Making Money From Home Doing Affiliate Marketing

People all over the world are looking for ways to earn money. Many people who browse the internet long enough discover that there are others who actually have businesses online. In fact, they have even heard that some folks are making a living earning online.

Successfully running your own business online?  Think about that for a moment.

That means that if you are successfully running your own business online, you are no longer commuting to a miserable job every day.

You no longer have to put up with a boss who does not care what your problems are and is not going to be sympathetic to you, your family or your needs.

That means not having to keep hitting the snooze button, to ensure that you get up on time every morning…and that’s usually at the crack of dawn…the roosters aren’t even crowing yet!

Then when it’s time to run out of the door with your bag in one hand and your half-eaten breakfast in the other, you have to fight traffic in order to make it into work about 5-10 minutes late, making your boss give you another “I want to fire you” glare.

Is this the way you want to continue living your life…Each & Every Day? …Until you finally reach retirement?

…And guess what? When you’re 60-something and retired, you’re still held prisoner stuck to living on a fixed income which means collecting social security checks under $1000 per month and if you’re lucky enough to get retirement income, you might be able to supplement your social security.

…Maybe social security and a decent pension check every month will be enough to live on until you die…and then again maybe not…especially if you didn’t participate in your company’s 401K plan, or maybe it wasn’t available to you because you couldn’t afford it in light of the present economy.

This is truly the reality that we are all living with today. It’s not like it was 20+ years ago when you thought that your future would be set–things have changed.

How To Make Money Online From Home

More and more people are realizing that finding a way to earn a living online can actually be a reality. You already know that there are other folks doing it right now.

Well, there are several ways to running a business online but it’s like with anything else in the world…You have to look for those legitimate opportunities….and we all know what that’s like, don’t we? It seems the scams out-number the legitimate opportunities online that are really out there.

For someone new to the online world, where do you go?

You’re probably like I was a couple years ago–You’ve tried so many things online that haven’t worked and in frustration you might be thinking that “Maybe it’s not possible to make money online–Maybe it’s all a big joke!”

Well, after stumbling around and being scammed online for about the last decade, I finally found something that makes sense. I’ve tried MLM, Network Marketing, Surveys, Gifting programs, Money Doublers, etc., you name it, I’ve tried them all…and I lost heap loads of money & pride over the years trying them all too.

I finally figured out that the best online money-making opportunities are those that involve Affiliate Marketing.

To become an Affiliate Marketer you don’t require any formal training nor a certificate of any kind.

Affiliate Marketing is one of the few online opportunities that will not require any start-up capital. You don’t even need to have a website to start.

Affiliate Marketing is virtually risk-free!

There are thousands of free affiliate marketing programs online that a person can join and begin to start making money. The real trick to Affiliate Marketing however, is to know how to market online–that’s not something that you automatically know and many of the free affiliate marketing programs online don’t give you enough help either.

Once you learn how to market online, it will become easier and that is when you will realize that you can do Affiliate Marketing and succeed.

I know of a program that shows you how to affiliate market and they demonstrate effective ways on how to target your market, get lots of free traffic and get those conversions up.

Unlike other tools, this program holds your hand from the beginning and throughout your interactive experience by providing you with invaluable information, tips, secrets, videos and exclusive advice.

What you learn is invaluable and if you don’t start earning money from practicing the steps of this program, you simply aren’t doing anything with it. That’s the truth!

You will discover how easy it really is to earn money online and you’ll be wondering why you didn’t find this life-saver sooner! But I always say…”Better Late Than Never!”

5 WAYS TO AUTOMATE YOUR SITE

Automating your online business is one of the most important steps you can take to insure your success on the internet.

If you have been on the internet for any time at all, you know that there are just too many tasks to do each day to be really efficient and productive with them all.

Learning to delegate some of those routine, daily activities is one way to insure your site’s success and to give you much more time in the day for the most important task which is that of promotion and marketing your site.

HERE ARE 5 SIMPLE WAYS TO AUTOMATE TODAY:

1) USE AUTO-RESPONDERS:

Probably one of the best-known and popular ways to handle routine messages to inquirers is the use of auto-responders.

It is simple and easy to set up your messages which usually involve several follow-up messages to remind your visitors what you are offering and how to find your site again.

Here are some free ones:

http://www.freeautobot.com/ (ad free also.)
http://www.getresponse.com/
http://www.sendfree.com/’
http://www.sendthisfree.com/

2) MAILING LIST MANAGEMENT:

If you are trying to run your own newsletter, handling the process by yourself can eat up a lot of valuable time. In the beginning this may be possible, but as your list grows and the tasks involved keep multiplying, your time demands will increase also.

There are lots of ways to manage a mailing list including installing your own scripts and purchasing your own software. Weigh the pros and cons, but be sure and check out the possibility of *farming out* the responsibility to a mailing list service.

Here are some to consider:

http://www.ezinedirector.com/
http://www.mail-list.com/
http://www.zinester.com/ (free and paid versions)

Free ones include:

http://groups.yahoo.com/
http://www.topica.com/

3) USE SOFTWARE:

There are many software options available depending upon your work online. Here are some possible software applications available. Just do a search online.

~Creating links to your site and others.
~HTML editors
~Ad swaps
~Promotion
~Subscription management
~Survey forms

4) PAYMENT SYSTEMS:

Well, this is just a no-brainer. It is just too simple not to do this one.

Having an automated payment system that allows you to accept credit card payments for your products or services and is something that everyone has to have to be successful online.

Here are a couple of third-party ones that I use and recommend:

ClickBank– http://www.ClickBank.com/
PayPal– http://www.PayPal.com/

5) AD TRACKING SYSTEM:

If you are going to advertise your products and/or services online, then it is critical that you track your results.

Knowing how many hits you got to your site is nice, but it won’t take care of your questions like, “Where did my traffic and sales come from?”

Here are some ad tracking systems: (Some offer free versions.)

http://www.BusiToolz.com/
http://www.hypertracker.com/
http://www.adminder.com/

Implementing these five time-saving helpers is a very important benchmark in moving your business into a phase that will free up some time to insure your success online.

Best of luck with your promotional efforts.

Larry Johnson, author

10 Reasons Why People Don’t Visit Your Web Site

1. You don’t offer free original content. It’s important to give your visitors information they can’t find anywhere else. If you’re the only source for a certain type of information, people will flock to your web site.

2. You don’t offer free software. Most people like to find good deals on software for their computers. If the software is free, that is even better.

3. You don’t offer a free contest or sweepstakes. It’s a fact, people like to win things. If you can fulfill that need, people will stop by to visit.

4. You don’t offer a free directory. Create a directory of web sites on a particular topic that is related to your target audience. People will visit because they will find what they’re looking for, all in one place.

5. You don’t offer a free e-zine. Most people love to get free information that they’re interested in emailed to them on a regular basis. This saves them time and money.

6. You don’t offer a free community. People like to have a place were they can have discussions with others on a particular subject. You could add a chat room or message board to your web site.

7. You don’t offer a free affiliate program. One of people’s basic needs to survive is money. When you offer them a free opportunity to make money they’ll line up to visit your web site.

8. You don’t offer a free online utility. When you offer a utility that can solve a problem, people will visit your web site. The utility could be a free autoresponder, e-mail account, search engine submission, etc.

9. You don’t offer free current information. Supply news stories related to your web site. People want up-to-date news on the topics they are interested in. They will also be interested in visiting your web site.

10. You don’t offer free samples of your product or service. Have you ever been to a store and you jumped at the chance to get a free sample of food? This same concept will also attract people to visit your web site.

7 Ways to Drive Laser-Targeted Traffic

An affiliate marketer may have all the things needed for him to be able to succeed in a business such as affiliate marketing. He may have the necessary drive, diligence and perseverance to be able to understand how the system works. He may have all the tools necessary in maintaining the business, including a really unique and interesting website which could earn him a fortune if only the whole world could see it. However, all these would prove useless if he does not know how to drive traffic to his website. His business would sink into oblivion together with all the sales, fortune and dreams that he might have realized if he only knew how to do this particular task.

Getting people who matter to see one’s website is a difficult undertaking if he tries to consider the fact that there are rivals everywhere waiting to pin him down. The immensity of the internet as well as the affiliate marketing world has given birth to the fierce competition between affiliate marketers, each of whom has his own great product to offer. With all the websites piling on top of each other, how would one be able to stand out? The seven best ways to drive laser-targeted traffic to one’s own website would help those who are bent on sticking it out with this business wherever it is bound to take them.

The first step in driving traffic to one’s website is by relying on search engines and what they can do for the affiliate marketer concerned. Because they are popular for driving free targeted traffic, they should not be ignored by all means. Having top search engine rankings is vital in building popularity links, and the use of the right keywords is important in attaining this goal. Once a website is on top of the list, it is easily accessible to anyone who wants to see it for himself.

The second way in driving traffic to one’s website is by contacting other webmasters for a possible link exchange partnership. Locating websites that are related to one’s own website is the primary task. Once there, he should be able to establish communication by personalizing everything as much as possible. It is then possible to make reciprocal link exchanges between webmasters whichever way the affiliate marketer prefers.

The third way is through writing one’s own articles. This is an effective way in promoting a website, because good content that are appreciated by readers will lead them to visit the writer’s very own website out of sheer interest.

The fourth way is through joint venture marketing. This is one of the most effective ways of promoting a product or a service. Having a partner through ad swap or link exchange is beneficial to both parties as it allows them to reach a wide customer base in a short amount of time.

The fifth is through joining affiliate programs. Having affiliates to do the work means allowing them to bring tons of traffic to a website. Skyrocketing sales would be realized as a result, and both the affiliate and the website owner will benefit from the situation.

The sixth is by having a list of subscribers that one can refer to every so often, because they are those which would prove to be valuable assets for the marketer concerned. The use of autoresponders and personalized newsletters is one way of keeping track of them all, and holding on to them by letting them know about new products and services is an essential task that should be done by the affiliate marketer concerned.

The seventh is by knowing one’s market through and through. It is important for traffic to be targeted to those who might have a special interest in the theme or topic of one’s website. This way, a solid customer base is going to be created. Once a potential customer shows an interest in a particular website by paying it a visit, one must not waste time in trying to show him that his effort is worth it.

Traffic generating strategies are important in trying to make one’s affiliate marketing career inch forward. It is always advantageous to plan one’s moves in any business that he might undertake. This is particularly so in affiliate marketing. If one knows how to get people to see what he has to offer, then he is on the right track.

 

15 Reasons To Join Affiliate Programs

There are HUGE benefits to promoting affiliate programs with your own homebased Internet business. Let’s look at 15 of the best reasons to join affiliate programs.

  1. No Production Costs: The cost to develop and produce a new product is prohibitive for almost anyone who wants to start a home-based business. With affiliate programs, production costs aren’t an issue. The product has been developed and proven – all on the merchant’s nickel.
  2. Low Cost Set-up: Compared with building a brick and mortar store, starting a home-based Internet business is relatively cheap. You probably already have a desk, Internet-connected computer and word-processing software, which is all the equipment you may need to start making easy money from affiliate programs.
  3. No Fees or Licenses: I often compare doing business as an affiliate, with distributing a line of products in the real world. The biggest difference is that the distributor must often pay for a license to distribute products within a limited geographic region. Affiliate programs, on the other hand, are usually free to join, and geographic market reach is limited only by the affiliate’s ability to promote his website.
  4. Sell Almost Anything: What isn’t sold online? That list must be shorter than the one describing all that IS sold online. There are thousands and thousands of affiliate programs selling every product under the sun. That makes it easy to find products related to your current or planned web site.
  5. No Sales Experience Required: When I started my affiliate business, I had absolutely no sales experience. That wasn’t a problem, however. The companies I affiliated with provided excellent marketing material. Using their sales copy, I was able to get my first affiliate site up in less than a day.
  6. No Employees: Employee salaries are the biggest business expense. Although you may need or want someone to work for you on occasion, you’ll never have to worry about hiring full or part-time employees while working as an affiliate marketer.When you have a project you want to hire out, it is easy to find specialists in every computer-related field who can work for you from the comfort of THEIR own homes. You pay only for the project, and never have to worry about ongoing employee related benefits and deductions.
  7. No Merchant Accounts: Setting up a merchant account is time-consuming and costly. However, affiliate marketers don’t need merchant accounts. Merchants bear all the costs for payment processing. As an affiliate, you’ll never lose sleep over chargebacks, fraud or losing your merchant account.
  8. No Inventory: As an affiliate marketer, you can sell large items without storage concerns, even if you live in a small one-bedroom apartment.
  9. No Order-Processing: Forget the problems associated with collecting and storing names, addresses, credit card numbers, etc. The merchant does all that!
  10. No Shipping: The cost and hassle to prepare and ship products to customers worldwide could be staggering. Affiliates never have to worry about packaging supplies or postal rates.
  11. No Customer Service: Do you hate the prospect of dealing with nasty people or customer complaints? Don’t worry about it! The merchant handles the snivelers.
  12. Make Money While You Sleep: What other business allows you as a sole proprietor to keep your doors open and keep making money even when you take breaks or after you go home for the night?
  13. Worldwide Marketplace: The Internet is the world’s largest marketplace. You can drive more visitors to your online store in a day, than a small-town merchant will see in his or her brick and mortar business in a year.
  14. Minimal Risk: The product you chose isn’t making money? Dump it. Take down your links and promote another! It’s that easy. There are no long-term contracts binding you to products that don’t sell.
  15. High Income Potential: If you have a job, your salary or hourly wage is probably pre-determined. Maybe there’s not much, other than working overtime, that you can do to increase your income. With your own affiliate business on the Internet your income potential is limited only by your desire, effort and imagination.
    No other business is so inexpensive to start yet offers such high profit potential without investing years of labor. 

    Affiliate programs enable you to work from Almost Anywhere in the World!

    Best Wishes.

A Simple Guide To Choosing A Domain Name

There has been much debate on which factors are the most important when determining what domain to   purchase.   Choosing a domain name should be deeply tied to the business plan and the vision of the company. A domain can be chosen for its advantages in Search Engine placement, a company’s brand, or as a description of a general term. One must consider a domains size, pronunciation, how memorable it is, and if the name is taken in other similar forms or extensions. For example, if one registers a domain.net, but the domain.com is taken and developed, creating a brand for domain.net would be very dangerous and might end up being confused for its .com counterpart.

Search Engine Placement Domains
The purpose of these domains is to rank high in the search engines, because the actual domain name contains the keywords being searched for. Search Engine domains are very rarely brandable, and are mostly used exclusively as side Internet properties to redirect traffic to the main site. A company who sells red widgets would benefit from acquiring red-widgets.com and redwidgets.com , because it is natural that people will remember such address, but most importantly, that domain name has a high probability of ranking at, or very near to, the top of a search for ‘red widgets’. A very popular tool used to find what is being searched for on the net is: Overture Keywords (http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/)

Brand Domains
When coming from the offline business into the online, the obvious choice for brand domains is the offline brand name as .com and/or .country extension. Country extensions are used in countries were there is more popularity in their country extension than on the .com. In the case that no previous brand existed before moving online, one most be very creative into the approach of a brandable name. At this point, there are millions of domain names registered and many times, one finds that the desired domain is taken. There is a consensus among most Internet domain experts that the shorter the domain, the better. A domain that is about 5 letters long is highly desirable for a brand. However, the domain must sound right as well. Xyqpt.com would be undesirable, because it cannot be easily said or remembered to the general public.

General Term Domains
In the height of the Internet Bubble, general term domains were the most popular choice. Many companies failed, even though they had the generic word for their market. Companies like TheKnot.com refused to purchase Weddings.com, because they were conscious that they needed to focus on brand. Although this strategy worked for TheKnot.com, generic words have a value of their own that cannot be ignored. Like Search Engine Placement Domains, which attract a large number of visitors through search engine referrals, so do generic word domains. For this reason, generic word names are still very much desired and their value continue to rise. What should be learned about the Dot Com Bubble is that generic domains are not everything in a dot com business, rather they are a valuable (yet, not essential) component in an array of variables that make an Internet business a success. The current value of these domains, and other domains in general can be seen at an online publication that covers recent domain name transactions at: Domain Journal Sales (http://www.dnjournal.com/domainsales.htm)

All about Email Marketing

Email marketing is, as the name suggests, the use of email in marketing communications.  Email marketing is so popular because sending email is much cheaper than most other forms of communication.  Email lets you deliver your message to the people (unlike a website, where the people have to come to your message).  Email marketing has proven very successful for those who do it right.

Email marketing and newsletters may be sent with more confidence for less than most of the competition.  Emails are priced according to the quantity you purchase, so the more you get, the less they cost.  Email marketing solutions, when needed, make customer communication more efficient because you can reach a wide audience through one mailing.

Marketing

Marketing leaders across all industries—business-to-business and business-to-consumer—are using email marketing as their core channel for acquiring, retaining and growing customers.

Bulk

Bulk email hosting can be affordable and bulk email can even be free.  There are a few sites online that can offer this service.  Bulk email senders can be used for emailing newsletters, targeted email campaigns and email announcements.  Bulk emailers are easy to use and can be utilized through mass email software, which is used to send bulk email.  Our site provides a listing of quality email submitters that can be utilized for this purpose.

Apart from these practical considerations, there is also a strong argument which says that long-term successful email marketing relationships with customers and others can only work if they are permission based or in other words ‘Opt-In’.  It’s important to stress that anyone considering email marketing must read up on the subject of permission and spam.  By offering value-added services to your existing clients with email marketing software, you can build indestructible customer loyalty, gain a sharp competitive advantage and increase the average order value per client.

If you are interested in taking advantage of email marketing software, our site provides a list of quality affordable email submitters that can be as cheap as $10 and they can be used to mail out your ads or affiliate promotions as often as you find necessary.  The listing we provide is from a respected company specializing in email marketing; Global Ad Solutions.  Feel free to check them out as well as consider becoming one of their affiliates in which you will earn a commission for each sale.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

Affiliate Marketing – How To Get Started In 6 Easy Steps

If you are just starting out or have had trouble making money with affiliate programs, you may not have realized how easy it is, once you know the steps to follow.  This article shows you the six steps you need.

Affiliate marketing is probably the simplest business model you can choose to build a business. Of course the devil is in the details, as they say, but the overall model can really be broken down into six steps. 

Make sure to complete the opt-in form at the top right of this page to get your free copy of “Clickbank for Newbies” which will show you strategies to guarantee commissions in Affiliate Marketing.

Before we get to the steps, I want you to ask yourself a question. What do you hope to accomplish with affiliate marketing? This is an easier question to answer than it might seem. There are really only two basic choices here.

The first is what I call the “quick buck” choice. In other words, you want to make a few dollars quickly, and you are not interested in building a business. If this is you, all you need to do is learn how to write exceptionally good ads, and then use them to promote your affiliate product. Many people will say I am wrong, but there is nothing wrong with doing this, as long as you are honestly not trying to build a long term business this way.

On the other hand, if you are looking to build a business with income potential for the long term, then you will have a longer road ahead of you. It will take you longer before you see any profit from your efforts, but it will be worth it when you are able to take a day off, or even a week off, and still have sales in your absence.

These steps should be followed in order. If you try to go out of sequence, you will not get the results you are after.

1. Pick a Market

Why pick a market and not pick a product? Because you will eventually want to add additional products into your pipeline. You should pick a market that interests you, and maybe something you already know something about. Don’t forget that you are building for the long term.

2. Pick a Product

Once you have your market chosen, you should pick just one product to begin with. It will be very tempting to try to add all kinds of related products at first, but don’t. Having just one product will help you focus on the important tasks. You will want to pick a product that converts well. What this means is that the product sells to a high percentage of visitors. This will help keep your cost per visitor down and increase your profits.  Although there are several affiliate programs online, the one that I recommend is Clickbank, because of their handsome commission pay-outs, many as high as 75%!

3. Build a follow-up series

Also called an autoresponder series, you should build one based on the topic and the contents of the product you are promoting. If it is a physical product you are promoting, you will have to create or locate content that is directly related to the product. As an example, if you are selling golf clubs, you could create a series about how to buy golf clubs that fit, or the benefits of custom clubs, or even something about the club preferences of famous professional golfers. Be as creative as you can, and do not stray off topic. It has been said that most sales are not made in the initial contact, they are made on the seventh. If you are not following up with your prospects, the bottom line is you are losing sales.

4. Build an email capture page

This is where you will capture information about your prospects so you can send your follow-up series. If you are building a business, having your own web site is a necessity, if only because you will control the content, and be able to capture email addresses for yourself. You might be able to get by for a while without this, but it just isn’t worth it in the long run, especially if you’re trying to build a long-term business.

5. Drive traffic to your squeeze page

Until you are finished with step four, you shouldn’t even think about traffic techniques. If you don’t have anywhere to send the traffic, why worry about how to generate it in the first place. Depending on the traffic generation techniques you choose, it may take some time for you to start seeing sales in your program. You should spend this time developing one or two streams of traffic, and refining these techniques to help you drive more traffic with less effort.

6. Find additional related products

Once your business is making some money, it is time to start adding to your list of products. I don’t mean you should go out and sign up for every affiliate program that is even remotely related. What I do mean is that you should carefully choose an additional product or two, and add them into your pipeline. Because you have been building a list of qualified prospects, you will be able to market these new products to them. This is the really long term money maker for your business. As long as you continue to recommend good products to your customer list, you can continue to make money off of them, even the ones who have already bought your last product recommendation.

So these six steps are all you need to go from nothing to having a profitable business selling other peoples products. It can be easy to loose focus if you are not seeing immediate results, so keep your sights on the end goal of having a profitable business. You may also find it hard finding your initial market and product. Take your time and choose the best product you can. If the product you choose to promote is not good, your prospects will not continue to listen to your recommendations.

3 Things All Affiliate Marketers Need To Survive Online

Every affiliate marketer is always looking for the successful market that gives the biggest paycheck. There is not a magic formula. It is more complicated than that. With these three marketing tips, you will be able to increase your sales and survive in affiliate marketing online.

3 Things All Affiliate Marketers Need To Survive Online
By Cheryl Mustian

Every affiliate marketer is always looking for the successful market that gives the biggest paycheck. Sometimes they think it is a magic formula that is readily available for them. Actually, it is more complicated than that. It is just good marketing practices that have been proven over years of hard work and dedication.

There are tactics that have worked before with online marketing and is continuing to work in the online affiliate marketing world of today. With these top three marketing tips, you will be able to increase your sales and survive in affiliate marketing online.

What are these three tactics?

1. Using unique web pages to promote each separate product you are marketing. Do not lump all of it together just to save some money on web hosting. It is best to have a site focusing on each and every product and nothing more.

Always include product reviews on the website so visitors will have an initial understanding on what the product can do to those who buy them. Also include testimonials from users who have already tried the product. Be sure that these customers are more than willing to allow you to use their names and photos on the site of the specific product you are marketing.

You can also write articles highlighting the uses of the product and include them on the website as an additional page. Make the pages attractive compelling and include calls to act on the information. Each headline should attract the readers to try and read more, even contact you. Highlight your special points. This will help your readers to learn what the page is about and will want to find out more.

2. Offer free reports to your readers. If possible position them at the very top side of your page so they simply cannot be missed. Try to create autoresponder messages that will be mailed to those who input their personal information into your sign up box. According to research, a sale is closed usually on the seventh contact with a prospect.

Only two things can possibly happen with the web page alone: closed sale or the prospect leaving the page and never return again. By placing useful information into their inbox at a certain specified period, you will remind them of the product they thought they want later and will find out that the sale is closed. Be sure that the content is directed toward specific reasons to buy the product. Do not make it sound like a sales pitch.

Focus on important points like how your product can make life and things easier and more enjoyable. Include compelling subject lines in the email. As much as possible, avoid using the word “free” because there are still older spam filters that dumps those kind of contents into the junk before even anyone reading them first. Convince those who signed up for your free reports that they will be missing something big if they do not avail of your products and services.

3. Get the kind of traffic that is targeted to your product. Just think, if the person who visited your website has no interest whatsoever in what you are offering, they will be among those who move on and never come back. Write articles for publication in e-zines and e-reports. This way you can locate publications that are focusing on your target customers and what you have put up might just grab their interest.

Try to write a minimum of 2 articles per week, with at least 300-600 words in length. By continuously writing and maintaining these articles you can generate as many as 100 targeted readers to your site in a day.
Always remember that only 1 out of 100 people are likely to buy your product or get your services. If you can generate as much as 1,000 targeted hits for your website in a day, which means you can make 10 sales based on the average statistic.

The tactics given above does not really sound very difficult to do, if you think about it. It just requires a little time and an action plan on your part.

Try to use these tips for several affiliate marketing programs. You can end maintaining a good source of income and surviving in this business that not all marketers can do.
Besides, think of the huge paychecks you will be receiving…

About the author:
—————————————————————–
To find the best home based business ideas and
opportunities so you can work at home visit:

http://www.CherylWorksAtHome.net

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What’s A Blog And Do You Have One?

Hello Affiliates!

I wanted to bring up something that I realized was an interesting topic to acknowledge.  The other day, I was speaking with a good friend about Affiliate Marketing and I recall her asking me “What’s a blog?  …I keep hearing about these blogs online….What’s that all about?” It made me realize that there are probably a great many of you who may not understand the concept of blogging and what it’s beneficial uses are.

Blogging is just about the easiest way to get started with some kind of online presence, and with Affiliate Marketing, it’s a vital tool in helping to earn money online.

Here’s an article about Learning How To Blog, that basically breaks it all down for you.  Once you have a clear understanding of blogging, you’ll be able to utilize Affiliate Marketing to your advantage!


Learn How To Blog

By Celeste Stewart

Learn how to blog and join the exciting world of the blogosphere! Before you type your first word, you will need to take a variety of factors into consideration. Will your blog be public or private? Will you post anonymously or use your own name? What do you want to accomplish with your blog? Where will you post your blog? What features do you want? Will you allow others to post comments? Will you promote your blog? Being a blogger involves more than a willingness to learn how to blog, it also involves a commitment to blogging.

Blogging is a popular pastime on the Internet. The Pew Internet and American Life Project surveyed 7012 adults about blogging. Their July 2006 report estimates that about 12 million American adults blog. The survey concludes that while political bloggers grab the headlines, the majority of bloggers (37%) spend their time blogging about their lives and experiences. Politics played a starring role in about 11% of blogs. Entertainment blogs measured in at 7%, followed by sports at 6%, current events and news at 5%, business at 5%, technology at 4%, and religion, faith, or spirituality at 2%. Other blogging topics include hobbies, illness, education, organizations and volunteering.

You can blog on just about anything. If you like cats, you can create a blog about cats. Find your passion and create a blog. All you need is to learn how to blog, an interest you want to write about, and Internet access.

Businesses are also turning to blogging as a means of keeping their customers informed on the latest news, products or innovations.

For example, if your company designs high-end golf clubs, consider having one of your designers blog about the day-to-day challenges of creating a more precise putter, latest test results, or tips for getting the most out of the club’s features. Using a blog as a marketing tool can create buzz about your product and lend an insider’s voice to your website.

What you want to accomplish by blogging will affect the choices you make when creating your blog. If you want to rant and rave about how unfair your boss is, you will likely want to assume a pseudonym and remain anonymous to protect your identity and limit potential employers from reading your posts. If you are an expert on a particular topic, you will be more inclined to use your real identity. If your blog is designed to promote yourself, your product, or your services, you will want a high-profile blog. If you want to share recipes, photos, and family updates with friends and family members, you will likely prefer a private blog to a public one. Each blogging goal has its own path. When learning how to blog, keep this in mind.

First, determine your blogging goals and chart out a path toward achieving them. If being anonymous is your thing, make sure to use an assumed name, avoid giving out specific and identifying details, and take advantage of technology that helps keep your identity invisible. For example, you can find blogging sites dedicated to anonymity as well as software programs designed to block your IP address. You can also create a robots.txt file to instruct search engines not to index your webpage if you wish to avoid being “Googled.”

If you are planning on using your real identity, the next consideration is whether to make your blog public or private. Public blogs mean anyone can discover your blog and read it. Private blogs require an invitation or password – or more likely both. Most blog hosting sites allow bloggers to specify whether they prefer public or private blogs. In addition, if you choose a public blog, you will likely have a few publicity options including having your blog listed in a community directory on the blog host’s website as well as tools for submitting your blog to various search engines.  If you plan on being an affiliate marketer however, it’s probably best to keep your post public, otherwise, what’s the point? ..Right?!

Companies and individuals with websites often opt to post their blog on their websites or offer RSS feeds that interested viewers can subscribe to. This option makes the blog available from a central portal (your website) as well as via RSS readers. Most blogging websites make including your blog on your website or adding RSS functionality fairly simple. You may need to copy and paste some pieces of code here and there, but it is not difficult. In addition, by linking your blog to a page on your website, your website visitors will see your blog entries in the context of your website, complete with color schemes, themes, standard navigation links, and other design elements.

Sharing your personal thoughts, feelings, and musings with families and friends is fun too. If you are uncomfortable with the whole world being able to access and read your most intimate thoughts, go for a private blog.

In fact, the word “blog” derives from the term “web log” which is basically an internet-based diary. Many bloggers blog for their own personal satisfaction. Learning how to blog opens up a new way of recording your thoughts and feelings just as a diary does. Granting access to your blog is a big decision. If you are fine with family members and friends viewing it but do not want others to stumble across it, opt for a private blog.

Now that you know what you want to accomplish, the next step is choosing a blogging website and going live with your blog. Numerous blogging websites exist offering a variety of features available at little to no cost. Blogger, tBlog, WordPress, and TypePad are a few popular blogging websites. In addition, Yahoo and other prominent websites offer blogging to their users.

Finding a place to park your blog is as easy as typing “blogging” into an internet search engine. Check out a variety of blogging websites to find one that matches your needs, such as the option to choose a public or private blog. Some offer convenient RSS feeds and allow you to update your blog by simply sending an email to it. Others offer robust communities designed to get members reading each other’s blogs.

When you have chosen a blogging website, learning how to blog involves learning the ins and outs of the particular system. You will need a user name and password. In most cases, you will also have a choice of templates.

These templates can usually be customized if you want to tweak them to reflect your own personal tastes. Most blogs contain standard options such as profiles, link bars, and archives. Naturally, the main area features your actual blog posts. Posts generally have a title as well as a date stamp to assist readers.

After you have come up with a basic blog design, you are ready to enter your first post. Usually, this is done from within the blog website’s interface. You will have a text editor with basic functions including font choices and a variety of tools to assist you in uploading photos or inserting hyperlinks. Other blogging websites allow bloggers to send an email to the blog for instant blog updates. This option is terrific for those who want to actively update their blogs without having to login to a website each time.

Joining the blogosphere does not require a great deal of expertise. If you have a desire to put your voice out there and a willingness to learn how to blog, you will be up and blogging in no time.

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[Reference post, dated 07.09.2007 by Celeste Stewart, LifeScript.com - http://www.lifescript.com/Life/Timeout/Technology/Learn_How_To_Blog.aspx?gclid=CIa6ici-4acCFcZe2godb04U-Q&trans=1&du=1&ef_id=kYVNiDohtzcAAERR:20110322055649:s]

A Realistic Program With A Realistic Income – This is no Joke!

Hello Fellow Affiliate Marketers!

Liz here again with yet another review of yet another online money-making opportunity!

Okay…There are several different avenues for earning money online to include, but not limited to, Affiliate Marketing (of course), blogging, SEO, e-commerce, ebay auctioning, etc.  …This list is as long as the day!

But I discovered a program that you can do online without any cost whatsoever and virtually no risk for that matter.  I know what you’re thinking, “This is just another so-called ‘business opportunity’–that’s either a scam or a total waste of time!”  …Right?!  …Trust me…I know….I usually think the same thing–half the time! Let’s face it folks, the internet is full of bogus offers and so-called ‘opportunities.’  But don’t let that fact discourage you and cloud your judgment for every single thing that you happen to come across online.

You see, you have to learn ‘critical thinking’ skills which basically boils down to having a real sense of knowing what is believable and conceivable vs. something that is totally bogus and is a scam.  But remember the old rule of “one bad apple ruining the bunch”? …That does not always apply and certainly shouldn’t in conventional wisdom!

I’ve had my fair share of failed mishaps online and otherwise, so I know of what I speak…This comes from years of practice and experience, of trying the next ‘new sensation’ and flopping on so many other things that scammed me out of my hard-earned money.  This is why I’ve learned to develop my critical thinking skills and now I don’t dare attempt to try something online unless I know for a fact, that there is no risk and I’m safe to explore further–Hence the whole idea behind making money online from home without any money, or at least, very little of it!

Well….This is one of those programs where you’ll be scratching your head wondering….”What the heck is this?”  …And possibly the next question might be; “Could it be this easy?” …Oh…and of course, my favorite; “Does this really work?”

Well, sometimes you have folks that will endorse a product without ever really using it and then there are those, like me, who actually spend their hard-earned money on lots of things…yes…I still do….(you’d think I learned my lesson by now!)…but I still believe that if you weed through all of the clutter, eventually you’ll find that ‘diamond in the ruff.’

This program is so unique, I doubt there is another one online like it.  You may have come across it by chance through browsing, but never really took the time to really look at it before, or maybe you just chocked it up to be a scam and moved on.  But STOP…Take another look at this….I personally can attest that this is an option for some folks who want a simple and fast way of earning money….and you will….

You can literally start today and earn money before the day is over….I know that sounds far-fetched, but I’m telling you it’s true….Honestly.  If memory serves, I believe I earned my first $20 on the first day….And I don’t mean “In Theory” either….I mean ACTUAL money that you go to the bank and withdraw from your account because you earned it that day–the same day! …There’s no waiting for a check in the mail or any of that.  In fact, if you have a PayPal account, your money gets deposited into that account within seconds of completing your first project.  Projects take about 15-20 minutes depending on how fast you complete them–By the way, these projects are not surveys either.

Now there is a small learning curve with this program, because it’s not as simple as 1-2-3 to first catch on, but once you learn and understand how it works, it will be just like 1-2-3!  …My first tip is to watch the instructional videos…without them, you might get lost!

Here’s a check list of what this program offers:

  • Unlike all of the ridiculous “Make $1,000 a day” ads you see all over the Internet, this is the real deal.
  • It’s super easy and anyone can do it
  • You can be signed up and running in under an hour
  • Training Videos walk you through everything
  • You can get started today at ZERO COST to you

You won’t “get rich” but 1,000s of people have proven it’s a realistic extra income system for the “Average Joe.”

 

Check out the videos on the site and see what you think …Remember, There’s no obligation or commitment to anything.

Affiliate Marketers promoting this product will earn $2.00 for every person who simply types in their email address–Great CPA option!


 

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