Another newbie

[evanzo]

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Yes, it's another newbie. I have been reading through the forum archive and was heartened to see other people who have been in a situation similar to my own. 6 months unemployed claiming JSA and a job market flatter than a witches tit, leave me feeling like I am on the scrapheap at the tender age of 25. It was quite inspiring to read some of the stories from people here who have managed to make a huge success of this enterprise, having themselves hit rock bottom(not to get carried away but it shows the possibilities)

I am totally new to this affiliate business, but have spent the last few days reading everything I can and digging through the forums. I think this is something I have a reasonable chance at making a go of, at the very least I will give it my best shot. I would like to know a few things

Where can I find reliable info on SEO-I want to understand this from the ground up(or as far as possible)

I am very competent computer user, I know the ins and outs of a lot of things, but i have never bothered to learn HTML or any of the other related technologies. I know dreamweaver does a lot of the work, but what scripting language am I best advised to invest time in learning?

Are any of the various Ebooks on the subject of affiliate marketing worth buying? Is there a diamond in the rough?

[Zanox]

The best real advice for affiliate marketing for a new person is to look at what other people are doing, to begin with making a website in html using dreamweaver is a perfect start. You dont need to understand the language to begin with. More importantly you need to learn how to make money with affiliate marketing. This on its own is an art form. The technical knowledge really is secondary (no point having a pretty website if it isnt making money).

Also given the fact that websites take time to promote, get ranked etc you will find that most people dont last long enough to make a living.

I appreciate its a cost, especially if you have been off work for so long but a lot of new affiliates have found all the tools and tricks of the trade that they need by visiting us here in berlin to spend a day or two on an affiliate workshop. At these we will teach you everything you need to know and you can be making money the very next day.

Otherwise if this is too much you really need to ask what techniques people use to make money at affiliate marketing not just how to make a website.

Regards

[Keith]

You have come to the right place to learn about affiliate marketing and started the right way by working through old posts.

For all things SEO its worth having a look round this forum http://www.webworkshop.net/seoforum/

[EyeOfTheTiger]

Hi,

Firstly like you said get a copy of dreamweaver (i use it). Its very easy, and is a wysiwyg editor (what you see is what you get). If you are ok with computers then you'll be ok with dreamweaver, it will be about £200 ish i think for a copy although to be honest I still haven't got around to buying a "registered" copy

Keep receipts for everything that you do and buy, computer printer paper, domain names, servers and other stuff besides. Remember you will now be self-employed so best try to cliam back as much as you can, especially as you won't be earning much for the first three months.

As an example I only use dreamweaver, and I'm not technical. I have 44 domains, about £4 each for 2 years all along the same theme, I specialise in a particular industry which i have a knowledge and interest in (this will help maintain your motivation in the first instance by choosing something you don't mind looking at and working with each day).

Use the overture search term tool to search for keywords and build up a database of words to pump into your dreamweaver files.

Get into the mind of the searcher! Use common consumer words, what where why who when etc but the best are FREE, cheap, cheapest, discount, discounted, sample, coupon, voucher, buy, uk online, on line etc. Spend a good couple of days just using the overture search tool to get an idea of what people are looking for.
http://inventory.uk.overture.com/d/s...ry/suggestion/

Never rely on free search traffic to generate income, you have to either be an expert at seo or foolish as a google update could wipe you out completely and thus your income. You may well have to invest in PPC (pay per click marketing on google, overture, espotting etc to boost your traffic although you will need to convert this traffic into sales if you are to survive. As most PPC campaings have a minimum cost of 10p 11.75p if you include Vat then you'll need a return of over and above this to make a profit so you'll maybe ned to take into account the types of goods you want to promote, prjected conversion rates and commissions from these in making your decisions. IT is and will forever be a rollercoaster ride that will test your nerves to the limit. DO you want it or do you want a job. Personally I'm going travelling with my laptop in a few months, and will be earning money while I go, now i wouldn't be able to do that in an office job working for someone else.

It is a long and winding road but here's a few tips to keep you in the right direction.

1. Use this forum lots. Ask questions, stay curteous, remain polite.
2. Don't buy any ebooks - there's nothing in them you won't learn in here, and in here it's all free.
3. Get to learn dreamweaver, it will be your best friend for a while.
4. If you have a girlfriend at the moment, apologise in advance for your obsession and hobby you are about to get lost into
5. Exercise. Sitting in front of a computer all day everyday never did anyone any good so my Psychiatrist says
6. Just because you have earnt commission and it shows in your account, do not spend it until you receive it in your bank account, merhcants, agencies etc have known to go under before taking affiliates commission with them so remain "prudent" - You'll see that term in accounts books.
7. Stay lucky and may the force of the jedi be with you.

Tiger

[tux750]

I disagree about never buying an ebook.
As some-one who has just started out in Affiliate marketing it was very important for me to stay focused and get a site up and running. After all it is very easy to just keep reading and reading untill you are very confused and overloaded.

The earliest days are by far the hardest and I am sure that many quite before realising how effective this business is.

Questions such as:
Does this really work?

are commonplace.

My advice is check out the free affiliate masters course at sitesell.com

or james Martell's ebook (may appear pricey but v solid content)

I am not saying that these are the be all and end all but that they are great places to start.
They will keep you focused and ensure that you get that first site up and running with a reasonable chance of success, and a better understanding of how the affiliate process works.

Once you have got that one site up then you can continue to experiment and venture into the more complicated aspects of affiliate marketing often talked about on this forum.

Gaining that first affiliate pay check is a great feeling.
Stay focused and never stop adding content

[Brett]

Hi Evanzo,

This is the place to learn all of the stuff you'll need to make a go of affiliate marketing.

You're actually in a better position than a lot of us "Wanabee affiliates" believe it or not! - because you are unemployed you can dedicate time to the cause!

I'm no expert but I wouldn't worry too much about SEO - YET. Get yourself a site (or sites) designed and working then look at ways of tweaking it to improve SEO.

Links from other sites (especially one-way links) will help improve your sites position in most search engines. If you can get a your site included in DMOZ (www.dmoz.org) it will help as well but don't hold your breath!!!!

Brett Tabke runs a site called Webmaster World which has some really useful guides as well. I think it's ok for me to post the URL so here goes : http://www.webmasterworld.com

HTML is easy it's what you do with it that's tricky!

Good Luck and let us know how you get on.

Brett

[evanzo]

My plan is to see if I can find some part-time work to give me some funds to use to get this off the ground. I wish I had given this a try 6 months ago when I first went on the dole.


Anyway, I have a few domains, but the ones I am interesting in developing right now are

PricesCompared.co.uk

GamerTags.co.uk

The first if pretty self-explainatory, the second I want to develop as an Xbox2 focused online gaming portal. Suggestions, advice and lessons learned from bitter experience welcome.

[Aquanuke]

This is one of the few (if only) biz you can run without spending a penny. Forget splashing out on things like DW, stick with notepad or something a little more fancy like textpad (also free).

There really is no need to spend anything.. except for hosting which your only talking a few pounds per month to start with.

Learn HTML and a server side lang. like php or asp. If you have a reasonable grasp of HTML then that will only help if you do feel the need to use somthing like DW later on.

Only other things you need to buy are coffee, chocolates and smokes.. then your all set for a night of web site making.

[evanzo]

Originally posted by Aquanuke
This is one of the few (if only) biz you can run without spending a penny. Forget splashing out on things like DW, stick with notepad or something a little more fancy like textpad (also free).

There really is no need to spend anything.. except for hosting which your only talking a few pounds per month to start with.

Learn HTML and a server side lang. like php or asp. If you have a reasonable grasp of HTML then that will only help if you do feel the need to use somthing like DW later on.

Only other things you need to buy are coffee, chocolates and smokes.. then your all set for a night of web site making.

Well i have dreamweaver now, when I start making scratch I'll pay macromedia for it. I know most of the basic HTML tags but hand coding would drive me crazy, I like the WYSIWYG approach.

Are there any good guides for using datafeeds from merchants and integrating them into a site?

[smn2]

Hi,

I think everyone's offering great advice above, even if some
of it conflicts. People tend to say what worked for them,
even though they may have quite different skills to you.

So in that vein, I found reading an ebook useful, as it
collected a lot of what you can find on this forum and
just made it more digestible (for me), as well as debunking
some stuff that just doesn't work.

It all depends on how you learn best, evanzo, as well as
what type of attitude you have. You seem determined,
which is definitely what's required.

As for basic website promotion advice, I have a website
that kinda covers this - it's called HowIPromoteMyWebsite.com
Let me know if you think it's at all helpful.

Steve

[Frostie]

Just as a side not, if you are starting out then I would recommend starting with a site that is of a topic you are already interested in. Just from developing this, you will pick up some new interests, and more possibilities for future website themes.

As for 25 on the scrapheap - yeah happened to me at 25 too - kinda scary at the time, cos you only imagine people in their 40's get made redundant and struggle to find a job, even if you are qualified up to the hilt, with more experience that Tony Blair!

Also, some people here ask 'Which Network Should I Join' - personally the answer has to be EVERYONE. They all offer different merchants, different rates etc etc. But seriously any questions SHOUT OUT here cos everyone will help - unless you ask for a copy of all my code

Good look.

[WillD]

cos you only imagine people in their 40's get made redundant

40's???? please can you change this to 70's or 80's for us oldies! lol

Seriously evanzo the TradeDoubler help centre is worth a read.

W

[JonnyQ888]

I'm new to this too. I was wondering if any of you more experienced individuals could impart some friendly advice? Things like the lessons you've learned along the way that aren't really mentioned in the forums.

[smn2]

Things like the lessons you've learned along the way that aren't really mentioned in the forums.

I thought everything was mentioned in here

Okay, things I've learnt are
- don't rely on one merchant
- don't rely on one website
- don't rely on one means of getting traffic (e.g. Google)

The thing is, even though there are people on here who've
been doing this for much longer than you, they're still
learning (some of) the same stuff you are learning.

Aff. marketing changes all the time. The attitude you need
to succeed remains the same, however.

So stop worrying about what you don't know (it might
be irrelevant), and concentrate on what you do know!

So, last tip,
- be original (if at all possible), spot a trend and go for it
(then in a few months time, some of these oldies might well
be asking you how you did it - really!)

Steve

[John Jupp]

cos you only imagine people in their 40's get made redundant

Hey I'm 41 on April 20th and I'm beginning to shudder at the thought!

I agree you should concentrate on something you are comfortable with. That's called niche marketing. By concentrating on say XBox or PS2 etc etc you could create a site with news of the latest games, comparisons, prices and of course a datafeed of products from one or more of the merchants. There are many sites like this so look how to make your site more attractive than the competition. You could eventually get into the "drop ship" side of things, buying direct from the suppliers and retailing through your site. No stock needed.

The important thing is to have faith. Making money in this business generally takes a long time if you are starting out without much capital. It's taken me two years so far with zero capital and yes I'm making money but not enough yet to pack in the day job. I run about 20 sites with another 27 in various stages of construction. I've got a limited company and a sole tradership and I'm always looking for that one elusive deal which will make me my millions. Maybe I've already found it but you must stay the course and remain positive. When I started it was about all I could do to cut and paste a banner. Now I can write complete sites. Still learning and probably will continue to learn until I pop my clogs but always remember; if it's not fun it's not worth it.