This is part four of the “Q & A”, initially called “MoreNiche history”. I changed it’s name because I got a little carried away with the questions and I realized this text had nothing to do with the history of MoreNiche anymore.

Recession, depression and online casinos getting banned in the US. The business world occasionally gets a little bloodbath. In this week’s “Q & A” we explore how MoreNiche keeps afloat when the recession tide is high, the MoreNiche business model and further investigate the MoreNiche promise.

Most affiliate programs are pretending the economy is flawless and I’m not getting any updates or news. And why should they start worrying about losing their affiliates? They’re selling absolute essentials—like giant flasks, miniature robots and the occasional designer sex toy. Let’s find out what MoreNiche has to say to that.

Mircea: How is MoreNiche coping with the recession?

Andy: There is no doubt that sales are down (about 30% over this time 2 months ago) however this is across all online business, unlike some networks who are standing still or not embracing the extra marketing opportunities which a recession can bring, MoreNiche are making a real effort to try and educate our affiliate on how they can make EXTRA sales during this time not less.

“During a recession we will hopefully start to struggle!” Wow, what the hell are you talking about I hear you scream!!

The more we struggle the more competitors will be going out of business completely, leaving the market wide open for the stronger guys, your PPC bids will become lower and it will be easier to rank and advertise, people will be snapping at your feet to sell you cheap advertising, this can only be good for people who have built up their war chest.

M: Can you be more specific?

A: You will have already noticed the SizeGenetics and Proactol credit crunch landing pages and customer discounts, you will notice more blog/newsletter and forum posts talking about how to marketing during hard times. All of these tips are being deployed by our staff and its important if affiliates want to succeed during this time they update their sites also.

Clare updated the index page to include more exposure to the recession and by split testing has saw 18 more sales from the new page in just over a week, this is over $3,000 extra commission paid!! It’s time to get to work and make sure you do not suffer from negative sales over this period.

However the long it takes to get through the recession, the more solid companies which will be left and the less fly by night companies will be left…

… Alternatively we will continue to innovate and see an increase in sales volumes, which is what we are expecting.

M: Why is the MoreNiche approach to affiliate marketing better than the traditional business model? Do you think the general public gives more credibility to small affiliate sites than to big company sites?

A: The answer to this question is simple; with MoreNiche we can build a brand very quickly, at the time of writing this article we have around 40,000 affiliates in our program.
You could say the same with all affiliate programs, but you would be wrong. The number of affiliates is actually quite irrelevant, the number which is important is the number of people who pick up the campaign and actually run with it.

MoreNiche works very hard to ensure affiliates have all the resources and information they need to dump right into the market, resulting in a higher pickup rate and faster returns.
With such a dedicated and well support affiliate team we can very quickly take a product to market and built a brand, we saw this with Proactol. Within the first months of being introduced we had hundreds of thousands of pages in Google talking about the product, this is not possible with a traditional marketing model.

M: What is your opinion on super affiliates? Have you ever personally met one?

A: Super affiliates are rare to come by, we have been in the affiliate marketing game for over 5 years now and only have one real super affiliate on our books. We are looking to have a great relationship with ALL our affiliates regardless of their sales volume or track history, with this said we have met our super affiliate a number of times just like we have others.

I had lunch with two beginner affiliates last time I was in Bulgaria, it is really interesting to get feedback from all types of affiliates and we really do think this is what makes MoreNiche unique. MoreNiche is a network for anyone, experienced market or total beginner we try and treat everybody the same and ensure you have the resources and content you need to make money online.

Some of our best affiliates are from “high risk” countries, often most affiliates programs just reject these applications, yes this does often lead to more post-affiliate management and support, however this is why we believe MoreNiche is different.

M: How do you see MoreNiche 1, 2 and 5 years from now? Dare to name some numbers! Affiliates, products, number of staff?

A: MoreNiche is building a network for the future, laying solid foundation now so we can grow quickly and safely over the next 5 years.
We are investing very heavily in our software platform, current clients and new merchant equations. I believe that in year 1 we will see a lot of consolidation internally, adding a number of key products with dedicated account managers and increasing the number of affiliates as we go. I would expect by December 2009 we will have at least 60,000 affiliates in the network.

As we enter 2010 I believe you will see a managed explosion within the network, growing the number of products, staff and affiliates quickly, in a controlled way. We will have solid processors in place, allowing us to continue offering a premium product range, premium affiliate software and premium support, this for a larger number of products and affiliates.

Well with this being said, I have to admit it’s a no brainer that in 5 years MoreNiche will be a household name within the affiliate marketing world. I’m sure MoreNiche will be competing with the big networks (not on number of merchants but money earned through the network). MoreNiche already is and will continue shaping the future of affiliate marketing. Dedicate more of your time to MoreNiche and book yourself a place in the avangarde of the affiliate marketing world of the future!