say you are all setup with a website along with a product/service to sell (don't worry, I will cover off how to get there once we get through the pain points). The next thing not to do is to completely focus on monetizing the website. In other words, don't ignore the content by plastering your website with every money making banner and product you can find. As you can imagine, the point is to market a product, not just throw it in someone's face. When you are able to picture each website as a money making machine, you will understand that the best marketers hide the monetary aspects very effectively. I will discuss this aspect in more detail when we get down to research.
The other pain point here that could be more damaging is to not have a "draw" for your website. A "draw" is basically a way to capture your viewer’s attention and suck them in. The most popular "draws" will be the sales pitch for the new product, the free offer that comes when you sign-up for the e-mail list, or even the discount popup that entices you to take advantage of the offer right away. I like to call it draw but you will frequently hear the term "squeeze" (i.e. squeeze page). Trust me, we have professional advertisers and marketers out there who know exactly how people cannot help but fall for them.
I will also honestly point out that this pain point was the one I overlooked the most. I was so proud of myself when I had that website up, poured money into advertising it, and sat back waiting to become a success. I was a little more than shocked when I had a load of visitors and not a single sale. That experience demoralized me so much that I did not return to the internet marketing game for over 5 years. I spent almost $300 on that experience trying different forms of marketing not realizing I failed to draw people in to my website. That is why I recommend picturing all these for the marketing ploys they are, you will not be drawn into it and actually learn to appreciate the knowledge later on.
Also, while we are on the topic of website design, this is about making money so I will not tell you that content means you have to be some insightful expert on the product or service you sell. You need to understand enough that you can effectively market the benefits to others. The internet is so saturated with "experts" it makes you wonder who isn't one.