Making Money with Articles: Becoming an Affiliate

If you can either write articles or have the promotion and marketing knowledge to publicize articles that others write, becoming an affiliate for several companies may be a great way for you to generate a good income right from your own home. You can do this by receiving part of the revenue off of sales that the company gets from people who “click through” from your website via the company’s links that are placed on your pages.

Since you will be promoting a product or service, you will need a killer sales pitch and website content to get your readers interested in the product, convince them that they cannot live without the product, and to keep them coming back to your website time and time again for more recommendations and your useful content, which will get them clicking on your links once again. Although many affiliate companies only give you money off of the first sale you make from each customer, you have the option of promoting a good range of companies so that you can still make a profit off of your returning customers.

If you cannot write this kind of content of your own, there are many ways to pick up free or paid content to place on your affiliate website. There are many reasons why paying for such articles would be to your advantage. First, you will be able to tell the writer exactly what you want, what product you are trying to sell, and what direction they can go in to keep your readers interested and informed. On the other hand, when you search for free content, you are limited to what is already out there. Secondly, you will own the copyright to this content. That means that no one else can reuse it without your consent. If you opt for free content, you will be sharing that content with an unknown amount of other affiliate websites, plus the original author will be able to place their byline at the bottom of the article which could result in them stealing your traffic.

There are many products that have nice affiliate commission rates for those who know how to pre-sale their product and deliver click through customers who are ready to buy. As long as you choose to promote a product or service that can be very useful to a wide variety of people, then pre-selling your chosen company may not be that hard at all. The key in this situation may likely be getting those customers to your website so that they have a chance to see your recommendations and click on your affiliate links.

Making Money with Articles: Banner Advertisements

When you are trying to make money off of the articles on your website, it is important to effectively promote your site so that you will attract customers and they can see just what a good, quality site you have. There are several ways so market and promote your website, one of them being though banner advertisements.

What Banner Ads Can Do For You

Banner ads can help bring visitors from others sites to your own. Although monthly fees can be expensive to advertise on high traffic sites, in the end it may be cheaper and/or a faster way to start seeing significant revenue from your website efforts, rather than waiting for SEO techniques to bring your own site to the top of search engine results. Aside from paying to advertise on someone else’s site, there are also free banner exchanges to choose from. We will look at the pros and cons of each banner advertising method below.

Free Banner Exchanges

Free banner exchanges are when you and other sites exchange each others banners. Their banner will go on your site and your banner will go one their site. Although this option is free, there are two main problems with it. First, if you want your banner on a significant number of sites, it will mean cluttering your own site up with these banners. This could even shot you in the foot if you run an affiliate website because, instead of clicking on your affiliate links, your visitors may be clicking on your banner exchange links. Secondly, you have to be really careful about the types of sites that you exchange banners with. Some sites like to gather a lot of banners so that they can be a directory or portal site and not have to have any real content. These “banner farms” or “link farms” will do nothing positive for your site and, in the meantime, you will be bringing them potential traffic.

Paid Banner Ads

As we saw above, paid banner ads cost money, but they will eventually pay off if you choose the right ones. You need to ensure that the site produces the amount of traffic that they say and that they have your ad placed in a way that invites visitors to click without being too pushy. You also want to choose a site that does not house too many other banners on the same page as yours or that there are no competitor links on the same page.

All in all, banner ads can end up being profitable for you site if you go about it the right way. If you do decide to check out banner advertisement as a marketing avenue, be sure to keep the above tips in mind.

DomainsByProxy The horror... Cancel Your Account!

I found myself a couple days ago in a predicament.  I had registered a domain many years ago with a friend and that friend had signed it up for domainsbyproxy to keep the identity under wraps. Well, that was great for the time, but now that the domain is very aged and not really needed any longer I planned on selling it.

It would fetch a very pretty penny since it's 8 years old and an authority domain with listings in dmoz and other hard to get in to directories. Well, with that I went to update everything. It was a horrible suprise to find out that I couldn't get in to the domainsbyproxy account to turn it off. I could renew it, but I couldn't get rid of the privacy option.

I was angry. I called Godaddy. The man on the phone was less than helpful and said "You should keep it on there. It's good for privacy!" Thanks, but no. I explained that I didn't need it anymore and that all I needed was the account number for the domainsbyproxy account. (All the while there is some guys hooting and yelling in the background. Godaddy at night must be less of a business and more of a frat party!) He sent me a link which just brought me to an FAQ about domainsbyproxy. Oh, wonderful.

I found the domainsbyproxy phone number and called them. Again no help or love! They couldn't help me. All I needed was the stupid account number, because I knew the password! Send us some form of ID. So, I did... They message me back and tell me that isn't the person on the account. I get pissed and send a really old scan of my friend's ID. They message me back and say because it is expired they can't help me, and to send me a recent scan. Well, that would be great if I could get a hold of it, but I can't because we aren't friends anymore!

They literally tell me that I am stuck with both the domain name and the privacy because I can't get in...

And then... A stroke of brillance! Godaddy actually provides you with those customer numbers right in your account!

Getting Your DomainsByProxy Customer Number From GoDaddy

Go to your domain manager 

In your domain manager click add in the add privacy tab.

Once you click it you'll be forwarded...

Click the add and you'll be taken to another page to add that domain to your current batch of privacy.

Now, you'll have your customer number! Head over to domainsbyproxy.com and log in. Your password if you never changed it should be the same as your godaddy password. (How unsecured is that?)

My best option is to change domain managers!

Get A Free Domain Using This Coupon!

Or if you want to stay with Godaddy use coupon codes when buying!

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32% off products at Godaddy!

Chapter 2: Step 1 – The Tools

Chapter 2: Step 1 – The Tools

Without the proper tools you will not succeed in your Internet business ventures.  That's a guarantee!

A carpenter can't build a house without a hammer and nails.  It's just that simple.

If you don't acquire the proper tools for your Internet marketing business, you're not going to succeed.  Period.

So, what tools do you need?

Tool #1 – A Website...

You may have heard it before, but until you get your own web site, you will not have very much success with your marketing efforts.

The number one reason you need to get your own web site is so you can brand yourself.  Branding allows you to become known around the Internet.  It gives you a unique personality on the Internet and sets you apart from the millions of others out there.

Years ago when I first got started on the Internet, I purchased my first domain name, StayHomeDads.com.  Since then I have done everything on the Internet related to that brand and now I am pretty well known in some circles as StayHomeDad.

Let me give you an example.  In July 2008 I attended an offline event called JV Alert Live in Philadelphia, PA.  As I was meeting people in person that I had only heard of on the Internet, they would say “Oh, so you're Stay Home Dad?”  It was amazing that they knew who I was because of my branding.

Another big reason you want a web site of your own is so you can control the content.  When you start to run your blog you want to be able to advertise products on it.  Many of the free blog solutions do not allow you to do any sort of advertising.  There have been many marketers who have lost their blogs on a free blog site due to violation of the advertising policies.  If you own your web site, within the terms of the hosting company, you can control the content on that site.

I host all of my web sites with Hostgator.com.  They provide hosting with unlimited space, unlimited domains, unlimited emails, unlimited mysql databases, and so much more for a low monthly price. 

Check out HostGator.com Here.

Tool #2 – An Autoresponder...

“The money is in the list.”  You've probably heard it a million times.  If you don't have an autoresponder, you will not be able to build and maintain a list of any significant size.

An autoresponder is basically a service that will allow you to email your leads on a scheduled or on-demand basis.  A good autoresponder service will allow you to create a series of emails to start sending your subscribers immediately.  This is useful to create an e-course or to set up a series of emails that will allow you to automatically sell your own or affiliate products over time.  You should also be able to send out a broadcast email on-demand to your list using your autoresponder service.  This will allow you to promote the latest affiliate promotions to your list as they come out.

The number one reason to use an autoresponder is that it allows you to build a relationship with your subscribers.

Developing a relationship is very important in your Internet Marketing efforts.  How many times have you received a promotion for some new product, and waited to see if you receive the same promotion from a specific marketer you like?  I've done that a number of times, if for nothing more than to be loyal to a friend.  I've even passed over some incredible bonuses to purchase through the link of a friend!

So, you need an autoresponder in order to build a relationship with your list.  The better the relationship the more sales you'll make.

Now, before you get upset about the idea of selling to your friends, think of it this way.  If you purchase something from Amazon.com, you'll receive several offers a week from them.  Buy something from your favorite online clothes store, you'll start getting more offers to your inbox.  The point is, when people buy something from you, the expect to be sold something else.  If you don't try to sell them anything else, they will leave your list and you're business will go broke.

Bottom line, you need to build a relationship with your list, and you make offers to them to make an income.

Tool #3 – A Product...

Now, when I first heard that I had to have a product of my own, my first thought was, “There is no way I can create a product.”  If you're just starting out, I'm sure you probably feel the same way.

However, last year I discovered a secret, you don't have to create a product from scratch!

There are two types of products that you can use so you don't have to create your own product.

The first is PLR products.  Private Label Rights or PLR is a product that basically someone else creates from scratch, and sells you the rights to modify it and call it your own.  Up until this product you're reading right now, all of my products have been modified PLR.  (Shh, don't tell anyone, I've done very well building my list with those products that I didn't write myself!) ;-)

PLR gives you the opportunity to create a unique product without having to come up with it yourself.  However, if used incorrectly you can get yourself into a lot of trouble.  To learn more about how to correctly use PLR check out PLR Secrets Exposed.  This course will teach you all you need to know about how to use PLR effectively.  

The other type of product is a product that you can rebrand.  Rebrandable products are created by someone else but they allow you to change the links to their recommended resources to your own affiliate links.  Usually when you purchase the rebranding rights you are given a rebranding package which usually includes a rebranding software that allows you to put your affiliate ids into the product.  A new type of rebranding is online rebranding where you don't actually receive a rebranding software, but you put your links into a page online then are allowed to download the product already rebranded.

Recently two services have opened up that allow you to rebrand high quality products online.  These services give you the ability to brand products online, then you can download the branded version to give away.

Both types of products, PLR and Branded, give you a product that you can give away without you having to go through the process of creating a product from scratch.

I said “give away” up above and that is the reason you want a product.  If you can give away a product of value to someone in exchange for their name and email address, that is how you build your list.  Once you build your list, you can then market to that list any time you want.  That is what puts you on the road to success.

To recap, you need 3 tools in order to start your Internet business down the path to success.  1 – A web site so you can control the content.  2 – An autoresponder so you can follow up with your prospects.  3 – A product that you can give away to entice people to join your list.

3 Steps To Newbie Success

I want to start out by telling you that this “Internet Thing” really isn't that tough, once you figure it out.  Hang in there, apply what you learn and you will become successful.

I also want to give full disclosure...

I am NOT an Internet Guru.  I don't live in a million dollar house and have fancy sports cars.  I'm not even earning a full time income from my Internet activities.

So why should you listen to me?  I've been on the Internet for years, trying out many different ways to earn money.  I've joined numerous “Get Rich Here” opportunities only to be disappointed.  I've spent thousands and thousands of dollars in search of the “One Key” that would finally turn my business into a profitable venture.

I have literally “Been There and Done That” with just about every Internet opportunity available.

I have a “Ph.D. in How Not To Build An Internet Business” awarded from the School of Hard Knocks.

I'm pretty sure I've found all the ways to fail, and now I've found the way to succeed.

This report will show you the simple 3-Step System to succeeding on the Internet.  If you've been struggling to make your Internet business work for you, then this book will show you the path to follow.

I also want to tell you that I'm not going to guarantee anything.  I don't know you or your situation, your skills or your talents.  What might work for me, may or may not work for you.

What I am going to tell you, however, is that if you follow these simple steps in this system, you should be well on your way to becoming a success on the Internet.

Making Money with Articles: Article Directories

Article directories are websites that house free articles. These articles are usually put there by whoever owns the copyright to them as a promotion method. Each article has the owners byline placed under it so that those who eventually read the article will know who wrote it (or at least who owns it) and will be able to get in contact with or visit their website for further information.

Articles directories are a great place to put your articles so that they will make you money. By using this method, people who are interested in your product or service will see your article, view you as an expert in the subject, and will visit your website. Even if you cannot write or do not have any knowledge on the subject on which you are promoting (for example for you run an affiliate website), you can always hire a writer to do the work for you. Getting quality articles written will be expensive up front, but they will pay for themselves in no time, either through affiliate sales or selling your own services, and everything from then on is pure profit.

Let’s take a real life example. Imagine that you are an accountant working from home. You write an article on an accounting topic and place it on various article directories. Those who are looking for the subject you wrote about will read your article, see that you have the knowledge and skill that is needed to do a job for them, and visit your website or contact you via e-mail. Your article just gained you a new client who may use your services regularly, but will definitely give you a nice profit at least once.

Furthermore, since you have posted it on a free article directory, others who have affiliate websites about accounting will inevitably use your article for their website. Since they must attach your byline to it, this will bring you even more exposure for every website that re-posts your article. This because you will be benefiting of off the traffic that they get to their website.

There are numerous article directories out there for you to utilize. Your bet best is to put a copy of each of your articles on every one for maximum exposure. It will eventually help to bring more traffic and customers to your website, which will lead to new orders and more profit.