Can’t I Use A Free One?
A question I get asked often is – do I need a website of my own?
This is a GREAT question. When I started in this business I asked exactly the same. I had precisely ZERO knowledge of how to create a website. The thought terrified me. I had the attitude ‘I can’t do that’ (an attitude incidentally that I had to change and so will you).
It would be so much easier – so I thought – to use a website that I could get for free, and that was already set up for me. Particularly as there are so many free websites available.
Let me be blunt here.
Your website is integral to the success of your business. YOUR website, not somebody else’s. If you don’t spend at least a little time getting to learn the basics (which is the point of this eBook) you will be constantly nervous when working from home, as there will be a huge part of your business that you ‘don’t really understand.’ Clearly you cannot operate like this.
What happens when something goes wrong, or you want to make a very simple change to your site? Will you call up your technical person or your web buddy every time? Will you out-source all your web questions to someone else? Your website is the life blood of your business. Get used to it. If you really are serious about making money from home, you need to get over your web fear. You will accomplish that with this eBook.
By the end of this eBook, you will have created a basic, fully functioning, uploaded, published ON LINE website.
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Let me repeat that. By the end of this eBook you WILL have created a
basic, fully functioning, uploaded, published ONLINE website. It will not have the bells and whistles of advanced sites; to do that you will need expert help. But by following my step-by-step instructions in this eBook, you will create and upload your own 3 paged website. It’s quite an amazing feeling the first time you publish something on the web for the world to see!
So, back to the question – do I really need my own website? Can’t I use a free one?
It’s true, you can get free websites. Many fully operational with products ready to sell already included. So why on earth would you bother going through all the work to create your own website, when you can get a professional looking one – for free?
What I am about to tell you, nobody in the business explained to me.
I have one thing I want you to be clear on. The only ‘free’ website you will ever be offered is a ‘free’
AFFILIATE website.
Let’s look at exactly what this is:
Free AFFILIATE websites.
Please do not be put off by the word affiliate. I was when I began.
An affiliate – quite simply – is somebody (you) who promotes an existing product.
An affiliate will sign up to a certain programme, and will sell the products(s) from that programme (be it books/clothes/seminars etc).
As an affiliate you will be paid a commission on every sale you generate.
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An example. Amazon.com. A hugely successful business. But did you know you can get involved and sell their products if you want, by signing up to be an Amazon Affiliate (they call it an Associate – but it is the same thing). Then, through YOUR own website, you will sell whatever products you like of Amazon’s.
You may well have seen the Amazon logo on other people’s website. If you click on this logo you will be sent to Amazon.com, and if you purchase the product that the website you were viewing was advertising, Amazon will pay you a commission.
This works well for both parties; Amazon benefit because they have thousands of other sellers (affiliates) marketing their products. And the affiliates benefit because they have quality products to sell.
Of course however - right now - as you read this eBook, this is of little help, because you do not actually have your own website. I can hear you saying ‘all very interesting but how does this help me?’
Let me tell you.
A lot of affiliate programs have realized that people do not want to go to the trouble of creating their own site, and so a lot of affiliate programs now give away a free website when you sign up to become an affiliate.
This sounds great! Your own site already set up, fully operational and stocked full of products, and – what’s more - the facilities to take credit card payments. No need to design a site yourself, source your own products etc. It sounds ideal!
Well, just hang on a moment.
There are pros and cons.
Let’s go through both quickly – as it is important you understand this.
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Pros.
Online Affiliate Marketing is HUGE. In 2007, the affiliate industry worldwide earned $9.5 billion.
Tens of thousands of affiliates make money everyday, and thousands of people have quit their day jobs to become full time affiliate marketers.
It is a good business to get into, because you do not need any experience to start, and you can make good money by selling other peoples products.
Another good side about using an affiliate website for the complete beginner - is that it will give you a ‘web presence’ immediately. This is vital to build up your CONFIDENCE (trust me on this – in this business you will need as much CONFIDENCE as possible, as there will be plenty of frustration coming your way too).
It is very easy to get a free affiliate website up and running. Type in
‘affiliate’ in Google and just see how many offers there are.
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Cons.
No affiliate site will tell you what the BIGGEST problem of affiliate marketing is. To be fair – it is not their responsibility to tell you– but I want to flag this up for you immediately. The clue of what the biggest problem is - can be found in the title. It’s called affiliate MARKETING.
‘MARKETING’. A lot of people forget this. So you sign up for an affiliate program, and now you have a fantastic looking site stacked full of hot products …. now what? What next? The affiliate program does NOT help you market their products – you’re on your own for that.
This is why the majority of people do not make ANY money as an affiliate. Note I say the ‘majority’. Sure – some people do make fantastic incomes purely as an affiliate, but these people work hard, marketing their site ruthlessly and taking their business very seriously.
The problem is – most people believe that simply having a site full of great products – is enough. It isn’t. And it’s for this reason that most people fail as affiliates. Nobody tells you this. It took me two years to learn.
Getting a site stocked with products is only the half of it. And it’s the easy half. It’s the MARKETING of your site that takes the hard work.
It’s all very well having a nice site that looks great, but you need to master the skills to market your site (remember the four elements needed for success in this business).
Another thing – that a lot of successful affiliate marketers do not tell you
– is that they have spent years building a database of customers. They will market their new products direct to this list.
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As a newcomer, you will not have this list. You will have to build your own list. And building a list is a HUGE (and fascinating) topic in itself (but not covered in this eBook).
Summary of using an affiliate website:
For the complete beginner, affiliate marketing is a good way to get your feet wet – a good way to learn the ropes.
If you are offered an affiliate program for a product you like, and you are offered a free website, I would suggest signing up if only to get a feel for how the business works.
However - be warned. I know a lot of people who have made next to no money through affiliates. Sure, it can be done, but be prepared to put in the hours. Although this is an online business, you have to treat it as an offline business.
The real way to make money through affiliates is to be the person who creates the product originally. By sourcing affiliates to work for you and sell YOUR product – you can make a very handsome income. Most affiliates do it the other way around, and sell OTHER PEOPLE’S
products.
Being an affiliate selling someone else’s product, can be tough. There could be thousands of other people selling the same product. And for the complete newcomer to make some serious money doing this, it can be very daunting. BUT, to learn how an affiliate program works, it is invaluable EXPERIENCE. (The money will follow if you get the nuts and bolts right).
Whereas there VERY MUCH IS a place for free affiliate websites, hopefully by now you will realize that those who are successful in this Page 13
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business have created a site of their own. And if you want to be taken seriously in this business, so should you.
You owe it to yourself. This is your business we are talking about. You have to know how your website works, after all, it will eventually become your own personal ATM.
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