This is a "What comes first" question

[cinders]

Hello everyone,

Decided to get my feet wet here. Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?
In regards to getting a site up for AM. This isn't really about a niche right now. I was just wondering if you put up the page (probably a blog in this case its easier) first, or find something an company to work with then put the site up to complement the product I am trying to market. I have an open blog I can work with and also a top level domain that isn't really being used right now. My blogs are subs of my main domain. The blog that is already up and running almost a year now is basically an easy reading, "what's been going on since we moved" type of blog for family and friends in Ohio. It's not monitized due to the nature of intended audience. The second one I am still trying to decide on a template so its sorta just sitting there.

When doing AM, do you put a site up for each item, or can like products be placed on same page.

Also, if I am looking for Pay Per Lead programs, is it as hard as it looks to be approved? Done a lot of reading and it sounds like there are a lot more requirements than other type Affiliate programs. Without a site up that is going to be used for AM its really hard when they ask for the URL of the site that is going to be used. General Musings about Life in SW Utah isn't exactly what I would think they are looking for

Thanks
Cindy

 

[jumar112]

Hi Cindi,
If you have an idea of the area you want to get into, take a look at your competition. What kind of site do they have, layout color, products, etc. I am not saying to steal their idea, but see what they are up to. (to me) the first step is the planning stage. Who is your intended audience? What are they looking for...etc.

Yes, you can have multiple product on the same page, just make sure they are theme related. If you are doing vitamins for example. all the vitamin c on one page, and possible articles or information why vitamin c is good for you, the health benefits, then you can always have at the bottom of the page, People who bought this also bought....

I, myself, do not use Pay Per Leads. I am sure some one will chime in here and give you some help on that issue.

Julia

 

[Chris83]

here's my basic list of what to do first..and next

1 Choose your focus.
2 Selecting your Keywords.
3 Selecting your merchants and affiliate programs.
4 Designing your site and developing content.
5 Promoting your site.
6 Linking up with your merchants.

Cheers

Chris

 

[cinders]

Morning

Thanks for your replys. It seems like when you sign up for an affiliate program they always ask for the url of the site their product will be displayed on. I am a bit hesitant to put up the only url I have going at the moment due to the "family" oriented content. That's why I asked the question the way I did. I am in the process of locating merchants in my area of interest, and a few outside my main area. I have a ways to go yet in my research, writing, etc. I need to get off "dead center". (as I read in a post here lol) I need to FOCUS and zero in on target area.

I really appreciate the posts here, they are very helpful. Lots of material to sift through but I am working on it.

Cindy

 

[Julia15]

I can chime in here on Pay Per Lead programs - it is quite possible that you won't be approved unless you provide a site URL, or at least further details on how you'll be promoting the offer. If you explain that your site is under construction and provide specifics on what the content will be , it's possible you'll be approved anyway.

The more transparency that you provide to the merchant on your marketing practices, the more inclined they'll be to approve you (At least in my opinion )

For your second site - have you decided on a certain field or niche that interests you? Once you've focussed on a specific area, you can research products that you want to promote, start working at the site's development, and then re-approach the merchants that offer said products.

 

[cinders]

Thanks Julia for the reply. When given a chance to make additional comments on the application, that is what I do. I explain what my current site is and that I am putting together another site for AM. It's just hard to put a site up without knowing what "type" of page to put up for the product.

What I am planning on doing is getting a blog up and doing pages with the products that I am working on. Then group them per interest. That way each "page" will have its own "URL" with the navigation to pages at top.

Thanks
Cindy

 

[marketingmama]

Can I say something about promoting everything on the same page?

I think that you can have some minor, yet related items on the same page, but I think that you should review your main products each on their own page.

As far as a blog being easier, if you have such good domain names, why not go ahead and create some actual web pages in addition to your blog. Your blog can be secondary and link to your main site.

You might as well go all out if you have top level domain names.

There's free HTML editing software available that makes it like using word to make web pages.

Seriously, you can learn. When I started out 2 years ago, I didn't even know what HTML meant and now I'm on my 3rd content site. I didn't know about forums to help me, well i was afraid of looking stupid actually. But you're already on the right track with a lot of cool people to help you out.

If I could learn how to build sites with no help, you can surely do it. Go for it!

Sheree