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Ok so I've lasted till Thursday ... if you were with me back on Monday you might remember that this was probably not going to be a stellar week for us. A move to a new server and a lot of other work was facing us back then and now, thank goodness, most of it is behind us.

The server move went well thanks to Chris and the guys at Phatservers and Steve and I have managed to dig our way through most of the work that was facing us too. So now we might be able to almost coast along for a few days till the weekend arrives ... but then again maybe not. While economic times are tough we're still getting plenty of work and I hope that's the same for you guys.

Times like these can be especially hard for affiliate marketers. Hell even surviving in the best of times can be a challenge for affiliate marketers but now things are even harder. A lot of people out there simply don't have the money to buy anything and then there are the rest of the people out there who have the money but are just too scared to spend it on anything that's discretionary.

And of course porn and all the other adult products we sell are discretionary. Sure there's a certain attraction about porn that's just irresistible. Human beings are sexual creatures and no matter how tough things get sex will still sell ... but unless we change the way we market our products we're not going to make enough sales to survive even when we're selling to a market that many think is based on impulse purchases.

If people are afraid to spend money when times are tough then even making an impulse purchase becomes less frequent. Rather than rushing in to make the purchase people will stop and think about whether or not they can really afford it and whether or not they really can't live without that particular product.

It's at that point ... where people are stopping to wonder if they really need the product we're selling ... that we really need to focus our sales efforts.

We need to convince people that they really can't live without whatever it is that we're selling. When we overcome that initial hesitation we make a sale and we end up with money in our pocket ... but how do we overcome that initial hesitation? How do we convince people that they really do need the product that we're selling?

Some experts are suggesting that over in mainstream online marketing there are three ways to encourage people to buy in tough times.

- The first way is by showing potential purchasers better photos of the product.

- The second way is by providing better descriptions of the products and

- The third way is by providing sales copy that overcomes the objections that people might have to making a purchase.

When you think about it, here in adult we're already over-doing the first way of increasing sales. We really don't need to give them any better pictures or video because they get enough for free already but there may be some value in considering the other two ways of increasing sales.

Instead of showing surfers images and giving them a link to our sponsor perhaps we need to give them some reasons to head over to our sponsors ... and not just those worn out suggestions that they'll get bigger photos and better video. Instead of doing that, check out your sponsor and find some good reasons why surfers should follow your sponsor links.

If you can't find some good reasons then perhaps you need to either find some new sponsors or find a new career path because, without good reasons, people are not going to be following your links and buying a membership.

You also need to consider the third way of convincing people to buy what you're selling. You need to convince people that buying what you're selling is not going to be a waste of money in times when money is tight. You're going to have to convince them that buying a membership in your sponsor's site is a good investment ... they'll get something of real and lasting value ... and they're making a wise choice in buying some adult entertainment even if times are tough.

When you can convince people that they really should follow your sponsor links and that buying a membership in your sponsor's site really is a wise move ... even in tough economic times like these ... then you're going to start making money while others continue to struggle.