The first half of 2021 has been a time of change—online as well as offline. While countries are slowly emerging from the throes of a global pandemic, the internet is thriving. As is affiliate marketing. A few notable verticals have burst into the limelight and will likely continue to bloom in Q3.
If there is anything the pandemic has taught consumers, it is that online shopping is their friend. With the closure of physical shops in many countries, consumers have become confident making their purchases on the internet, to the benefit of affiliates in the vertical. E-commerce, therefore, will most likely continue to grow even after the pandemic has died down. Hedging your bets on e-commerce brands such as VIP Response’s own discount membership club Goodeess will definitely pay off.
In Q1, sweepstakes seemed to take a small dip—but this evergreen vertical has resurfaced in force. Both email-submits and cc submits are back on the playing field. Especially among cc sweeps, advertisers are demonstrating a widespread desire to produce what their affiliates know will convert. This shows that there is still a lot of money to be made on sweepstakes, especially when knowledge is shared.
Casino, too, is garnering much attention. This is no surprise. Casinos provide both entertainment and the chance to improve consumers’ personal finances—two important factors for an audience that is weathering a pandemic. According to Mordor Intelligence, the industry is only set to grow steadily each year–specifically with niches such as Betting, Bingo, Lottery, and Casino experiencing an annual growth rate of almost 12%! We’re in a perfect storm for affiliates, who can experience extremely high conversion rates from a wide variety of casino brands.
Another vertical that has been important to miss is crypto. In Q1 of 2021, the market cap for Bitcoin was at $1072 billion. As crypto currencies continue to gain favor with investors large and small, the world of affiliate marketing provides. Within the legal restrictions—or the lack thereof—set by individual nations, crypto continues to flourish.
On a related note, the verticals of finance and insurance have been on a steady rise for some time now. Perhaps unsurprisingly given the state of the world, loans are regaining popularity. Similarly, insurance campaigns have held up well. Although health insurance, life insurance, and funeral campaigns definitely do well during this public health crisis, auto insurance is also soaring as we race for Q3. These campaigns are easy to convert for affiliates, and advertisers usually find themselves with a pool of genuinely interested consumers.
Dating is an evergreen vertical, but it deserves mention nonetheless. Finances Online projects that by 2024, online dating service users are expected to increase from 30.4 to 35 million in the US alone. Servicing those who seek company online is a lucrative business, and the stats are an upwards slope. In Q2 of 2021, VIP Response launched their inhouse dating brand, Flingr, which has been highly sought-after ever since.
There are, of course, many more verticals to scope out. But as we blaze into Q3 of 2021, these ones listed above are definitely worth keeping an eye on!