One of the biggest challenges of affiliate marketing is picking the right genre to promote.  A few years ago, the popular opinion was to promote anything in the areas of travel, online gambling, pharmaceutical, or finance.  And everyone did just that and flocked to these genres in multitudes. 

Unfortunately, these genres became oversaturated, and it became increasingly difficult to stay afloat against such immense competition.  Don't get me wrong; there are plenty of people still making considerable money in these fields.  But for most new affiliates, that's a tough nut to crack.

So the question on every affiliate's mind is; what fields can I promote now?  The answer is different for everyone.

Strategy #1 - Promote what you love.  If you work on something you love, it doesn't seem like work at all.  So chances are you will spend more time with this strategy than any other.  If you love welding, then you won't find it difficult to write articles about different welding tools and products, including affiliate recommendations of course!  You'll be more likely to visit welding forums with links to your website in your signature.  In short, you're more likely to promote and market an affiliate program if it's in a subject you are passionate about.

Strategy #2 - Think niche. You want to get in on the lucrative match making genre, but you know that's umber-competitive.  Break it down into a sub-genre.  Perhaps you could create an affiliate site all about matching up friends or activity partners.  You could even break it down further and create friends or activity partners site for moms, professionals, or for people of your specific ethnic, cultural, or religious background.  You have a much better chance to stand out when you cut out your own niche.

Strategy #3 - Think the future - now!  Peter Lynch is widely regarded as the best mutual fund manager of all time.  As manager of the Fidelity Magellan fund, it was Lynch's job to pick winning stocks.  The Magellan Fund rose to historic profit levels based on the strength of his winning stock selections.  And Lynch did this best by investing today in companies that would be hot as pancakes tomorrow.  What does this have to do with me you say?  Well you are an affiliate manager like Lynch was a fund manager.  Your job is to pick winning affiliate programs for your portfolio and you need to pick tomorrows winners now. 

Lynch picked tomorrow's winners by people watching.  His favorite technique was to go to the shopping mall with his wife and daughters, sit on a bench, and watch. Where were people hanging out? Which stores were packed? At the time he wrote the article, his wife and daughters could not get enough of Bath and Body Works.  He invested heavily in it and was in position to reap the profits when the company took off (Lynch had similar success with Wal-Mart and the Gap).  The point is to watch the genre you are targeting in action.  That means live and in person.

Strategy #4 - Search Affiliate Program Directories.  This strategy is as simple as it is obvious.  Visit an affiliate programs directory, like the ReveNow Affiliate Program Directory, and sign up for programs you are interested in.  If a particular program is in a field that strikes your fancy, then chances are you will be excited to promote it.

When you do find a strong affiliate program or genre, test it with an AdWords campaign or a test affiliate page.  If the results are favorable, then perhaps you can build out a dedicated website on the subject and set your affiliate revenue in motion!