Questions but no answers so far...... affiliate marketing

[aamcle]

I'm getting interested in affiliate marketing and there are a couple of questions I've not found answers to so far:-

Is it best to do the niche research, pick a product then build a site specifically to market that product(s)?

Base it on a WP blog or a normal site?

To learn what should I be reading? Any good threads?

I bought "Affiliate Marketing on the Web by BC Brown" but it's just a snack not a meal.

Regards aamcle

[sellingmanagerebay]

I would agree about the ebooks. they will show you the same thing you would get here. And here it is all free. Just try and learn from your mistakes. If you have any questions, here is very good place to find answers.

[GarrieWilson]

Originally Posted by karabas

Unless I was dead sure that I can make money with specific product I wouldn't waste my time on creating a website specifically for one product. Create a website with useful info about some related topic. Then products can come and go but your website can be easily changed to accomodate for that.

I would suggest using WP as it will save you some time.

Don't waste your money on useless ebooks. The only people profiting from these are those who sell then to noobs. Read the forums and try-try-try. It's the only way to learn in this business.

If someone knows how to make money why would they bother teaching others and diminish their own returns?

Do NOT listen to this person. Virtually everything they said is wrong or close to wrong.

[ocmnet]

Originally Posted by GarrieWilson

Do NOT listen to this person. Virtually everything they said is wrong or close to wrong.

Since you took the time to respond, Garrie, would be nice if you offered some constructive advice along with the warning.

Nothing wrong with Wordpress from my perspective. Depending on what you are trying to accomplish, it can be a great time saver, especially if you are trying to build a niche blog and monetize it.

[entrepreneurjay]

I would research some niches and try to find one with low competition, with high search results. This may take some time but its well worth it. I would also pick a blog over a static website because they have a lot of advantages over static websites in my opinion.

And if your new I would recommend you Google bum marketing it will help you out a lot, some great information and its free! There are some good Free E-Books out there but I agree you can find a lot of valuable information right here in the Warriorforum. Knowledge is the key just keep educating yourself, good luck!

[HowWhoWhen]

Is it best to do the niche research, pick a product then build a site specifically to market that product(s)?

-If you want to go this route you may want to look at Google Sniper

Base it on a WP blog or a normal site?

-Wordpress for me. Makes life simpler.

To learn what should I be reading? Any good threads?

-You might want to get the War Room membership. Loads of info and totally worth it for me.

[hushy]

Personally I would find the thing that bests suit yourself. Be truthful with yourself in something you have alot of interest in. Something you may be an expert at or something you are truly good at.

Use this as your niche. Then do the research of the products that fit your niche. Use your personal skills that you have developed to promot the thing you are good at. Although it will help to find something in your niche that noone else has. I.E. Hockey as your niche. But then define it more into the padding of the goaltenders instead of all of hockey.

[RobertZuma]

Good advice from @hushy.

Sounds like you're on the right track, Aamcle. I would think of it more in terms of getting the attention of some eyeballs and then pitching products to them. I would start by creating a site about the same topic as products you want to promote. For example, if you want to promote dog collars as an affiliate, make a site about dogs, or even better, a sub-niche within dogs like "training Jack Russells". Get some good content on the site and then start collecting email addresses or getting followers on Twitter or FaceBook or whatever. Once you have their attention and trust, you can start pushing affiliate links their way.

Generally speaking it is better to create something that is ongoing, instead of approaching it from "get rich quick" with method X. Another upside to actually building a bit of a following on a certain niche is that you can leverage that following in the future in the forms of selling (flipping) the website or doing a Joint Venture (JV) with someone else who is also working in your niche.

As for Wordpress, WP is awesome, but really only if you are doing a blog. WP is great because it does half the SEO work for you. If you want me to go over why WP is great this way hit me up on Twitter or PM me.

If you do not want to do a blog, Joomla seems to be a good way to go for a more conventional website builder.

Best of luck!

[RobertZuma]

Originally Posted by GarrieWilson

Do NOT listen to this person. Virtually everything they said is wrong or close to wrong.

Um, actually I agree with @karabas more than I disagree with him.

[GarrieWilson]

Originally Posted by ocmnet

Since you took the time to respond, Garrie, would be nice if you offered some constructive advice along with the warning.

Nothing wrong with Wordpress from my perspective. Depending on what you are trying to accomplish, it can be a great time saver, especially if you are trying to build a niche blog and monetize it.

Notice I said virtually BUT using wordpress means:

1. Gotta worry about updating it
2. Get's spammed even when off

For one page sites, it's not really worth it.

And telling someone they are being misled with bad advice is constructive.

[oggobis]

I have no idea about question you asked, except this one.

Originally Posted by aamcle

Is it best to do the niche research, pick a product then build a site specifically to market that product(s)?

As I have learned and been through, first thing to do before you do affiliate marketing is market research. This is IMPORTANT basic (of any internet marketing).

So, you've made a good start. Just make it firm.

Is there demand for the product you going to market? For now?

Research for it with (1) Google Keyword Tool (you can shortcut it by clicking freeadwordstool.com), (2) Google.com and (3) Google Trends

Clickbank is fine to look what product that selling by looking at their gravity (choose above 40, it means people buying that product).

(1) Google Keyword Tool (GKT)
You look for (profitable) term in GKT that has at least 100 search per day >> 3000 search per month.

Make sure to uncheck "Use synonim" to get exactly what you look for.

And look at the (PPC) competition bar. Choose for term that has around 50-75% fulled. Why? Firstly, It indicating that term has good profit potential. People won't buy PPC if it ain't make money right?

And why 50-75% indicating you still have opportunity for the cake remains.

(2) Google.com
a) Now go to google.com, look for the term you look for with quotation mark >> "keywords"

Look for under 50.000 search, so you can easily rank for the top.

And then, put this in the search box
intitle:"keyword"

To find out, how many people use those terms for title.
Look for under 10.000 search result, so again, you can easily rank for the top.

b) Another way to use google.com, take a look at the top and right side. Is there any PPC sponsor links? If it is, then it's a good indicator that niche is profitable.

Make sure you don't go for too many PPC links in a page. Choose for a niche that has around 3 PPC links, so you have a better chance for the piece of the cake.

(3) Google Trends
To make it firmer, you can research with Google Trends. One of the hands down research tool.

You can see where people typing the terms comes from. And there is graph also. Cool!

Use this to find out is the timing is correct to market?
Is the graph climbing up? Within similar time in a year? (People looking for Christmas stuff around October and December).

That's it. Hope it useful.

Cheers,
oggobis