As we are about to enter the last month of 2008, it is time to start looking towards 2009.

2008 will be remembered as the year of unprecedented economic and financial troubles. Some experts are predicting that unless urgent actions are taken, next year will be even worse.

The main down fall for many will be failure to act. Too many and standing by hoping that their government will wave a magic wand and immediately get of the problems. Too little are realising than they have to take ownership of their very own future, and not the government.

Here is a grand way to secure your future. Start an eBusiness. Yes. Start a brand new business. I’m not talking about bricks and mortar businesses that will take tens or hundreds of thousands to start, and even more working capital to operate and maintain.

No, am talking about online businesses that you can start without breaking the bank, and operate from your bedroom.

Believe it or not, this economic downturn will create opportunities. The wise will not spend time whining and fretting, but will simply follow the money.

The economic downturn has and will continue to cause job losses, reduced spending and less available finance. However, these problems will inevitably cause money to flow in a different direction.

Here are some examples:

Automotive
People will stop buying new cars, and will opt to repair their cars.
Losers: car dealers
Winners: Auto parts sellers
Opportunity: Start an eBusiness selling auto parts as an affiliate

Healthcare
People losing their jobs will also lose their employer’s health insurance.
Losers: Unfortunately, employees
Winners: No one really
Opportunity: Start an eBusiness selling health insurance as an affiliate

Here are some great niches that I personally think will boom:

Advertisement – sell ad space on your website/blog

Financial Advice – Debt Consolidation Affiliate eBusiness

Review Sites with affiliate links – More people will turn to the internet to find better deals

Ebay will explode – buyers will go there looking for better deals, sellers will be offering all unwanted junk for sale to earn extra cash

Am sure this list will give you an idea as what types of niche will be booming in 2009.

When you find your niche, check eBusinessDomains.com for your perfect ebusiness domain name.

It is possible to make a ton of cash by sending visitors directly to the merchant’s website when doing affiliate marketing.

Quite a few affiliate marketers do this with Google Cash or a method known as arbitrage. This is where the affiliates advertise in any pay-per-click search engine such as Google Adwords, and send the traffic directly to the merchant’s website using their affiliate link.

If the visitor that clicks the link in the Google ad subsequently makes a purchase at the merchant’s website, then the affiliate marketer will earn a commission.

This method does work, and there are people who are silently making millions from this method of affiliate marketing. It is quick, hassle-free and can be extremely profitable if done correctly.

However, I personally think that affiliate marketers who profit from arbitrage could end up throwing away a lot of money, perhaps much more than what they are earning.

Here is the reason why:

Credible studies show that as much as 85% of online shoppers don’t buy a product they find online within the first 60 days. Studies also reveal that most online shoppers only buy a product if they see it quite a few times, i.e. if they are “reminded” about the product numerously.

I personally believe the studies are true, and have witnessed it so many times in my Internet marketing experiences over the years.

Now think about it. When you use the arbitrage method of affiliate marketing as mentioned above, you only have ONE chance of profiting from any purchase made by the visitor.

If the visitor chooses to just browse the merchant’s website, do the research and then make a purchase at a later date, the only person who makes a profit is the merchant.

However, if you had built a credible review website or brand that provides genuine product/service analysis and recommendations, the customer would most likely visit your website as a last minute check just before making that important purchase.

This way, when the customer has their wallet out and credit card in hand, you will be the one sending them to the merchant’s website via your affiliate link.

This way, you not only profit from the 15% that will buy immediately, but also from the 85% that buy a few days or even months later.

Now some will ask… what about cookies? Well yes, some merchants’ websites will set a cookie on the customer’s computer. The merchant will track the cookie and will reward the affiliate marketer if the customer comes back to their site and make a purchase within a specific period such as 60,120 or even 365 days.

However, with a prevalence of short-duration cookies, and even shorter attention spans, most visitors will never visit the merchant’s web site again, even with your cookie still saved on their computers.

If you were to depend on the same visitor to click on your Adword several times before making a purchase after sufficient exposure, you may end up making a loss, as your acquisition costs may exceed your commission from the one sale.

I could write all day and list points after points as to why you need to build your own brand on a premium domain name when doing affiliate marketing.

It is like killing two birds with one stone. You benefit from the exposure to your website and brand, as well as profiting from any affiliate commissions earned.

Don’t even forget that your branded website will benefit from free search engine and directory traffic, customer loyalty and word-of-mouth and other viral marketing methods.

Also, one last point, when your website has great content and product endorsements, the said visitor may end up buying more products from other affiliate merchants that you recommend, earning you even more money.

It pays to brand. It pays to own a premium domain name. Don’t underestimate the power contained within a premium domain name.

So, the answer is yes. You do really need your own domain name.

Successful eBusiness starts with a top quality domain name.

Find the perfect premium domain name to brand your online business at eBusinessDomains.com.

Getting the right domain name is just the start in securing success in your online business. I will be writing a few posts in the near future that will help my readers to build successful ebusinesses.

No one domain fits all categories. So, it is vital to do some research and find your target market before acquiring that perfect premium domain name.

Here is a quick list of some steps to follow when embarking on a new ebusiness project:

- Find a target market – Perhaps a niche
- Get the perfect domain name. A good place to buy one is at eBusinessDomains.com
- Design and build a website suitable for your niche
- Write captivating content for your website
- Set up a hosting account for your site
- Send traffic to your site (SEO, PPC etc)
- Get intimate with your visitors – Make them buy

I will seek to expand on these steps in the near future.