Two things come to mind when I hear the phrase "green energy": (1.) The Green Lantern and (2) The Hulk.
Seriously. I guess one too many sleepless nights and cups of coffee can warp your brain. However, I don't think I'm too far off when I associate these superheroes with green energy. They're both green and powerful; pretty much how I view green energy.
Green energy is sustainable or renewable energy. It encompasses geothermal energy, wind energy, solar energy, tidal power, hydroelectricity and all other technologies that help increase energy efficiency. Now, that's a lot of power.
There has been an increase in awareness of the need to save the planet through recycling materials and reducing energy consumption. With this awareness comes the need to acquire and use everything "green." According to GreenAffiliatePrograms.Net, "internet sales for natural products now exceeds annual revenues of $800 million." Wikipedia claims that the market for renewable energy continues to grow and LOHAS, or Lifestyle of Health and Sustainability, states that 13–19% of adults in the US alone are LOHAS consumers.
As always, where there's a need, there's a product, and with every product comes an affiliate program. :)
Green Energy Keywords Don't Need to Be "Green"
Just because we're going into the green energy niche doesn't mean all our keywords will be green. "Green energy" as a keyword is too broad and has high competition, along with the rest of its variations.
You can use "green energy" as a target keyword for informational articles, but you need to be specific for the rest of the articles on your site. I suggest that you take a look at the products prior to looking at keywords to target. Once you've decided on which products to promote, you will be able to determine the keywords you need to target.
The Great Green Affiliate Programs
ClickBank has a lot of green energy affiliate programs. The best ones I found are Nikola Tesla Secret, Solar Stirling Plant and Save on Home Energy. All three products offer a 60–75% commission for each sale. The average earnings per sale range from USD $15 to USD $35.
I came across EarthyEasy.com during my research and I am impressed with the site. They offer all things "green" such as water conservation and energy conservation products, as well as nontoxic pesticides and solar cooking aids. They offer a 10% commission for each sale. That's not much but they do offer phone and email support to affiliates. You can sign up for their affiliate program through ShareAsale.
Eco-Affiliate.com is a green affiliate programs directory. They carry all "green products" like organic products, eco-friendly clothing and "green energy" affiliate programs which they label as "off-grid affiliate programs." Some of their off-grid affiliate programs are the Spheral Solar Power Affiliate Program and the Solar Royal Affiliate Program. Both affiliate programs pay USD $25 for each sale. Payouts are made by check or through PayPal.
GreenAffiliatePrograms.Net is similar to Eco-Affiliate. They are a directory of green affiliate programs ranging from body and healthcare to vitamins to yoga programs. They have solar power products as well as green building products like Neutral Existence and Green Nest. Their commissions range from 7 to 12%.
Ways to Start a "Go Green" Movement
Now that we have our list of green energy affiliate programs, it's time to come up with a strategy on how we can start our own "Go Green!" movement.
Amazon Kindle Traffic
Users tend to look for information or to read about their interest before they buy a product. You can create a free eBook (or charge a minimal fee for each download) covering the various aspects of green energy and why there is a huge need for it. Through your literature, you need to convince users of the advantages of using solar panels, for example, and how much they (and the planet) will benefit from the practice. Doing so helps increase clicks to your site, which is your main goal in creating a Kindle eBook.
Content Strategy
Again, users will want information on green energy: what it is, how to do it, ways to save on energy costs, etc. You need to be able to supply them with helpful information and then direct them to the products that can help them get started.
There's a lot of information on green energy, so you need to come up with a schedule of when to do your research and when you will publish a new post. You can create infographics too, or slideshows on the value of renewable energy. You can also do content curation where you share other green energy resources with your readers.
Blog and Forum Commenting
There are a lot of green energy sites, as well as blogs and forums that you can participate in, not just to help out and promote your site, but to get information as well. There's a lot of information-sharing that goes on in blogs and forums. These sites can give you ideas about what to write next, as well as what the people in your target market are interested in learning and what products they're looking at.
Green Energy Affiliate Programs: Stop or Go?
I say it's a "Maybe." The keywords are a bit on the competitive side, really. There aren't many low-competition keywords you can target. That means you need to work double on your on-page SEO as well as your content, because your content will be the main thing driving traffic to your site. The articles on your site will also help with conversion, so they need to be well-written and credible.
The commissions on most of the affiliate programs in this niche are not as high as those in other niches. That is a bit of a drawback for me because this niche requires quite a lot of content.
It's also important that you have a genuine interest in this niche. You need to believe in sustainable energy and its benefits. Otherwise, you will not be able to fully immerse or commit yourself to this niche, nor will you be able to convince others of the good in green energy.
That's plenty to think about. But hey, being Earth's advocate is no mean feat.
I hope you find this week's niche helpful. Please make sure to share it with your friends and colleagues through the share buttons below. Feel free to leave your comments and suggestions below, too!
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James Murphy • 11 years ago
Rob Comey • 11 years ago