Start
Well, I am assuming you are here because you have decided you want to start your own business online. There are a few different ways you can go about starting your internet business. So this page will serve as a resource to you with the steps you need to take in order to be successful. I recommend you bookmark this page in a place you can easily come back to it regularly, it can serve as a useful tool for the coming months.
Most of the steps you will follow here are adapted from the book 101 Pages to WordPress Affiliate Marketing Success. Please remember that starting your own business is not an overnight creation. All the get rich quick schemes out there may have led you to believe that. this is going to take some work. But if you put the work in, it will pay off beautifully.
So Enjoy!
Step One
You need a Niche. Find a topic or a product of interest to you. You will want to have some knowledge about that topic and an ability to discuss it on some level of intelligence.
Here are some things to read that will help you think through that:
Creating a successful Affiliate Site
A Fun and Easy way to Earn Money Online From Home
Step Two
You need a website. I usually recommend you get a hosted WordPress Blog. If you want me to set up a free Wordpress Hosted blog for you, this document will explain how to make that happen.
If you want to learn how to do it yourself, which I think would be a valuable thing in the future, I recommend that you download the handbook called Installing Free Website Builders Online. In that document you will get advice on hosting providers and a step by step manual that will help you to install wordpress in three easy steps.
Step Three
You need an affiliate account. I like to suggest that you start with Amazon and Clickbank. These are two of the easiest to join and they can get you started with products to promote quite literally in a few minutes.
At first glance this whole concept can be a bit daunting. That’s the reason I wrote the book on using affiliate marketing with WordPress. Because getting started can be a bit challenging, I wrote the handbook on Amazon Associates and the Handbook on using clickbank together with wordpress. These are both free. So take them, and I hope they help.
I do recommend that you follow along step by step with them as you actually perform each step. I also recommend that you try clickbank first. Clickbank is a little bit simpler to use than Amazon Associates and so you will be progressing from easy to more difficult.
Clickbank and Wordpress Help – pdf Document
Amazon Associates Help – pdf Document
Step Four
You are going to need some content. There are several rules you need to take into account when it comes to content creation.
You need to think about Search Engine Optimization. Here are some resources to read when you are exploring better ways of getting search traffic to your site.
Search Engine Optimization: Keyword Research
Search Engine Optimization: Deeplinking
Search Engine Optimization: Metatags
Search Engine Essentials for Every Website
You also Want to consider the way you write your posts, the way they are both written and laid out. This is a concept we refer to as “post design.“ These articles may help you think about the kinds of things you need to consider:
Overcoming Obstacles when Starting a Blog
Step Five
You need Marketing. There are a ton of ways you can begin to market your site. My personal favorite is to begin with some Social network marketing. There are sites like facebook and twitter plus fifty-twelve thousand others like them that can get your name and link in front of potentially millions of interested internet users.
I would highly recommend you read the following articles which will give you and introduction to Social Network Marketing.
One reason We elected President Obama instead of McCain
Of all these, twitter is by far the most popular and has the most growth potential. The Twitter Handbook is absolutely a helpful tool that will show you four different ways that Twitter can help build your business.
Other Things
There are other things you need to consider. But this is a short list of the most essential elements found in 101 Pages to Affiliate marketing Success. Which contains an eight week indepth course on these topics. I hope you find the above information helpful and that it meets your needs, but if you need more help, take a look at that tool.
Also keep in mind that these steps deal very specifically with affiliate marketing as it relates to blogging. There are lots of other ways you can earn money online. This is only one. In the future we will explore autoresponders, and social media as ways of promoting affiliate links. Then you could create your own products to sell, there is ebay and dropshipping, and there are even people making money on second life!
I believe affiliate marketing is one of the most accessible methods of generating some income, but I can easily support other business models. The trick is to find out what works best for you and then work hard at it.
I hope you find these resources helpful in your pursuit of a legitimate online career.
And please, if I can help you feel free to contact me:
@jaredmlee on twitter
