David Fiske Affiliate marketing & web development musings from Fiske Towers

Affiliate life is a funny one. Christmas starts in September. January sales are in December, Valentine's Day is in January, Easter is in February, as well as all the other lovely bits and bobs worth promoting at various times throughout the year.

It can be a bit disappointing working on Christmas promotions from September to December which explains why I haven't started. Aptly named Frostie assures us that it's not too late to start.

But what's worth promoting?
 
Christmas is traditionally the "silly season" where people seem to spend stupid amounts of money all in the name of festive cheer. The credit crunch has made money tight and it's rumoured that those who started the crisis are now on Santa's Naughty List. They'd be getting a lump of coal but the fact that energy bills have risen, Santa's probably feeling the pinch (tip - relocate to somewhere warmer than the North Pole - less miles to travel, less heating required, lower carbon emissions).

So this year it's more important than ever to promote the right products to the right people. So what sectors are worth pursuing?

Gadgets

Gadgets are always popular. If you don't know what to get someone, the chances are you'll find a gadget that fits the bill. I Want One Of Those uses the slogan "Stuff you don't need ... but really, really want" which sums it up nicely. No one needs a Sat Nag but there's plenty who would appreciate one.

Gadgets can be quite lucrative but you'll need a fresh angle as the market is already saturated with good quality gadget review blogs. Get it right and you'll prosper. You're also on the way to winning some amazing travel prizes from a couple of the biggies. Buy a Gift are offering a road trip from San Francisco to Las Vegas whilst Prezzybox have got oodles of prizes including a 5* holiday to Dubai.

If gadgets or the idea of winning a holiday isn't your thing (or your other half has no more holiday allowance until 2010), there are other sectors worth looking into.

Chocolate

Chocolate gifts can be lucrative as chocolate is one of those Christmas staples. Get it right and your site can become a Valentine's Day and Easter related website too.

There's also the added bonus that sales volumes can often equate into free boxes of choccies given to you by merchants as Christmas presents.

The bad news this year is that Revels are losing the coffee flavoured one in favour of a new flavour. This is a dreadful shame as coffee is my favourite (note to chocolate suppliers - I'm one of the rare breeds that actually likes them!).



Jewellery

What do you get the woman who has it all? More specifically, what do you get the woman who has it all on Christmas Eve? Jewellery can be very lucrative, especially if you can offer sound advice.

Fragrances

Christmas is also the time when celebrities make a lot of money endorsing bottles of smelly water. But both men and women appreciate fragrances as gifts making it a product with universal appeal.

Electronics

The more expensive of the items on this list and perhaps one of the areas to avoid. The lack of traffic (do you really need a new TV if you haven't got a lot of money spare) partnered with a 5% maximum commission means some of the other markets could be better served.

Toys

The largest sector (if I were to take a guess) would have to be toys. Given that we now have Older People's Day to celebrate, it could be argued that the toy market will start to experience shrinkage.

Nevertheless, a lot of money is spent on toys and video games. The annual 0% commission uproar hasn't started so nothing seems to be as hot as the Wii has been these last few years - yet.

All of them?

Good day foolish one. The way to get the most out of your Christmas efforts is to focus on a niche. Christmas presents is quite a big market and it's better to focus on one area in great depth than spread yourself too thinly. If you don't believe me, try it out and prove me wrong. Personally, I started off thinking this way until I realised that this market was a tad bigger than I remembered.

Regardless of what you choose, rest assured you'll hear a lot about Christmas for the next 2 months solid. Woo hoo!