by Chris Fox, the CEO at WebSeeds.com, a leading promoter of recession-proof ClickBank products.

There’s a lot of news these days about our gloomy economy. It seems like every week there’s another company slashing thousands of jobs, warning us about plummeting profits, or begging for an emergency government bailout.

What does this mean for you and affiliate marketing? Well, if you’re willing to learn from the past, you’ll not only ride out this economic downturn, you’ll actually thrive in it.

If you look back at the Great Depression, you’ll find that there weren’t many companies making money. In fact, there were a record number of closures and bankruptcies, and unemployment was at an all time high with 1 in 3 people without a job. Yet there was one particular sector that was generating massive amounts of cash, and that was direct response marketing.

During the Great Depression, advertising budgets were the first things to get cut when sales tanked. Even today, most companies have no idea which ads are making money, or if they’re working at all.

As an affiliate, you know how important it is to track every dollar spent against your sales. So companies that were involved with direct response marketing knew that for every $1 they spent on advertising, they got $2 back. They placed ads everywhere and saw massive profits.

You have an advantage today that they didn’t have, and that’s the Internet. People who buy things on the Internet are generally wealthier and have more disposable income, so they’re less likely to be affected by this economic downturn. Just look at Amazon.com; while retail sales were significantly down this holiday season, Amazon.com saw record sales.

With all the gloom and doom in the news, not many people realize that this is the best time to make more money. Here are some strategies to help you make the most of these tough economic times.

Recession-Proof Affiliate Strategies

#1: Expand Your Virtual Real Estate

We’ve learned from the past that the companies that profited the most were the ones that didn’t cut their advertising budget - they actually raised it. Advertising rates will begin to fall as poor marketers that don’t track conversions leave the market. Also, if you aren’t already doing so, expand your reach with advertising such as blogs, articles, SEO, social networks, forums, etc. To put it simply, if you’re making money with a product, advertise it more.

#2: Review Your ROI

Now is a great time to review the products you’re promoting and calculate your ROI (return on investment). Everyone is limited by time, and there are only so many products you can promote as an affiliate. Look for products that aren’t generating enough profit and refocus your time and energy into promoting products with high ROI, as well as testing highly profitable new niches.

#3: Don’t Forget Backend Sales

You should be building an opt-in, CAN-SPAM compliant mailing list for every site you’re promoting. That way, you can advertise related products at a very low cost. Also, when looking for publishers, look for ones that are actively building a legitimate mailing list and advertising to it. Just make sure they’re giving you credit for those sales. While you’re at it, look for publishers with up-sells that help raise your profits.

#4: Target Recession-Proof Niches

While the economy is slowing, some niches are booming. Focus on products that help people save money and solve important problems. One of the best niches today involves products related to overcoming specific health problems. With an aging population and a failing health care system, people are turning to the Internet to find solutions on their own.

#5: Promote Products With Higher Commissions

In many ClickBank categories there are a number of products competing on the same topic. If you’re promoting a product with less than 75% commission, look for an alternative. If you find that it doesn’t convert as well as the original product, try adding a pre-sale page to help boost an underperforming Web site. The point is, the more you earn per sale, the more profit you’ll make.

Remember, this recession may be a great opportunity to accumulate more wealth, and ClickBank is one of the best places to do so. Virtually all of the products on ClickBank use the direct response model that let companies make huge profits in an economic situation like the one we are in now.