One of the first things you will need to do (or possibly the last if you need some inspiration) after you pick your niche topic is to pick a catchy URL. You want it to be one that will stand out and that will be easy to remember for those who plan on being return visitors. To get some ideas and inspiration, take a look at the various keywords that you have singled out for your niche to see if any of those have a catchy ring. You want it to be kind of “used car salesman” sounding, rather than something that is boring or does not have an original sound to it. For example, if your niche is “blah”, you could try “MegaBlah”, “Blah4u”, “HouseofBlah”, or “BlahKingdom”. These will all be original, explain what you niche is, and, most importantly, will be easy to remember. How easy your URL is to remember is the most important factor, so that your visitors will not have any trouble returning and clicking on more affiliate links! (Word Count 183) When you are trying to make money with articles, the beauty of it is that you don’t really need previous career-related experience, and that you can learn the ropes as you go. That being said, there are some skills that you will need to teach yourself or pick up along the way to make your sites successful. You can’t go in not knowing anything, not learning anything, and still expect to make a good income (or any income at all). First, you will need to know how to pick out the correct articles to make your sites successful. There are many types of content, from free content to high dollar content, and each comes with its own advantages and disadvantages (although high dollar content is more likely to give you a successful site in the end). Second, you will need to know how to choose keywords that can help you get a good amount of traffic, without being too competitive to get on the first or second page. If you choose highly competitive keywords that are used by large, mammoth websites, you are unlikely ever to get on to those much needed first two pages. Third, you will need to know how to optimize your websites for various search engines. Search engine optimization skills will allow you to get high rankings for your chosen niche keywords, which will help to get visitors and make profit. Fourth, if you opt for a large website that you will focus most of your internet marketing career on, you will also need to know how to market your website to your intended audience through paid banner ads and text links. If you prefer very small 2-5 page niche sites, then promoting all of them this way will not be cost-effective and will eat up more profits than it is worth. If you can capture some of these skills and attack them aggressively while working on your first few small websites, or during the first few months of a larger website, then you will eventually become an expert. Since you can learn the ropes first hand on your own, the only thing that you will need to do before you begin your new career is to read up on how to get started (maybe purchase an internet marketing e-book or two) and make sure that you have the funds available to start a small site. (Word Count 410) If you can either write articles or have the promotion and marketing knowledge to publicize articles that others write, becoming an affiliate for several companies may be a great way for you to generate a good income right from your own home. You can do this by receiving part of the revenue from sales that the company gets from people who “click through” from your website via the company’s links that are placed on your pages. Since you will be promoting a product or service, you will need a killer sales pitch and website content to get your readers interested in the product, convince them that they cannot live without the product, and to keep them coming back to your website time and time again for more recommendations and your useful content, which will get them clicking on your links once again. Although many affiliate companies only give you money from the first sale you make from each customer, you have the option of promoting a good range of companies so that you can still make a profit out of your returning customers. If you cannot write this kind of content of your own, there are many ways to pick up free or paid content to place on your affiliate website. There are many reasons why paying for such articles would be to your advantage. First, you will be able to tell the writer exactly what you want, what product you are trying to sell, and what direction they can go in to keep your readers interested and informed. On the other hand, when you search for free content, you are limited to what is already out there. Secondly, you will own the copyright to this content. That means that no one else can reuse it without your consent. If you opt for free content, you will be sharing that content with an unknown amount of other affiliate websites, plus the original author will be able to place their byline at the bottom of the article which could result in them stealing your traffic. There are many products that have nice affiliate commission rates for those who know how to pre-sell their product and deliver click-through customers who are ready to buy. As long as you choose to promote a product or service that can be very useful to a wide variety of people, then pre-selling your chosen company may not be that hard at all. The key in this situation is likely to be getting those customers to your website so that they have a chance to see your recommendations and click on your affiliate links. (Word Count 446) Finding the right freelance writer to produce your revenue generating articles can take a bit of time. However, if you find one that can easily take on another regular client and the two of you work well together, then that one difficult search will turn into a lot of profitable articles. When you start your search, you may want to begin with a very small group of articles, just in case you happen too hook up with a writer that you are less than thrilled with. It is important to keep in mind that there are several different types of writing and each writer might be highly skilled in one area, yet lack in another. For example, there is creative/fiction writing, biographical writing, news writing, general informational article writing, critical writing, copy-writing, poem/verse writing, technical writing, medical writing, essay/report writing, and sports writing. Although a writer may be highly skilled in one area, many freelance writers spread themselves out into others areas as well. So, it is critical that the writer you choose can produce the type of content that you need. To find a freelance writer, you can look at various freelancing websites that will allow you to post the specification of your project and your budget. Or you can look at my site! From there, writers will make bids on your project and provide you with writing samples so that you can get an idea of their skill level. Make sure that you choose a writer who gives you a sample of the type of article that you are looking for. For example, if you are looking for a copywriter, do not hire someone who only sent you a sports writing sample. He or she may be an outstanding sports writer, but copywriting is about selling (a product, service, or yourself) to your website visitors. In conclusion, the more you are willing to pay per article, the more bids you will get from quality writers who know how to entertain and inform your website visitors so that they keep coming back for more. Writers know that you will eventually make a ton of money out of each article or content piece. So although $30 or more for a 500 word article may seem like a lot, when you think about the service they are providing you and the time and effort that they put into your piece, then you will realize that it really is not a lot for that one article. If you pay for quality, you will be amazed at how much you will eventually make from your articles. (Word Count 434) |