Have you heard about affiliate marketing and wondering how to go about it? Most of us have online businesses, but maybe you don’t yet? No website. No products. Just a desire to make money online. If you’ve been searching for a way to start, you’ve probably come across this product called LeadSell. But what is LeadSell? With no online…
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Are you looking for a better way to create your thumbnail images for your YouTube campaigns? If you’ve been searching the internet, then you’ve probably come across this product. But what is the Thumbnail Blaster? Will it do everything it promises on the sales page, or is this just another lousy product? Or maybe even a scam? I’m glad…
So you want to start blogging, eh? Good for you. It's a wonderful hobby that can easily turn into a business earning you an extra income.
Did you know that some people are making a full-time income with their blog?
But maybe, for now, you're just wanting to share your hobby, or maybe help someone with your experience and expertise in something.
More...
No need to get anxious about being online... Just write what you know and share it!
Maybe you want to do it the way I did? I knew nothing about online marketing, but it's amazing what you can learn when you start doing it, LOL.
So where do you go? How much will it cost? Can I start for free?
And how the heck do I even start??
Let me help you start. I've been doing this for a few years now and loving it. And the income isn't bad either, lol!
I'm not what you'd call a "guru", but then again, I don't think anyone is. You can never "know everything" in an industry that is always changing. If you never kept learning and adapting, you'd fail miserably...
I'll show you the different ways you can start your blog, both free and at a cost. With reading the pros and cons of each, you can decide which route is best for you.
And if you'd like to read where I learned to succeed, please click here!
Contents
Have you heard the term "Mommy Blog"? It's been around forever and isn't necessarily run by moms anymore.
In fact, there are many daddy blogs, couple blogs, team blogs... You name it, it's out there. But the name "Mommy blog" just stuck, and that's what we tend to think of when we say "blogging".
Here's a blog I wrote on "What Is A Mommy Blog" if you'd like to take a peek!
Let's see if any of your reasons are listed here. These are some great reasons to start your own blog:
Did you notice that nowhere did I say you had to be an expert writer, or have any technical experience? That's because you don't...
Anyone, of any age, location and experience level can start a blog. All you need is an internet connection!
You don't need to be a seasoned writer. Blogs should be written in a conversational tone that your readers can relate to. You know, like you're talking to your best friend.
If you talked to your friends like a University Prof with words and phrases they didn't understand, would they stick around? Probably not. Or they'd tell yo0.88u to dumb it down, anyway... LOL
And that's exactly how you should be writing, by the way. At a grade 7-8 level!
As far as technical experience? If you're reading this post, you have enough experience. And that's because today's technology builds your website and do all the techy stuff for you.
Blogging is good for your career. A well-executed blog sets you apart as an expert in your field. ~ Penelope Trunk
You can get your blog up and running in 4 basic steps:
The last step is the easiest one because your hosting service will have a website builder for you. Remember... you don't need technical experience...
The first three steps will take some thinking on your part. But that doesn't hurt, right? Hopefully?
I'll go over these steps briefly, as I have other posts for you to read to get more detail, OK?
You will often hear people say "choose a passion". And that's because it'll help you stay interested in your blog for the long-haul. This will be the topic you'll be writing about. The last thing you want is to get bored and want to quit!
But it doesn't have to be a passion. It can be an interest you wish to learn more about. Or a hobby you want to share. Or maybe just build a community around family life or raising kids.
There are millions of people looking for advice in that arena! And that's what we call a niche.
If your goal is to monetize your blog down the road, then think about picking an evergreen topic. What I mean is one of those topics that are always talked about:
As long as there are people on earth, these niches will always be popular.
You can choose anything you wish, but you just have to make sure there's an audience for it. Your passion may be some funky craft you make with leftover popsicle sticks, but if no one else cares, no one will read your blog.
There are ways to determine if your niche has a big-enough audience to make your efforts worthwhile. I'd like you to read this post to give you more detail (and keep this post from being a mile long....haha).
You don't need to be an expert in your niche, just a few steps ahead of your audience!!
This is easy! What do you want to call your blog? What name do you want to represent you and your potential business?
Some people call it their own name, and others pick something cute and memorable. It really depends on what your niche is.
Whatever you choose, your blog name should be descriptive.
You want your readers to know what your blog is about by reading the name.
So if you're blogging about camp recipes, you probably shouldn't call your blog "texasorbust.com".
Spend some time surfing the net to see what others call similar niches. You can get loads of ideas like that.
Just remember a few important things, like:
And please, please, please check how it'll look when all put together.
Here are some epic fails with various company logos:
Well... at least a couple of them reconsidered, lol.
Here's a great post to help you with that... How To Find A Great Name.
When you find the perfect name, you'll want to find a domain name that's exact or at least close. A domain name is your blog's address on the net. It's how people find you!
Once you've chosen your hosting platform (next step), you'll be able to get your domain name there. All reputable hosting services have domain registries.
Ok, now we're getting somewhere...
Deciding if you want a free blogging platform or one with a small cost (self-hosted). Regardless of what you choose, a hosting platform is needed if you want your site online.
This service is where you "park" your website. It stores all your site files, which it delivers to the person who wants to read your blog.
Wait a minute? Website? I want a blog!
No worries, blogs are websites at their roots. Read "Is A Blog A Website?"
Think about it in this way...
If you owned a restaurant, you need a kitchen and a dining room, right?
Your kitchen is your blogging platform. It puts your words into a blog form. Your dining room is your hosting. It's what serves your blog to the public.
Kitchen + Dining Room = Blog
So now you have a choice between a free platform or self-hosted.
I know "free" always sounds better, but... I don't recommend it. Especially if you hope to make money one day.
Sorry, don't mean to disappoint you, but free blogging sites have a lot of limitations. They're fine if you simply want to share your views on a particular topic, but not recommended if you want to monetize your site one day.
Let's look at some simple blogging platforms for those of you who would like that route...
These are the original, truly blogging platforms. You log in and start writing and sharing. That's it!
This is one of the original blogging sites. The big difference with Tumblr is that you don't have your own website. Its sole purpose is to allow you to start writing and sharing.
So it's pretty easy to start. Just sign up and start blogging...
You have a choice of simple templates depending on what you want to share. I chose to write a quote, and this is what it looked like after posting.
As you can probably tell, this platform is much like social media sites.
They will let you put ads on your posts, use affiliate links, and connect to Google analytics. But other than that, it would be pretty difficult to truly run any kind of business.
To do any of that, you would click on your blog and do your editing there.
I had to laugh when they said you could change the theme of your website... What website??
All it does is change your header image and colours, and if you don't choose the basic "free" Tumblr theme, all others will cost you $49.
Technically, this platform is for personal use only!
You could use Tumblr as another site to post your links as you do on social media. But how much traction you'd get here, I don't know.
As Tumblr isn't truly a website, there's no option to move your blogs to another hosting site.
Blogger has been around for a very long time. It's great if you want a personal blog, but like any free host, not recommended for business.
To start, you need to create an account first. You're then required to choose your blog name, URL address (which will be at ".blogspot.com" if you wish to remain totally free), and choose one of the default themes.
You'll have a choice to buy your own domain name. I would recommend you do this now if you think you'll ever want to move your site to a self-hosted site.
If you decide to purchase your own domain name, please choose a ".com" ending.
The other options may sound great but may limit where you can move it to. All hosting services take a ".com".
Who knows, maybe your site will become really popular, and you'll want to make money from it.
If that's the case, a self-hosted platform is better and will give you the ability to build a successful business.
When I published my "pretend" post, I noticed they hadn't applied the template I had previously picked, but it was easy to choose again in the back office.
This is what my published blog looks like online...
There were even more template choices inside, and the set up with Blogger is easy.
Here is a link to help and support in your dashboard, for minor changes to your blog. There's only so much you can do with your free blog.
One nice thing about the dashboard is that it gives you stats about your pageviews for each post. You also have the ability to connect to Google Analytics and Adsense.
Soup - almost exactly mirrors Tumblr
Medium - popular platform that focuses on quality writing
Mastodon - somewhat like Twitter, you can follow, be followed, comment and repost
Posthaven - a more sophisticated alternative, but costs $5 per month with no free trial.
You never have to worry about the actual "building" of your website. Most hosting services have their own website builders on their platforms, that are free to use.
And a few of them will offer you a free service if you're looking for a more formal looking website.
Free hosting platforms are great for those who want to dip their toes in the blogging world.
Or maybe you're someone who has a passion for sharing your thoughts with the world and don't plan on monetizing it down the road.
These services have their own CMS (Content Management System). This is the software where you'll be writing, designing and publishing your blog posts...
They will give you many more options than Blogger type platforms but are a little more complicated to set up. And you will always be persuaded to sign up for a premium plan when you're working inside.
Let's look at one you've probably already heard about...
This platform is a free website builder. Everything can be managed from the front end with a drag and drop builder.
It's great for those who don't want to bother with any technical aspects, but it does come with its limitations (more on that further down).
It's easy to use. You start with creating your account, choose the type of blog you want (Business, retail, blog, etc.). It then asks you if you want their intuitive builder to make your website for you, or if you want to do it yourself with their editor.
I chose to let them do it, lol. Why not... Let's go for very easy...
It then asked me for a website type, (again?) and then various functions I could choose from.
Now you can add your logo and personal information. (I didn't do this...).
And you only have a choice of 6 themes. Well, sorta...
I then had a choice of three homepage designs...
...and voila! My website was built!. And as you can see, there's an editor if you want to change up the look, title, tag line, etc...
Before publishing your website, you can use a free wix.com domain, or purchase your own private domain. If you want your own domain, you have to sign up for one of their premium plans (monthly payment).
If you want to remain free, your URL will look like mine...
https://stoddartsuzanne.wixsite.com/website-1
Not great looking is it. And hard for people to remember. But those are your options if you want to remain completely free...
To write a post, you must go you your back office. The editor is very simple with a few options available:
When done, you can publish, and there you have it. My first sample post shows up just under my website header...
You're allowed to embed marketing and tracking codes, though they won't help you if you have any issues with 3rd party tools.
The biggest downfall, in my opinion, is that your site and all of its content is hosted exclusively on Wix's servers, and you cannot export your site elsewhere. They own your site!
Other alternatives to Wix would be:
Hostinger - With the highest reviews, this is a great almost-free choice. It will cost $0.80 per month!
InfinityFree - This is a newer, feature-rich service, but struggle with "downtime".
Sites.Google - A limited but reliable host. Oddly enough, they don't accept Adsense.
One thing you'll notice when you check them out is their beautiful websites, showing you all the lovely possibilities for your new website. I thoroughly enjoyed looking through many of these sites.
But what they don't tell you are all the limitations that come with your free blog.
You definitely get what you pay for, or don't pay for...lol.
Free domain names are actually sub-domains of the site. Just like for the Wix site above, your blog name is part of the hosting services domain.
For instance, your URL will look like: "YourBlogName.HostingServiceName.com" or "HostingServiceName.com/YourBlogName".
If you're only wanting a personal blog for sharing your thoughts with the world, then that's no big deal.
But... if you hope to have a profitable business someday, it doesn't look very professional.
If you want your visitors to take you seriously, your domain name needs to be short, memorable, and distinctly YOU.
Just like your sub-domain name, you don't own your website either. It's hosted on their web property, so they have complete control over it.
I came across some scary statements in the "terms of service" documents of various platforms. They say things like:
I find that very alarming. You need to do your research before signing up for a free hosting service.
If you bought your own domain name, you can take that with you, but nothing else...
Many of these free services use their own CMS (Content Management System), like Wix above. Because this software is created to work only on their servers, your website or any of its content, can't be moved.
I suppose if you eventually pay for a plan, so that you can have more flexibility with your site, you may be happy staying there.
But there's a good chance you'll find the limitations of such CMS systems frustrating, and your only choice is to start over elsewhere.
These platforms will usually limit the theme choices you have, as well as limited customization from your dashboard.
Because they're designed to be user-friendly, they offer a drag and drop editor with no option to add any additional coding.
So let's say you're happy with your blog for now. But then you start to see other blogs with great features that you'd like to copy. But you can't...
Many of these cool features require plugins or code, and your service won't allow that.
Let's face it... If you want something free, don't expect much more than the basic options. So as your blog starts to grow, you'll find yourself needing more of everything, with no choice but to buy a paid plan.
Somehow I can't see them offering a ton of support to a free member. Why would they?
Like any business, they're in it to make money, and if they're getting $0 from you, you won't be high on their priority list!
You will, though, be continually badgered to upgrade...
As you read with Wix, above, some free services may allow you to have placement ads, like Adsense, and be able to use affiliate links in your content.
But if you want to do more with your site's ability to earn money, you'll have to upgrade to a paid plan.
Offering services, or products, require different functions that simply won't come with a free plan.
The free features you get won't help you with your SEO. These are added features and plugins that can make a huge difference to your site.
Personally, I use an SEO plugin, to help me make sure everything is done properly for ranking purposes.
If you can't add anything like this, then you're relying on the service to include your needed "meta-data". I'd rather be in control of that myself...
Most of these free services will have their own company logo showing on your site. You'd have to pay for a higher plan to have that removed.
If your blog is just for fun, it won't matter, but again, if you want to run a business, it doesn't look professional. Your visitors will think you're too cheap to have your own website, so might no trust you. Just sayin'... People are funny!
Ok, I could come up with more for you, but I think you get what I mean, right?
Having something for free is a great feeling... at first. But the number of limitations will eventually get to you!
What if I told you that you can get a blog for free, but on a platform that offers the best industry standards for professional bloggers.
If you want totally free, you can use their sub-domain, but I would still recommend buying your own domain. It would cost you about $14 per year. That's it and you can take it with you if you leave.
This is the platform I started on, and I'm still there after all these years. Since 2011 to be exact.
The best reason to start here is more than just their free website and hosting. It's also the training, tools, and community.
If you're just starting out in the blogging world, do you know what to do? How to start? How to reach your audience? There's quite a lot to it, but it's not hard to learn if you have the proper training.
Sure, website builders do the technical work for you, but that's only the first part...
There is nothing available online like Wealthy Affiliate. Sure, there's training elsewhere, and good training too. But do those businesses offer you:
With your free membership, you can have 2 free websites. If you decide to join the membership, you can have up to 50 websites at no additional cost.
Only your domain names have a small yearly fee, which has cheaper renewal costs than anywhere else.
These are all the reasons I'm still there after all these years. My membership cost (which never goes up) is lower here than if I went elsewhere for all the tools and services I need. It only makes sense!!
I would love for you to check it out. You can start for free, with no commitment. No credit card needed!
If you click on the image below, you can read more about them. And when you join, I'll greet you on the inside and be your coach for as long as you need me.
I wish you much success with your blogging future. It's a great way to start earning an income online if that's what you desire.
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below and I'll get right back to you.
Your friend,
Suzanne
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We live in the wondrous age of the internet. Not only are there endless business opportunities, but learning opportunities as well. And there's a good reason why we need to learn and adapt with the times. Times are changing...fast!
More...
One of the biggest and fastest changes online is affiliate marketing. Statistics don't lie. In 2017, online sales in the United States alone amounted to over $409 billion dollars.
As more people have internet access around the globe, the rise in e-commerce is exploding. Businesses have taken notice. They are spending more of their advertising budgets on affiliate marketing to increase their sales.
They've discovered that paying someone a commission to promote and sell their merchandise, is the most expedient way to attract online sales.
For this reason alone, affiliate marketing has become a profitable, often very lucrative, business.
This is why so many people are starting online businesses. That's my reason, LOL. But to be successful, you need the proper education. This is why I'm sharing my 10 obvious reasons why you need free online marketing courses.
This is where I learned everything about affiliate marketing.
Contents
My 10 points are what I consider the basic elements of an online business. These are the areas you will need to understand, in order to build a successful business.
They all work hand in hand. You can't have one without the other. Well maybe not the 10th point, haha. If you'd rather pay for everything, that's up to you!
To be successful at affiliate marketing, you have to understand how the process works.
It all starts with you wanting to make money on the internet. And thankfully there are many ways to do this.
One of the easiest ways is by affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing is when you, as the affiliate, get paid a commission for sending a paying customer to a merchant.
This is done by promoting their product on your own website. For example, you may choose to promote exercise equipment. Your website is about weight loss and you recommend the best equipment to help people.
For a more detailed explanation, please read what is affiliate marketing.
A niche is the topic you choose to talk about. It's that group of people who are looking for information about that topic.
For example, let's use the fitness category. You are a fitness buff yourself and would like to help people get in shape.
But the term "fitness" is way too broad. People who are searching that term in Google are just starting to look into fitness.
In order to reach people who are ready to buy something, you need a much more specific category. Like BOWFLEX SELECT TECH 552 DUMBBELLS.
By the time a person is looking for something this specific, they are ready to buy!
Please read my post on the definition of niches.
A domain name is your address on the web and will represent your website and what it is about. You want something memorable and not too long.
And of course, you should have a few ideas in mind, in case your first choice isn't available.
Domain name prices can vary, but finding one for the average price of $14.95 per year is all you need.
Make sure it includes a privacy policy, SSL, and easy WordPress integration.
My post on domain names explains all these terms for you.
Your website is the foundation of your business. It's the "face" you show your viewers, so you want a good first impression.
If it's boring, or confusing, people will just move on. So you want to make sure it grabs their attention.
You also want them to easily navigate your website, with proper categories and menus.
Everything on your website should be about the niche you chose.
For example, you don't want a website about "gardening" to have articles on cryptocurrency or luggage. (Unless you have a very creative way of linking the two together.) And if you do, I want to read it...haha.
Learn all about categories & tags.
And for more information on websites, please click here.
A hosting service is where you "park" your website. This service sells or leases you space on their servers so that you can publish your website on the web.
Without this service, your website can't be seen....which defeats the purpose of making money online. Lol.
Your website is made up of files, which are stored on this server. When someone searches out your website or one of your articles, the server sends them the requested file.
To learn about different types of hosting services, please read my article.
Consider keywords to be the big, flashing, neon sign, attracting customers to your site.
Keywords are what your potential customer is typing in Google's search bar.
This is why it's so important to find the right keywords to use in your articles.
Once you know who your customers are, and what they're looking for, you'll have a good idea which keywords to use.
Your next step is finding the keywords with a decent amount of monthly searches, yet with very little competition.
In other words, you don't want to compete with a bunch of other websites using the same keywords. And to figure this out, you need to use a keyword research tool.
Easy eh? No, really, it is!!
Here's one of my articles on How to find Keywords.
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. This is the strategy you use when writing your articles to promote your product.
There are certain "rules" to follow which search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo like to see.
If you follow this strategy, you have a very good chance of ranking on the first page of the search results. We all aim for position #1.
This is also the best, FREE, method to drive traffic to your site...
Want to know more about SEO? Click here.
Your content is everything you contribute online. All the articles, posts, or blogs (which are basically all the same thing) you write to promote your product, is content.
And this content is published on your website.
WordPress, which is the most commonly used website platform, allows you to write and publish your articles directly on your website.
I highly recommend "WordPress, as it also allow you to upload optimized images and videos, properly structure your post for SEO.
Most importantly, it's easily exported from host to host.
Just like SEO, there are techniques to properly write your article to attract the attention you are looking for.
These techniques can make the difference between someone clicking on your article, or passing on to your competition.
To read about these techniques, please read about content creation.
Have you ever tried to learn something new, all by yourself? What if you don't understand something?
What if you have a question that needs an immediate answer before you can move on to the next step?
We all need help from time to time. And what better place to get help, than from a group of people all running their own online businesses.
A community of like-minded people. There's nothing quite like it.
The experienced, already successful people are willing to help the beginners. And the beginners are encouraged to ask anything. It feels like family!
If you want more information about a community, read here.
OK, this isn't necessary to build a successful business, but wouldn't it be nice!
It was important for me to check things out before spending even $1.
And that meant not having to submit my credit card information.
I've heard of too many programs that say you can cancel, but then it becomes a hassle if they still start to charge your credit card anyway. I didn't like taking that chance.
"Online learning is not the next big thing, it is the now big thing.” - Donna J. Abernathy
Can you imagine trying to learn all about affiliate marketing by hopping from site to site online? It would take you forever. I know, I've already done that. It's crazy!
Writing this article reminds me of how overwhelmed I was trying to figure it all out piece by piece. I wasted a couple of years doing just that!
When you summarize everything on one page, as I have above, it sounds confusing and downright daunting.
How could I possibly learn this and not fall on my face? It was a lot for someone with absolutely no experience.
And then I found a platform that had everything in one place. What a relief!
It's called Wealthy Affiliate
Here's a quick video showing you what you get with your free membership.
To my relief, they made learning fun. The training was interactive, step by step, and beginner-friendly.
My website was up and running while I learned, so you're able to "Earn While You Learn"!
If you click on the image below, you can read all about it. And when you join, I'll be there to greet you and coach you as long as you want me to. See you soon!
Why not start today? This could be a life-changing decision for you. You can earn additional income, and soon become financially free. Think of the freedom you could have!
I'll meet you on the inside and be there for you every step of the way. See you soon!
Your friend,
Suzanne
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