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Right at the beginning of November I wandered into a local store and got quite a surprise ... they were putting up Christmas decorations.

I hate to admit it but I can remember a time when Christmas decorations didn't appear till sometime after December 1. But not any more ... now the signs that Christmas is coming seem to appear earlier each year.

Today I got another surprise. I opened up an email newsletter and there were the writer's predictions for next year. Hey, it's only November and people are already bringing out their predictions for next year?

The predictions for the new year used to be something that you would write about during the quiet period in the week before Christmas ... not early in the third week of November. Despite the early predictions it was interesting to read that guy's thoughts on what lay ahead because they tied in with what Steve and I think we're seeing in the new year ... and that's more of the same of what we've experienced in the last few months.

I know some economists are suggesting that we're out of the recession and things are really going to start to boom again ... but then you read others who suggest that another wave of home repossessions are just around the corner and suddenly the talk of boom times seems a little premature.

So what can you do to survive more of the same in the new year? Well that entirely depends on where you are in your online marketing career right now.

Survival for newbies
If you're an absolute newbie then you just have to stick at it and work hard to learn your craft. There are no shortcuts for you and no easy way to make all that money that you've dreamed of. You just have to look forward to plenty of hard work for not much in the way of returns until you understand the basics of selling adult products online.

Survival if you have some experience
If you've been around a while then you've probably learned quite a bit about selling adult products but things aren't going to get easier for you. There will still be plenty of hard work ahead of you but it should be a different kind of work. Instead of learning the basics you will need to be looking at honing your marketing focus and knowing where to commit your energies.

Back in the good times you could simply go on throwing up galleries and fee sites and the money would roll in but when times get tough that almost scatter-gun approach to making money stops working.

In times like what we're facing now you need to know more about the people who are visiting your sites and you not only need to know what's working and what's not but you also need to understand why it's working or not working.

That means that you're going to need to start looking at statistics and that means that you're going to have to be careful not to waste time. Wasting time is something that is so easy to do when you dive into web stats but you don't have time to waste.

Instead you need to be able to pick out the important information from your server stats ... any analytics programs you might be running ... and your sponsor's stats as well ... and then apply that information to what you're doing.

When you do that you'll find that your marketing message begins to reach the right people. You'll begin to understand what they're looking for and be able to make your marketing message more relevant to what they're looking for.

At the same you'll still need to keep a watch for new niches and even performers who are becoming well known. If you can spot a new niche as soon as it's promoted by a sponsor you stand a very good chance of making some serious money before the niche becomes overwhelmed with content from other affiliate marketers.

Survival for old hands
And if you've been in this industry for a long time don't be afraid to branch out into other areas. There are still plenty of opportunities waiting for you over in mainstream ... and not all of them involve affiliate marketing.

Look around with your eyes wide open and you're sure to see some great opportunities to make some serious money. You could easily find an area to exploit where people will come to you to buy advertising spots at rates that will make more money that any free site or gallery.

Don't be afraid of evolving either. Sometimes that evolution can take time and at other times it can be quite quick ... you just have to be prepared to grab your chances when they arise.

So, while the year ahead may not look wonderful there's still plenty of opportunity if only you're flexible enough to improvise, adapt and overcome.