8-step action plan for newbies

For all the newbies who need an action plan and don't receive much help, here you go.

Ok. Here we go.

1. Get an affiliate account.
I recommend going with Clickbank for newer marketers because of the instant approvals for all products. This will speed up the process if you just want to test the waters and see if you can sell an affiliate product. Once you have your CB account setup, you need to go to the "Marketplace" and pick a niche from the numerous ones available. Try to not pick a niche which is oversatured like "Weight loss". Try to pick something with less competition. You also want something with a gravity of at least above 70 to show that it is selling. Although, the right marketers can sell low gravity products. But, for the purpose of this plan we will stick with the higher gravity products. Once you have chosen your product, we go to the next step.

2. Buy a domain.
Now that you know exactly what you will be promoting, buy a domain. I prefer Namecheap, but you can go with Godaddy or whatever registrar you like. Choose a domain that relates to the product you are promoting but is general enough that you can promote other similar products in the future too. This domain will help you rank better in search engines as opposed to using free blog services. This domain will also give you the ability to become an "authority" site. This domain will then need to be pointed to your host. This brings us to our next step.

3. Buy hosting.
I prefer Hostgator, but you can go with Bluehost or any other hosting service you like. The reason you want to buy your own hosting is because you want to have control over your sites. Shared hosting is something newbies do, but once you become more serious, you will need your own hosting package. Once you have your domain pointed to your hosting servers, then the fun part begins.

4. Install Wordpress
Wordpress is the most popular bloggin platform and for good reason. It is darn easy to use and has alot of options to fully customize your site like thousands of plug ins which are constantly updated. If you are on the go, Wordpress even has a mobile app where you can publish new posts right from your phone! This is very convenient for me as I like to post from my phone at times and it saves me alot of time and hassle. You can pick out a free theme for now and customize the header and the whole appearance of the blog. Once the dough starts rolling in, you can get a premium theme if you like. For now, just customize the heck out of that free theme. Now, we have to do a little work for the next step.

5. Add Content
The phrase "content is king" is very true. Content is the main reason people will visit your site and stay there. You must make sure you are updating your site daily with fresh, original content. The more original content you have on your site, the more Google love you will get too. Don't steal other people's articles and pass them off as yours. Either write new content yourself or outsource it at somewhere like fiverr. Now, that your site is looking pretty and has a good amount of content, let's bring on the visitors!

6. Create a Squeeze Page
Before you are finished make sure you create a squeeze page so you can build up your valuable email list. The money is in the list after all. You can use Aweber which is my favorite. i believe they offer a free 30 day trial offer so you can test drive the auto responder. Definitely worth the $19/mo investment if you are serious about internet marketing and growing that gold mine that marketers call their email list.

7. Advertise and Promote
Ok, your site looks ready for action and your squeeze page is ready to squeeze haha. Now, we need to bring in visitors. There are plenty of ways to bring traffic to your site. If you are on a budget and don't have money to spend on ads, you can use the following free options. You can make a Youtube video and review the product you are promoting on CB. You can link to your site which should have the squeeze page. After they sign up, you can url redirect the visitor to the CB offer or a pre sell page on your blog. You can do forum posting on sites with similar interests as yours. You can build a Facebook Page for your site and promote there while providing helpful posts. You can build a twitter and follow like minded people and get your site traffic through those means. However, if you can afford advertising, that's the best way to go. Adwords, Bing and Facebook Ads are excellent options if you can afford to advertise your blog that way. Just make sure you have a good keyword planner and spend ad money on those keywords that have high search volume.

8. Wait for profits to roll in!
Once you have all of the above in action, it's just a matter of time before people start to sign up for the newsletter or even purchase your affiliate offer on CB. They might subscribe to your Youtube videos which also pay through Adsense btw. They might also subscribe to your email list. The point is if you follow these steps diligently, you will position yourself alot better to make money versus simply taking no action and just forum surfing all day. No, it's not easy work. But, if you love what you do, you won't consider it work at all.

I hope I have given some newer members something to chew on and maybe have your wheels spinning a little bit. At the very least, you should have picked a few different, actionable ideas that you can put to work right now. I usually don't spend this much time on a post, but I thought it might help some of our newer members who just need a nudge in the right direction. Thx for listening.