The economic meltdown has garnered a ton of press & blog time as of late.  There is a lingering question in the industry about how we will fare during a nationwide recession.  There are the naysayers that cry that consumers will sit on their wallets in a crisis, and when no one is spending money then it is hard for companies to justify their ad spend.  Would online marketing budgets be the first on the chopping block?  Given the nationwide decline of newspapers and their ability to drive revenues, I highly doubt it.

We are in a unique position among most workers in the United States, because when something threatens our position and our viability in the marketplace, we can actually do something about it.  If consumers are behaving differently than they do in an upward market, we can adjust our campaigns accordingly.

What types of offers could do well in a situation like this?  Well let’s think about it…  Consumers are worried because times are tight… They need money.  How about Cash Advance?  Maybe Foreclosure Avoidance?  What about Credit Repair?  These are all verticals that are going to be in high demand during this time.  You just have to be creative, and think about new ways to appeal to consumers.  If they can’t afford to buy a vacation, perhaps they would be more likely to enter an Email Submit offer where they could get a trip for free, or a $1,000 Gas card.  There are a ton of these types of offers on most affiliate networks out there.

In essence, there might be less money to throw away on a Shamwow or the latest diet product, but people always are going to have a need for something or have a problem to solve.  Your goal as an affiliate marketer is to be the solution to that problem.

These hard economic times aren’t going to last forever, just yesterday we had the highest single-day rally in the stock market since the 1930’s.  If you build a solid foundation to your business by diversifying your campaigns, you will be ready to capitalize when the economy comes back.  Look on the bright side, you know you aren’t going to go in to work on Monday morning to hear that you have been laid off!

So forget the noise, it is a great time to be an affiliate marketer.