Despite what you may have heard, you don't need to be a graphic designer or a
programmer to build a good website. All you need is a little knowledge and practice.
Even if you don't have the time to learn how to build a website, I will show how you can
use pre-built website templates to make a website in no time. I will also show you how
you can hire a professional web designer for less than $500 to build a custom website.
More important than your website design, is your website's content. Your website visitors
want a website with good content that is easy to use and easy on the eyes. I will show you
how to write content in a way that compels your visitors to click-through and buy.
Take your time to understand the concepts presented in this section. This is not a section
you want to just skim through.
1 Choose a Promotion Strategy
Back in Section 2, I discussed how to find and select the best merchants. Now you need
to decide how you're going to promote the merchants you've decided to work with. Many
affiliates, who already have a website, will simply add affiliate links and banners to their
existing content. This may work fine if you have highly-relevant content, but if your
content is not directly related to the merchant's offerings, you're missing out on a lot of
potential commissions.
If you want to maximize your affiliate earnings, I suggest building a website around your
merchant's products and services, rather than adding their links or banners as an
afterthought. There are a number of different promotion strategies that you can use to
pitch your merchant's products and services. These strategies will be discussed in detail
in this section.
1.1 Content Website
A content website is one of the most commonly used promotion strategies. A typical
content website will feature news, advice, and articles related to a specific subject. Some
content websites also have blogs or community forums to generate fresh content and
increase visitor loyalty.
An example of a content website that I have developed is the Credit Repair Guide
(http://www.creditrepairguide.org/). This site features articles related to credit repair. I
have strategically embedded affiliate links throughout the site that promote a credit repair
agency.
• The website should focus on a single category or theme. Don't try and be all
things to all people. The narrower your topic is the more high-qualified traffic you
will be able to bring to your website.
• Embed your merchant's text links into your content, rather than using banners.
Banners get ignored; links get clicked.
1.2 Directory Website
Another effective way to promote your merchants is to build a directory of their products
and services. The products or services listed in your directory should be closely related.
An example of a directory website that I have developed is the Online Dating Source
(http://www.onlinedatingsource.com). This website features a directory of dating sites by
location, ethnicity, religion, and special interests.
Suggestions for Building a Directory Website:
• Focus on a single topic.
• Allow users to browse for products and services in multiple ways. For example,
don't just alphabetize your directory listings; sort them by product or service
features, location, or other commonly used attributes.
• Consider adding a search feature to your website. This will allow people to find
what they're looking for more quickly. You can tag on a free ad-supported search
like Google Free WebSearch or FreeFind.com. FreeFind also offers a commercial
version without ads.
• Add value to each listing by supplementing them with reviews, ratings and
additional information.
1.3 Review Website
As the name suggests, the primary purpose of a review website is to provide critical
reviews of products, services, and merchants. In most cases you would write the reviews,
but it's possible for you to let your website visitors write reviews too. For example,
Amazon.com features an editorial review and customer reviews for most of the items
they sell. The customer reviews add credibility to your website and give you fresh
content.
Suggestions for Building a Review Website:
• Include easy-to-understand ratings alongside your reviews. For example, when
your reading movie reviews in your local newspaper they're usually given a rating
of 0-4 stars.
• Avoid writing the review like a sales letter. You want to try and appear objective.
• Provide reviews of similar products and services. This will give your visitors
something to measure your review against.
