Many of us are still reeling from 2020 – without doubt the most disruptive year for business that we can remember. But as affiliate marketers, we know very well that change is inevitable. And remaining adaptable is the most important trait we can have in our pursuit of success.

As we dive deeper into 2021, STM Forum is back with a report that can help us all to adapt to these major shifts. And the Gotzha team, bursting with insights, was naturally asked to share some of our own tips. So in our typical collaborative style, we put our heads together and contributed as a team!

STM’s report concludes that “anything that helps people to kill some time during the lockdown is on the rise”. They declare online gaming, video streaming, dating and chatting, online education, gambling/casino, personal health and home workout apparel as the winners of the COVID era.

Gotzha’s exclusive team discussion shed some light on the pandemic’s winners and losers from our own insights and experiences. We discussed the rise of ecommerce, the success of cybersecurity tools, among other topics.

Here’s an excerpt from the report so you can see what our team had to say about what’s working in 2021.

Gotzha’s Exclusive Team Discussion

Rising and declining offer verticals? Did anything die out completely? Any brand new verticals in the game?

Rising: Of the rising opportunities we would certainly include Desktop and more specifically VPNs and Anti-Virus. Since the pandemic, with the majority of people working from home, there has been a surge in people using desktop devices and with that came an increase in traffic and performance that's doing well to date. Credit Card Submit Sweeps is another vertical going strong regardless of the pandemic albeit with revamped channels and flows.

Declining: Casino and Leadgen Sweeps have been declining in volume primarily because of the decline in Facebook traffic. Facebook took care of most of the volume in these verticals and it has become a bit harder for publishers to make Facebook work in the last year. We do still get traffic from other types of traffic on these verticals, like push, pops, email and native. But the lion’s share came from Facebook so overall the volume has decreased in these verticals.

Lots of affiliates have made or are making the shift to whitehat. Does your Network have whitehat offers? Anything that can be run safely on Facebook without the need to cloak or get a lot of accounts banned?

There are several verticals that can be promoted on Facebook without the need of cloaking.

• More recently we have seen WH pages for Keto offers do well
• Anti Virus offers also tend to do well on WH angles
• Certain Finance offers
• Education offers can work well without the need of cloaking
• Ecommerce

Offer recommendations (geo+vertical) for newbie affiliates? What about for intermediate/expert affiliates?

Newbie Affiliates

Start with one vertical and really look to own it before you switch to another vertical.

Best to start with Tier 2-3 geos, for cheaper traffic, and being able to collect more data for the same budget. At this point of your AM journey, your goal is to test as much as you can to collect data, find your winner and find ways to efficiently scale.

LeadGen Sweeps (TH, ID, MY)

Mobile Content (AE, EG, TH, ID)

Intermediate/Expert Affiliates Credit Card Submit Sweeps - (US, CA, FR, AU, UK)

Desktop - (US, UK, JP, BR, CA)

Dating - (NL, DE, US, ES, UK)

Has covid impacted on your business? If so, what have you done in response, and what are the results?

While covid has had a temporary negative impact on verticals like Leadgen Sweeps (because of less demand for leads), it also served as an opportunity in other verticals such as Desktop, Dating and CC Submit Sweeps. Gotzha responded well by pivoting its focus from the declining verticals towards rising verticals such as Desktop, Dating, CC Submits Sweeps and Apps.

How to grow your business in 2021

STM’s report reveals a compelling in-depth recipe for success in performance marketing that’s useful for both newbie and seasoned veterans. Because it’s not just the successful verticals and traffic sources that will help you secure extra funds in your bank account.

Keeping up-to-date with rapidly changing trends, increasing your knowledge and honing your skills will all be crucial to those who thrive in 2021. Be adaptable and efficient. Move fast. And of course, our account managers are ready to support you with this at every stage of your journey.

If you’re curious about how we and our partners have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and what our predictions are for 2021, you should definitely read our story in Propeller Ads’ report on Affiliate Marketing Trends & Predictions.

And if you’ve not yet discussed our in-house Sweeps and VOD offers with your AM, now is the right time to explore your options!