Ignoring survivalist affiliate marketing while the Republic goes down in flames will mean trouble for you and your family. I don’t know if the Mayans have the exact date for the end of days (December 21, 2012), but the date is looking more real each day.

Affiliate marketing is made for sovereign individuals and others who know the hard way when the SHTF, the government and societal safety nets will fold like cheap suits.

“Affiliate marketing is a marketing practice in which a business rewards one or more affiliates for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate’s own marketing efforts. Examples include rewards sites, where users are rewarded with cash or gifts, for the completion of an offer, and the referral of others to the site. The industry has four core players: the merchant (also known as ‘retailer’ or ‘brand’), the network, the publisher (also known as ‘the affiliate’), and the customer. The market has grown in complexity to warrant a secondary tier of players, including affiliate management agencies, super-affiliates and specialized third party vendors.”

~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affiliate_marketing

I see affiliate marketing as a source of second income for:

1. survivalists

2. LBDs (Little Black Dresses) – women at risk

I believe you have to make the money now. If the worst case scenerio happens – which looks more and more likely – I believe you have until maybe late 2014 to make your money and your plans for dark times. (nothing is likely before the 2012 election)

Survivalists:

You might be a survivalist if:

1. you have no faith in the currency and are buying gold and silver

2. you are searching for farmland to buy and looking to move away from the city or suburbs to a rural retreat

3. your job has been eliminated, outsourced, or downsized

4. you are surviving on savings, odd jobs, or part-time work

5. you are cutting down trees in the backyard for firewood/heat

6. you can feed a family of 4 for $5

7. gardening is not just for great tasting, home-grown tomatoes

8. you take your family to the gun range once a month to keep them sharp

Or…

You might be an LBD if you are:

1. a single mom

2. divorced and on your own again

3. not making ends meet in your job

4. chronically underpaid, underemployed, and under appreciated

5. need a second job but don’t have enough time and money for extra commuting and gas

6. out of jail/prison and can’t get hired

For both:

1. have a small local business that you need to promote

2. have a good job but you want a second income just in case Celente, Faber, Schiff, Dent, Rogers, and others are right about the future

Affiliate Marketing is Here to Stay

Affiliate marketing is the easiest and fastest way to get started in Internet marketing, but it’s only one of the dozens of alternatives available for sovereign individuals. But it’s going to be around in one form or another because:

1. It works.

2. Merchants pay only for a desired result (sale, lead, click). Instead of paying for advertising up front, merchants pay affiliates later. The Amazon affiliate program is the largest for physical products while Clickbank products are limited to software, ebooks, and other digital items.

3. As time passes, merchants will follow the Amazon.com model and work only with affiliates. Cutting out retailers and other middlemen is a natural progression in the Internet Age. Individuals do their own research and price comparison online without relying on salespeople.

4. Visit any strip mall and count the vacancies. Local businesses can use affiliate marketing to add products to their stores without having to add physical inventory.

5. Advertising agencies will find it harder and harder to get clients to buy air time on TV and radio. Television ads get DVRed away, and newspapers show up – if at all – in the driveways of the over 55 set, not the young, hip buyers advertisers court. Ad agencies may have to become affiliate marketers themselves.

6. Affiliate marketing levels the playing field. As an individual entrepreneur, you can earn the same as the big boys. An online buyer does not know you are broke, working 3 jobs, and wondering when you can afford something more than oatmeal.

7. With the cost of gas still high and your time valuable, shipping costs are more reasonable. Malls will continue to feature soft goods and trinket impulse buys, but many are now renting space to colleges,trade schools, and churches. Online, you can shop, compare, get the best price, and have the product delivered to your door.

8. No overhead. As an affiliate marketer, your home business has no additional costs for office rent, business phones, utilities, or employees.

9. Affiliate marketing lets you work once, and profit for months or years. If you take the time to write a killer review for your favorite product, you can become the authority/expert for your product and niche. Everyone is an expert in something.

10. Skills you learn in Internet marketing (copywriting, SEO, PR) will make you marketable across a whole host of offline jobs. You become the marketing consultant and help local businesses stave off bankruptcy. You become the local Internet guy. You develop a skill set that no one else can match.

“Affiliate marketing overlaps with other Internet marketing methods to some degree, because affiliates often use regular advertising methods. Those methods include organic search engine optimization, paid search engine marketing, e-mail marketing, and in some sense display advertising. On the other hand, affiliates sometimes use less orthodox techniques, such as publishing reviews of products or services offered by a partner.”

~ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affiliate_marketing

Make all the money you can right now just in case the SHTF. Western civilization is heading for some dark places.

If I am right, you will make money now to explore buying a rural retreat, move some assets offshore, or just prepare for bad times.

If I am wrong, you should be able to quit your job and live the life or retirement you deserve.

Bum Marketing

For those with absolutely no money, you can start and run an affiliate marketing business totally online at zero cost. I don’t recommend it, but it can be done from domain names to hosting to email to affiliate sales. The idea is that you take a bum off the street, put him in a public library on a public computer, and have him earn a living. Possible, but too difficult. Even a blind pig rooting in the woods will stumble upon a few acorns.

Bum marketing works for physical products like books, electronics, and vitamins via the Amazon affiliate program, or for digitally delivered goods like Clickbank products.

However, I recommend Commission Blueprint Evolution 2.0. This was once a monthly subscription now available for a one-time investment. Tons of ebooks and videos will get you started fast.

The key to affiliate marketing is getting started, or getting back on track. Concentrate on reviews, pre-selling, PR, and promotion (SEO and social media). Most affiliate marketers get distracted and spend time on non-profitable activities. Treat your time like an investment, and your ROI will set you free.