Posted by: Terra Goeres, Manager, Client Account Management

As many of you are probably doing, I recently called my investment advisor, Paul, to see how my investments were performing. Knowing that the news would not be good, I had prepared a little “survival kit” for myself to get through the rest of the evening: a funny movie, a pizza, a cold beer, and a shot of tequila just to take the edge off after the conversation. So there I stood, teeth gritted, shot in hand, prepared to hear the worst. But just as I was getting ready to tip back the shot glass, I got a surprising answer to my question. “Not as bad as they could be,” said Paul. I set the shot down, wiped the sweat off my brow, and started breathing again. Paul went on to explain that because my portfolio was diversified, I was doing OK. Yes, it had gone down, but it was still performing better than the market.

That got me thinking about our affiliates and the different strategies I’ve seen people use to be successful on ClickBank. The one I’d like to talk about today is the single-niche strategy. Many affiliates choose to focus their marketing efforts on a single area of expertise. This is a great strategy, as long as that niche continues to perform well on a consistent basis. Unfortunately, not all products do. In my experience at ClickBank, I’ve come to recognize 3 types of products: One Hit Wonders, Peaks and Valleys, and Consistent Performers.

One Hit Wonders
These products have a relatively short but highly successful lifespan because they fulfill a current and immediate need. Their sales skyrocket overnight, but when the need diminishes, the product sales diminish with it.

Peaks and Valleys
These products have a long lifespan, but their sales may fluctuate depending on cultural or economic trends or competing products in the ClickBank Marketplace or global marketplace. Anti-spyware is a good example of this type of product. Prior to 2005, anti-spyware programs were our top selling products. What happened in 2005?  Microsoft released their free anti-virus program, Windows Defender, and sales of other anti-spyware programs dropped. Fortunately, the niche has since recovered and is once again performing very well.

Consistent Performers
These products see neither massive spikes nor massive drops in their sales; rather, they are long-term products that consistently perform well. Because they fulfill needs that are never completely met, there is and always will be a demand for these types of products.  Many diet and fitness ebooks, dating advice ebooks, and “how-to” ebooks, such as “how to improve your golf swing”, fall into this category.

As you review your strategy for success, consider diversifying your portfolio and promoting products from more than one of the categories I’ve listed above.  For example, get in on large sales spikes by analyzing the population’s current needs and looking for products in the ClickBank Marketplace that fulfill those needs. These days, you might consider checking out products in the Money and Employment category or the Home and Family category.

Then, balance out your portfolio by also promoting a couple products from the Peaks and Valleys and/or the Consistent Performers categories. One of the great things about ClickBank is that we have products in almost every niche imaginable, so you are sure to find a product that interests you and fits into your marketing strategy. For example, before becoming an Internet marketer, were you in IT or software development? You may be very successful at promoting products in the Computing and Internet category.  Are you an avid golfer or a fan of extreme sports? Check out the Sports and Recreation category. Maybe you love dogs and have been successful at training your own pup.  Check out the Home and Family category and the Pets subcategory. Or perhaps you’re the person who is always playing matchmaker for your friends. Check out the ebooks in the Love and Romance subcategory, under Society and Culture.

As with the stock market, by diversifying your ClickBank portfolio, you can manage to remain consistently successful over time while also catching a big windfall now and then.

By the way, since I could no longer use the “bad news buffer” excuse for taking the tequila shot, I decided that a “celebratory” tequila shot was certainly in order! No sense in wasting perfectly good liquor.

Take a look at these related posts:

1. Seven Habits of Highly Successful Affiliates