With this post, I would like to highlight the importance of having your own Website/Blog and how it will simplify your online journey and give you a better chance of being successful.
Every business that we know outside of our computer screens has a local point of distribution, whether it be a warehouse, a store, an office building, or even the local corner stand selling hot dogs. An online business is not that much different at all and creating a specific location for your products and/or services gives you leverage above those without one. Sites or blogs have many ways to promote yourself, your services, or products uniquely and most of all they are flexible, allowing you to add or delete content without serious impact on your traffic resources.
A smart marketer will know that it’s much more efficient to drive traffic to one specific location than it is to drive traffic to different locations. To be honest, what would be easier – driving traffic to 3 affiliate sales pages or driving traffic to one location that host all three programs at once?
Web sites and blogs will Never Die because the internet depends on them. They are the structure of search engines and most of all they are like property – the older they get along with their domain, the more value they gain. On the other hand, products have no guarantee or long lifespan. Products get promoted and "out-sold" eventually and they will always be replaced with better ones. Remember Windows XP? It’s done and over with, and you will not make a cent trying to sell it now, but Windows itself has a website that hosts the new and better versions, therefore they are still making money even though the old product had died down.
By creating sales pages on one specific product you can make enough profits, but when that product dies down, you are stuck at the beginning yet again and have to start the entire process over again. By having a website that’s been built up to have a good visitor count, you can remove outdated products and replace them with something new and still have your traffic. By the way – visitors love new products being added every once in a while instead of seeing the old over-promoted products all the time.
I am sure that everyone reading this had stumbled upon a program promising you to make tons of money without a website, and I will most certainly not argue that at all, but again what happens when your product gets outdated or visitors lose interest? Many marketers promote platforms, products, and programs that promise riches without requiring a website. True in some instances, but with the recent updates and dodgy affiliates that use spam to promote their products, a lot of merchants require affiliates to have a website now to prove credibility.
Most credible and reputable companies that offer excellent affiliate programs require affiliates to only use the stipulated marketing techniques they provide, and in most cases, you need to provide your website URL and the visitor count to prove your online reputation. With spam and online scams taking over, a lot of companies enforced strict stipulations on how their products should be promoted by keeping their affiliates on a shorter leash to keep their own reputation intact.
By creating a website or blog your possibilities are endless and limited only by your imagination, resourcefulness, and originality. You can explore other programs and strategies that have promising possibilities, but when all else fails you will always have a website to fall back on.
Okay, so there will obviously still be a few questions, right?
What type of website creator should I choose?
My top recommendation is obviously WordPress. Not only it is favored by Google, but it gives you the freedom to build any kind of website that you desire without limitations. WordPress has a learning curve, but once you have conquered the platform, your possibilities become even greater.
What about hosting?
Choosing a hosting company might seem like a no-brainer, but the actual truth, hosting can be the thin line between a successful website and an absolute failure.
Allow me to elaborate...
Hosting companies either have a good reputation or a bad one, simple as that. When your site is hosted by a company with a bad reputation, your website will struggle to rise above the millions already online.
Let's define bad hosting reputation – These are hosting companies that allow for any kind of website that includes adult, spamming, duplicate, malicious, hate, and illegal content. Web sites like these usually get reported and if it happens too many times on the same host, the hosting company will lose credibility and all the websites on the same host will suffer. Basically, you can have the most awesome website and work hard to get rankings and traffic, if the host is not up to standard, your website will also fail the test. Remember, cheap hosting is sometimes cheap for a good reason. Thus make sure that you choose a Reliable Hosting company with a solid reputation.
What about Content – What do I have to write about?
First, let us understand the meaning of content. Content is a variety of things like video, comments and dialogue, images, and most importantly text that is added to your website regularly. The more content you create, the more traffic your website will generate.
Now, for the good news. You can create a website on almost any topic you fancy and profit from it. Notice I said “almost”, obviously topics like “how to sell ice in Alaska” and “winter jackets in the Sahara desert” are no-nos. You will still have to do keyword research to determine if your topic has an interest, but the choice is extremely wide and you will most likely be able to write about your skills, passions, or interests. The idea is to make money while having fun doing it!
Hate writing? No problem, I always recommend that a person write his/her own content to save on costs. However, if you feel like this mountain is too big to climb, you can always outsource your workload and focus more on the marketing side of your website.
What about Traffic, how will I get visitors to my site?
Now that you have your website and added the content you will need visitors, also known as online traffic. There are quite a few ways with which to generate traffic; here are the most popular methods:
How will I make money with my website?
Well, that is it, folks! If you would like to add something to this post, maybe a tip or two, or just have a question that needs an answer, be sure to leave a comment.
Have Yourself an Awesome Day!
Long post but worth reading, this could save you time, money, and frustration.
A Website – Your basic Foundation
Do not be told otherwise, anyone who is serious about building a successful online business will take this seriously. A website is your central point of communication and online presence. Many products that are sold nowadays highlight the fact that you do not need a website to make money and that it can be done by using Facebook and social media. This is far from the truth, no one likes to be spammed on their social platforms and a bunch of spammy emails will not get you far either. In fact, these methods will hurt your reputation and make it even harder to build trust. Honestly, your goal should be to make sales, not annoy people.
Every business that we know outside of our computer screens has a local point of distribution, whether it be a warehouse, a store, an office building, or even the local corner stand selling hot dogs. An online business is not that much different at all and creating a specific location for your products and/or services gives you leverage above those without one. Sites or blogs have many ways to promote yourself, your services, or products uniquely and most of all they are flexible, allowing you to add or delete content without serious impact on your traffic resources.
A smart marketer will know that it’s much more efficient to drive traffic to one specific location than it is to drive traffic to different locations. To be honest, what would be easier – driving traffic to 3 affiliate sales pages or driving traffic to one location that host all three programs at once?
Web sites and blogs will Never Die because the internet depends on them. They are the structure of search engines and most of all they are like property – the older they get along with their domain, the more value they gain. On the other hand, products have no guarantee or long lifespan. Products get promoted and "out-sold" eventually and they will always be replaced with better ones. Remember Windows XP? It’s done and over with, and you will not make a cent trying to sell it now, but Windows itself has a website that hosts the new and better versions, therefore they are still making money even though the old product had died down.
By creating sales pages on one specific product you can make enough profits, but when that product dies down, you are stuck at the beginning yet again and have to start the entire process over again. By having a website that’s been built up to have a good visitor count, you can remove outdated products and replace them with something new and still have your traffic. By the way – visitors love new products being added every once in a while instead of seeing the old over-promoted products all the time.
I am sure that everyone reading this had stumbled upon a program promising you to make tons of money without a website, and I will most certainly not argue that at all, but again what happens when your product gets outdated or visitors lose interest? Many marketers promote platforms, products, and programs that promise riches without requiring a website. True in some instances, but with the recent updates and dodgy affiliates that use spam to promote their products, a lot of merchants require affiliates to have a website now to prove credibility.
Most credible and reputable companies that offer excellent affiliate programs require affiliates to only use the stipulated marketing techniques they provide, and in most cases, you need to provide your website URL and the visitor count to prove your online reputation. With spam and online scams taking over, a lot of companies enforced strict stipulations on how their products should be promoted by keeping their affiliates on a shorter leash to keep their own reputation intact.
By creating a website or blog your possibilities are endless and limited only by your imagination, resourcefulness, and originality. You can explore other programs and strategies that have promising possibilities, but when all else fails you will always have a website to fall back on.
Okay, so there will obviously still be a few questions, right?
What type of website creator should I choose?
My top recommendation is obviously WordPress. Not only it is favored by Google, but it gives you the freedom to build any kind of website that you desire without limitations. WordPress has a learning curve, but once you have conquered the platform, your possibilities become even greater.
What about hosting?
Choosing a hosting company might seem like a no-brainer, but the actual truth, hosting can be the thin line between a successful website and an absolute failure.
Allow me to elaborate...
Hosting companies either have a good reputation or a bad one, simple as that. When your site is hosted by a company with a bad reputation, your website will struggle to rise above the millions already online.
Let's define bad hosting reputation – These are hosting companies that allow for any kind of website that includes adult, spamming, duplicate, malicious, hate, and illegal content. Web sites like these usually get reported and if it happens too many times on the same host, the hosting company will lose credibility and all the websites on the same host will suffer. Basically, you can have the most awesome website and work hard to get rankings and traffic, if the host is not up to standard, your website will also fail the test. Remember, cheap hosting is sometimes cheap for a good reason. Thus make sure that you choose a Reliable Hosting company with a solid reputation.
What about Content – What do I have to write about?
First, let us understand the meaning of content. Content is a variety of things like video, comments and dialogue, images, and most importantly text that is added to your website regularly. The more content you create, the more traffic your website will generate.
Now, for the good news. You can create a website on almost any topic you fancy and profit from it. Notice I said “almost”, obviously topics like “how to sell ice in Alaska” and “winter jackets in the Sahara desert” are no-nos. You will still have to do keyword research to determine if your topic has an interest, but the choice is extremely wide and you will most likely be able to write about your skills, passions, or interests. The idea is to make money while having fun doing it!
Hate writing? No problem, I always recommend that a person write his/her own content to save on costs. However, if you feel like this mountain is too big to climb, you can always outsource your workload and focus more on the marketing side of your website.
What about Traffic, how will I get visitors to my site?
Now that you have your website and added the content you will need visitors, also known as online traffic. There are quite a few ways with which to generate traffic; here are the most popular methods:
- Rankings in Google (Search Engine Optimization) By ranking high on Google and the most popular search engines you will receive visitors daily and this will generate you an income on autopilot.
- Writing quality content
- Creating Videos
- Viral marketing
- Paid Traffic
- Article marketing
- Social media
How will I make money with my website?
There are numerous ways that you can make money from your website-building skills. The most popular methods are:
- Selling Affiliate Products
- Selling Advertising space
- By promoting or recommending Amazon products
- Selling your own products or services
- Google Ad-sense advertising on your website
- Product reviews
These are just a few ways to earn money from your website, but the possibilities are endless.
Do I need support?
I always recommend finding a good support structure. Not only does it save time but also money and effort. It is much easier to make progress when you have skilled marketers who guide the way and answer questions and concerns. With so many scams and false promises lurking behind the rainbow of dreams, the online world has become a battlefield and newbies are mostly the victims. Programs with a proactive support system should be considered. A forum-based or support ticket system is NOT active and direct, you could end up waiting for days on end before you receive help.
Do I need support?
I always recommend finding a good support structure. Not only does it save time but also money and effort. It is much easier to make progress when you have skilled marketers who guide the way and answer questions and concerns. With so many scams and false promises lurking behind the rainbow of dreams, the online world has become a battlefield and newbies are mostly the victims. Programs with a proactive support system should be considered. A forum-based or support ticket system is NOT active and direct, you could end up waiting for days on end before you receive help.
My Own Experience - What Can Go Wrong without a Website?
I've been working online since 2012 and creating this very website that you are on right now, was my first priority. Still exists, makes money, and is evolving with time, adapting to the changes. Here is a list of things that had/could go wrong and how my websites help(ed) me to stay on top of major changes that happened.
Affiliate Programs can crash – Yes, ladies and gents, this could happen and when it does, your entire house of cards can tumble down. Let me elaborate. So, you do not have a website and only promote one product or service. Great, now you post about it on Social media, build up a good reputation for yourself; distribute content filled with your links, and most likely even pay for advertising methods. After months of hard work, you finally make progress and earn good money. Great, right? Let’s toss you a curveball and say for instance your affiliate program has lost interest or even worse, closed down. What now? Simple answer, you are back at square 1 and all the effort is lost. With your own website, this will not be too much of a headache because you still have traffic and visitors. You can simply replace your failed program with a better one and catch up relatively fast.
This is 2022 and most platforms like Facebook will not allow affiliate links anymore! In fact, affiliate links are now frowned upon by many UNLESS it is used correctly. Sure, a sales page will do better, but again, people are so used to them, that they are no longer a major attraction unless you have a "super product". One thing that has not changed and remains is unique quality content!
Other methods of earning an online income work! HOWEVER, in many cases, there is a risk factor involved. For instance, I have seen many YouTube accounts get closed down lately, some of them had thousands if not millions of subscribers. Years of hard work, down the drain without a backup. Social media accounts have a tendency to lose popularity or again, get reported or closed down.
To sum it up, your additional methods of earning an income should complement your website(s) to make for a long-lasting online business.
I do not know how to build my first Word Press website! Where Do I Start?
There are hundreds of platforms and learning programs that teach WordPress website development. Some are great, while others are not kept up to date. My top recommendation above all is Wealthy Affiliate. Not only will you learn how to build your first website but also learn all about Keyword Research, content marketing, and every aspect I mentioned above. The support system is above standard and proactive, meaning you will never struggle alone. The company has a great reputation and offers “all in one” learning materials that are easy to follow.
Why do I recommend them apart from their reputation?
They have a Free Membership that includes all the basic training and 2 top-class WordPress websites. Perfect for those who have limited funds, but still have the willpower to succeed.
There are hundreds of platforms and learning programs that teach WordPress website development. Some are great, while others are not kept up to date. My top recommendation above all is Wealthy Affiliate. Not only will you learn how to build your first website but also learn all about Keyword Research, content marketing, and every aspect I mentioned above. The support system is above standard and proactive, meaning you will never struggle alone. The company has a great reputation and offers “all in one” learning materials that are easy to follow.
Why do I recommend them apart from their reputation?
They have a Free Membership that includes all the basic training and 2 top-class WordPress websites. Perfect for those who have limited funds, but still have the willpower to succeed.
Feel Free to Read my detailed Wealthy Affiliate Review if you like to know more about the program.
Well, that is it, folks! If you would like to add something to this post, maybe a tip or two, or just have a question that needs an answer, be sure to leave a comment.
Have Yourself an Awesome Day!
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