[Christian] Affiliate Niche Research

Affiliate Programs, Keyword Lists, and Niche Research for Christianity

Spirituality for the Christian believer and their unique relationship with God, brings about a deep passion. Although I’m not a Christian or religious in any way, I do recognize that this is definitely a group of people you can reach out to and connect with online. And not unlike any other group of passionate people, they are willing to spend money on things they are about. There are many businesses that have made a very lucrative existence from the passions of others. Does Hallmark ring a bell?

There are many angles you can take regarding the Christian niche, but the overlying principle is about helping others to a better lifestyle full of love, friendship, and providing for those in need. It is a niche that has so many opportunities for both wealth and better living. Another basic principle of business is that you need to help people in some way to create a truly successful business. Again, this fits the bill!

You do not need to be a Christian to benefit from this niche, but if you are you have the advantage of first hand knowledge and experience. If you like to help people with information and products that inspire and create, then this is the niche for you.

Though interests are down in the graph above, they are starting to steady. And although it’s never pleasant to enter a business where you see a downtrend, as one of the world major belief systems, Christianity will be around for many years to come. Actually, you might be surprised to know that an interest in Jesus is rising!

This could be due to the fact that people have an interest in the principles, morals, and story behind the belief system, but do not want to be associated with some of the fundamentalists you hear about in the news.

You can see in the next chart that Christianity is on the rise in the more impoverished areas of the world.

This is showing us that in areas of hard times, the hearts of people are seeking the comfort religion provides. Needs create opportunities to earn money.  Personally, I would focus on US and other markets that tend to have more money to spend, but it’s completely possible to make money from a website with traffic, that does not even sell products. Display ads like Google Adsense pay per click, meaning you get paid whether a person buys something or not.

How To Make Money In The “Christian” Niche

Do not think that you will be limited in your scope for things to promote in this niche. It encompasses a wide variety of products and services that are in high demand by many people from various religions and demographics the world over.

You could divide this broader topic into many different sub niches. As always, I try to think about who I am talking to in order to define my target audience. Here are some potential ways to narrow your audience.

• Learning about Christianity for beginners
• Christian Media (Video Games, Movies, Apps)
• Spiritual Home Decorations
• Christian Teen Life
• Modern Christian Music (Country, Rock Bands, Concerts)
• Personal Gifts for Christian Holidays
• Christian Apparel & Jewelry
• Christian Family Activities
• Christian Dating Services (This is a BIG one)

Christianity can be applied to many things there are many interpretations of it. If you are passionate about reaching out and helping others to better their lives financially, spiritually, physically or personally, then you already  have an audience of eager listeners!

Take any product, give it a wholesome, traditional family spin, and suddenly you have a new target audience. T-shirts, books, toys, movies, games, and transportation. Yup, there are even Christian motorcycle groups! Even tech items like iPhone cases and iPad covers can be associated with Christianity. Who remembers the WWJD bracelets from the late 90’s/early 2000’s. Those things weren’t free ya know, so someone was making money off of it.

Quick Thought: Should You Feel Guilty About Making Money?

One thing I had considered before writing this is whether or not someone would have issues making money from their religion. Is it wrong?

In my opinion, not at all! As long as you provide honest advice, and write things you believe to be true, then you are totally fine. You are providing a legitimate service, and there’s nothing wrong with getting paid to do it. How many Christian mothers and fathers want to know if their kids should be using Instagram? A LOT. How many teens are typing questions into Google like, “Is doing X with my girlfriend against my religion?”

These are real questions people are asking, and YOU can provide them with the answers they need! You can also check out my post about getting paid to write about Christian topics for more information about making money online talking about something you love.

Christian Affiliate Programs

My Thoughts

In doing my research into this niche I came across some really interesting and cool niche products. It’s not all Bibles, posters and candles as one might think. My advice to you when doing your research in this niche, would be that you approach it as if you were researching a demographic kind of niche.

When looking for affiliate programs, the best way is to go up on Google and type in, “Christian + Affiliate Programs” and then click search. Being that Christianity can be applied to many different things, you will receive a lot of results. Alternatively, you can put your own spin on things and find products you think fit within your interpretation of this religion.

For example, a website targeted at Christian teen film makers could advertise some video editing software. Although this isn’t specifically a type of software marketed to any one religion, this product would still fit well in your website. However, just to make this post more specific, I’ve chosen some affiliate programs specifically related to Christianity.

Update 2019:

Originally, I had a big writeup of three great Christian affiliate programs, but they’ve since (all three of them) canceled their affiliate programs, or closed down their website. Please check out these below, plus I have a new page with some alternative Christianity-themed affiliate programs worth checking out.

Christian Book

• christianbook.com/affiliate-program
• 5% to 8%
• Bibles, Gifts, Home Decor, Music, DVDs, Books, Church Items, Sunday School, Home School

Day Spring

• affiliates.dayspring.com/program-details
• 13% to 16%
• Greeting Cards, Gifts, Home Decor, Jewelry

Christian Café

• shareasale.com/shareasale.cfm-cc-affiliate-program
• 40%
• This is a premiere online dating service for single Christians

Christian Gear

• christiangear.com/afprog.html
• 10% to 14%
• Gifts (Baptism, Christening, First Communion, Confirmation, Christian Wedding), Merchandise, Apparel)

Life Posters

• lifeposters.org/christian-affiliate-marketing
• 20%
• All kinds of posters for every member of the family

Guiding Light Video

• guidinglightvideo.com/associate.html
• 9%
• DVDs, Software, Games, Audio, Videos

Bible Verse Gifts

• bibleverse.org/affiliatepro/affiliate/join
• 15% and 5% on referrals
• Custom Printed Bible Verse Certificates

PureFlix

• pureflix.com/ (Signup at Commission Junction)
• mix of family-friendly and wholesome entertainment
• $5 on first monthly bill or $15 on yearly billing
• *Note: They are very new, and clearly copying Netflix so I wouldn’t put all my eggs in this basket

Christian Keywords Breakdown

Top 10 Low Competition Keywords (Searches/QSR)

• what to visit in the holy land – 144/3
• was jesus born in september – 152/14
• top 10 best christian songs – 152/15
• what is the christian calendar – 821/17
• interracial christian dating site – 128/19
• do christians celebrate halloween – 128/22
• what does the bible say about homosexuals – 321/23
• are baptists christians – 144/29
• famous christian celebrities – 112/33
• christian movies on dvd – 382/37

What’s QSR

Top 10 High Traffic Keywords (Searches/QSR)

FYI – these are HUGE search numbers compared to some other niches I’ve researched!

• what is christianity – 55406/289
• family christian book store – 38855/177
• christian t shirts – 10089/202
• online dating for christian – 9724/144
• christian rock bands – 8100/222
• bible verses for love – 6111/43
• free christian books – 4629/187
• what is christian fellowship – 4079/66
• free online bible study – 3746/252
• christian home décor – 857/157

Why Is This Different From Google’s Number?

Though Google’s Keyword Tool has improved in recent years, it still gives inflated (inaccurate) traffic numbers. The keyword tool I use takes data from a variety of search engines, not just Google. Remember that Bing + Yahoo own 30% of the search market.

Other Great Keywords (high traffic, low competition)

• christian video game reviews
• best christian movies
• bible study guides
• difference between christian and catholic
• christian marriage counseling
• born again christian beliefs
• famous christian quotes
• christian vacation resorts
• christian wedding ceremony script
• famous christian scientists
• top 10 christian rock bands
• christian affiliate programs
• who were the first christians
• heavy metal christian bands
• christian concert tickets

Affiliate Marketing Action Plan For Christian

The Christian niche is highly profitable and what makes it so is that everyone’s relationship with God is different. Because everyone will express that relationship differently, it opens up a wide variety of target niche markets in which you can make a full-time income while helping others.

I am not sure how you will approach the creation of your Christian niche website but I know how I would do it. My advice would be to try and follow my lead, but with your own characteristics of course, and select a type of Christian you wish to target with your website or perhaps the type of Christian you can relate to.

So what would I do? I would first look at some of the things I enjoy doing and make a list. Here are three of them.

• Playing Video Games
• Listening to Music
• Traveling

In regards to the first two, any video game that does not glorify violence in any way could be considered a Christian video game, and the same goes for music. But even with those kind of niches, I would dig down more to make them more specific.

In regards to video games I would choose to do Christian video game reviews of action & adventure games. I would describe which games do not have any kind of demonic undertones or gratuitous violence. This could also go into which ones are OK for young kids to play, versus which ones are better for teens.

For music I would focus on the less traditional forms of music like gospel, and target the rock and heavy metal-style bands that are very popular with young Christians. I would also narrow it down further to either rock or heavy metal, or country since those seem to be the most popular. From the following video you probably can’t tell what they’re saying, but if you read the lyrics it makes more sense.

As for travel many of the places mentioned in the Bible are favorite destinations for Christians. Places like Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, Jordan, and the Pyramids of Giza to name a few. I would offer discount travel packages that are available and even Christian church cruises than many church groups offer.

There are just so many possibilities I could focus on for a Christian niche website and I didn’t even touch any of the religious or spiritual aspects of the niche. That is one of the many great features of this niche, it doesn’t have to be religious.

KEYWORD RESEARCH: This is going to be crucial because you will need to determine what people will be typing into the search engines to find answers to their queries. Remember that your keywords should be targeted to a specific segment of Christianity, not as a whole.

I have seen some websites on this topic, and they all make the same mistake. They talk on and on about how they love God and Jesus, and other things related to worship. That’s all find and dandy if they want to write that, but it’s not going to bring visitors to the website.

You can also write about that stuff, but you need to spend time focusing on what’s going to bring visitors to your site so you can make money. After all, we are starting a business, not an online diary!

Need Extra Help?

I am very confident that the Christian niche will be a very profitable one. If you’ve decided to enter into this niche, but need some help figuring out which direction to take your business, or even just how to build your first website, I can help!