I was looking back over the past couple of years of success and failures to see if I could find trends.  I think it is always a good idea to have a clear understanding of not just what works and what doesn't, but why.

What I found is no surprise, but it proves to be more profound than I expected. When I first started I was chasing "hot" print/products on clickbank and others because that's what people said to do.  But it went against my marketing knowledge so I changed.  About a year into it I changed strategies and focused on nothing but evergreen products and evergreen niches.

For those campaigns that are hot but evergreen, I have not only made the most money but have a consistent run rate of income.  I have only stopped one percent of my evergreen campaigns and considered them a wash (just bad selection).  On the other hand, with the clickbank/hot products I have had to/decided to ditch over 55% of the campaigns and made 50% less  over time for the same amount of work.

Here is my opinion after looking at these stats:

Evergreen products are just that.  If one branch dies another shoot greens up.If one supplier bails there are more out there. Lets say you have a domain that says iwanttobereallyskinnyformyclassreunion.com and you pick the hot product of "banana malt and nugget diet", but then the FDA comes out and shuts down the banana malt and nugget diet.   Because weight loss is evergreen you can change products.  If you pick a domain that says skinnywiththebananamaltandnuggetdiet.com you would be in a trap.  The niche is evergreen but the product isn't.

This trap can also happen with niches that are not evergreen.  If you pick a hot product for bell bottom pants (boy am I showing my age) and you get a domain reflecting this product, odds are bell bottoms will sizzle for 6 months and be gone.   This is niche death.   You may make a ton in 6 months, but have to start over with the next sizzle.   The niche dies.

Picking evergreen products and niches is the tortoise and hare strategy.  Go fast  for the short term or slow for long haul.    This all comes down to how many cycles you have to start new campaigns verses enhance current. 

Everyone has to pick their strategy, but I have convinced myself through work and analysis evergreen is more than just a song.

Good Marketing,

Judy