Wordpress 2.7 has been released Wordpress 2.7 Review

Wordpress 2.7 Review

Wordpress 2.7 was just released, and I am happy to say that they did it right.  I upgraded one of my smaller wordpress sites using the automatic upgrade plugin and dove in. Here is my review of Wordpress 2.7.

I'm glad to say that the water's fine.  First of all they rearranged the interface. Now the navigation menu is in the left sidebar. It uses JavaScript (probably AJAX) to give expanding sub-menus so it takes fewer page reloads to get to specific items.

New Color Scheme

The new color scheme uses different shades of gray and a light blue link color. That light blue link color makes my eyes sore with my flat panel display, but I suppose it looks good on CRTs.

Menu Icons

WordPress now has icons for each item in the sidebar navigation.

Write Posts/Pages Fixed

I don't know about you but I was so ANGRY when WordPress moved the category list from the right sidebar to below the post write area. I was so upset that I had to scroll down just to select a stupid category, something you have to do every post!  Thankfully, the category selection box is back to where it belongs in the right sidebar and above-the-fold.  It took a while, but I'm glad it is back  They also put Tags there which also makes sense.

They also added back the Preview button that had been removed a few versions ago.

New Screen Options

For those who are looking for a more minimalistic Wordpress, their prayers have been answered.

You can now click on "screen options" which is in the upper right part of WordPress, and you get some check box that you can check/uncheck (or "tick") to show or hide different parts.

New Quickpress

Quickpress is a nice option for people who want to just log in and start posting. In your Dashboard page (the page you go to after you log in), there is a Quickpress box which lets you just type a post title, content, and tags then save as draft or publish.

The only problem with that is that there is no way to select a category. I may not need all the bells and whistles, but I think the category is just as essential as the title. Hopefully they'll fix that or someone will make a plugin to put that there.

Plugins Page NOT Fixed

One change I didn't like with WP-2.5 was how they got rid of drag and drop widgets. This was especially useful when you had 2 or 3 sidebars defined. Unfortunately the drag and drop widgets are still gone. You still have to click on "add" and you still have to select the sidebar in a drop-down menu.

Add (install) Plugin Feature

Now, you no longer have to download a plugin and upload it via FTP to your server. I'm sure I'll love this feature because I have many websites (most use Wordpress MU and I don't know if Donncha will let us yet. He said to check the trunk or the current beta, so that is on my to do list.), but for the few regular wp sites I have, this will save time.  Just search for the plugin by term or if you've downloaded it to your computer, you can select it and upload it through the webpage. You're still uploading, but you don't have to extract the folder and move it over, you save plenty of steps either way.

Core Wordpress Upgrade

Finally, you can upgrade your core installation files. No longer do you have to go through the drudgery of downloading-extracting-copying-uploading-via-ftp to update WordPress to the most current version. Go to Tools-Upgrade and it will give you the uption to update online or

Updated Comments

You'll need to update your WordPress theme to use the new features. Comments now are threaded. Visitors can reply to a comment and it will be a thread instead of just having the new comment at the bottom like before. This is great for people who have good reader participation. It will be much easier to see what is happening.

Did I miss any changes in WordPress 2.7 that you think are worth mentioning? Please add a comment.

Affiliate Marketers (and Merchants) Beware of Parasites!

Recently it has come to my attention that affiliate marketers not only have to compete with each other, but also with affiliate networks that directly compete with them though loyalty affiliates, software affiliates, incentive affiliates, and toolbar affiliates. In almost all such cases, they should be called parasites!



They are parasites because they get paid commissions for doing absolutely nothing. The idea behind affiliate marketing is that a marketer promotes a product or service and gets paid a commission for their time and effort involved. Merchants get more name recognition and sales leads sent to their websites.

Parasites don't do any of that. They don't promote the merchant at all, but they get paid a commission on every sale made when the visitor making a purchase has the parasite's web browser toolbar installed. The toolbar overwrites the affiliate tracking cookie (for referral use) and gets credited for the sale.



What about that hard working affiliate who actually sent the visitor to the merchant site? He gets nothing at all even though he might have spent plenty of time working on adding the content that got the visitor interested in making a purchase.

Ok, perhaps you're a merchant and you don't care if the affiliate gets credited or not. You lose money too! If an affiliate tracking cookie isn't set when the visitor arrives, but they have a parasite's toolbar installed, the parasite sets a tracking cookie with their affiliate id and get a commission.  No, they didn't earn it at all. There wasn't any benefit for your company at all, but you lost money.

It hurts the affiliate marketer as well as the merchant. The unbelievable thing is that several affiliate marketing networks allow and even encourage parasites!  Some parasites have even gotten awards and are called "super affiliates" for their high "sales".

Merchants might be wondering why this is a big deal if the big affiliate networks allow it. It is a big deal because most affiliate marketers work very hard and very long days. Every commission counts.  Affiliates will put less time and effort in promoting a merchant on a pro-parasite affiliate network than on a merchant on an anti-parasite, pro-affiliate affiliate network.

If you are a merchant you need to actively go through your list of affiliates and remove parasites. They are often the "super affiliates" at the top of your list that you are losing thousands of dollars a month on.

If you are an affiliate marketer, give preference to affiliate programs on the shareasale.com affiliate network. They remove parasites as they find them because they care about affiliates and merchants.

Merchants looking to start new programs should start them on either of these great networks. It will save some hassle. Yes, a merchant will still need to look for parasites since they try to sneak in, but it will be much less work and the affiliate program will be much more successful over the long term.

Which networks do I enjoy working with the most as an affiliatemarketer?

I have had the pleasure of learning affiliate marketing through trial and error over the last 12 months and that includes several affiliate networks.

Of all of them, I highly recommend two through personal experience. Both gave excellent customer service and both have good tools for using datafeeds, text links, or banners.

• ShareASale

ShareASale is general purpose, but is economical for merchants and have a great system for reporting and viewing stats. It isn't hard to get datafeeds by ftp either. You just need to insert your affiliate id when you use the feed. I do like how SAS's datafeed has more fields.

Using Popshops for Affiliate Marketing Product Tables: Service Review

Affiliate Marketing can be done in many different ways, but one of those is the display of products as a catalog or in an article or post. One service available for making affiliate marketing  product tables is called Popshops. I've used their service and currently have a Pro account which is one step up from their free trial version. I had an enterprise account for a while, but I later decided that current limitations weren't worth the difference in price. Here are some notes, basically a review, of Popshops to help you decide if it is right for you.

Popshops is faster than making a table manually in HTML

It is a time intensive process but using Popshops for handpicked product tables is much faster than making tables yourself.  You save time because it has a very nice graphic interface you can browse a merchant in the left sidebar or do a search for a keyword. When you want to add a product to a "shop" aka product table, you have to click a button, so this is only practical for handpicked products, not for adding hundreds or thousands or products. You'll click finger will go numb and your eyes will glaze over after a few hundred.

You get to set up basic table layout.

With Popshops, you can set the number of columns to display, their widths, product image width, spacing, font, number of characters in the description, and font size. They've recently added a "buy now" button.

Autofeed and automatic replacing of unavailable products is lacking

Popshops autoupdating features are still needing to be improved, their autogenerated results for related products normally show very unrelated products (at least in my experience ie baby clothes and women's tops on a table for men's swimsuits and china cabinets on pages for children's furniture) fortunately you don't have to turn on that feature. so if you are deciding between handpicked product tables using copy/paste and Popshops, go with Popshops, you'll be happy.

Wordpress Plugin

They have a wordpress plugin that allows you to add a shop to the end of a post when it is displayed by Wordpress or easily add the HTML of a product to a Post.

Account Upgrades

They offer different subscription plans starting at $5/month (as of writing this article). If you want RSS (limited to the number of products in a shop), you'll need an enterprise account which is much more expensive.  I wanted to go beyond that limitation, so I ended up writing my own RSS script in PHP. I don't blame them for that. Popshops wasn't designed for RSS, they just added it as another way to display a product table.  They're working on premium services for coupon feeds.

Summary

I found that while "shop" or product table creation was fast and easy, especially with their Wordpress Plugin for adding a shop to a post, keeping shop tables updated is a major chore once you have a few hundred shops in your account.   To be fair they do have a page to show you click tracking and shops with unavailable products. I only wish there was a way to set up keywords and negative or exclusion keywords so the autogenerated products and replacement products would actually be related.

Popshops wasn't and isn't designed to show many products or a catalog or even a category of products from a merchant or a group of merchants so if you are looking to do so you'll probably be happier with webmerge if you want HTML or writing your own PHP script if you want dyamic lists of an entire product category or product catalog. Of course, there is nothing stopping you from doing both or all three.

Am I happy with Popshops? Yes, I am. I am just a bit picky and my needs have grown since I started using it.  Since my newer needs weren't being met, I had to learn PHP and start writing my own product display scripts.  Hopefully they'll address some of the areas that need improvement in the coming years and I'll be able to use it more.

Home Office Preparation and Review - Get Tools

Hopefully, you've already gotten organized using the previous post, but what about the tools you use every day as an online business and/or home office?  Much will depend on what you do, but here are some ideas for you to ponder. I'm sure you'll be able to think of more and better ideas.

Get tools

Get a computer

The most important and useful tool of course is your computer and peripherals. You'll use it to get online, check and send e-mail messages, record basic data and design you websites and do your online marketing. Perhaps you give online courses or chat support to your clients and website visitors too.

If you do a lot of moving around you might want a "desktop replacement" portable computer. Some people still call them laptops. Otherwise you'll get a better and more upgradeable computer getting a midtower system. Most computer desks seem to be designed for tower systems, so they'll have a place to put that cabinet.

Get peripherals

You'll need a basic printer for printing receipts, online invoices (if your country allows that), and bank statements (for your accountant).  Paperless offices really don't exist, but we're getting closer.  It just won't happen until the tax man and the accountant can keep everything electronically.

Get Input devices

Obviously you'll need a keyboard and mouse. You may not have thought about the need for a graphic drawing tablets. A drawing tablet is great if you do any graphic design work or if you sell products like prints and t-shirts using your art and photography. Painters will need a scanner.

Get a digital camera

On that same thought you'll want to get a digital camera if you do your own webdesign or if you want original art for your webmaster to use. For web only images a good 3 or 4 megapixel camera is fine. Those are getting cheap too.  Digital artists who need images for print need at least 10 megapixels. I just barely get by with my 10 megapixel camera.  It isn't enough though for the largest of prints, but it is enough for everything else.  I can't do much image cropping without severely limiting the print size a visitor can buy.

Get essential software

For any kind of basic wordprocessing and spreadsheet work, just download a free copy of OpenOffice. I believe that is at openoffice.org. If not just do a search online.

For website design, it depends on your needs and level. Many power users love Dreamweaver. The only problem with Dreamweaver is that it doesn't multitask well. If I'm uploading files via FTP, I can't switch to work on another website or change to the online view of files. That can be very annoying.  Other that that it is great.

Digital image work means you'll want a copy of Photoshop.  No, Paint will NOT do what you want to do.  There are some cheaper programs out their that have some limited functionality to edit images, but it might take a couple to do everything you want.

Firefox or Safari will be fine for daily web-browsing. Both are free and run better than Internet Explorer. You'll still want to check your website in Internet Explorer as its method for displaying HTML is not standards compliant and it will often make webpages very ugly and sometimes unreadable.

Organize your Home Office - Get Organized

I'm sure many readers are in the first year or two of their home business and perhaps many of you are still using your online business as a second income. During a slow economy it is probably for the best to have multiple income sources, but that shouldn't keep you from getting organizes and preparing a decent work environment.  Even online businesses still have to be run from somewhere and they still have papers and paperwork to deal with.

Get organized

Get a file cabinet

I remember starting out getting a portable hanging folder organizer with 10 folders at Office Depot. I really go crazy in an office supply store because there are so many things I want to get, but it isn't easy on a budget especially starting out.

In this case, I think it is important to first get organized, so any paperwork (yes, you will have paperwork) is organized and ready for accounting and taxes. Whether you prepare your taxes quarterly like in the United States or monthly like here in Mexico, you must prepare.

I don't think there is a bigger time-waster than the hours people spend trying to find bank account statements, invoices, incorporation papers, etc. So really put a file cabinet at the top of your shopping list.  A nice four drawer file cabinet might sound like overkill, but you'll eventually need another cabinet and a vertical 4 drawer version uses less space.

Get hanging folders

Along with that cabinet get hanging folders. I remember when my mom got me a small one as a teenager, but without hanging folders just the plain ones. Needless to say, I just kept junk in it. I think it would have been much different if I actually had folders made for it.

Don't forget to organize your filing cabinet.  For example you could have a drawer for personal papers, one for general business and use the other two for needs specific to what you do. It is great to keep one for print outs like reference sheets. Teachers could use a drawer for worksheets and off-line backups of reports and grades.

Get basic organizers

To help out even more, get some basic supplies like a good stapler, staples, and clips for organizing stuff that go into those folders.  That will save time when a folder gets full and you want to find a specific multi-page document.

Get a book case or a storage unit

Bookshelves or racks of some kind are really essential to any long term home office even for online businesses.  You might want to store some information in binders which need to be kept somewhere. You'll have a few print books perhaps about a programming language you're learning, about tax laws, office supply catalogs, and well if you like to blog, you'll probably have some reference book  about your blog's topic.

Get Baskets

If you don't have many books, a wider unit with spaces for baskets might work well for you. This might work well for people who review gadgets and home electronics or even drop-shippers who work with small quantities (think E-bay resellers).  People who sell crafts need to store parts and supplies.  Perhaps many people would find a combination of the two the best choice as long as the space is available. A basket or tray would also be great for your desk for keeping stuff that you like to have available and within reach. A basket is also great because you can easily store it when people come over.

Get magazine holders

If you subscribe to any magazines, get some magazine holders. Each can hold several depending on the thickness of your magazines and keep them in good condition. Your typical magazine rack is only good for reading and throwing them away. Magazine holders are great for storing magazines securely and then can be placed on a shelf.  Keep your reference material safe!

Get a bulletin board

You may or may not need one, but they are very useful if you have the space. Bulletin boards are great places to keep anything you need for quick reference like keyboard short cuts and your to-do list. Use a bulletin board for sharing notes with your coworkers, roommates, or family members. Just remember to not post anything you don't want visitors to see.

Do you really need it? Cut Expenses for a Healthy Budget

Reduce Spending When the Economy Slows

Times are getting tough again. Every day I read dire news on the internet about the sky falling... or is that the stock market.  We all know that economies have cycles of growth and decline and it appears we aren't growing at the moment, so it is time to review your budget.

You do have a budget, right? This post is both for individuals as well as online businesses.  Hopefully up to now, you've made enough money to pay all your bills and save about 40 for emergencies, gifts, and entertainment.  If you have, you probably have enough savings to be safe until the economy recovers.

On the other hand, you may have found your online sales and marketing efforts declining and your savings have been disappearing, so it is time to cut back on spending.

Go through you list of both fixed and variable expenses and decide if they are essential or not. Mark the non-essential expenses with a check mark (tick for British folk :-) ).

For each checked item, determine whether you can replace it with something cheaper or do without.

Here are some examples:

• Suspend or cancel the second phone line.


• Cancel optional services like CallerID. Those can really add up.


• Move to a smaller office or have a home office instead of renting. A home office might require a little redecorating, but it would probably cost less than 2 month's office rent and from then on, you'll be saving.


• Move to a smaller apartment or look into buying if the monthly payments would be cheaper than your current rent.


• Rent your house or apartment's spare bedroom out.


• Cancel your cable or satellite television or at least cut back to the basic plan.


• Reduce your Internet plan to a cheaper one. Here, I pay a different rate according to the bandwidth I select.


• Check your heating and cooling expenses. Change your thermostat so that your heater or air conditioning run less. Run a fan by your desk on hot days.


• Disconnect appliances and electronics that you are not currently using. Many have a standby mode that continues to use electricity.


• Open your curtains and blinds during the day. Turn off lights that you are not currently using.


• Be sure to deduct valid business expenses from your business's taxes.


• Go to the public library instead of the shopping center.  Many purchases are impulsive. Look for something when you decide you need it.


• Pay with cash or check instead of credit. Studies show people spend more when they use credit cards.

I'm sure you can think of many more ways to cut back until your online marketing and sales improve. You might find that many of these changes will help you and your online business save money later on.

Recover Your Online Websites Quickly with Backups

Frequent backups the necessary "evil" for your online business website

I know, it is something we hate to do in real life with our computers.  I know this because every so often you'll read in a forum something like "my harddrive crashed and I lost everything!".  How often have you read "My website was hacked so I had to start over with an empty site?".

Although we hate backing up our websites as much as our computers, doing so will save you much heartache as well as time.

Backing up HTML only sites

If you have a simple HTML only website then your backup is very simple, just download everything in your webhost's directory and save it to a CD, DVD, USB drive, etc.  In reality, you should already have all the files on your computer which you've been uploading via FTP, so you could just save the off line version.

Backing up dynamic sites that use databases

Backing up a dynamic site, for example one with PHP pages and a MySql database, takes just a little more work.  In this case, you should still save the contents of your webhosting directory (which you should already have a copy of on your computer as a best practice).  You will also need to export the contents of your database.  If you have a MySql database, just go to your webhost's control panel and find PHPmyadmin. It is usually on the main page, but some hosts make it a link inside a "database" page. Once there, it is just a matter of selecting your database from the menu and the the "export" tab.  You'll want to select gzip so it will be compressed and save downloading time. Don't worry, you won't have to uncompress it to later import the backup if the need arises.  If your website uses more than one database then just repeat the process with the other databases.

Reuploading your website after being hacked or server error

If your site gets hacked or files get damaged by routine server tasks, you'll have your back up ready and you'll be running like normal as soon as everything is uploaded back to the server.

Uploading HTML sites

Uploading HTML sites is very easy just upload all the files by FTP back to your webhosting directory. If a page doesn't load, upload it again.

Uploading dynamic sites

First upload the backup of your webhosting directory via FTP.  If your databases were damaged or hacked, go to PHPmyadmin, select a database delete its contents then go to the "import" tab and import your backup. If you get errors, first try uploading your directory backup. Often those are caused from a file being skipped when uploading by FTP.

Don't just upload your backups

Obviously you should do more than just upload files. You should try to figure out what was hacked. It is possible that your database wasn't hacked at all and all you'll need to do is upload your files.

You'll also want to check your web hosting directory for files that don't belong there and delete them before you upload your backup.

Share your thoughts

Have you been hacked? What backup and recovery tips can you share?  Tell us in the forum.

Social Features: Keep in Touch with Website Visitors

How social is your online business?

If you are like most companies, probably not very.  I've been helping one of my friends who has a medium-sized traditional service based company.  He's been relying on old fashioned methods until just recently. He's making great improvements to expand into new technologies and so can you.

Most old fashioned businesses think of a website as just a static information page to say what they do, where they are, and a contact form.  In reality, it can be that and much more.

Your website should become an opportunity for two way communication.  Another friend with a very successful site, actually uses the community he formed as the major focus of his website.  The transition from a traditional site to a community isn't easy, but with some planning and effort you'll get there eventually.

Let visitors comment on your posts and articles

I was so frustrated with spam that I had disabled comments on most of my sites, but you might have better luck.   You can try requiring registration and use spam filters and CAPTCHAs and see if that helps reduce spam to a comfortable level.

Let visitors blog

Some may want to write about the same topic as your site, so let them blog if you don't mind checking for spammer blog registrations.

Let visitors discuss issues in a forum

A forum provides an opportunity for visitors to discuss the issues you mention in your posts and articles.  The difficulty here is to get it started because no one wants to be the first. On the other hand, forums seem to be easier to sustain once they get going.

Offer Chat discussions

A chat room is fun, but unless you have a high volume website, most people will complain that no one is there even if many people join. This is human nature. Everyone wants to join and find people there. No one wants to join and actually wait (not even a few minutes) for others to show up.

Offer Chat support

If you have national and international customers and clients, online chat support will be very helpful. They can avoid long distance and international call charges and get the help they need in a way that is more dynamic than e-mail.

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What to Do When Traffic to Your Online Business drops

You may find that everything has been going well for your business. Google and the other search engines have been sending you traffic and you've been making money selling or referring products or though advertising.

Then one day, it happens, Google changed their algorithm and your flow of traffic has become a trickle and you're making a fraction of what you were before.

What are you doing to compensate for when this happens to you?

Possible solutions

Send people to your landing pages with PPC campaigns

Start PPC campaigns to send people to your landing pages. While I abhor this option many people go this route.  PPC, or Pay Per Click advertising, is where you place advertising on other sites. When someone clicks on the advertisement, they're taken to your "landing" or presales page and you pay a fee for that click which is usually between a couple cents and a dollar depending on the keyword and the advertising network used.

I don't recommend this option because this is very intensive and it requires plenty of work to have a positive ROI (return on investment).

Write articles for Article sites, Squidoo, Hubpages, related blogs, etc.

A good writer could get quality traffic to his or her website by writing articles and submitting them to the most popular article sites.  Some visitors to the e-zine sites would click on your website link in the article or in the author credit.   The few website authors who use those articles and include your link as required would also give you good backlinks which search engines often consider when determining search engine result page placement.  Squidoo, Hubpages and Blogger (Blogspot) also allow you to make some money through ad revenue share. Write guest blog posts or guest articles for other websites that are related to your own.
All the extra backlinks from quality websites should improve your rankings and increase traffic.

E-mail past visitors

If you don't have a list of visitor e-mail addresses, it is time to start one! If you sell products you can ask for the e-mail address when you get shipping information. If you have an informational or affiliate site, start a newsletter.    While it is tempting to spam people with your list (I just got a spam this morning from an ex-employer), it is much better and if you live in the USA, more legal to only send e-mails to those visitors who have given you approval to do so.  A simple checkbox allowing e-mails will work for most merchants. The rest of us can have sign up forms.  To be extra safe, you should validate any submitted e-mail addresses with a confirmation e-mail which requires a click.  This is called double-opt-in.  They opted in when they gave permission and the opt-in was doubled when they clicked on the link.  That is also nice because you get rid of mistyped e-mail addresses with this process. The bad side is that many people will never activate their subscription.

Social bookmarking

Make sure visitors have a way to easily add your articles to social bookmarking websites.

Make your website stickier

Give your visitors a reason to come back, by adding social features, regular new content, and fun activities like contests (with prizes).

Start a Blog and make constructive comments on related blogs

Start a blog related to your business and share links to your blog posts on Twitter and on your Facebook Page. Link to your main website in the blog. Interact with those who leave comments on the Blog and your contact form.

Add an XML Google Sitemap to Your Online Business

Keep Google, Yahoo, MSN, and other Search Engines informed with an XML Sitemap

If you are like me, you wonder what's with Google. Google seems to find blog posts with out much trouble, but when it comes to other pages, it seems to just ignore them and let them languish.  If Wordpress is only a small section of your website, then a sitemap becomes an essential tool for informing Google and other search engines that your pages exist and should be indexed.

Google will index your content sometime before the cows come home

While Google's bots will eventually find any content on your website linked by other pages, you'll find that Google will not quickly index non-blog content especially without a Sitemap.

You can find information on the structure and coding for an XML Sitemap which works for Google at http://www.sitemaps.org/

Consider an XML Sitemap written in PHP using your database

You can write your sitemap file with .php extension as long as the Sitemap content uses XML as shown. Making a script to create your Sitemap is a good idea because as your website grows, it will become harder and harder to keep a manually updated sitemap current. Basically you query your database's posts and articles and then echo that information in XML.  What? Your website is just plain HTML pages?  You could probably use a script that spiders your site and makes an XML file, but you'd have to run it frequently.

A Sitemap script that is the same file that Google fetches is the best choice because it would be current everytime the search engine requests it.

Consider an online XML Sitemap creator

A third option would be to use a free Sitemap spider service online. They will spider up to 500 pages as they are found from the homepage of your website.  This, like other "spider" script sitemap creators, has the weakness of just adding what they find which could easily be duplicate content due to variables and search options and other URL issues that will also give you sitemap errors and warnings.

Avoid duplicate content

When creating an XML Sitemap remember that you don't want to include duplicate content, so if there is more than one path to a specific post, article, or product on your website, just include the best path where the content is going to be found more long term.

Consider making a Sitemap Index

you'll also find on the above mentioned site, information regarding the creation of a Sitemap Index. The Sitemap Index is also XML (but you can have a php script make it). You can submit the Sitemap Index file to Google Webmasters Tools as your Sitemap and Google will then check every sitemap listed inside that file.

There are a couple great benefits to using a Sitemap Index. First, you can make modular simpler Sitemap files and list them or not as needed. Second, you only have to submit one Sitemap file per site.

There is a limit to the size of a sitemap index as well as the number of links, so even if you have a small website now, it wouldn't hurt to start off with two files, your Sitemap Index which you'll submit to the search engines and your actual sitemap file.  It will only take a couple minutes more to start off right, and you'll save plenty of time you'd have lost later submitting separate files to each search engine.

Ready for the next step, add your Sitemap to your Robots.txt file

While you should submit your Sitemap or Sitemap Index to Google, Yahoo, and other search engines, consider also including it in your robots.txt file.  It is very simple. Just add:

Sitemap: http://yoursite.tld/sitemapfilename.xml

If your website is mywebsite.com and your sitemap index is   sitemap.xml then you'd add:

Sitemap: http://mywebsite.com/sitemap.xml

Unfortunately you cannot use relative URLs, so you can't just say /sitemap.xml

I really wish they'd allow relative URLs for those of us with multiple websites, but I guess they just didn't think that far ahead.

Website Automation is Important

Are you Automating your content and site upkeep?

While there are so many things that must be taken care of with an online business, Internet based businesses need to analyze their processes and procedures to see what can be taken care of in a more efficient and/or automatic manner.

It really doesn't matter what kind of business you have. Whether you are a blogger or a merchant selling tangible goods or perhaps you're somewhere in between like a blogger, you need to see where you can improve.  An investment of a week or two now could save you much more time in the coming months or years.

Check for repetition

If you're like me you probably don't know where to start and you probably started your web site as a hobby or as a supplement to your regular brick-n-mortar physical store.  That's ok, just start with where you are at now.  Ask yourself what tasks have to be done regularly. It might be a good idea to make a list of activities that you have to do every day, every week, and every month.

See which activities are very repetitive. Those activities are good candidates for automation.

Automation Examples

Consider using a CMS

Are you writing your web pages in plain HTML and copy/pasting product information in?  Parts of your website creation process can be automated. You could save the time spent on adding HTML, page layout, and menus, by installing a CMS such as Wordpress, Drupal, or Joomla or a forum like bbpress, or Simple Machines Forum.  By installing a CMS or Forum on your website, you preset the design and categories, and entries get added to menus. You'd just work on adding the content to entries such as blog posts or forum threads.

Automate your product displays

If you are an affiliate marketer or a merchant, you'll want to look into automating your display of products using a database.  In affiliate marketing, many merchants make datafeeds available which are electronic spreadsheets with a list of available products and other relevant information.  Affiliates can use PHP and MySQL to integrate those datafeeds into dynamic pages that visitors can browse or search.

HTML Make-a-Page creators are a short-term solution

While some affiliate networks offer HTML page creation with code ready to copy/paste into a website or blog entry, that static page information will soon become out-of-date and will require updating.

Don't rely on static HTML pages

I had made the mistake of relying too much on static and other difficult-to-update displays on my sites and found myself caught between spending half my time updating existing pages or creating new content. It was very frustrating because it worked, but I didn't know how to progress. I was so busy updating product information that I didn't have time to write original content!

Learn PHP and MySQL or hire a programmer

In this case you'll most likely want to hire a programmer or learn PHP and MySQL yourself.  I know it sounds complicated, and yes, PHP is a programming language unlike HTML which is just simple coding, but once you finish your first couple scripts, you'll find that it isn't too difficult with a little planning and patience.  If you are an affiliate marketer you'll need at least a couple scripts. You'll need one to import datafeeds into your MySQL database and another for displaying products. You can then expand your ability by allowing user search or by displaying products by keyword, category, or really any other feature you can think of.

Automate your XML Sitemap

Another great option for automation is your XML Sitemap, also called your Google Sitemap.  You can write your Sitemap in PHP and submit your php script to Google Webmasters.  If you have dynamic content this is crucial otherwise you'd have to do it manually!  That could take weeks for a large website.

If you have a small website, you might not think it matters, but what about when your site is larger in a year or two? Your Sitemap was easy to update manually when you had only 30 pages, but it won't be so easy-to-update when it has 200.  If you later delete a page from your site, you'll have to look through 200 pages to find it while a well written sitemap script will include all pages that currently exist.

Standardize your website design

If you have multiple websites, consider what goes into maintaining and updating them.  Are you customizing each site, or are you making different aspects modular?  If you need to update your CMS or your custom scripts, could you copy the files over to the other site and have them just work?   By standardizing things like page width, and locations where your scripts and software are installed, updating could just be a matter of uploading everything to the same place on each site.   There are tricks you can do in PHP that let you get the IP address and website name which you might need in the script, so instead of having to open and configure your configuration file, you could tell your script to look up the domain and IP it is running on and do different things based on that information.   By autoconfiguring your scripts, you'll save plenty of time when you need to upgrade. I only wish CMS designers would do the same thing!

Servers are good workers

Servers once set up and running can save you plenty of time once everything is set up. Servers don't get tired, sick, or bored. They don't limit themselves to business hours either. Any activity that you can give them is going to be much cheaper than paying someone or spending the time to a task by yourself. Even with shared hosting, you just go to your webserver's control panel and add a "Cron job". Cron jobs just tell a server to run a script using the frequency that you set. So if you want it to run a backup, or a datafeed import at 2:00 am, just set it up. If you can write or pay for a script to do a task, you can later set it up as a Cron job, your script will run, and the task will be done, rain or shine, or even when you're on vacation!

WordPress 2.6 First Impressions

I already mentioned my opinion of the theme selection in my previous post about WordPress 2.6, so I'm going to leave that out of this entry.

I just updated one of my WordPress 2.5.1 sites to WordPress 2.6. I used the Wordpress Automatic Upgrade Plugin which saves you the steps of a manual upgrade.  I didn't get any errors, and I've been using this plugin since upgrading to Wordpress 2.5.  This plugin is not yet for use with Wordpress-MU, so don't try it until the plugin's webpage says otherwise.

I mention this because Wordpress Multi User is changing its next release from 1.6 to 2.6 to help reduce upgrading confusion. I personally think it will cause as much confusion as it will remove, but I digress.

The automatic upgrade plugin never reenables my plugins after upgrading Wordpress, but now it isn't a big deal since Wordpress 2.6 lets you activate or deactivate more than one plugin at a time.  No more one at a time change drudgery.

After upgrading I reactivated my plugins and used the plugin updating feature that was added in Wordpress 2.5 to update my plugins that had notices.  You'll want to check every week for plugin updates. A few plugins seem to break or act funny after every Wordpress version revision.

I do not see any of my current plugins breaking with this version. My page loaded no problem.  I didn't get any strange PHP errors either.

WordPress 2.6 was released on July 15 2008

WordPress 2.6 is out

If you are using WordPress, and you probably should be if you are not, you'll want to know that WordPress 2.6 has been released.

Widget Bug Fix

First of all, it fixed the Javascript bug that came with 2.5 that made moving widgets a pain.

Plugin Management Improvements

It also separates active and inactive plugins on the plugin page so it is easier to manage them instead of one big list like before.

If you upgrade your install or WordPress, you can finally enable and disable more than one plugin at the time.  That takes a lot of the work out of updating!

If you decide to replace a plugin with a new one, you still need to upload the new one via FTP,  If you forget to delete the plugin being replaced, you can now select it from the deactivated plugins and select delete.  That will also save some time.

Remove and Auto Blogging Setting Change

If you use any remote or autoblogging software, you'll now have to enable it on the Write page since it will be disabled on any new installations.

Theme Selection Pain

The theme selection page is now more work than ever! You now have to go through a theme preview page which appears in an iframe, so it is two clicks instead of one.  I like having previews. I don't like being forced to see a preview!   They could have added a button or link for switching to one, but they didn't.

If you keep people from framing your site via Javascript as a security measure, you'll now have to remove that code before you'll be able to switch to your theme otherwise you'll see a preview page with no switch to theme link. What a bummer!

Post Revisions

Wordpress 2.6 includes the ability to go back and see previous versions of a post. It will inflate your database a bit, but it will help with those oops I didn't-mean-to-make-those-changes moments.

Image Captions

With WordPress you can add captions to your images, so now you can actually tell people what is in an image and have it appear together.

Google Gears

Google Gears is a caching system for administration files, it is supposed to speed up the process. You have to click on Turbo to enable it. You also have to install Gears in your web browsers.

There are more changes, but they are pretty minor.

Should you upgrade now?  It is normally best to wait a couple weeks before upgrading Wordpress because there is the risk that a plugin you use will be broken.

WordPress 2.5 is out

I have been testing Wordpress 2.5 for about a week since it was released and it is pretty nice. I just wanted to mention a couple things.

1. You will save time with its plugin updating feature however if you have your plugin folder's permissings set to a restrictive level it won't work.

2. Any plugin that adds a button to the visual editor will need to be updated to work.

How to Upgrade WordPress

How to upgrade WordPress introduction

Sometimes it seems that by the time I get my websites upgraded there is a new version or minor update to WordPress. After a while, upgrading WordPress seems as easy as brushing my teeth or tying my shoes. I do understand that for a beginner, this process can be frightening. In reality, WordPress is probably the easiest and simplest CMS or Blog software available. I have personally tried Joomla (which I like) and Drupal (which I don't like). I also tried Google's Blogger which has obviously been dumbed down to the least common denominator so that you can't customize it.

I do not accept liability for your ability to follow these steps, nor to I accept liability for any changes that may occur to Wordpress or its upgrade methods. Essentially, I'm saying that these steps have worked for me for upgrading the last few versions of Wordpress and they probably won't change in the near future. This article/post assumes that you know how to use FTP and how to download a file from Wordpress.org.

Short version - Steps for upgrading WordPress blog/CMS software

1. To be safe, backup your database via your webhost's control panel via PHPMyAdmin (ask your webhosting company how)


2. Disable all plugins


3. Download the newest version of Wordpress from wordpress.org.


4. Extract all of the files to your copy of Wordpress on your computer (your backup, you do have one right?) overwriting the older files with the same name.


5. Upload your Wordpress directory or your website via FTP to your server overwriting files with the same name.


6. go to http://yourdomain.com/wordpressdirectory/wp-admin/upgrade.php or http://yourdomain.com/wp-admin/upgrade.php and follow the steps until it says it is finished.


7. Re-enable your plugins

If you never installed any plugins, then you can skip steps 2 and 7. The options in step 6 depend on whether you have Wordpress installed in your main directory or subdirectory. When uploading your updated files you could omit the wp-content/plugins and wp-content/themes directories. The default theme might have been updated, but your custom themes and plugins are not updated with Wordpress. Plugins and custom themes are maintained by their authors.

Don't forget to update your plugins!

Sometimes a plugin stops working due to a change in Wordpress's API. After you upgrade, be sure to check for new plugin versions. The most recent versions of Wordpress will warn you when your Plugins are out-of-date. You'll need to replace the plugin with the same name in your wp-content/plugins directory and upload the plugin via FTP. It is recommended to disable a plugin before uploading a new version and reenable it afterwards. A plugin will sometimes break otherwise. If you don't and you find errors just disable and reenable the plugin and that will take care of most issues.

Selecting a color scheme for your website or blog website

Color preferences by age and gender for web pages and website color schemes.

Color preference tendencies by gender

Women tend to dislike dark or black web page backgrounds. I am commenting out of my personal experience. When I went through multiple color schemes on my first website in 2006. I started with bolder colors with a dark background. All of my friends who are men told me it looked fine and some of them liked it a lot. Almost all of my friends who are women said that it was too dark and that the background had to be white or very pale. Of course once I switched to a light background, my other colors no longer matched. After several color scheme changes I got stuck with white background and not-very-bold colors for everything else. The women I know don't complain and the men I know don't either.

Color preferences by age

Children prefer bolder and brighter colors, so a site with beige, light blue, and gray would probably lose their attention extremely fast. As we get older we start to prefer fewer warmer and bold colors and start to prefer cooler, paler, and more neutral colors so beige, white, black, pale blue, pale green, and pale yellow are great for websites for those over 55.

Choose your website's theme colors or color scheme according to demographics and other criteria.

Now when I design a new website, I try to imagine the largest demographic as a combination of young, old, men, or women, and I try to make it more appropriate for them without alienating the other groups.

• A site for children will have bolder colors. A site for 55+ will have mostly beige and other pale colors.
• A site for women will have lighter colors with a touch of either pink, or purple.
• A site for men will have gray, blue, or red added.
• A site with Very mixed demographics will have a mix of colors that are not too strong and typically cool like green and blue. I might add one neutral color for balance.
• If a site is about a holiday, I might use that holiday's colors in my design o help put the visitor in a holiday mood.

General color scheme considerations

Light on dark or dark on light?

In general, you should stick to darker text on a lighter background like black text on a white background. Many people say it is hard for them to read light text on a dark background like white text on a black background. Artists and more creative types are less likely to have this complaint.

The colors should allow the visitor to read the website without squinting or getting a headache.

Color schemes that have colors that don't match will cause frustration or sometimes a headache. If the text color and background colors don't contrast sufficiently, it makes it difficult to read. For example: Dark brown background with light brown text. It can be done but there has to be a significant difference between the two shades of brown or it will tire his or her eyes.

A color scheme should not have garish colors.

Another way to annoy your visitors is to have garish color combinations. I remember one fascinating site with pink text over a vomit-green background and purple header text. I couldn't concentrate on the content. All I could think of was how hideous and repulsive that site was.

A website's theme shouldn't have too many colors

While having just back and white is boring, having too many colors in your site's color scheme will be distracting. Try to have between 2 and 5 colors. This includes tonal variations. A site with light blue, medium blue, dark blue with a white background has four colors.

Who should an affiliate marketer promote Famous well-known brands or smaller companies?

You probably have noticed as an affiliate that there are thousands of different affiliate programs available to promote in 4 large affiliate marketing networks and many smaller networks and of course the many in-house programs for individual merchants.

One of my first questions as a new affiliate was "Which merchants or which affiliate programs should I join?". It can be very baffling.  How do you decide when you are still green?  The answer is really not that complicated.

First of all, you must consider the website you are working on. Instead of joining every program under the sun, pick the topic of your website and look for programs for that topic or issue.  Don't worry about the name of the company yet.

Secondly, Look at those merchants/affiliate programs and check the cookie duration and the commission percent.  The cookie duration is the time from when the website visitor clicks on an affiliate link during which the affiliate will get credit for a sale. If the cookie duration is 30 days then if a visitor makes a purchase before the 30 days are over, the affiliate earns the commission. If the visitor returns to the merchant site on day 31 and makes a purchase, no commission is paid.

You should avoid promoting affiliate programs with short cookies because most visitors don't really buy on the first day unless the products are very cheap consumables. The more expensive a product is, the more likely that it will not be purchased on the first day.  The merchant should offer a cookie of at least 30 days. 60 days or more is ideal.

The commission percent  is the percent of the sale not including shipping or handling that is paid to the affiliate. The percent will vary greatly, but in general you'll get around 10% for most tangible products and you should expect at least 20% for digital products since no manufacturing was involved and digital products can be e-mailed or downloaded automatically so no human was involved in processing the order.

You'll find many, probably, hundreds or thousands of websites telling you to only sell digital products that offer 50% commission or higher. I completely disagree. Most of those programs (typically offered on Clickbank) are crap,  yes worthless junk.  Not only that but those products are expensive crap.  Charging the same price or more than a print book would cost.  You might make a sale, but the visitor will not be very likely to come back to your site for products, advice, etc.  Can you sleep well at night knowing that you indirectly sold someone expensive junk?  I cannot.

I am not saying that digital products are bad. Many digital products are very nice. It is just that the ones offering 50% or more in commission are typically crap.  I have successfully promoted quality digital products (that were also much cheaper than the crappy ones) and best of all I can sleep well at night knowing that I let visitors know about products that meet their needs.  Electronics, computers, and books typically give the lowest commission of around 4%.

After you review merchants in the same category as your website, apply to those that have a decent cookie and commission.  Many will reject you. Wait a couple days and see who has accepted you. During your wait, work on your website design and add some non-affiliate content.

Look at your list of approved affiliate programs. You'll see a mix of famous well-known brands and others that you've never heard of. Here is the simple answer.

Do tests and see what works.  Some offer lower commissions and shorter cookies, but their websites have fewer leaks and great products with good prices. Others will offer high commissions but have few products or the products are much more expensive.

Promote each program separately and in the same way. After a month, check your conversions and total earnings for each one and compare them.  If the famous brand didn't convert into enough sales to make up for its lower commission percent then drop them.  At the end of the day the important thing is that you make money and that you can pay your bills.  Programs that don't convert should be dropped if you have competitor products on the same site that do convert. You need to remove the non-performing merchant's products because they are taking away clicks to the program that is working.

If none of your programs convert to any sales in a month then check your website and change the way that you are promoting them. Not every marketing method will work for everyone or every website.

Rejected by Affiliate Marketing Managers and Merchants?

Introduction

If you are going to do Affiliate marking or in other words, become an affiliate, you need to sign-up with merchants or outsourced programs. This can either be done through an affiliate network or via an in-house program. Regardless of whether you sign up with an affiliate program via a network or not you are going to be facing rejection. In fact many merchants and affiliate program managers are what I call deny-happy. Why, you ask, because they deny affiliate program applications from affiliates on a whim. Most don't even bother telling you why. Instead of letting you know why, they send a form letter with lots of possibilities which most likely none of which apply to you, or worse yet they just send a form letter saying that you are not a 'good fit' and that it doesn't reflect on you or your sites. They do not actually tell you on what it is actually based on.

Personal rejection and denial examples

Sometimes their replies are worse than their lack their of.  I had applied for the Target affiliate program thinking that their products would be a good match for a housewares site that I was just starting.  I got a reply from them saying that I had been denied because I was missing a Privacy Statement.  I don't know which site they were referring to so I went through each and every site that I had and I added a privacy statement and I e-mailed them. I got another reply stating that they couldn't find the privacy statement on my site. If the privacy statement were a snake, it would have bit them. Since I am patient, I sent the URL to a couple of them for two sites.I later got a form letter stating that I had been rejected from their affiliate program.  I made the extra effort to meet their requirements and they rejected me anyway and without comment. I did not bother continuing the application.

Another example is of the time around November that I had applied for TinyPrints's affiliate program. They sell greeting cards and considering how I have several websites about holidays, I thought that they'd be a good match. People often buy greeting cards and other cards for Christmas, right?  Anyway, I had applied for the program and got rejected with no comment. I reapplied to join and again I was rejected. I then contacted the affiliate program manager and I explained how I had holiday sites so it is relevant. I got a reply from the manager agreeing and telling me that I'd be approved. I reapplied several more times and each time I was denied.  I of course was very frustrated by this, so I e-mailed the AM and asked what was wrong and this time I was finally approved.

I started adding links to my very relevant websites and guess what? Not a single sale has tracked (registered) for this merchant although I get plenty of click-throughs from my websites. I guess what I'm trying to say is that if you are being denied by affiliate managers when applying for affiliate marketing programs, do not worry about it. Just promote their competitors.

 What you can do to reduce the chances of being rejected or having your affiliate application denied

There are different things that you can do to reduce the possibility that deny-happy affiliate manages and merchants will reject you.

1. Display in the affiliate network profile the most relevant websites first. I mean if you are applying for a housewares affiliate marketing program, list your housewares website as your main or primary site. Most affiliate managers are very lazy and they won't bother to even look at the names of your websites to see if a related site is listed.

2. Make sure that your listed websites are not "under construction". They should be up and running and be attractive with some content.

3. If you are rejected or denied and you really think that is a good program for you, then e-mail the affiliate manager and explain how you'd market their site and products on your relevant website.

4. If you truly think  that this program is the best and the e-mail didn't work, then look up the affiliate manager's telephone number and call them.

My recommendation

In all honesty, there are few good reasons for an affiliate manager to reject an affiliate. I'll go into reasons and excuses made by affiliate managers in another post.  You really should not bother with most of those companies. If you get rejected and your websites are good, look for another company in the market and sign up with them. Yes, that is right, sign up with a competitor. no, it isn't blood-lust or my desire to get back at them. It is simply the fact that you are working on a website and you need programs to promote.

The best affiliate management programs are the ones that auto-approve or approve applications within 24 hours. I think If I go through the affiliate programs that bring the best conversions, they all approved within 24 hours or immediately.

SEO - ALT tags vs Title tags - what are they for?

When should I use ALT and TITLE tags on my websites or blog websites?

Many people want to do SEO, Search Engine Optimization, but they don't put into practice some of the basic tasks that will often benefit greatly. Here is one of them. If you use images on a website and the images are related to the topic of the pages that they are on, you need to add both ALT and TITLE Tags to them, so that the search engines and people using text-based browsers know what they are for.

Alt tags show whatever text that is added to the HTML code when the image doesn't load whether it is corrupt, missing, or if the visitor has a text-based web browser. In Internet Explorer these tags will normally show up as hover text however this use is not covered by standards. When has Microsoft ever followed standards? On web browsers that follow standards, ALT tags correctly show only when an image does not.

It is important that any and all images that are related to your content contain ALT tags, otherwise a visitor will be very confused when an image does not load.

Title tags according to web standards and most web browsers are for hover or tool or tool tip text. The image loads and the text appears when the cursor is over the image. This is very useful for SEO because the search engines, like Google, know what your image is about and use the text like keywords which in the end can bring you more relevant traffic.

Title tags are also very useful because they allow you to add descriptions, or more description, to your images without taking up more space, so you see there is also an educational benefit to adding TITLE tags.

Examples of ALT and TITLE tags

Here are some examples of ALT and TITLE tags used for website images.

Notice Images 1 and 2 contain both ALT and TITLE Text so the information will be viewable on Text-browsers and the description will appear as hover or tool tip text. If you see "relevant ALT text" with your image then your web browser is not standards compliant.

Sample Image 1:

HTML CODE USED:

Sample Image 2:

HTML CODE USED:

Sample Image 3:

HTML CODE USED:

Notice how Image 3 (which doesn't exist) does not load and therefore the ALT text is displayed. Normally, the ALT tag would be the name of the image.

What kind of affiliate marketing websites can I build?

OK, so you have already read my articles on what affiliate marketing is, and affiliate network, You have also read about how to get started. Your only problem now is to determine how you want to present your content and what kind of content you will use on your site.

There are many different ways to make an affiliate marketing website here are a few:

• Coupon and Rebate Sites - You offer online coupons to visitors along with other deals.


• Online "Mall" sites - Everything under the sun is sold here just like at your local shopping center.


• PPC - Pay per click (you spend money on per click advertising such as Google Adwords.


• Content Rich - You give information here. Basically reference material, tutorials, informative articles, etc.


• Product Review - You review actual products and services and you give details and honest ratings.


• Price Comparison - You show visitors the cheapest products.


• Product Catalogs - List products like a catalog.


• Mixed-Method website - You can mix and match the other methods to find the best one for the products and services that you're promoting.

If you are very knowledgeable about your website's theme then it would be the easiest for you to start with a content rich site. Write about your experiences and make tutorials, Make lists and how to articles. If you are not very familiar with your website's theme then one of the other methods would be the best. If you don't know what you're talking about, people will see right through it. No one needs regurgitated garbage info that you can find on thousands of other websites. Coupon sites are not difficult to set up, but they require constant updating because coupons expire so they'll have to be removed or replaced frequently. Mall sites require good organization and planning or they just become a bloated mess.

I cannot tell you which are the best for making money online with affiliate marketing. It depends a lot on your topic, your affiliate programs, and your knowledge of the topic. Experiment and see what works for you and duplicate that on new websites and change what does not work until it does.

How to get started with affiliate marketing?

I'm sure that many of you are interested in affiliate marketing due to the flexibility it gives. Perhaps you just want to make a few extra dollars or pounds for your next vacation or to save for retirement. That is ok too! You can put as much time and effort into affiliate marketing as you want because you are your own boss.

The problem for many is how to get started and people make some bad decisions, waste thousands of dollars on gimmicks, and then give up. You won't be making thousands of dollars per day unless you spend hundreds on advertising your sites, but you don't have to! I have been doing affiliate marketing since September 2007 and I haven't spend on advertising at all except for a coupon I got for Google Adwords for $25 I got from my web host. Without spending a dollar on advertising, I made almost $400 in December even though I've only been doing this for a couple hours a day for a few months. If I had put in 40 hour weeks I would have made much more.

Here are the basic steps involved:

1. Plan! What kinds of products and services do you want to promote? Pick something that interests you and that you have at least a little knowledge about. If you love to cook, you might want to have a website about gourmet foods and kitchen products. If you like sports, perhaps you'll go for exercise equipment, supplements, and sportswear. In any case pick a topic you enjoy! It will be difficult to motivate yourself to work if it isn't something you like.

2. Brainstorm! Make a mind-map of the topic that you chose and then make an outline and think about how you might organize your website. Also think about the visual aspects of your website so that it will also be attractive. Decide what kind of interactive or social features will benefit visitors. What kind of content will you use?

3. Pick a name! You need to give your website a name so make a list of possible names based on your topic and mind-map and put them in order.

4. Sign up for web hosting! You need a home for your website, so sign up for a cheap shared web hosting account. I recommend signing up with BlueHost or HostGator. In fact, I am currently using Bluehost for all of my current websites.

5. Register your website when you sign up for hosting.

6. Start your site using either HTML pages or a CMS program such as Joomla, WordPress, or Drupal. There are advantages and disadvantages to each. Many web hosts have a quick install option for CMS or blogging software. Both BlueHost and HostGator have special quick installs for WordPress and Joomla! called Fantastico.

7. Sign up for affiliate marketing programs for your topic. I recommend starting out with .

8, Start adding content and mix relevant and useful affiliate links in with your content. Don't hard sell! You are providing a benefit for the visitor.

9. Integrate a website statistics service into your website, so you can see what works and what doesn't. I suggest using Google Analytics which is free. Also check your statistics in the affiliate network to see where your sales are coming from and which programs are converting to sales.

10. If a program doesn't convert and you know that your content is good, replace the program with one of another merchant and see if you get better results. When I first started I had used some programs that just wouldn't convert. I tried some others and they did. What do I mean by convert? Your statistics will tell you when a visitor clicks on an affiliate link on your website, If the visitor makes a purchase on the merchants site and the sale registers, it "converted". In other words, the click through converted into a sale.

What is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate Marketing is a kind of marketing done on the internet that depends on an action taking place for compensation to occur.

It is really quite simple.  Merchants need to sell their products, but can't afford to have many sales people since that is a huge up front cost that won't necessarily be compensated for. Additionally sales people are typically paid base salaries and get perks which sometimes include company cars plus retirement plans and health insurance. Needless to say a huge sales force using the traditional approach is a losing proposition.

 What is it basically?

Affiliate marketing pays the sales person who works independently only for the sales and sometimes leads that he or she generates though online promotions.  Typically the Affiliate (independent marketer) is paid by the merchant a commission that is a percent of a base sale. It could also be a fixed amount.

 What are the benefits to affiliate marketing?

The are benefits for both sides.

 What are the benefits for the merchant?

The merchant saves money on benefits and knows for every commission paid, the company made money as well. Meaning all affiliate marketing program expense is covered by revenue.

 What are the benefits for the affiliate?

The affiliate wins because he or she can work anywhere they can find a computer and internet connection (for example your bedroom in your PJs. or even your home office).  This means that the affiliate could even become a world traveler if he had a portable computer and connected at hotels or used cheap internet cafes.

Another great advantage is the work schedule. An affiliate can set his on work schedule. He doesn't have to worry about calling in sick or getting to bed early or getting up early for that long commute. No need to worry about requesting vacation time or family leave time.  An affiliate can work the number of hours per day or week that he or she wants to spend.

Save money on transportation. If you live in a big city, you or someone you live with probably spends an hour or more to get to the office every day spending money on gas and eventually car repairs. With the cost of a car and gasoline going up every year, consider how much money you'd save working at home.

The affiliate also benefits from the knowledge that he won't be fired. Yes, a merchant could remove him from its program, but there are thousands of affiliate marketing programs available so it is just a matter of removing the old and adding new.

Probably the biggest advantage is that there is no limit on how much money an affiliate can earn.

What are the disadvantages of affiliate marketing?

Like anything else in life there are disadvantages.

What are the disadvantages for the merchant?

The disadvantages of the merchant are very few and mostly perceptual. One of them is the cost of maintaining the program. A merchant will need someone working full time to manage the program as a contact person and to handle sales tracking and accounting. If someone isn't available, the merchant could outsource the program by paying a monthly fee to another company to handle the program. The perceived disadvantage is the lack of control. Many managers in today's business are taught to have lots of meetings and to request and read many reports and do metrics to micromanage their salespeople.  Affiliate marketing cuts all that waste out of the equation. No reports are requested directly from the affiliate. The only statistics they'd pull would be from the sales tracking system. Of course, it is really a benefit (micromanagement is a waste of time).

 What are the disadvantages for the affiliate?

First of all, there are no benefits, so the affiliate has to put aside some of his money for health insurance and retirement plans. There is no paid vacation or sick leave either. If you are just getting started with affiliate marketing don't quit your day job until you are making enough money to pay your bills (and Christmas sales don't count).

Secondly, there are expenses. web hosting, domain name registration, taxes, Internet Service Provider bill if you work from home, and of course you need a computer. The up front costs or cost of entry is really quite low. I'll explain in other posts what you'll need to get started.

Working on your own means you need to be self motivated, a self-starter.  If you need a boss to make you work then you're not ready to work at home. Your earnings correspond to the amount of work you put into it.  Don't expect to be making thousands of dollars a month working only an hour or two a day.

Last of all, there is a social cost. Some people will miss the social aspects of working in an office. To them working at home is lonely or depressing. This can be overcome by setting your own schedule. Plan time for work and time for play.

 What are the responsibilities of an affiliate?

An affiliate is only responsible for the promotion of the merchant's products or services. This involves the placement of links that are either graphic or text, and keeping their website or websites up-to-date.  The affiliate should keep contact information current so that payment and tax forms are received without delay.

What are the responsibilities of a merchant?

A merchant handles customer service, shipping of the product, product returns, sales tracking, and payments to affiliates. In other words, the merchant handles everything except the online marketing done by the affiliate.

 Summary

Affiliate marketing is a pay per action system where sales is outsourced to independent contractors who are paid a commission on a per sale basis which results in lower fixed costs for the merchant and great flexibility for the marketer.  Affiliate marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme, but instead a valid efficient system which gives back in proportion to the work put into it.  Affiliate marketing is NOT  multi-level or Network Marketing whereby someone makes money off of the person lower down on a pyramid. Affiliate marketing involves a direct relationship between the merchant and contractor or the Outsourced Program Manager and the contractor.