I have a bunch of niche articles ready to go but have a dilemma

[Liam Hamer]

You might have seen me mention this a few times lately, but I'm going to build a site dedicated to a specific niche. I've been thoroughly researching this niche, writing articles and generally just doing lots of homework(SEO, monetizing etc) to make sure when I do launch this site it has a good chance of being successful. At the moment though, I don't really feel ready to launch it and I'm wondering if in the meantime I should just submit the articles I have written to various article directories with a link to the CB product I'm going to be promoting at the bottom. There are a couple of problems with this though, is it true you can't put CB affiliate links in articles? Also, by submitting these articles before I have launched the site, I'm losing out on some valuable backlinks. I'm even wondering if I'm just procrastinating with the site and I should just do whatever I can to get it up and running. I know this is the place for straight talking, so I'd really appreciate some advice

[Andy Crofford]

I recommend you do not submit the articles to article directories first. You want your site to have credit for the articles when it comes down to duplicate content. So I would launch the site with the articles on them then submit them to article directories.

[traceye]

You've already got the domain name right?

And you've got the articles. So go ahead and submit them.

Place a redirect on your domain name to the affiliate product. (Ezinearticles allows a top level redirect).

When you are ready to launch then you don't have to do a thing except remove the redirect and build your site because the articles will still be pointing to the same url.

[Antares14]

Originally Posted by Andy Crofford

I recommend you do not submit the articles to article directories first. You want your site to have credit for the articles when it comes down to duplicate content. So I would launch the site with the articles on them then submit them to article directories.

Just seconding this - the best place for your articles to be seen first is on your website. You can try rewriting them and submitting the lesser versions to directories if you really don't feel ready to go forward with the blog, but it sounds like you've done a lot of work... so keep the credit for yourself

It sounds like you're pretty prepared to launch with the work you've done, though. What exactly is bothering you about launching now?

[Liam Hamer]

Thanks for the responses, I really appreciate it

Originally Posted by traceye

You've already got the domain name right?

I've decided on a domain name and know it's available, but haven't actually purchased it yet.

Originally Posted by Antares14

It sounds like you're pretty prepared to launch with the work you've done, though. What exactly is bothering you about launching now?

To be completely honest, I think I'm making the number 1 mistake those that don't succeed make - I'm thinking too much and not taking action. This site is going to be built using Wordpress and I think I'm using my lack of confidence in how it will look(struggling to find a suitable theme and my knowledge of building sites is limited) as an excuse not to move forward. I want it to be a professional looking site, with quality content that will encourage people to buy the products offered on there. If I feel I'm not in a position to make that happen, I'm hesitant to move forward.

In terms of articles, my strategy would probably be to submit shorter versions of the content on the site, then vistors could click the link to the site, find out lots more and hopefully maybe buy the products. Right now I'm going to be promoting some CB products, but I'm also thinking of writing my own Ebook too.

[Andrew G Gowans]

Great advice so far.

It would be rude to say you are procrastinating but I do wonder what is holding you back.

If your research is complete and your articles are ready and you have a domain name targeted to your specific niche, why not consider setting up a simple Wordpress blog. Add three simple pages - about me, contact and privacy policy.

Post your SE optimized articles to your blog.

Just get going - the sooner the better

Tweak afterwards

Submit articles to the directories you prefer with the link to your blog but as Andy says, get the site up and running first - a must.

Andrew G.

[Liam Hamer]

Originally Posted by Andrew G Gowans

Great advice so far.

It would be rude to say you are procrastinating but I do wonder what is holding you back.

If your research is complete and your articles are ready and you have a domain name targeted to your specific niche, why not consider setting up a simple Wordpress blog. Add three simple pages - about me, contact and privacy policy.

Post your SE optimized articles to your blog.

Just get going - the sooner the better

Tweak afterwards

Submit articles to the directories you prefer with the link to your blog but as Andy says, get the site up and running first - a must.

Andrew G.

Thanks Andrew, I think I'll get it up and running today. There really is no reason not to, I guess I was looking for some reassurance I seriously wouldn't have minded if anyone said 'what the hell are you doing? You need to stop procrastinating and get to work on this yesterday!' Thanks again guys, I'll keep you informed about the site

[traceye]

what the hell are you doing? You need to stop procrastinating and get to work on this yesterday!'

[Andy Crofford]

Originally Posted by Crubalo

Thanks Andrew, I think I'll get it up and running today. There really is no reason not to, I guess I was looking for some reassurance I seriously wouldn't have minded if anyone said 'what the hell are you doing? You need to stop procrastinating and get to work on this yesterday!' Thanks again guys, I'll keep you informed about the site

I think you should get it up and running. I do the same thing you are sometimes. I want everything to be perfect and over think things. I am slowly but surely learning to get the site running and tweak as I go.

Andy

[FifthDimension5]

Good question, and helpful responses. Whether CB affiliate links are allowed as part of articles submitted to directories is something a prerogative of the article directory being submitted to.

[Dan Riffle]

As Michael Masterson is apt to say, "Ready, Fire, Aim!"

Get that bad boy rolling! You can always make adjustments later.

[Liam Hamer]

Originally Posted by traceye

what the hell are you doing? You need to stop procrastinating and get to work on this yesterday!'

I can't argue with that

[robinincarolina]

I too am planning on building a real website, but for now, I have a lot of articles out there and they direct to my blogs and squidoo and are bringing in money. So when I do get my site up, I can change my links in my squidoo lenses to direct to my site. I am new to this (6 months old) and I don't know if this is a good idea or not, but I have to have the money now, can't wait til I get past the learning curve of building a site.

[la dominatrix]

Put the articles on the site first especially if it is your name and then you can submit them to Ezine articles they have accepted and published articles from me that were first published on my named site.
La dominatrix

[Liam Hamer]

Another quick question, the domain I am going to purchase is a 3 word phrase, but in most cases people search for the first 2 words. For example:-

My site - www. dog training online.net
Most people search for 'dog training'

In terms of SEO, when creating backlinks should I use the entire phrase or just the 2 words that are usually searched for? Also, when people search 'dog training' would my site be less regarded because it has the word 'online' in it?

[Andy Crofford]

I would optimize for the keyword that gets the searches. So use the two word phrase as your anchor text.

[Liam Hamer]

Originally Posted by Andy Crofford

I would optimize for the keyword that gets the searches. So use the two word phrase as your anchor text.

Thanks Andy

[charlesburke]

Originally Posted by Crubalo

Thanks for the responses, I really appreciate it

I've decided on a domain name and know it's available, but haven't actually purchased it yet. To be completely honest, I think I'm making the number 1 mistake those that don't succeed make - I'm thinking too much and not taking action.

As a rule of thumb, if you wait till you feel completely ready, you're WAY overprepared. Most things in life don't require that much preparation.

Here's a suggestion, for what it's worth:

Force yourself to dive in and start when you're only about 2/3 ready. That way you'll know enough to get things rolling, but you haven't wasted a lot of time learning stuff you won't really need. As you move forward, you'll quickly identify the holes in your knowledge and can fill them in as you go,.

Waiting to start a project until you're "fully prepared" is like waiting to climb on a bicycle and ride it until it's already moving at full speed and headed in the right direction. If that's not the way you'd ride a bike, then why would you do anything else that way? Just climb on, shove off and correct course once you're in motion. This probably flies in the face of all the goal-setting and achievement advice you've ever read, but that's often the way the highest achievers go after their goals. Sometimes this style is called "ready, fire, aim."

For what it's worth.

Cheers from warm and smiling Thailand,
Charles