There is no doubt that, as a society (and, really, on a global scale), it’s going to take time for the economy to recover from this thing called COVID-19. It’s difficult to make money when people aren’t spending any. Stimulus efforts may help a little, but we’re in the middle of an economic storm that’s destined to make many marketers throw in the towel in the months ahead.
The good news is that you don’t have to be one of them. If you’re concerned about how the economy is going to affect your marketing niche, it might be time to consider shifting your focus onto something a bit more recession-proof. Numerous areas of life and commerce won’t be stifled by recession. As successful marketers, it’s our responsibility to tap into those recession-proof marketing areas and keep up a degree of momentum that makes our efforts profitable and worthwhile.
Here are a few of the ideas that have been running through my head, based on what I have personally observed over the past few months and what other bloggers have reported to be avenues of success. I chose a few to zero in on that have either very low saturation or for which there is enough demand for content that a good marketer can leverage and, hopefully, keep the ROI positive and profitable.
Cooking and Nutrition
People will always have to eat. It’s that simple. Over the past six months, there has been a huge surge of interest in content that helps people steer away from the mundane evening meal and try new things in the kitchen. Blogging about cooking and nutrition is a great way to ensure that you maintain your audience, provided your content remains informative, engaging, and unique.
Blog about creating exciting meals on a budget. Review inexpensive kitchen gadgets and appliances. Long-form recipe blogs are a big thing right now, too, and they’re a great way to get people excited about being in their own kitchens (especially when dining out is a less accessible and less appealing option). There are plenty of possibilities, and you can even draw from other successful blogs in these niches for ideas on how to structure your own. However, please do not try to copycat the competition. Come up with your own ideas and approaches based on what you know or learn about your audience.
Driver Education
While still a bit of a luxury for many, keeping young drivers safe on the road is a priority for many parents. Some driving schools are shut down at the moment, and many have gone to online-based classroom instruction. A blog about the key points of driver safety can be a welcome augmentation to these programs. It can also provide young drivers with extra bits of knowledge that will make learning once they’re behind the wheel again a little easier.
Develop content that is both student- and parent-based as part of your strategy with a driver’s ed blog. If you’re thinking local, see if any of the schools in your area want to contribute content or get mentioned in your posts. This is an extra bit of revenue that you can use to further your efforts in this niche. Content that is aimed at parents will help you capture an important audience segment to whom you can then market other parenting-based content.
Posts aimed at young drivers will help boost readership and build up off-page SEO. If you already have expertise in this area, that’s even better. Consider developing some support content in the form of videos or other visual media that will reinforce the themes in individual blog posts.
Home-Based Business
You might not think that starting a home-based business is at the forefront of many people’s minds, but you would be wrong. One thing that COVID-19 has taught people is that you can’t rely on wage slavery as a foundation for a good financial future. Right now, there are plenty of people out there looking for alternative ways to rein in their finances. Content on low-cost, low-overhead home business solutions is in high demand right now. Capitalize on the opportunity to reach this market while the idea is fresh in their minds.
Do your research and vet any program or idea you decide to present. I recommend steering clear of all things multilevel marketing at this time, especially if you don’t have experience or vested interest in the program(s) you decide to spotlight.
Think in terms of businesses that can be launched with low or no initial investment responsibilities. People don’t have the money to spend opening franchises or joining tiered marketing systems right now. Also, many MLM products don’t really fit the definition of “recession-proof” due to the types of products or the cost of their brands of products that can be had for much less through their local big-box retailer.
Homeschooling and Remote Learning
Many parents are spending a lot more time with their kids these days. As much as we love our children, this can be stressful. Blogging about ways to make this together time more agreeable and fun could be a welcome diversion.
A key subject area in this niche right now is remote learning. If you have any background in homeschooling, this a particularly good niche to tap. Content on how to structure a school day at home and providing information on resources that can make the entire process easier for students and parents will engage readers.
Try to edge away from marketing homeschooling products. Think support rather than sales. Parents aren’t going to become homeschoolers overnight just because the kids are home. Most are still leaving the heavy lifting to the professionals when it comes to the actual “schooling” part of the equation. This is an instance where good information can be as valuable a commodity as any physical product you could think of to tie into it.
E-Commerce
In the realm of home-based business, blogging about recession-proof e-commerce options can be another successful avenue of marketing in a volatile economy, especially if you steer your content in the direction of recession-proof products and services. Do take the time to click that link when you’re done here. It has a ton of ideas from which you can springboard your blog.
As always, I want to end off by just letting you know that if all this sounds good on paper but seems overwhelming in the execution, help is available. At Beez, high-quality, optimized marketing content is what we do, and we do it well. We work with writers who have expertise in a wide variety of content areas and can help you launch or improve your marketing efforts in these and many other areas. Contact us today to learn how partnering with BeezContent can help you develop the marketing content you need to succeed.
