I don't understand what to do

[mlabre20]

I have read all the stickies but I still do not understand what I am supposed to do to make money. I found this site because I heard about people using Clickbank.com and advertising their hoplinks on google adwords, but the very first thing I read is "Clickbank - Not a Good Place for Newbies to Start."

I cannot figure out what I am supposed to do to make money. The stickies all seem very confusing. Can anyone give me a step by step of what I am supposed to do

Thanks

 

[Oregon Coast Guy]

That's a tall order, my friend, since there are so many options for you to choose from. Here are a few for you to look into.

Create mini-niche sites (10-15 pages) about things to know something about or you really enjoy. Monetize it with Adsense and various affiliate program products that have to do with that subject (Don't sell GPS units on a site about your favorite types of shovels). There's various tools and ways to do it. Just keep reading the threads.

Create a blog, write about something interesting or things that are red hot on the Internet right now. Monetize it the same ways.

Write articles about various subjects and submit them to the article directories. Add the service, web site or product you're selling in the signature.

There is so much. Just don't be in a rush. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither will your online ventures be. Be patient. Never give up. Think outside the box and be as creative as you can.

Sign up for a PayPal account. Most affiliate networks pay you that way.

Join affiliate programs through Commission Junction, ShareASale, LinkShare, PayDOTcom and pepperjamNETWORK.

Use a good host for your sites. HostGator is very inexpensive and provides a lot of space. Of course, I think Site Build It is the cat's pajamas.

Use GoDaddy to register any domains. You can Google, "GoDaddy codes" and get them even cheaper.

And on and on. Above all, HAVE FUN! If work isn't fun, it's not worth doing. Find things that you really enjoy and then, one by one, go after one or two until you have it down to an art. Then move on to the next thing. Multiple streams of income are your best friends. Track all your sales links. That is vital to find out what is working. Keep what is working, trash what is not.

Hope this helps get your started.

Regards,

Tony

 

[Linda Buquet]

Hi mlabre20,

Welcome to 5 Star. Don't feel alone, everyone starts where you are - confused!

Tony gave you some good advice. Thanks Tony!

I recommend you don't start anything quite yet because there are a million variables and a ton of different ways to start. You need to read enough here that the light bulb turns on and you start to "get it." Otherwise you could be jumping all over trying different things or go in one direction that may not be the best for you to start with.

There is no one step-by-step plan that works for everyone. If there was,
everyone would be doing that plan of attack and it would not work for anyone any more.

Trust me when I say the most important 1st thing is to figure out the niche you want to start with. Picking a good niche that has demand, but is not terribly competitive (at least for starters, as you learn) is critical.

Once you find your niche, THEN you can figure out the the best type of site or blog and the best way to build it. THEN you can figure out the best way to market to get TARGETED traffic. THEN you can figure out the best network or programs to join. But it all hinges on the niche because a variety of things I mentioned in this paragraph could change, based on your niche.

So keep reading the stickies in the newbie forum. Then read some in the niche marketing forum to start to at least get an idea of what direction you want to go. Then ask more specific questions based on that. (Don't tell anyone your niche if you find a good one that's not too competitive, just talk in general terms.)

Hope this helps!

 

[mwong]

Hi mlabre20,

I think what Tony and Linda said was right.

You should read the stickies again. One at a time. Understand the message before you really spend your money on anything.

The first thing you need to do is to decide on your niche. I think you heard this before, start with your Interests, Hobbies and something you are Familiar with.

Then follow Tony and Linda advice and you will be fine.

Hope that helps.

 

[gowithabc]

I will echo the thought that before you start anything, you have to decide on the products you are going to sell.

You don't want to waste your time with "false starts" beginning a new campaign just to find out it wasn't quite what you wanted to sell.

Starting with hobbies is a great way to go.

One of my close friends last year created a fantasy football website, and is making tons of cash just because he was interested in fantasy sports.

There are many free resources all over this site to point you in the right direction.

It will take some time but if you do the work now, it will pay off later.

 

[mlabre20]

Thanks for the responses I will read about it as much as I can.

But also, is there anywhere like Clickbank where I can easily a per-click link? Not like Adwords but a specific link that I could put places and I would get paid when people just clicked on it.

 

[Oregon Coast Guy]

Pay per click affiliate models are pretty much a thing of the past, because so many people were abusing it. Adsense is about the only thing you're going to find along those lines.

Now, you have two primary models to choose from: pay per sale and pay per lead.

 

[mlabre20]

Ok thanks. Where is a good place to get pay per lead ads?

 

[Oregon Coast Guy]

Pay per leads are usually credit card and loan companies. You can find those at any of the major networks like Commission Junction, ShareASale, LinkShare, etc.

Remember that you don't want to build a site or business around the money. If you don't enjoy what you're writing about, chances are you will get bored and/or burn out.

Build around your passions and the money will follow.

 

[mlabre20]

I was gonna see how I could do by advertising the link on a pay-to-click on a website I am a part of.

But if I were to build a site, is this the gist of it: Make a site about something I am passionate about, and put banners and links with my affiliate links?

 

[Oregon Coast Guy]

Yes, the "gist" of it =]

IMO, steer away from banners. Most people have become "banner blind" and will almost naturally avoid them. In-context text links are your best bet.

 

[mlabre20]

Thank your Oregon Coast Guy and everyone else who posted.

 

[longroad]

Yes, the "gist" of it =]

IMO, steer away from banners. Most people have become "banner blind" and will almost naturally avoid them. In-context text links are your best bet.

True but some sites still have excellent banner conversion ratios. I guess it depends on the niche! Game sites and the like still rely heavily on banners and so many affiliate programs still provide banners as affiliate promotional tools.

 

[mwong]

Oregon coast guy and longroad are right.

There are 2 more things you need to be clear about using banner:

1. The place to put your ad

2. Avoid flooding your website with banner. Web content is more important.

Hope that help.