Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve most certainly heard about “looming recession” and “inflation” over the last few months. You may have noticed your target customer pulling their purse strings a little tighter. With rising costs comes dwindling consumer spending and, naturally, we see an effect on the affiliate marketing industry.
Both Affiliates and Advertisers Feel It
Inflation is affecting affiliates and advertisers alike. As s an affiliate you may face challenges in promoting products with higher price tags, while as an advertiser you might be experiencing a decline in sales due to reduced purchasing power. What’s good to remember is affiliate marketing has always come out on top in times of financial uncertainty. We’re lucky that the performance-paying model that underpins our industry is incredibly agile.
One thing is for sure, it’s you’ll have to be flexible and adapt to what the changing market throws at you. So, we’re here to give you insights and strategies on how to navigate your affiliate marketing strategy during challenging times.
Flexibility: Time To Get Stretching
Offer Diversification
When a recession hits, consumers tighten their belts and focus on essential products. So, it’s time to diversify your portfolio by adding a mix of recession-resistant gems and evergreen favorites. Even in uncertain times, people crave human connection which is why it makes sense that Dating remains an evergreen vertical. We’re one of the biggest direct dating advertisers in the business, so in case you haven’t yet, definitely try our dating offers. If the dating vertical is not your thing, try your hand at our iGaming vertical, many sources say online gambling is a recession-proof marketing niche.
Targeting Niche Audiences
If your current audience gets tight on spending, it may be time to expand your audience and embrace a niche traffic type. Identifying niche markets less affected by inflation allows you to tailor your efforts and connect with consumers possessing greater purchasing power. Deep dive into which audiences are interacting the most with performance marketing to find out who to target if your current audience begins to dry out.
Adjusting Pricing Strategies
Flexibility in pricing becomes paramount during economic downturns. Offering discounts, bundle deals, or loyalty programs can maintain customer interest and drive sales. Another strategy is to create bundle deals or upsells that give additional value to customers. By packaging related products together or offering upgrades you can increase the perceived value of the purchase and encourage customers to spend more. Win-win.
Adaptibility: Catch That Curve Ball
Explore New Traffic Channels
Now is a good time to experiment with some new traffic sources. Traffic prices go up and down, if you don’t test them out you might miss out on discovering new niches that could earn you serious revenue. Diversifying advertising channels that you are not currently monetizing, such as mobile marketing, social media platforms and video advertising, expands your reach and tap straight into new audiences.
Embrace New Technology
Speaking of diversification of your strategy, next up on what you should be diversifying is your tech streams. Staying on top of new technology is paramount to maintaining a successful advertising strategy in economically challenging times. The rise of artificial intelligence can help you to streamline operations, optimize your campaigns and also provide invaluable insights into consumer behavior. Make sure to check out our blogpost on AI to find the tools that will help your business grow, especially when the going gets tough.
Build Strong Relationships
A tip that is undervalued is cultivating solid relationships with the advertisers and affiliate networks you work with during a recession. It’s during these uncertain times when your Affiliate Manager’s expertise can really help you keep the numbers up. Strategize, plan and analyze together.
By involving your AM in the decision-making process, you can leverage their expertise and insights to adapt your affiliate marketing strategies to the current economic conditions. We’re here to help you succeed, especially during tough times.
Growth and Opportunities
Look, the good news is that recent reports have found the likelihood of a recession is dropping from 61% to 54% with 60% of economists optimistic due to slowing inflation. But this definitely doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be ready to stay on top of changes in our industry, whatever the economical circumstances.
Whether we’re going to experience a recession or not, it’s important to consider strategies to help you grow. Embrace change and test new strategies, diversify offers, adjust your pricing strategies, embrace new technologies, and cultivate your relationships. Don’t let a recession hold you back; both affiliate marketers and advertisers should use it as an opportunity for growth and innovation. The whole industry can adapt to economic challenges and build a solid foundation for success even when things are uncertain.