Think im going mad :D

[dog-mad]

Hello all, long time lurker here who has decided to take the plunge!

Wow where to begin, ok - through all my reading of your forum and various places on the internet I have decided to give affiliate marketing/article writing a go.

I dont want to come on this forum, ask a load of questions and get told to go read all the various threads (which I have believe me!) but I do have one or two questions if it would be possible to borrow a few spare minutes of some ones time (nice to see you have the good smilies here ).

Now from what I have learnt so far it seems I need to get writing a lot of articles on ezine etc which will link to my own site or blog - I understand this bit - to get lots of traffic. Also I need to have a niche (prize goes to anyone who can guess what that will be )

Now my confusion is what is it that I put on my site/blog? Is it affiliate links? If so then do I write something similar to my articles on my site but more in depth with affiliate links added? Or is will my site be for e-books? (not sure if I should write e-books or go down the affiliate link route yet).

Do I make my site/blog first with content and links/e-books and then write lots of articles to get the traffic to my site?

And last but not least do I go to online sites and ask directly for affiliate links or use a site such as click-bank etc?

Basically if I follow the affiliate link route then I would like to know that the product I am selling is actually as good as I say and therefor would like a choice of whom I am going to advertise for, rather than advertising for anybody just because it will get me money - id like to stay ethical about the whole thing.

Before I start boring you all I will draw it to a close, so hello all *waves* and I look forward to any help thrown my way.

[tommygadget]

To get you pointed in the right direction, search on the terms affiliate marketing and article and/or bum marketing. It will take time to get through all the results, but you will find all the answers you are looking for.

TomG.

PS - Welcome to the forum.

[dog-mad]

cheers tommy and shiner, guess ive been going round in circles - feels like ive read loads but keep coming up with the same list of what I have to do with bits missing! Every time I think ah I see I get stuck again at a certain point - too much info in my head and I knowing where to start I think

At least now Im a member I can search now too

*walks off mumbling why didnt I think of that!*

[hitman22]

whatever you do dont give up

[dog-mad]

Originally Posted by hitman22

whatever you do dont give up

Yes this is a very important point. I think I need to believe in myself some what more than I already do. I go through very positive phases of thinking yes, yes I can do this - then read up and start to find my footing, but then I over load myself with information and have no idea where to start!

So let me get this straight if I may, I should forget about article writing etc until I have a blog set up with affiliate links (focusing on key words so it can be found on google etc), once the blog is starting to take shape I should then start on the article marketing to get as much traffic as possible to my site? I can imagine getting the site/blog set up and finding relevant affiliate links will be rather time consuming - but once this is done updating my blog and writing as many articles as possible is the next stage (making sure I have relevant words in the title and body of article).

I just need to find that starting point to get stuck into and focus on instead of jumping from one thing to another and getting absolutely nothing done at all!

[Zeus66]

Probably the most difficult part when you're new is learning about delayed gratification. The work you put in today might not pay off for months, even years. And some of what you spend time on will never pay off. Sad, but true. If you keep yourself focused on 2 mega-important things, you'll win in the end.

1. Content. Fill your site(s) with original, informative, high quality content. Google loves it. Your human visitors will love it. Keep adding new stuff and strive to keep your site(s) top-notch. Don't settle.

2. Links. Gotta have 'em. This part of the job never ends. Use article marketing, forum posts, social networking, blog comments, swap links with other webmasters, etc.

Popular niche + excellent content + a steadily growing army of inbound links = success.

Keep that formula in mind all the time and don't let the other stuff you run into as you explore IM ideas sidetrack you too much. Most of us have been down this road, so know that you're not alone as you fight the information overload. Do your best to stay focused on what really matters... the core activities that set you up for success.

Best of luck,
John

[Debbie Allen]

I believe Zeus66 provided some great advice. Decide on a plan of action and then move forward. Expect bumps along the way and delays in making the profits that you hope for. These are NOT failures, they are actually the keys to your success.

With each 'bump' you will take away a new piece of knowledge relevant to you and your business. Keep your focus on long term success and master each step you take.

Your success will eventually come. But remember not to only equate success with the money you make - success comes with each passing day that you work toward your ultimate goals of success!

[dog-mad]

Thanks Zues66, your post has made me feel rather positive! I am an extremely hard worker but I must admit to being one of those people that like to see results fast or I sometimes lose interest. Obviously I cant take that approach with this, so I am hoping that the fact its a niche I am very interested in will mean I wont lose interest if I dont see anything happening for a few months/years (hopefully not the latter )

To be truthful I would like to buy my own domain instead of using a blog - would this make any difference to the numbers of visitors at all? Im guessing if someone sees it is a genuine site with good content that they are more likely to bookmark me and refer to my site again for help/advice/products rather than looking at a blog - or maybe this is just my way of thinking. Not sure I can afford to pay out monthly though at the moment until I learn if my niche/content will be better than whats available and worth continuing with. Although I am a perfectionist and can usually spot ways to make things better than they already are.

But yes, thanks for your post and guidance on what to focus on

[Sonni]

Do the 30 Day Challenge it's FREE and will give you step by step action you can use on a daily basis. You're in good hands there, Ed Dale is a stand up guy and a very good IMer to learn from. The program is totally designed for newbies.
Sonni

[dog-mad]

Thanks sonni , does Ed Dale have a link for this in his signature or would I be looking in the wrong place?

[stoica]

"and then write lots of articles to get the traffic " 3 good articles are better then 10 with low quality content, so focus on giving something useful to your readers

[dog-mad]

Cheers Orri *runs off to look at it right now*

Stoica yeah I see what you are saying, makes good sense, after all I know I certainly wouldn't click on any links if the article I was reading was a load of rubbish. I am hoping my English degree I am doing will come in handy for this

By the way, are most people on this site from over seas? I haven't noticed many people from the UK so far.

I am slightly concerned the products I wish to affiliate link to don't offer affiliate links at all! I have sent an email to one company enquiring if they offer this but its not looking good. It does worry me that I won't be able to link to products I know are good and worth advertising - as said previously I don't want to advertise any old product just to make money, I want to know the product works. Maybe I am being to fussy in which company's I choose to affiliate with hmmmm.