Jitendra Vaswani & Ian Fernando Talking CoronaVirus Impact On Affiliate Marketing

“My loss in SEO and PR marketing in March was $30,000 to $40,000.” 🦠

Early in the COVID-19 lockdown, affiliate marketer Ian Fernando saw my post saying my business was down 60%, and invited me to talk about what was happening. He’s a media buyer and I’m mostly organic, so we got two perspectives. 🎙️

📊 In this episode, we unpacked:

• 📉 Travel SEO and PR clients crashed
• 📈 Pivoting to make-money-online keywords
• 🛏️ What was still selling
• 🎭 Being the face vs the back end
• 🌏 What we saw in Thailand and the US

🎥 Watch the full episode:

📉 Travel SEO and PR Clients Crashed

I’m from India and was living in Thailand as a digital nomad, running my marketing business for seven years. My travel and hotel sites ranked for low-competition “best hotels” keywords and earned from Booking.com and Agoda. With nobody traveling, they tanked. 📉

My US PR clients, who paid to get featured in big publications, stopped spending. My March loss in SEO and PR was $30,000 to $40,000. One lost deal would have bought me a condo. I had reserves, so I could bear it, but I worried for friends whose travel blogs went to zero. For Ian’s background, read Ian Fernando’s interview. 🔗

📈 Pivoting to Make-Money-Online Keywords

Google Trends showed people searching how to make money online and work-from-home jobs in hard-hit countries like Italy, Iran, the Philippines and Australia. So I targeted those keywords on BloggersIdeas, including freelancing and online courses. Competition rose fast, since everyone at home was searching. 📈

My main blog’s traffic was up 25 to 30% that month, and I expected 40%. One software tool that usually earned me about $1,500 a month in commissions had already made $2,000 to $3,000. Tools, e-commerce and health were selling. For more on my affiliate income, read how I earn six figures from affiliate marketing. 🔗

🛏️ What Was Still Selling

Stuck at home, people were buying mattresses, pillows and bedsheets. I was building a mattress review site promoting highly trusted brands on ShareASale, where you can see transaction data. It was already climbing to page two. I also had a casino review site. 🛏️

Ian, who runs native, push and Facebook pixel arbitrage campaigns, was shifting campaigns from the US to the UK and other countries to test. The service side was being hit hardest: restaurants, car dealerships and events. Even Grant Cardone had to lay off staff. For another media buying view, read how to make money with PropellerAds. 🔗

🎭 Being the Face vs the Back End

I was building my personal brand, and it was working. My former roommate, who knew my struggle story, was leaving his job to partner with me. He’d run the agency in India and hire people, while I’d be the face, like Neil Patel is for his company. 🎭

Ian said he loves the attention, but prefers the back end: “Let me just do your ads.” For more on personal branding, read how I met Grant Cardone. 🔗

🌏 What We Saw in Thailand and the US

In Thailand, local vendors were hit hard and some were moving back to villages. Friends running workshops and events had shut down. But e-commerce was booming on Shopee and Lazada, and Facebook ads for everyday essentials were getting strong engagement. 🌏

In the US, Ian said the market was very hard to predict. Our shared takeaway: different models were hit differently, and you have to adapt quickly. For a landing page view from the same period, read Oliver Kenyon’s interview. 🔗

📝 Key Takeaways From My Talk With Ian Fernando

• 💰 Keep cash reserves for shocks
• 📈 Follow search trends and pivot fast
• 🛏️ Stay-at-home niches can boom in a crisis
• 🌍 Test campaigns in new countries
• 🎭 Decide whether to be the face or the back end

❓ FAQs About Ian Fernando

How did COVID-19 affect Jitendra’s business?

His travel sites and PR clients crashed, causing a $30,000-40,000 loss in March 2020.

Which niches grew during the lockdown?

Make money online, work from home, software tools, e-commerce, health and home products like mattresses.

How did Ian Fernando adapt his media buying?

He shifted campaigns from the US to the UK and other international markets to test.

🎙️ More Inside A Hustler’s Brain Interviews You’ll Love

• The Millionaire’s Guide to Affiliate Marketing Success ft. Katrina Hier
• Akram Hamam : Mastering the Art of Affiliate Marketing From 7-Figure Millionaire
• Life Of A Digital Nomad Mom of 2 Kids Aka Julia Jerg ❤️
• Emanuele Pezzulla From Adcash On How To Succeed in Affiliate Marketing

How did COVID-19 affect your business? Tell me in the comments. 💬

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