I’m not feeling 100 % sexy today as I seemed to have picked up some flu-like hitchhiker while driving carelessly through the blogosphere this week. I’ve been thinking a lot about how I’m going to bank as an affiliate with the gravy boats full of hungry, credit card ninjas that will be shopping online this Christmas – and I’ve also been thinking about what market I’m going to focus my efforts in.
I’m excited because this will be my first Christmas “online” as an imitation money maker, and I really do want to provide some genuine resources for the shopping traffic, rather than setting up a bunch of mistletoe-domains cranked with Adsense and scraped content. I haven’t started a list of possible avenues yet, so why not start my brainstorm right now as I’m typing this prize-winning post:
Where To Find Christmas Ideas
- eBay’s Hot Brands section
- Google Trends
- Amazon
- Your nearest shopping mall
- Ikea
- Your affiliate managers
- Your kids
I’m sure you guys could have filled in the bullet points I just listed, but I don’t like assuming that everyone reading this blog already knows how to search for profitable niche markets and products. Personally I prefer studying Amazon’s marketplace over Ebay, simply because the prices are not auctioned off and it gives me a better idea of what people are willing to spend for something “brand new” online. You’d be surprised how much you could learn about the marketplace from your kids and the young children in your family. If anyone has a handle on what is going to be hot this Christmas, it’s them!
Once we’ve got some sort of list going on regarding products/markets, it’s time to think about how we are going to enter this market, our advertising budget (if any) and what mediums we plan to use for traffic generation. Here are a few proven methods:
Promotion Methods
- Pay Per Click (most profitable/risky)
- Article Marketing
- Classified Ads (Craigslist, USFreeAds)
- Squidoo, Hub Pages
- Forum Marketing
- Myspace Groups/Facebook
- Link exchanges
I’m confident that most people within my inner circle of collaborators will be utilizing as many free methods as humanly possible, and keeping away from PPC due to lack of experience. ***Warning – If you have never made consistent profit using Pay Per Click marketing to drive traffic to an offer, you will get eaten alive if you try to jump in during the Christmas rush! Christmas is when all the big dogs make their big money, and if you’ve only dreamed of big money, stay away from the big dogs and let them do their thing. I really hate hearing horror stories of how somebody lost their kids college fund on PPC during Christmas… I can see it now “Merry Christmas Johnny! I got your McDonalds application framed for you!”
Go play in traffic dad…
I’m sure you get my point. There are TONS of free ways to generate traffic to your Christmas offers, just be unique and find those niche markets before hand – and don’t forget to make money off your friends and people you work with! It will get more and more difficult to locate profitable keywords, or find good domain names the closer it gets to Christmas, so start to think about what you’d like to do now – and take your time to use the tactics that work for YOU, and make some money to pay for all the wonderful gifts you plan to buy for your friends and family – and if you do super well, you can even grab something indulgent for yourself!
Cheers,
Elijah
Great post and I for one certainly want to make some money this Christmas.
Totally agree with you though on putting together quality content. Just one question – how does everone think the economic climate in the USA and here in the UK is gong to affect Christmas spending this year – or is that just a non-issue? Be interested in what you Elijah and Veronica think, and also everyone else?
Alison Woods last blog post..Mastering Effectiveness By Auditing Your Tasks
Nice post Elijah – Your post about losing the Kids College Fund reminds me I have a domain to play with… thekidscollegefund -com
I just enrolled in a PPC program to learn more of the Guru tips from Alans site… I may just have to document them at the TKCF site!
BTW – I think my wife already finished all our holiday shopping…she started on Dec 26th last year. LOL
Mark
Mark Hansens last blog post..Another Free BANS WordPress Theme from Ben!
Interesting post, Hood Family. I will be an imitation money maker this Christmas season as well and frankly, haven’t even started planning how I am going to make money during that rush. Guess that is my first mistake. Thanks for getting my head out of my ass and into the right frame of mind.
@ Alison
That is an interesting question. I do believe Christmas spending will be down sharply this year due to the economy. However, American’s are foolish enough to continue spending what they don’t have. The credit crunch is going to complicate the matter, but this recent “bailout” should create some type of relief and free up some of the credit markets.
Personally, I believe they will be back at congress asking for more money soon. However, they must get the Holiday spending going in order to keep the ship floating longer.
It will be interesting to watch, but I would like to have a few of my boats in the water taking home some cash.
Freddies last blog post..Capitalize on the Long Tail
Oooooh, you know I’m doing a big Christmas flip!? 😉
I love the “framed McDonald’s application”. LOL, you nutcase….not only did you wrap it up for Christmas, but you got it “framed”.
It’d be cool to add a “in case of emergency, break glass” on the front.
Cheers Freak Daddy Blue.
Hit me up later tonight (All Skypish Like)
Jay
SuiteJs last blog post..SuiteJ Vs Bryan Clark: Why The Blog Flipping Blueprint Review Didn’t Happen
@ Alison – I’m one of those crazy cats that believe everything I hear on tv or read in the news (both are rare activities) are just shy of pre-meditated conspiracy theories to encourage some sort of mass reaction from the population. Is there a chance that this 700 billion dollar number is make believe, and the banks are doing just fine? Or is it merely a coincidence that all this is happening around election time in the U.S. in an attempt to create some sort of “need” and urgency from the nation? That’s all I have to say about that! lol
@ Mark – Man I’m really looking forward to your reports from your PPC Coach sessions. That program is something I’ve had my eye on ever since Alan put it out there – and I’m working towards that extra $50 a month so I can check it out for myself!
@ Freddie – I can’t deny it though, it’s pretty warm and cosy with my own head up my ass at times… but you’re right, we do need to take it out to breathe occasionally, and do some Christmas shopping.
@ Jay – Fu Schnickens Mofo!
Elijahs last blog post..Are You Ready For Christmas Traffic?
Ha ha I’m making consistent money in one of my pay per click campaigns and I’m still scared as hell that the increased amount of traffic this month is going to make the campaign lose money rather than make more!
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@ Clog – let’s hope that increased traffic encourages an increased CTR otherwise your fears will become a reality!
Elijahs last blog post..Are You Ready For Christmas Traffic?
Dude, you’re seriously starting to scare me with the same niche/different approach ideas we keep getting at the same time. Spoooky. I’ll be laying my Christmas plans out at the Hood later.
SuiteJ- You know that that would be the best ever gift for an internet worker/entrepreneur.
WordVixens last blog post..Funny, But True
Hell yeah I’m ready for X-mas traffic. As you may know I am hitting it pretty good with a little halloween niche in fact.
So I am going to start doing some x-mas keyword research next week and start working up sites. Should be able to bring in some good money whether the economy is going to hell or not. Just gotta find a product that people are willing to spend their money on.
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Eeeeesh Christmas talk already! Just thinking about malls in December made me piss myself and my left leg won’t stop shaking… I’m done all my shopin tho, bought jr a copy of metallica death magnetic!! That’s it, no one else gets anything. Unless I get drunk and start hitting people on dec 25. And if anyone complains I’ll look em in the eye and tell them I’m sorry for their loss! Hahaha
@ WordVixen – do we really follow similar thought patterns? hmm.. if the two of us were smart we would probably find a way to maximize this will splitting the work in half!
@ Jarret – I’m with you dude, I don’t think the economy will effect the amount of money people will be spending this holiday season – if anything, I think people will be thinking “we’re all ready screwed, why not go out with a bang?!?”
@ Alastair – Hey bro! haha – I like how the extent of your Christmas shopping is buying your infant son the newest Metallica album – talk about sticking to your priorities, get him while he’s young and he will thank you later. If you do happen to get drunk and donkey punch a sales associate at The Gap, make sure to ask the guy next to you to record it and we’ll put it on YouTube – shit like that goes viral man! I can see it now… the video will be titled “Christmas Fist”
Elijahs last blog post..Are You Ready For Christmas Traffic?
You are such a sneaky mofo! I just had a clickthrough from your flipped (flipping?) site! 😀 Sneaky, I love it!
I’ve thought of it before. We don’t have identical ideas, but they’re similar enough that I keep wondering if a partner project would be awesome or insane. I’d love to try it sometime- just not yet. (too many projects on the plate already)
WordVixens last blog post..Funny, But True
Excellent article Elijah, while I still cannot believe that xmas is nearly upon us yet again, this is a great reminder to get your research done early. I need to have a look at what my xmas plans are!
On another note, may I congratulate you on another fantastic looking site. I just had a look at your yoga site and you have done a sterling job on that. Good luck with your sale.
You have been busy!!
Nota Bene Consultings last blog post..Finding A Profitable Niche
@ Wordvixen – lol, I was on Skype with SuiteJ the other night and I was finishing up the site and thought “why not just link to all the hood ninjas in the blogroll, and worst case scenario someone doesn’t change it and we all get free backlinks! It’s actually quite genius if I may say so myself.
@ Neal – I have been busy, and thank you very much bro! I built that site on the Arthemia theme which is such a sweet theme really, I can imagine it being a tad tricky for newbies, but once you get going it’s scary how flexible that theme is. I actually got the premium version a few days ago! Christmas is my absolute favorite time of the year, I’m a complete sucker.. a fresh snowfall, the music, the lights, I love it all.. we have white Christmas lights around our front window all year round lol.
Elijahs last blog post..Are You Ready For Christmas Traffic?
Dude, this is something I’ve been thinking about since last spring! I think there is enough crazy Christmas love to go around lol, and as long as you got your research done, a lil seo, and some good content, you’ll make cake!
I am still trying to find my avenue I want to go into this season, but I definitely will be doing something. As well as the after thanksgiving sale! Thats huge in the US man…and many will be searching online for good deals.
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What form of income would you suggest for Christmas keywords? Adsense or affiliate offers? Or both?
@ Max – Great question! Thinking about it from a fundamental standpoint, I think a great combination of both is necessary. During Christmas time the amount of people shopping online is at it’s highest for the year – this means two things: 1) people are in the buying mode more often. 2) people being in the buying mode means they are clicking on everything.
Having strategic adsense blended into the content combined with some top selling affiliate products would be prime for cashing out. Setting up eBay affiliate stores (BANs) would be key as well.
Elijahs last blog post..Finding A Profitable Niche For Local Success
I love Xmas traffic….last year I made about 900 dollars in commissions promoting just one product. That would come in handy again this year….woohoo.
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@ Desmond – I’d like to chat with you about that experience – email me when you have some time!
Elijahs last blog post..Finding A Profitable Niche For Local Success
Last year I had great success with a christmas-related site using affiliate links. This year I expand and add another site focused on using adsense.
A sort of “Battle of the monetization methods”. I’m rooting for both participants! :o)
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