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Hi all
My name is Mike and I'm a total newbie who is hoping to break into this tough business. I look forward to learning as much as I can. Thanks for this great forum!!
Hello @Muubie , welcome to AffiliateFix and the Dojo! Thanks for joining us.
My first recommendation is to stop thinking of this as a tough business. It is not, not in any way. This business can be challenging, but most any business is challenging. Like anything else, when you take the time to get an understanding of the industry and select an entry point, and find the right people to help you get your footing and support you, your personal growth will have begun and your confidence will not waiver.
Use this forum as a mentor. It's full of members at every level of experience which makes for many balanced perspectives for a Newbie to learn from. Take the time to read through the forums here and see for yourself that the Newbies achieving success have actually dedicated themselves to success in this industry and reaping the rewards by following the advice of fellow AffiliateFix members, being dedicated to success, putting the time in, and making the necessary investments. You cannot shortcut the learning curve. It goes slower for some and it goes faster for others. Everyone has their own intellectual absorption rates, skill development pace, commitment level, and budgets.
You are a FIX'er now and that means you have the world at your feet with IM. Here are a few suggestions:
Read and learn through extensive reading in this community. Select one vertical. one tracker, and one traffic source. Learn from your fellow members here to master each one of them (a couple of months). Then you can expand and replicate your successes.
As a Newbie, you need to read, study, invest, and implement. Perseverance, dedication, and taking action are the cornerstones of the success you will obtain.
Read
Read through the various areas of the forum to learn about the types of marketing available for your new business. Make a list of all the types of marketing and take some notes along the way. Then determine which area of marketing with which you will start your journey.
Do this to select an area of marketing to start, as well, do this to select a tracker, a traffic source, and to select a vertical.
Then read up on the affiliate networks and select two to begin with that will serve your needs and the types of offers you would like to promote. Put your application in and they will call you for an interview. Be professional and be prepared to answer some questions about how you will promote offers, do you have a website, are you a Newbie, etc. Please note, if you join the Dojo, we have a thread there that can offer assistance in getting accepted to some of the networks.
Study
Now that you have selected a basis to begin, read all of the threads in this forum that relate to your initial selections so that you have a rudimentary understanding of their features and benefits.
Invest
You will require some investment. A VPS server, domains, traffic, landing pages, etc. You will need a budget for daily, weekly, and monthly expenses. This will change over time and you will need to update it often so that you know exactly what your costs and earnings are.
Implement
This is where it all starts to earn. You must now begin to implement what you have established as your foundation for your business.
Here is some advice and guidance that will help you establish your initial goals:
Make sure you complete the following first.
Every business needs:
1. a plan
2. a schedule for research, learning, and execution
3. a budget.
Remember to read through our WIKI and get to know the basics as well as some of the buzz words in the industry.
I also recommend reading the following thread:
As a Newbie, What Stops You From Getting Started
Here is a set of immediate goals:
1. Get a VPS
2. Select a vertical
3. Select a tracker
4. Select a couple of networks and get your approval
5. Select a traffic source
6. Create a schedule for researching, learning (training), and working. This is a business, treat it as such!
7. Create a budget for every expense (daily, weekly, monthly)
8. Be very active in this forum by researching, asking questions, helping others when you are able.
Remember This! : Nothing has to be perfect before you start. Read & study, but invest and implement at the same time. You cannot learn all of it from reading and studying. A great deal of your learning comes from implementing!
Good Luck!
T J
Thanks so much for this TJ. I'm actually going to be using your post as my personal guide.
The funny thing is I'm trying not to overthink it but I find myself doing exactly that. I think personality wise this is one of the many things I need to work on. I'd like your opinion on some of the goals you set for me. I apologize in advance for the log post.
You mentioned I need a VPS. Is this used for lead pages only or do I also put my tracker on this? I was considering Liquid Web, InMotion Hosting, Beyond Hosting. Is there any host you think would be more suitable for a beginner in terms of ease of use or cost? I read that instead of a VPS you can use a CDN. Is a CDN a type of VPS setup that spreads the load to different VPS'?
As for vertical, I'm still exploring. I'd consider anything but would prefer no adult.
I'm trying to decide between 3 different trackers, Voluum, Thrive and Funnel Flux. I think I very generally understand what trackers do any why they are important but when I try and dig a little deeper to understand the process I'm getting lost. I tried to follow servandosilva's guide here: http://www.affiliatefix.com/threads/voluum-the-ultimate-guide.9411/ and it got to be a bit overwhelming ie CNAME, Double Meta refresh redirects, Cloaking. Don't laugh, but the more I looked into each term the more I ended up drifting further away from what I was originally looking up. Is the tracking industry so competitive that they are all pretty much the same? Can I choose self hosted and put it on the VPS/CDN? I don't feel I know enough about tracking to compare their differences in features/benefits and make a wise decision.
I am looking at several networks to sign up with. The first is A4D. I chose this one more for it's reputation and the reputation of it's founder, Jason Akatiff (smaxor). I also liked his game that teaches affiliate marketing to newbies (playstartupalley.com). The game is still being developed but I finished up to their highest level so far. The second network I'm looking into Peerfly. I chose this one from what I read on the forums and also I liked LukePeerfly's blog. Are these two recommended for newbies? Do they even accept complete newbies? Should I choose more than two networks to start with?
As a source I was leaning towards mobile since it's supposed to be hot now. Are there certain verticals that are more newbie friendly? Maybe a vertical that will allow a newbie to get familiar with the "fundamentals" first? I'm assuming that some verticals by nature might be more complex and are better left to those that have some experience. I also was thinking of Facebook (a more complex vertical) but from the little I've read it sounds easy to get banned and there are many restrictions. Come to think of it, that could also be a big plus if I'm able to deal with the obstacles, what do you think?
I haven't really created a schedule yet, since right now it's all just researching and training. But I will....promise!
As for budgeting I don't know where to start yet but from what I read you need at least $500 and up to $2000 a month to start. I guess I'll have a better idea of the budgeting once I can get a more solid understanding of the other requirements.
I guess my goal now should be to get up and running so I can start testing, is that right?
Once again thanks TJ for your help....or anyone that wants to add in their 2 cents.