22 replies
First I want to say thank you to the folks here for the great posts and help I've received. I didn't discover this forum until about the time I was starting. I wish I'd found it a month sooner!

I started my affiliate web site about a month ago...maybe three weeks.....and I've tweaked it constantly and it's looking Ok now, maybe not quite where I want it but a lot better than it started. I also have a blog going on WordPress.com that I think I've got off to a decent start with.

Being new and knowing absolutely nothing going in, but needing badly to work from home, I've made mistakes and it's a constant learning process. Right now I'm thinking I need to move the blog to WordPress.org so I can run ads on it if I want and move them both to a new host (other than Go Daddy, my first mistake). Also I'm considering either a landing page or an email sign up form on both the site and the blog, maybe from A Weber??? I know now the importance of list building. I also know it's not going to happen overnight. I have a very realistic attitude in that respect.

So...is it a good plan from where I am now?
#opinions
  • Profile picture of the author RatRaceWatch
    I'm going to play devils advocate here, but this based on having limited information from your post.

    Your best bet is to create a website based on your skill set or passions. In the long-run, you can build yourself as an authority with the right engagement and strategies.

    Everyone has something they can teach others, and it's all about finding that hungry audience.

    If you need any help, send me a message, I'd be glad to steer you in the right direction.
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    • Profile picture of the author RKeele
      Originally Posted by RatRaceWatch View Post

      I'm going to play devils advocate here, but this based on having limited information from your post.

      Your best bet is to create a website based on your skill set or passions. In the long-run, you can build yourself as an authority with the right engagement and strategies.

      Everyone has something they can teach others, and it's all about finding that hungry audience.

      If you need any help, send me a message, I'd be glad to steer you in the right direction.
      I completely agree with RatRaceWatch. You need to build a website around something you are passionate about. Not only can you build yourself as an authority, but you will enjoy what you are doing everyday, and that is priceless.
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    • Profile picture of the author EMaria23
      hello Ryan
      I am new at Warrior Forum and I suppose I can't post my doubt because of the type of membership :-((
      I took a look at your website....if you could give me your opinion about mine, I would appreciate. Online Business Mastery.
      I also have a FB page (Online Business Mastery | Facebook), twitter (@getyourchance) and at the moment it would be great to have some guidance about traffic.
      Thanks and regards
      Elaine
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      • Profile picture of the author Jgowen77
        Originally Posted by EMaria23 View Post

        hello Ryan
        I am new at Warrior Forum and I suppose I can't post my doubt because of the type of membership :-((
        I took a look at your website....if you could give me your opinion about mine, I would appreciate. Online Business Mastery.
        I also have a FB page (Online Business Mastery | Facebook), twitter (@getyourchance) and at the moment it would be great to have some guidance about traffic.
        Thanks and regards
        Elaine
        Did you mean to PM him?

        The support and advice is awesome. I hope someday I can pass it on to someone new myself. I'm implementing some changes tonight suggested here.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jgowen77
    Yes, I chose a niche I'm passionate about and have studied for many years. I feel very good about what I have chosen to write about and promote.
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    • Profile picture of the author agmccall
      I would definitely go with a WP blog

      I would dump godaddy right away. move your url to namecheap and get a hostgator account.

      I would then get a decent WP theme and have a Logo designed. I use elance exclusively for outsourcing but there are other less expensive sites such as fiverr and odesk.

      If you are limited in funds then just have the one site for now. You can combine your affiliate site and blog in WP with a good theme. Add a email optin form and some ads and put some good content in. Then drive traffic to your site and collect email addresses.

      al
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      "Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work." Thomas Edison

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      • Profile picture of the author M Thompson
        I'll weigh in here and with a little bit different advice..

        Yes create a wordpress blog on a domain you own.

        Create it, use one of the standard themes, get it up and get content on it.

        Forget all the find a nice theme, find a nice logo..

        Get you site up today, add content today , plan content for the next 2 weeks, add a signup box to get subscribers.

        After you've done that then and only then start making it pretty. I've lost count of the number of times i have coaching clients come to me and they have abandoned projects because they couldn't find the "right" theme or the "right" logo.

        The important thing is to get a site up and get content on it..
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        • Profile picture of the author Jgowen77
          Originally Posted by M Thompson View Post

          I'll weigh in here and with a little bit different advice..

          Yes create a wordpress blog on a domain you own.

          Create it, use one of the standard themes, get it up and get content on it.

          Forget all the find a nice theme, find a nice logo..

          Get you site up today, add content today , plan content for the next 2 weeks, add a signup box to get subscribers.

          After you've done that then and only then start making it pretty. I've lost count of the number of times i have coaching clients come to me and they have abandoned projects because they couldn't find the "right" theme or the "right" logo.

          The important thing is to get a site up and get content on it..
          It looks fine. Both the site and blog, simple but Ok. Getting fancy I know is something I can do down the road. And I've put quite a lot of content on the blog the past two weeks. I kinda went on a writing binge!
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  • Profile picture of the author goodmast3r
    You mean move the blog to self hosted Wordpress?
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  • Profile picture of the author Jgowen77
    Yes, exactly. WordPress.org. I am somewhat confused about that. I'm on WordPress.com now, and I like it, it's easy to deal with, but no ads allowed. From what I am understanding moving it would allow me to run ads. I'm running banner ads on my site but I'm constantly tweaking those.
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  • Profile picture of the author Shaamj
    Hey,

    Firstly I would say moving over to wp.org would be the perfect choice. I think you'll be able to configure ur site & blog much better and also have the option of placing ads which you are looking for. Getting a proper theme and logo etc would also get ur site to where you actually want it to be. I would recommend woothemes if you would like a premium theme. The layout and options are quite cool and easy to set up. Also I use hostgator for my site and havent had any problems with the servers at all (the customer service is 100% too). If you going to make this a full time home job then I do suggest creating a landing/squeeze page and start building a list. Video squeeze pages are working quite well for me. The pop-up plugin i'm using seems to contribute drastically to my list building as well. There are a few free ones which you can try: PopUp Ninja, OptIn revolution and Simple PopUp. You can configure them to pop up on you site where you can maybe use a free report for the visitors details. I've been using GetResponse but have used Aweber this past year and I must say I prefer Aweber more. Anyways just my suggestions, hope it helps!

    All the best and to your success
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  • Profile picture of the author Jgowen77
    Great suggestions so far, I appreciate all of them. I have no thank button still...
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  • Profile picture of the author redarrows
    I just wanted to congratulate you on taking the home working chance in life.

    Ever think you have done is more then people been coming to warrior forum and buying wso and never use them it prophetic.

    next step is to use a host account might sound scary using a host account but the application c panel behind it is really easy to understand.

    I am a php programmer and go daddy was the only and most bad host that all my clients had problems with there useless.

    your need a host.
    your need a domain.
    try to get a Domain that near to your niche/subject, use Google keyword finder and try to get a domain you like but it also a keyword that people are searching for,this helps with traffic and clicks and a seo fact, also remember the domain will also become part of the title to increase traffic so the keyword is very important means a lot.

    Domain => find a domain that get traffic from Google keyword finder.
    Title of the page: Make sure you add the title of the page with the name of the domain.

    keyword stuffing.

    Remember you said you write your articles on your website, Google dont like the main keyword every where anymore, use the main keyword once in a header <h1>
    twice mentioned in the article make one bold <b> and another in a list format.

    when you add a picture save the logo with the main keyword.

    also add the main keyword in the alt.

    it got to be added as if you telling someone some think or that also classed as spam
    this_image_keyword_header.jpg <<< example header jpg created.
    now the alt="this image is for the keyword header"

    hope that helps just pointers.

    because you new to all this, you might wonder where all these ppl get the information to code there websites, we all and still use this one
    http://www.w3schools.com/html/#gsc.tab=0

    if you fill like creating a wso but there also over ways but maybe you can learn php it the easy programming language, to code scrips and programs to sell as a wso.
    best forum ever.
    http://www.phpfreaks.com/ << you can learn everything there relating to web site design and programming.

    and dont forget if your tired of reading, then there loads of courses in video format on any subject on youtube,
    and even full uni course and collage course in video on ebay...

    dont forget also the wso on here to earn money or improve your money making ability, there video course as wso on here as well.

    i hope you all the best and welcome to warrior forum and internet marketing.

    regards john
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  • Profile picture of the author Devin X
    Banned
    You need a lot of help. I don't think you will want to run ads on your site since it is brand new and won't be getting any considerable traffic. Any traffic you do get, you will want to funnel into your email list. If you're not with an autoresponder yet, then do that.

    Yes, I chose a niche I'm passionate about and have studied for many years. I feel very good about what I have chosen to write about and promote.
    This made me laugh really hard when I noticed that your two sites are all about "god". Sorry, I'm an evil atheist so this was rather amusing. Jesus for profit all the way. :rolleyes:

    Non sequiturs aside, keep producing content and build that list. Forget about ads. Oh, and move that site to one of your own domains and get it off the WP subdomain...it will look more professional that way.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jgowen77
      Originally Posted by TheRealDudeman View Post

      You need a lot of help. I don't think you will want to run ads on your site since it is brand new and won't be getting any considerable traffic. Any traffic you do get, you will want to funnel into your email list. If you're not with an autoresponder yet, then do that.



      This made me laugh really hard when I noticed that your two sites are all about "god". Sorry, I'm an evil atheist so this was rather amusing. Jesus for profit all the way. :rolleyes:

      Non sequiturs aside, keep producing content and build that list. Forget about ads. Oh, and move that site to one of your own domains and get it off the WP subdomain...it will look more professional that way.
      No problem, but it's not about Jesus. The last blog post was about interpretation of what he taught. But...this is not the place for that.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by Jgowen77 View Post

    Right now I'm thinking I need to move the blog to WordPress.org
    WordPress.org isn't a "place" you can move a blog "to".

    It's just the source of WordPress CMS/blogging software, which you can host anywhere you like.

    So you need to get hosting (e.g. from Hostgator, or some equivalent) to host your WordPress blog. It's probably wise to avoid GoDaddy hosting for your site and blog (you know this part already, I see ). If you registered your domain-name through GoDaddy, then it's especially wise not to use them also for hosting (never good to register and host in the same place anyway, regardless of GD being a horrible host!).

    Many hosting companies have the software from WordPress.org all available for you, through their "fantastico" gadget in the C-panel, and it's possible to install WordPress with a single click, using that. Note, though, that isn't at all the most secure way to install it.

    Originally Posted by Jgowen77 View Post

    Also I'm considering either a landing page or an email sign up form on both the site and the blog, maybe from A Weber???
    A landing-page is just wherever your traffic "lands". This post may help you: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post7866952

    Yes, you must build a list, clearly. This should be your top priority, really, because there probably won't be any income at all, without it.

    I apologise for owing you a p.m. for a while.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jgowen77
      Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

      WordPress.org isn't a "place" you can move a blog "to".

      It's just the source of WordPress CMS/blogging software, which you can host anywhere you like.

      So you need to get hosting (e.g. from Hostgator, or some equivalent) to host your WordPress blog. It's probably wise to avoid GoDaddy hosting for your site and blog (you know this part already, I see ). If you registered your domain-name through GoDaddy, then it's especially wise not to use them also for hosting (never good to register and host in the same place anyway, regardless of GD being a horrible host!).

      Many hosting companies have the software from WordPress.org all available for you, through their "fantastico" gadget in the C-panel, and it's possible to install WordPress with a single click, using that. Note, though, that isn't at all the most secure way to install it.



      A landing-page is just wherever your traffic "lands". This post may help you: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post7866952

      Yes, you must build a list, clearly. This should be your top priority, really, because there probably won't be any income at all, without it.

      I apologise for owing you a p.m. for a while.
      I didn't expect you to stop your life Lexy. You've helped already more than you know.
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  • Profile picture of the author 6figure101
    My 2 cents... make sure that offering good quality content is high up in your priorities, even before you worry about how to monetize and convert traffic into buyers!

    Good job so far and good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author sarahAttkinson
    Banned
    WP - definitely YES!
    Building a list - I think this is the right way to start.
    It is a good think you found your niche. And with all these suggestions here... I thin you will definitely be successful.
    Good luck. :-)
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  • Profile picture of the author Jgowen77
    Thanks. I think the content holds up well. I went to my daughter for an honest opinion of my writing as she is a senior in college with a double major in English and Philosophy. I passed her review, and she wasn't "just being nice to dad." I've picked up a few followers also.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jgowen77
    Here is my one year plan:

    First three months: Don't go broke.
    Second three months: Get back the $$ I lost the first three months.
    Next three months: Start making a steady income, even if it's just a thousand dollars a month.
    Last three months: Take off.

    Of course if I move faster I'm fine with that too.
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    • Profile picture of the author RanjitB
      Sounds like you have a plan. Great!

      You have content and you are passionate about what you do. God is the best business partner for sure.

      WP is the wise choise. You need fundamental resources to get started, Domain name, Hosting, Autoresponder, A good theme or a Plugin. I appreciate Alexa's comment there.

      List building is the way to go. There are many WP plugins you can use for building a Squeeze Page, OR you can buy a dedicated theme. There are many popular themes for an affordable one time payment with great support and tutorials. You will be able to make a squeeze page or a sales page in minutes. You will be able to make unlimited pages as well.

      Get started, get going and seek out for support, if you need.
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