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Noob Here- Do I Need A Website?? Spending $ on PPC, no sales

leeannbusby

New Member
affiliate
Hi! This is my first post and I hope I am doing this right. I only started doing this whole Internet marketing thing roughly 2 weeks ago. The first thing I did was get a membership with paydotcom and then I started using Yahoo Search Marketing ( and I still don't know what I am doing with that- I have spent over 100 dollars with them and I have not earned a penny!) Anyway, to get back to my subject, I was under the impression when I started this that all I had to do was to become an affiliate with as many company's as I want through paydotcom, then write the ads on yahoo marketing. But everytime I try to research about all this, all I find is information on how to start your website and drive traffic to it. Is that what I am supposed to be doing? Am I wasting my time and my limited funds with Yahoo? Also, I am not very computer literate, so I tend to not understand technical terms very well. I would appreciate any and all tips, hints, tricks to the trade, and help that you all have to offer. Thanks so much and by the way, this forum rocks!:)
 
Noob, first thing you have to do is to stop spending money in advertising and spend in education.

You need to know what you want to do and how to do it. If you want to become a super affiliate then look for super affiliates and study them - methods and strategies...Study and learn how the affiliate marketing world works.

When you think you are ready then start, you don't have to have everything perfect but you need at least to know what you are doing or you'll spend all your money without results.
 
Hi leeannbusby,

Welcome to 5 Star.

Oh boy this is a tough one to answer. Sounds like you jumped in and started trying to run before you know how to walk. I admire your bravery!
And you know what? AT LEAST you took action and jumped in. Some people get analysis paralysis and never even get started. PLUS you learned something from this right?

1st there is no one ideal way to start, there are many options. But the way you are going is one of the hardest and riskiest.

I am NOT sure, so double check this, but I think merchants on PatDotcom pay you directly? If you are paying PPC $ for a merchant and they don't pay you, you'll lose your shirt. OR if that program does not happen to have good sales conversions, you'll lose money. Keep in mind that many products only convert at 1-2 sales per 100 clicks bad ones 1 out of 500. So you can pay for lots of clicks before getting a sale.

The biggest concern I have is that you probably have not taken the time to learn PPC which is a science. Plus sent clicks directly to the merchant instead of your own landing page is not alway the best way.

Actually an even bigger concenr at this point is if you keep throwing money at it and did not make a sale - you don't know enough to even know what the problem is. The merchant doesnt convert? has leaks? has a bad landing page? you used the wrong KW? you didnt optimize the ad?

So I suggest you stop your ads. You need to learn how to walk 1st then we can figire out where you should go from there. Read every stickie in our newbie forum. Then read some of the posts in the niche forum and work on picking a niche. You can start off with a Squidoo page or hub page so you don't have to learn to build a site and it's free.

But before you can figure out the best strategy you need to do some work on finding a niche. THEN find the best product(s) for that niche and THEN we can figure out the best way to get started.
 
leeannbusby,

Take it all sloooooowly. The better you understand that you are not going to get thousands of dollars coming in right now, the easier you will make it on yourself. Any real online business takes a lot of time, hard work and smart work.

Don't be in a rush. Be a sponge and learn all you can. Ask questions and read, read, read. Learn the basics to building traffic, PPC, Adsense, promoting, advertising, free tools, paid tools, web design, landing pages, drop shipping, affiliate marketing, social networking, Clickbank, Commission Junction, blogging, etc. Have fun, whatever you do. Find yourself something you enjoy and are good at. Stick to it and build from there.

Find information from other about which "gurus" are worth listening to and which are not.

Expect you business to start turning a decent profit in 6 months to a year. Try new things, throw out things that don't work, keep track of both of those.

Take care and good luck. =]
 
Thanks!

Thank you all for your quick replies! I feel kinda silly now thinking I could just post ads on yahoo and make it BIG...:rolleyes: The company that started me in this claimed that if I paid them 50 dollars, which I did, then they would show me how to make money with affiliate marketing and all I would have to do is write ads and get paid. After I paid the money, then they told me I had to start an account with google adwords, overture, ect. I chose yahoo marketing. They never explained how to use it or anything, so I just tried to do it on my own. I try and read everything I can on picking the "right" keywords and bidding correctly on clicks. I emailed the company to complain, but they just told me a bunch of bologna. The company that I paid the 50 dollars to assured me that this was all I had to do to make money in affiliate marketing. Oh well, live and learn, right?;) My husband is in the military and I am a stay at home wife, so I have nothing but time to do research. And, yes, Linda, I do tend to jump in headfirst without looking:D Again, thank you all for your wonderful support and I guess my next step is to keep reading all the stickies in this forum.
 
You definitely have to spend some money to make money, but sorry to say, you got taken. Anything Pay-Per-Click is not for someone just starting out and not for the faint-of-heart. You really need to have a handle on how they work and what you need to do. I would forget about anything PPC-related.

I've been at this for a bit over a year now and my web site is doing really well. It's taken work, but I know I'm on the right path. Trial and error, learning from my mistakes early on and soaking up as much information as I can get has kept me moving. I'd be happy to share what has worked well for me, if you'd like to PM me.
 
Oh goodness Leann,
I wish I had half your bravery (and please don't feel silly, we've all been there at one time or another). :D

As others have mentioned (so I won't rehash here), it's always better to take the time to learn before jumping in headlong with PPC. Linda was right on the money when she said it was the most expensive/riskiest ways of getting into affiliate marketing. But, with all things considered, that was a fairly cheap lesson. (Some lessons costs hundreds, or even thousands of dollars -- trust me.)

If you want a low cost/low risk way of trying out affiliate marketing, then you may be interested in article marketing or even affiliate blogging. Both can be done for as little as free LOL, but if you plan to make a full go of it, then you may want to invest in a domain name and some hosting (about $9/yr for domain and $7/mo for hosting).

But, baby steps. Check out the Bum Marketing Method -- he'll try and pimp some commercial stuff, but don't buy it; everything you need to get started is free and there's tons of free info if you just Google for it.

Another option is to set yourself up with a free blog and write reviews for products while using your affiliate link. It's simple enough and it's a good way to get your feet wet.

If you really have your heart set on PPC, check out anything by Perry Marshall. He has a couple commercial products, but he offers a great, free ecourse that will get you started on the right foot.

Above all, remember that there's no getting rich quick with internet marketing. It's a real business if you want it to be and should be treated like one. And if you every have any questions, please ask.

~ Teli
 
Thanks Everyone

Hi again!

Loved the video, Linda! Just what I needed after today:)

I appreciate all the great advice everyone has given me. Now I don't feel as if I'm trying to go about this all alone. It's great to hear from people who know exactly where I'm at and have similar goals. I believe the best thing that has come out of this so far, is stumbling across this forum. I have learned more in 1 day here than I could have possibly found anywhere else.

One last thing..it was suggested that I set up a free blog and write reviews for products while using my affiliate link..what exactly does that mean? How would I use my affiliate links, and I have tons of affiliate links...I signed up with lots of companies through paydotcom. By the way, is paydotcom reputable?

Thanks a ton!

Regards,
 
Dont worry about all those affiliate links and writing reviews.
Are the products you are thinking about marketing webmaster related make money on line type products? If so you are barking up the wrong tree.

1st pick a niche something you are personally interested in and know alot about. Then you can write from the heart.

Read this: http://affiliate-marketing-forums.5...g/5558-how-pick-your-1st-niche.html#post15325

Then this:
http://affiliate-marketing-forums.5...cess-discover-most-powerful-secret-forum.html

Then this:
http://affiliate-marketing-forums.5...-passionate-sites-follow-money.html#post12633

Paydotcom isn't bad - it's just is there anything there that really excites you?
IF so then go for it. If it's get rich quick ebooks or how to make money online you'll be making a mistake.

Could be that you find a REAL (retail) instead of an ebook is a better way to go. B
ut then again I'm pretty anti-ebooks so maybe I'm biased.
 
Hi Linda! Thanks for all the great links. I can't wait to start researching.

Actually, all the companies that I became affiliates with are in the category of money and employment because that's what I was told would do the best. So, I need to just scrap all my campaigns in yahoo marketing, and start from scratch? And I should find something to promote that is tangible, an actual product, like clothing or health and wellness products? Not those in particular, but I used those strictly as example.

By the way, my ads have gotten 130 clicks so far but no sales. I just started it though...

Again, thanks a bundle for everything!

Regards,
 
And you know what? AT LEAST you took action and jumped in. Some people get analysis paralysis and never even get started...

Exactly!! Give yourself a huge pat on the back from me, would you!? I read a statistic recently that said 95% of people who sign up for income opportunities never do anything. So consider yourself already ahead of the game by being in that elite group of 5 percent who actually step up to the plate and DO something!

You know what else? I think you've probably already learned a lot more than most, as well. Now you have a good idea of what PPC marketing is like and what it involves. It took me nearly six years to dive into that territory and while I'm glad I got my feet wet first, I do wish I would have started it sooner.

And don't feel foolish or anything! Any of us who've been there don't judge those who try and fail...although we may tend to judge those who fail to try. ;)

Keep on learning and good luck!!
 
"Any of us who've been there don't judge those who try and fail...although we may tend to judge those who fail to try."

Well said!
 
I agree with Linda on that one. well said fitnfree!

I have to say that my spirits are definately lifted today. I recieved an email saying that I had a sale from one of the ads I had posted on yahoo! I made 70 dollars from the 1 sale! Anyway, thanks for all the support!

Regards,
 
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