Americans will spend over $1,000 on summer items and travel.
This is an ideal time to ramp up affiliate marketing.
And
A bit of holiday marketing tactics.
You’ve got music festivals, BBQ’s, vacations, and more.
People are celebrating 4th of July and the Summer Solstice.
They’ll take any reason to get away from work and enjoy some time off.
This article goes into the summer niches.
It includes the summer items and products you’ll want to promote online this 2018.
It also explains how you could make money creating sites around these niches.
Special note: We made this guide for affiliates, but you could make money with drop shipping, online stores, and site sponsorship using these summer items, too.
Summer Items and Niche #1: Travel
We all want out and summer is the best time to do it.
At least where I’m from, it gets unbearably hot and the last thing I want to do is be stuck inside braving the heat for all those months.
Trips you promote can be short or wide.
You could recommend something that’s just down the state or something halfway across the World. Everyone has this feel for travel but not many are able to do so with their job.
But, considering many do have vacation time it’s in the summer months that you’ll get that opportunity make a few sales.
If I were to develop a travel site I would:
- Try to really niche it down versus the generic “10 places to see before you die” type content
- Be active in the travel community so you can share your experiences
- Make recommendations for places to see, foods to eat, cultural exchanges to try
- Talk about how to go about making time (and money) for travel
- Get others to contribute their travel experiences through content like video and interviews
- Work hard on conveying the emotional connection people have with travel
Look, there are hundreds of travel sites that do a great job.
Again it’s possible because so many people having traveling on their mind.
There’s always room for a niche site to make its way in there especially if you make it feel personal.
There are many great travel affiliate programs offering:
- Vacation packages
- Airfare
- Lodging
- Local events and activities
- Travel insurance
- Guides to the area
- Items worth packing
- Language learning
Remember that there are different types of travelers so that’s where the niche comes in.
Do you want to go for those that have the money and just want something all-inclusive (big up-front commission)?
Or
Something that likes to do solo/group travel and go off-the-grid?
Think: Which will likely buy the recommended products, guides, and ways to get better airfare and lodging?
The travel niche is probably the most enjoyable if you are actively part of traveling.
Document your journey – this way you’re having a blast while you’re roaming the Globe.
You’re able to create great content during your downtime that could continue to fuel your expenses for travel – it’s win/win.
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Who wouldn’t want to take a vacation (or even just a weekend trip to recharge those batteries)?
With so many events, sights, and experiences out there across the state, country, or even the World, you can bet people are willing to put down big money for great travel. Those higher investments will mean higher commissions so if you work it right then the travel niche may be right up your alley this summer.
Summer Items and Niche #2: BBQ’s
Nothing is more traditional than hosting (or attending) a BBQ even with friends, families, and sometimes out in public spaces.
There is a visceral feeling when they command the grilling station, cooking up great food, having a few brews, and taking in all the sights and sounds.
Here are ways to tap these best selling summer products:
- You could upload and share killer recipes you’ve developed or found around the Web
- You could do break-downs of the best seasonings, charcoal, gas, and all else that goes into grilling
- You could use it to host and promote local BBQ events
- You could create a series of content focusing on a major BBQ player in the area (like a food show)
- You could offer all kinds of suggestions for grilling items and those that complement the activity
Let’s say you’re well known around the neighborhood for your ribs.
On your site, you could make that a staple by sharing your secrets, having others take up grilling challenges and hold events for your community to come out and try the best.
What makes BBQing such a fun way to make affiliate commissions is that you will be talking about products and methods. This allows you to refer them back to your website all-the-while having great fun and having great food.
As far as the physical items go (if you wanted to use them in reviews or a shopping portal) – I’d say:
- Grills
- Charcoal
- Propane options
- Cleaning supplies
- Plating and food containers
- Recipe books and videos
- Fun items like radios, cooking attire, or proper hat for BBQing
Think about the last time you went to a big BBQ and you’ll immediately pick up on many items that go perfectly with this specific summer niche.
A major part of the tone and direction of the marketing you’ll put behind doing promotion with these items going to be very sensual in a way.
- Describe the taste they remember the last time they had a great BBQ
- Describe how fun it can be around friends, family, and neighbors
- Talk about the sounds and the sights (blasting the radio or watching the game)
The emotional part of the product is what’s going to help you sell them as an affiliate.
Retail affiliate programs are a great place to get started with selling these type of summer items. People are likely to browse and find other items to purchase (earning you additional commissions). Slap together a summer-time site dedicated to BBQing and you’ll be seeing those commissions come rolling in.
This will continue into the following years as the site matures. Or, if you’re willing to refresh content for the current year.
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Everyone loves a good BBQ.
There are so many items to promote and foods to recommend. You’ve got activities to do and days off for people to enjoy. The BBQ set of summer items are perfect for those that already love the activity – just port your love for it into a site to help others (and promote products).
Summer Items and Niche #3: Lawn Games
What goes along with any great outdoor event like watching the game, having a BBQ, throwing a pool party, and the like? Games!
It’s great and all to sit around, have food, and chat with friends, family, and neighbors.
Every once in a while you want to get competitive and have some extra fun and this is where lawn games come into play for this summer season.
Like before you would want to work on building a niche site around these items:
- You could have a shopping portal for each of the main games you like to cover
- You could review games and categorize them by skill and overall enjoyability
- You could record videos and show how the games are played
- You could create a community event for your neighborhood along with prizes for the winners
- You could tell the history of the games and show off big tournaments of past
The content is going to feed the product to the people.
If they’re reading about a fun game, get to see how it’s played, and there’s an emotional connection then you’re going in the right direction.
Now, lawn games are relatively inexpensive so the commissions aren’t too amazing.
Where you can really make that money is by trying to convince people to purchase multiple summer items so that they have a wide selection for their party.
Some of the games you may want to promote include:
- Darts
- Lawn bowling
- Cornhole
- Anything sports related
- Horseshoes
- Croquet
- Lawn Darts
- Ladder golf
Games are one of those no-brainer type purchases if you’re out in the backyard or going to the park, frequently, during the summer season. It gives people an extra option of fun so if you can convey that through your site then you’re bound to have people clicking through your affiliate link.
Focusing on this niche also opens a lot of opportunity for offline promotion.
If you were to have an event for your community you could point people to the website where they could buy through your affiliate links. Then you could also record videos, take photos and other media which can fill in content, provide testimonials and extra reviews, and really make the site seem like a happy place.
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There are dozens of great games to be played outdoors.
Lawn games, in particular, go well with family/friend events such as BBQ’s.
There is another neat element to promoting this niche and that’s through DIY. You could promote build-plans, materials, and workshops around the area which will really get them committed to the games. In all, it’s a fun niche to give a try that does have considerable commissions if you approach it at the right angle.
Summer Items and Niche #4: Beaches
For those that have access to the beach (I, for one, live in Florida so it’s just an hour’s drive) it becomes a regular activity during the summer.
For others further away it becomes a big event if they need to drive hours so they are also willing to invest in items for the beach.
If you were to create a niche site for your location you could do the following:
- Create guides on how to get to specific beaches
- Have maps for the best parking spaces
- Review local eateries & bars that are at the beach
- Suggest products to bring to the beach
- Include fun videos of your time at the beach (and allow others to share the same)
Let’s say, for example, you wanted to highlight the popular beaches like St. Pete and Clearwater.
The summer niche site could include all these content types along with a general theme to match the Florida lifestyle.
It could tap the excitement people experience at those beaches.
The money-making summer items would become:
- Sunblock
- Beach towels
- Umbrellas
- Coolers
- Radios
- Small BBQ units
- Beach games items
This gives you plenty of room to generate reviews for the top-selling summer products.
This also gives the visitor a look at complimentary products.
A post such as “The Essential Items You’ll Want when Visiting St. Pete Beach” would let you condense and share summer items (and reviews). This could score big commissions or sales if they decide to make a big trip out of it and purchase a majority of those items you recommend.
The other way you could generate income through this niche site is through Groupon and other deals websites for businesses within the beach area.
Finally, to earn extra coin outside of the affiliate-side of things, you could:
- Talk with local businesses
- Provide reviews and overviews
- Solicit advertising
How cool would it be promoting summer items and getting paid to go and review these beaches?
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Targeting beach-goers would be a fantastic way to boost earnings during the summer.
Specifically, those that have quick access to the beaches.
You also have the ability to combine travel, vacations, and beach-going which can generate bigger commissions. Sell them on the dream of relaxation, cold drinks, and good times with friends and family and you’ll certainly score in this summer niche.
Summer Items and Niche #5: Concerts and Events
Summertime is the best time for parties.
If you been to your fair share you can imagine the number of items (and services) you could promote.
When I say party I’m not just talking about BBQ’s either (as covered in a previous post).
No, no, what I’m talking about are the big events that bring people en masse like concerts, community events, and neighborhood meet-ups.
With the summer niche event site could you…
- Go to the event, record it, and upload it for the website and video streaming sites?
- Interview the event organizers and party-goer’s (and encourage them to tag themselves)
- Live tweet or blog the event for those that aren’t able to attend
- Sponsor some of the events to immediately get your name out there
- Affiliate with event websites which give commissions if they buy tickets through your link
When developing around this topic I would recommend making it more of an event hub rather than trying to push products or services (though you still can).
You could focus your site just for your area (a local’s guide to parties and events).
What’s great about keeping it local is that you are able to get in touch with the event organizers and really begin to network.
After all, they want as much publicity to the event as they can and this means they’re willing to help promote your work too.
Need a few examples of what parties/concerts could go down?
- Birthdays
- Community day (at subdivisions and apartment complexes)
- Concerts of all different genres
- Food truck meetups
- Business get-togethers
- Walks, runs, rides, and other charity events
An example I would throw at you would be to pick some kind of event related around a hobby.
In this example let’s say your area has a huge classic car community. There isn’t a great website hub for people to find information, schedule events, promote, and create discussions about their hobby. Keeping it local lets you build all that content around the people that are going to these events. The more they see your name around it the more they’ll come to your site.
When it comes to monetization you could always promote the summer items associated with the events.
- For birthdays you could have content that collects birthday ideas and products
- For business get-togethers, you could talk about services to help with presentations
- With charity events, you could promote entertaining offers helping to take in donations
The limits are endless.
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Who doesn’t like a good party?
Look around at the community boards, Facebook event pages, and dig through the online event/concert portals. See what neat events are going to happen in your area (or however you are targeting the audience). There will be plenty to choose from and plenty that will earn you some very decent earnings during the summer concert season.
Bonus Summer Items: 5 Quick-and-Easy Promotions
Can’t decide which summer niche to explore?
Want a few, generic summer items to promote on your site?
Consider…
1. Personal Cooling Devices (aka Personal AC)
Fans are fine for the heat but they mostly push around the hot air; these type of products generally use a damp sponge (or ice packs) and a fan to blow out colder air. The items are very portable, affordable, and make a lot of sense so promotion of them should be a breeze (pun intended)
Info:
- Price: $10 – $30
- Value: Portable, cooler air, sleek design
- Fits with: Sporting, camping, hiking, and more
2. Cooling Vests
Though they’re not the most fashionable they are quite an interesting product worth promoting. Cooling vests are exactly as they sound; either they are made to help your skin breath or they’ll use small ice packs to keep your core body cool.
- Price: $30 – $100+
- Value: Wearable, comfort, simple
- Fits with: Hot working environments, prolong outdoor times
3. Seat Covers
Nothing is worse than going out to your vehicle, opening the door to a plume of hot air, sitting down, and scorching your back. It doesn’t help that parking lots don’t have a lot of shaded areas so something like a seat cover would be great for promoting to those that are always on the go.
Info:
- Price: $20- $80
- Value: Comfort
- Fits with: Just about everything
4. Cooling Towels
You’ve probably seen these around your local pharmacy or big box retailer. These are little towels you soak in water and keep around specific spots on your body (usually head and neck) that will help to bring down your internal temperature to keep you cool. They’re a simple product so you shouldn’t have trouble conveying the concept to the audience.
Info:
- Price: $5- $20
- Value: Small, versatile, easy-to-use
- Fits with: Any outdoor activities & working in hot areas
5. Portable AC Units
The same concept of an AC unit that’s attached to your house but in a smaller form. Portable AC units are going to be quite the hit now that the prices are starting to come down. These items are for those that want to enjoy the backyard but not have to go back in after an hour because they’re drenched in sweat. The items may be harder to fit in most niches but because of their price they are the best earners if you’re able to make the sale.
- Price: $150 – $500+
- Value: Quality build, efficient, solid investment
- Fits with: Gardening, parties, smaller homes
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These are just a mere sample of what’s out there but there’s so much more.
With summer picking up you can be sure that people will begin searching for these type of items to beat the heat.
These could realistically fit with our other, big 5 summer niche ideas.
Hot Sales for a Hot Summer: Ready for Summer Marketing Season?
People are getting up and out of their places.
They’re spending big bucks on travel, summer items, and experiences.
I don’t see many affiliates going after the summer niche.
Nor do I see a lot of online businesses tapping into promotions outside of the usual July 4th run.
This is an awesome opportunity to make money.
See what you can make of it!
