon Associates. They cut their commission rates on some of their product line by 50%…and on others by 2 to 5 percent. All because of the affect of covid-19.
You also have some affiliate marketing programs cancelling their commission rates simply because they can’t keep up on stocking their products. With so many people in quarantine, they’re shopping online at rates never seen before. This is causing some companies to not be able with the surge in inventory, so they’re just suspending the program till further notice.
Through it all, don’t fret, don’t panic and shut down your affiliate marketing business. Even worse, don’t put off starting one. There are still many opportunities to make money in this industry…despite the outbreak of this pandemic.
What You Can Do
You must first understand what’s going on in the industry. While creating organic traffic in one niche may decline, it will increase in others.
Do some research and find out what’s spiking and what’s not. For example, so many people are out of work or in quarantine an online money-making niche might do well. Look into work-at-home products.
And then there’s educational products. People in quarantine have a lot of time on their hands. They may need to reeducate themselves to keep up with future job demands. I think that educational products will do well right now.
People stuck at home want/need to communicate with others. Communication devices like Zoom, referral programs or hangout referral programs is a place you can look into.
Your targeted audience may be uncertain what the future may hold for them due to how the economy is going because of the virus. Remember how hard it was to find essential items like toilet paper and water? Well, emergency survival kits…with things like food and water, flashlights, and other emergency items would sell good.
The fact that so many people are trying to work remotely will spike up the demand for remote equipment. Home-based businesses will need office chairs, lamps, keyboards, laptops and a host of many other business equipment to run their start-up.
And then there’s entertainment. Being cramped in a house can become downright depressing. This is where the need for video games, TV streaming devices might do well.
In the end you’ll have to do your homework in order to find out what’s hot. You can start out by…
Finding Out WhaoutYour Audienced
If you can find out what people need right now in this crisis, you can be a big help to them. Now when I say this, I’m not talking about taking advantage of people in a crisis. We are all children of GOD and price gauging to make a huge profit is not only morally wrong but it’s one of the most UNGODLY things you could do. If you’re in that frame of mind, renew your thinking immediately…that’s not what I’m talking about. You want to be in the mind-set of helping your fellow man and woman. You should be in business to make a difference not to just make money. If you seriously try and help others get what they want and need, the money will come.
Here’s one other thing that will help you navigate your business through this crisis…
Make Use of Forums
In order to stay on top of what’s going on in the industry, join a good affiliate marketing forum. See what others are saying about the industry. You can learn from each other, by giving advice to one another. Remember what the BIBLE says, “It is better to give than receive”. So never look at it as helping the competition….when you give it comes back to you 10-fold.
Conclusion
First and foremost, keep yourself and your family safe in this pandemic. Don’t slack off. Make sure you sanitize your hands frequently, keep your hands out your face, where your mask over your mouth as well as your nose(I can’t tell you how many people I see with their mask covering their mouth but not their nose), and make sure you keep your social distance…so many people are not.
Let’s fight this thing together, not one race of people to another…but as the HUMAN RACE. And if you keep JESUS on the throne of your LIFE no matter what the circumstances, you’ve already won the battle.
Until my next post…have a BLESSED DAY.
P.S. You can get more of the same informational messages by scrolling down to the bottom of the site and click follow. Remember, together we’ve already won the battle.
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