It’s recession time! Take advantage with Solid Affiliate.

Anyone who claims to predict what the economy or stock market will do next month is full of shitcoins. Complex systems such as the economy aren’t even remotely predictable. However, it’s clear that more and more people are thinking, talking, worrying, and acting as if a recession is right around the corner…and perhaps that behavior change is all that matters right now. People are spending less, businesses are hiring less, crypto might finally be imploding, and investors are throwing way less money at startups. 

So, let’s just say that an economic downturn will happen. And, let’s say you’re like me and you own, manage, or work for a company that sells things on the internet. What can you and I do in the coming months to improve our chances of success? Let’s dig through this question together, but first, an important note…

What are the positive aspects of a recession? What’s the potential?

Even during a recession, there are ways to compete in innovative ways. So for a moment, let’s put on our optimism hats and look at all this recession stuff in a positive light. How cool is it that we’re entering a phase where many of your competitors might go bankrupt? If you’re sick and tired of that overfunded startup gobbling up your market share and workforce at a loss, then cheer up; their investors are sounding the alarms. It’s practically guaranteed that some percentage of businesses in your industry will come out of this stronger; you just need to make sure that it’s your business.

As your competitors go out of business, more of the market will be available to you.

And barring a crash in demand for your market in general, you’ll eventually reap the rewards once the economy turns up. This happens over and over again. I once worked at an extremely successful company that persevered through the 2008-2009 recession while its competitors didn’t make it. Everyone knows someone with a similar story: whether it’s the one local pizza shop that made it through Covid, or a tech startup that eventually went public – the point is that recessions can spell long-term success for your business. 

So, what can your business do? 

There are loads of things it can do, but I’m here to talk about just one (spoiler: affiliate marketing). During a recession – well, really always, but especially during a recession – your business should try to only spend money as it earns money. The best advice is often the most straightforward: extend your company’s runway.

Make sure your company is “Default Alive”.

Will your startup or online business trend towards sustainability or bankruptcy if your current sales slow down? If your sales drop by x% this year, by default, will your company still be alive before the end of the next economic downturn? Every one of your competitors has a different value for x%, above which they’ll survive and below which they’ll go out of business. 

Let’s break this down in simple terms:

1. Fact: You want to extend your company’s runway until enough of your competitors go out of business or market conditions improve enough that it doesn’t matter.
2. Fact: You can extend your company’s runway by only spending money when you make money.
3. Fact: A proven and scalable strategy for only spending money when you earn money is affiliate marketing, literally by definition.
4. Therefore: you should swiftly implement an affiliate marketing aspect of your business and then move on with your life.

It’s not complicated: There are a lot of people out there who spend a lot of time on the internet. Some of them really like your products and know others who do also. Some of them are YouTubers or Instagramers or Bloggers or supplementary businesses. Get them to send you quality customers and then pay them a fair amount of money, it’s a win-win-win.

Affiliate Marketing, when done right, is a naturally profitable strategy.

With a properly executed affiliate program, your business will tap into a distributed, diverse network of people and other businesses to get the word out about your products and services…and you’ll only spend money when you make money. It’s not expensive to run and nowadays, modern affiliate software does all the busy work of keeping track, managing affiliates, emailing them, etc – effectively democratizing access to an age-old growth strategy.

Move swiftly, plant the affiliate seed today.

In the time it took you to read this article, you could have set up Solid Affiliate. Plant this seed of opportunity for your business and let it start growing organically. Make the move, start your WooCommerce affiliate program now; you’ll wish you had a few months from now. 

If you have any questions, thoughts, concerns, need a discount, or want to join our team, please feel free to email us at team@solidaffiliate.com – our phones will vibrate, and we’ll come running.

In conclusion: Affiliate marketing works. It is a bonafide strategy to grow a business even during a recession.

The world’s most successful companies run affiliate programs, for example Apple Performance Partners, Amazon Affiliate Program, Nike…and the list goes on. It’s estimated that 80% of established brands employ an affiliate marketing strategy – which would mean some 20% of brands don’t. If your brand is in that 20%, simply consider the question: “why not?“.

– Mike

P.S.
If you use WooCommerce -> then you should add Solid Affiliate. There might be no easier way to start an affiliate program than with WooCommerce + Solid Affiliate. If you already have a WooCommerce store up and running, then you’re in luck. Solid Affiliate was built from the ground up for WooCommerce and then polished and improved against the needs of thousands of customers. It’s not another complicated tool that will take hours to learn, it makes affiliate marketing easy.

Thank you for reading. If you want to speak to me, the author of this article just email our team and I’ll get back to you. I wish you all the best, and hope you have a solid day!

About the author of this article, Mike Holubowski:

• Holds a degree in Economics; a career in Computer Science and Software Engineering.
  • ⇪ Doesn’t think it’s particularly relevant though 🤭.
• Runs a medium-sized online business and cares a lot about it.
• Is just another person worried about a potential recession, but feels optimistic.

Additional Resources

• Solid Affiliate – Lots of Testimonials
• Save Your Startup during an Economic Downturn
• Default Alive or Default Dead?
• Digital marketing: An effective tool during economic crisis
• Dimon says brace for U.S. economic ‘hurricane’ due to inflation