- Step 1: Create a website.
- Step 2: Register with an affiliate program.
- Step 3: Drive traffic to your website.
Step 1: Create a Website
You can always create a website from free blogging platforms such as Blogger and Weebly. But it's advisable to invest in a good domain name and web hosting.
Compare the following names:
- headbandreviews.blogspot.com
- headbandreviews.com
A blogspot or weebly extension name not only looks un-pretty, but the risk of your site taken down after a change in the site's TOS is high. If you want total control of your content, create a self-hosted website. That is, register a domain name and purchase web hosting services.
The disadvantage of creating a self-hosted website is that for beginners, the process may be too much to take. You can be overwhelmed with Wordpress alone.
Once you've set up your website, work on creating quality content. Think about your readers. What type of information do they need to read? Do not copy, and only publish unique and useful content.
As you go along, you'll eventually learn the value of keyword research and the use of LSI keywords. Right now, worry about creating quality content.
Don't know how to write? You can always hire a writer. For cheap services, try Fiverr or oDesk. You'll need to register with these sites to get started.
Step 2: Register with an Affiliate Program
Once you have a fully functioning website, you can now sign up for an affiliate program. I strongly suggest that you register with the Amazon Associates Program. Although Clickbank's commissions are way bigger than Amazon's, it can be difficult to get someone to buy from the site.
Step 3: Drive Traffic to Your Website
This is one of the most challenging tasks of affiliate marketers. You will always ask, "How can I drive traffic to my site?" and while many tips have been written to answer this question, you'll soon find out that it's not as easy as it sounds.
Here are some of the basic strategies to attract visitors.
- Optimize your website to rank high on Google.
Whether we like it or not, we have to use Google. For one, this is the most popular search engine in the world, so it's frequented by millions of people. Second, users go to Google for information. If they need to buy something online, they go to Google to read more about the product they're interested in.
That said, you need to learn SEO or search engine optimization. There are countless how-to's on this subject, but if you want to learn SEO properly, register with this membership site.
- Create Youtube videos.
Video marketing is the next big thing, especially since Youtube has been proclaimed as the second most popular search engine in the world, next to Google. Plus, the chances of your video appearing on the first page of Google's search results are high.
- Capitalize on the power of images and use Pinterest.
Pinterest has grown tremendously over the past few years. According to an article I read, people who pin or put an image into their favorite board is most likely to buy that product. The better quality the image has, the better its chances of getting pinned (or re-pinned).
Continue reading...
- What is Affiliate Marketing?
- How to Earn from Affiliate Marketing
- How to Become an Affiliate