How to Ethically Make Money Online During a Stock Market Crash & Global Pandemic?

With recent events going on in the world I have been thinking a lot about how my business is going to be affected by a Stock Market Crash and Pandemic.

As an affiliate marketer and online advertiser it can be hard to make consistent money online. Are global events like this an opportunity or threat?

Fear and panic has already hit us at a global scale. Some countries have even declared the current situation a national emergency.

Many industries have already been brought to their knees and it doesn’t look like the financial sector will be booming very soon.

Some of the campaigns I was running in the financial lead sector have actually been paused all together until this subsides.

I also know many e-comm businesses are feeling the hurt as their supply chains are constantly being hit with more issues.

In the midst of this, How Do We Make Money Online ETHICALLY?

If there’s one thing affiliate marketers can do best, it is adapt quickly to an ever-changing landscape.

Anyone that does this for a living knows that the industry is constantly changing, and affiliates are constantly thrown curve balls.

This time is no different, but it definitely has more potential impact since the entire globe is feeling the effects of Coronavirus. (COVID-19)

Don’t worry I’m not going to pitch you some silly idea about how you should be promoting coronavirus affiliate offers or profiteering.

I think anyone who is promoting flimsy, unethical affiliate offers related to Coronavirus is greedy and irresponsible.

This is precisely why Google and Facebook banned anything related to Coronavirus from their ad platforms weeks ago.

I was somewhat angry to see a few CPA networks and advertisers sending me emails with sleazy subject lines bragging that “We Have Coronavirus Offers!!” like they were saving the day.

Some of these offers were built with sales pages full of false information and scary headlines, and they encouraged the spread of false information.

I think our industry already has enough heat that we don’t need to resort to this.

I even saw one offer called a “Tactical Medical Kit” which in itself could probably be a good offer if they actually took the time to get a real product.

This crap was selling for $200 and was nothing more than a jackknife, some bandages, a metal credit card that was called a “multi-use tool”, and some other garbage.

You could probably go to your local hardware store or grocery store and buy all of the pieces in the kit for less than twenty bucks.

Don’t even get me started on the highly overpriced face mask that people are selling online using fear and aggressive advertorials with the coronavirus angle.

These affiliates are buying ad placements promoting false information, pushing away real facts at a time when humans need to help humans.

So What Is Ethical?

Now I know many affiliate offers are not completely ethical, and I am not claiming to be an angel.

Today I thought it would be more valuable to share some common-sense ideas on how affiliates can strive amidst all of what’s happening right now. It’s nice to sleep at night knowing your not a complete asshat.

Let’s use our own common sense for a minute and think about what’s actually likely to happen if this carries on.

We already know the stock market has crashed, and it will continue to go down over the coming months if history prevails.

We know that more people are staying at home.

Less people are attending sports events, fewer people are spending money in their communities, and this will send a ripple effect that could lead to a recession.

Usually, in a recession, more people look for new ways to generate income.

This is one audience we can help.

I think there are ethical ways to reach the market without having to resort to your “Tactical” bullshit and profiteering scams.

The make money online niche will continue to strive as it always has whether the economy is good or bad.

What Other Affiliate Niches Will Strive in a Recession?

Since people are staying home now, the peak times of day for traffic are changing. People are at home using the internet.

If they aren’t going out to do whatever they normally do, they’re probably looking for something to do online.

For example, they could be playing more games, looking for a new hobby or job, looking for how-to articles like how to save money, how to budget, how to write a resume, and how to work out at home.

People are still going to want to be healthy, some will have anxiety, some will have depression, some will need solutions to their health problems, some will want to lose weight, some may claim bankruptcy, some may lose their job, some may need to survive on a little budget, some may lose their retirement investments, and the list goes on.

A lot of people may be looking for loans online, maybe better insurance, and even ways to take advantage of a lower stock market.

These are all potential niche topics or angles where we can focus on helping with real useful products rather than stealing what little money they may have left after a recession.

I think there is a huge opportunity to make money online ethically during world events like this while still helping people get information and products they need.

A lot of people are going to see a change in their life even if this all passes in a few weeks.

They’re going to start looking at their life differently after being impacted by such a major event. Many people might be looking for ways to improve their life perhaps through meditation? yoga? or spiritual types products?

We will likely see a lot of local businesses go under.

Local businesses or “mom and pop shops” that didn’t already take advantage of online marketing might be hurting most.

A lot of those business owners may now be looking for ways to sell their products online since their target market is now staying home.

These local business owners will need help, so marketing agencies may get more business.

Now let’s talk quickly about e-commerce.

We know that many people who built their businesses around a single supply chain from China, or some other country affected by this virus, are likely out of business by now.

If you run a store you likely already started trying to source domestically, or in other countries, you advertise in. Ecommerce products will continue to sell in mass numbers in my opinion.

I believe if you have the products, supply chain, and delivery in place, you stand to make a killing since many people are going to be buying items online.

What Else Should We Consider As Affiliate Marketers?

Let’s talk about the logistics of affiliate marketing payments, networks, servers, tracking, and all that stuff during a pandemic.

No doubt the CPA network industry has always been risky at best.

Running affiliate offers, fronting cash for traffic, and waiting to get paid is always a risk.

In times like this CPA networks that don’t have a strong cash flow are even riskier.

If you think that you’re on a network that is run by one person and maybe a small team of two or three people demand faster payments or move to a network that is stronger.

I am sure there will be networks out there blaming this virus and blaming the banking system for late payments, so be vigilant and make sure you keep them accountable.

If you manage your own server you may need a backup plan in place if your server crashes. Be ready to pause and keep an eye on your campaigns.

Your server might not crash but every now and then you need to contact the server support team, and if they are off sick you’ll get fewer responses.

I would steer clear of CPA networks trying to capitalize on Coronavirus with sleazy offers.

Once all of this stuff unfolds and things come back to normal, no doubt people are going to be getting sued for spreading false information.

If that doesn’t scare you enough just think of your own personal ethics.

I’m sure most of the people reading this have standards in place and don’t want to be a person that’s spreading false information when the economy is already in such a fragile situation.

To summarize I don’t think there’s anything really to worry about for our affiliate marketing businesses.

There are going to be tons of opportunities to make a lot of money online, in fact probably more opportunities now as more people are going to be online.

I am not trying to fearmonger here, and I am not saying marketers shouldn’t take advantage of opportunity when it arises even if it’s an event like this. Let’s just try to make money online ethically without bringing our industry down even further in the eyes of the spectators.

If you have any thoughts or comments about this post or suggestions for others please post them below thanks for reading be strong and best of luck.