The media is full of gloom and doom in the UK about the recession and, yes, things are serious for many people what with losing jobs and so on. But that old saying about 'an ill wind' is true.With my blogging I've had a pay rise and it's all down to currency rates.
I'm with several USA affiliate programs where I receive US dollar checks (cheques) and the UK pound (I'm in the UK) is considerably down on the USA dollar recently, and this has worked in my favour.
I banked some USA checks last week for $603.13. Now in December last year I was getting less than $2 for £1 so, on the amount I paid in, I would have ended up with less than £300 after charges.
This time, however, I received £385.10 which is about a 28% increase. And that's why I say I've had a pay rise - and a big percentage one at that.
So bloggers, if you are in the UK like I am, it's a good time to be promoting USA affiliate programs.
Don't let cashing USA checks put you off. I save them up until I have three or four and sometimes many more and pay them into my bank in one go. This way the bank charges work out less - well they do at my bank.
Most USA checks clearly state how long they are valid for - anywhere between 90 and 180 days. The only thing you have to watch out for is the difference between UK and USA dates.
In the UK we put the day first and then the month. In the USA they put the month first and then the day. In the UK 1/7/2009 means the first of July but in the USA it's the 7th of January.
Several payments from the USA I get paid direct into my bank (with Google AdSense for example) and others to my PayPal account. This makes things easier but unfortunately not all affiliate programs are willing to do this.
It's no good us moaning about the recession we have to try and do our best to overcome the problems. Get stuck into promoting those USA affiliate programs while the currency rates are advantageous (to us Brits).
Good luck,
Mike.
