Confessions of an Affiliate Mind

A tool you cannot live without

2005-10-11T10:35:00.000-06:00

Well, I've never really tried to sell anyone anything on this blog, but there's always a first. It would have to be pretty awesome for me to do it, and this is.

This may sound a little like a sales pictch, but folks, it's MY story....and you don't see something like this every day.

You know how you constantly read the posts from the really successful marketers on forum boards who say things like, "well I created 100 sites today", and you say to yourself, "how in the world are they doing this?"

I don't know about you, but I go into WHM and create my site profiles one by one.

And then it hit me: automation!

I found myself determined to figure out how they were doing this so quickly. I knew there had to be some trick, some secret to this process. The problem is this: the super successful internet marketers using this advanced technology are not giving up their secrets!

So, I resolved to save my money and some day, hire my own programmer to write me a program that could generate 100s if not 1000s of domain accounts, instantly!

UNTIL NOW!

This is crazy, but this powerful domain account generation program is now available for people like you and me to buy!! I'm still in shock. This is priced so far below what it would cost to hire a programmer to write a private version that I am still checking my eyesight to make sure I'm seeing it correctly.

Don't delay, get access to one of the most well-kept internet marketing secrets around: automatic domain account generation. Bypass WHM, Cpanel, just forget about them!!

Automation is the name of the game and key to duplicating your success, over and over!

So, how many sites have you created today?

Get it now.

I'm celebrating today!

2005-09-23T18:24:00.000-06:00

I just got my very FIRST comment that was NOT blog comment spam.

I must be arriving.

Keywords, keywords, keywords!

2005-09-22T19:20:00.000-06:00

Keywords are the backbone of your site's success. Sure, you need to build a decent looking template, and get traffic to it, but what you need to ask yourself what kind of traffic will be "buyer traffic"? In truth, whether you are relying on organic (free) traffic, or paying for your vistors through AdWords or some other PPC campaign, you need to target the "right" keywords.

So, what are the "right" keywords?

Here are a few thoughts:

Use product or product category names with qualifier words like:
- free
- compare
- review
- cheap
- discount
- buy
Use prahses like:
- "how do I"
- "learn how to"
Focus on buyer behavior words like:
- find
- list
Think of "life events" that people would search for answers on or help with, how does your site fill that need?
Focus on "you", not "I"

These are just a few of the keyword research ideas I use all the time, quite successfuly.

AF

One man's efforts....

2005-09-06T14:02:00.000-06:00

This post is dedicated to my friend, Todd Taylor, who is formerly from Gulfport, MS, an area very hard hit by Katrina. He's a fellow affiliate marketer, and in fact was the one responsible for getting me into this business.

He saw an incredible need, and was moved to help his former hometown in ways that not every person would do. He dropped everything, put business on hold, and began to raise support, supplies and money. He's on his way tomorrow, with a caravan of relief supplies.

I could tell his story, but he can do it much better than I, so please visit his Katrina Relief blog, and if you feel so inclined, help out. 100% of the money is going toward relief in Gulfport, MS.

AffiliateGirl

Is there anything Google likes?

2005-08-11T18:37:00.000-06:00

I recently read a blog post about a site owner who did a little SEO experiment. He had heard that putting your keyword in the first position in your title tags was good for ranking results. So, on a site he owned that consisted of product pages, with categories and product names, he switched the order of the tags from "site name, keyword" and "category, keyword" to list keywords first. His results? Dropping in the SERPS by 10 positions for the category pages and 3 positions for the index page.

One commenter on this entry stated, "...This could make sense as (Google) penalizing SEO research activity."

I had to laugh! Now who knows if this is true of Google or not. Who knows if this "experiment" was even scientific enough to prove anything at all.

The point is this (and DO listen carefully!): Google hates you doing anything to try and rank better! If G had it's way, nobody would ever do anything at all to affect their site's ranking. Not ever. They would just love to be the sole deciding factor on how you do in the rankings.

But that's not how the world works, is it? :-) And is it any wonder that a lot of people will do whatever it takes to beat them? Hey, I used to be as white hat as they come. Guess who pushed me to the dark side? You guessed it. The big G.

But that's a story for another time.

Tell me how to make money!!

2005-08-11T10:41:00.000-06:00

I recently had a very bad experience with my AOL instant messanger. You see, for all my technical abilities, I had never done "chat". I'd always viewed it as a "waste of time". When I'm at my desk, I'm working.

However, lately I 've needed to get with the twenty-first century and learn to IM. It can be a quite valueable tool when you are working as a beta tester for someone's product and you need live real-time help.

I didn't know that I could "disallow" everyone else from contacting me. So, when I got an IM from someone I didn't know, I was a little shocked, but I answered. The person had found me at one of the private forums and had a few questions. So far, so good. I answered the initial questions, but then (I'll use "he" for simplicity) he began to ask me things like,

"how much money do you make?"
"what are your techniques"
"how many sites do you have?"

Now, in the right context, I may be willing to answer these questions, but not with a total stranger. Even worse, he totally ignored some very good advice I was giving him and just continued to assault me with questions. When I refused to say how much I made (I answered with $x,xxx ). He got nasty with me. That was when I eneded the conversation.

Do you ever notice that there are people who visit the forums who don't really want to pay their dues to learn? Take hard knocks, setback, whatever. They post things like, "can you tell me how you make websites so fast?" "Can you tell me how you make one site a day"? The answer is: "no". I can't do that. I can give you some great tips, point you in the right direction, but you must do this for yourself. I think this guy was one of those people. I don't have room for them in my world.

I was shaking after the encounter. I truly felt my space had been violated (it had been actually). But, I let it happen because I didn't know how to use my tool.

The lesson here? You can have all the tools to make you successful (whether it's online or offline business or just "life tools" needed for living a successful life), but if you don't understand them and utilize them correctly, they are useless. This is why the concept of "taking action" is so important. You can't dream your way to success.

So, I took the time to study my MSN and AOL IM software and that is not going to happen to me again.

Affiliate Girl

Getting to the next level

2005-07-31T11:23:00.000-06:00

There comes a time when you can just feel that you're on the verge of a major breakthrough.

I think that many people never get to this place, but even when they do, there are others still who just can't quite get over whatever "hump" is keeping them from making that big "ah ha!".

You can apply this to business, life, relationships, whatever. The concept is the same.

As for me, I have spent over a year studying my trade every single day. I have spent my time, my money, my energy and focused my will on nothing but learning. I've had the fortune to meet some great people along with way (who have most definitely pointed me in the right direction).

But it all comes down to this: No one can get you to the next level. It must be done by you. It must come from within you. You must want it and you must work for it. You must earn it for yourself.

So why am I talking about this? Well, I'm there. I'm standing on the edge of "getting it". I've got the tools, I've got the know how, I've got the resources, I'm ready.

The problem? A learning curve with my tools. I know what I need to do, I just can't do it yet.
In the business of "making money online" there is a concept that is much talked about. Basically, it's "try different things and when you find something that works, duplicate it". This is the key.

Well, I've found something that works. I just need to be able to get a baseline. A set of tools that allows me to duplicate my system at a rapid pace.

In order to do this, I need to learn HTML better (it takes me forever to make a template and I run into all kinds of issues I spend HOURS trying to figure out) and PHP language.

There are days I want to quit. There are nights I go to bed feeling like a failure. BUT I WON'T QUIT. I am single-minded in this resolve. WHATEVER IT TAKES. I WILL do this. I WILL make it. I WILL get there.

I truly believe, "when the student is ready, the teacher will come". So, thanks for staying with me on this quest, this journey of learning. The truth is, that whenever you try and take on a major life shift in your thinking, it will change you forever. And then one day, you will be the person that others look at and say, "gee, she made it and it was just so easy for her". And you will be the one to smile quietly and nod....because you know the real story.

Affiliate Girl

Learning PHP will put hair on your chest....really!

2005-07-05T22:51:00.000-06:00

Ok, so maybe not literally, but I'm feeling kinda like Tim the Tool Man Taylor. I just got my CaRP RSS feed (PHP based) to actually work on one of my websites. And now I want MORE POWER. Or at least more knowledge of how to use PHP to drive my websites.

In case you're not up to speed, I've decided to take the plunge and learn this PHP stuff. At least enough to do some essential things like includes, variables, etc. Right now, I can spell v-a-r-i-a-b-l-e-s, but that's about it. Hopefully, as I get deeper into this, I'll look back and be so damn happy that the learning curve is over. Right now, my brain hurts. BAD.

There's this one forum I go to every day. The place ROCKS and I am asking soooo many questions there. I like to pride myself on giving not doing the "take, take, take" thing, but I'm just in that place right now. But, I really believe in "paying it forward", so, my time will come to help others who follow behind me.

For now, I just need a good nights sleep.

Terry Dean Copy Writing..

2005-06-15T20:53:00.000-06:00

Lately I've been doing a lot of reading on copy writing. Most of the e-books I've read sound like this: "blah, blah, blah, blah blah BLAH." You would THINK that a copy writer of all people, would be able to write a book on copy writing that would actually hold your attention!!

Enter Terry Dean. I don't have an affiliate link for his e-book, just pure unadulterated admiration! I just read "Million Dollar Web Copy Writing" by Terry Dean and I am inspired! He not only gives you his formula (as all the other copy writing books do), but he actually shows you how to do it! He gives you actual techniques and the psychology behind them --FABULOUS!!!

I am going to completely re-write the money pages on my kitchen site and see what happens! I'm totally inspired.

If you want to know about copy writing, you can get anyone's e-book. If you want to be taught how to copy write, see Terry. Tell 'em I sent you.

I've made the switch....

2005-06-12T20:19:00.000-06:00

Well, I hope this blog doesn't blow up, but I've got to say it: I've made the switch. I am an official WordPress blog user.

What does this mean? Well, basically you get to feel really cool about yourself because you mastered PHP enough to completely screw up your blog! But never fear, you can always go to the WordPress Support Blog and dig through tons of posts until you maybe find what your looking for so you can solve your problem! You can always head over to the WordPress Codex, which is actually kind of awe-inspiring, because the documentation is quite extensive.

Except for one tiny little thing.

"How to edit your blog" was just not on the documentation list. Oh freakin' well.

Did I mention that I know PHP?!

But seriously folks, if you want to host your own blog, there are advantages. When I figure out what they are, I'll let you know. No really, if you want to customize your blog (and I mean REALLY customize), then WP is the deal. I mean, there's Typepad, but I'm not making a living on my affiliate income yet, so $14.95 a month seems like one more piece of overhead I don't need. So, WP is free and probably along the way I'll discover other reasons why it was a great thing to do.

Right now, I've got to get back to my blog. I'm still trying to figure out how to add a graphic to the sidebar.

My Bourbon hangover!

2005-06-11T09:58:00.000-06:00

I anyone as demoralized as I am? Here's the situation. I have been working my a** off doing a great, awesome, killer content site. I've spent more money than you would want to know on aritcles at Elance. I really put my heart and soul into it. I "added value" in a ton of different ways that most affiliate marketers would not dream of. After all, we are taught that our site is not to be "sticky", that's the merchant's job. But, I added tons of "extras" for anyone finding my site.

So....what happens? I'm sure you're just hanging on pins and needles here. Bourbon happened, that's what. My site had JUST come out of the "new site sandbox" (it's a little over 9 months old) and BAM, it's now lost in on the 5,000th results page.

PEOPLE!!! I consulted SEO's, did my linking strategy, and got a PR5 for pete's sake!!!

"So what?" Google says.

Well you know what I say? I've just stopped playing by the Google Guy a** kissers rules, that's what. From now on, any method that works, is what I'm doing. If that pisses off some, then so be it.

Damn that felt good.

Google's Secret Evaluation Lab!

2005-06-02T22:50:00.000-06:00

I just came accross this blog called Search Bistro, by Henk van Ess. He a reporter who works for a Dutch newspaper. His weblog started yesterday and was slashdotted right away, and you'll see why! Seems he uncovered Google's Secret Evaluation Lab! People are hired from all over the world to manually check search results....for namely...you guessed it....SPAM. The all powerful algo is given a nudge in the right direction by human eyes! Great stuff here, flash movie, screen shots, etc.

There you have it!

Thinking of site ideas..

2005-05-28T11:29:00.000-06:00

I just finished my research for four new sites, but I added fifth site when I, quite by accident, thought of a GREAT idea that not too many people are doing yet. How did I figure this out? Ideas come from everywhere. I find the best way to brainstorm is just to look around me in everyday life. If I have a problem I can't solve and I find myself saying, "why can't I find the information I need for this?", then you have yourself a great topic to research for a possible site.

Then, when I get an idea, I usually go to Google and key in "allinurl:keyword". (Substitute "keyword" for your idea.) Then I can get a look at who else is already got a site on my same idea. Now, not all sites will have the actual keyword in the url, but you can be that 99% of the affiliate marketers do. So, I can "size up" the competition too. :-)

I don't necessarily think you should not do a site if there are a lot of other people doing the same, (because hey, there's tons of traffic to go around) but it is very beneficial to find "niches" that are not being tapped out by hundreds of sites yet. I mean, there are tons of e-books and software on that very subject, right?

Starting on four new sites

2005-05-17T09:14:00.000-06:00

I'm really excited. It took me forever to finish my first site, but that's because it was my first and I was under the impression that it had to be perfect! I wrote really good content, over 500 words per article, and did a lot of things to make the site "sticky". Well, now I realize that the goal of an affiliate site is NOT to be "sticky", that's the goal of the merchant's site. (What can I say, I'm learning.)

So, I've decided that my articles will be about 300 words for the new sites and I will stick to merchant landing pages and articles for AdSense revenue. I should be able to get these up fairly soon.

The other thing I learned, that is really of value is this: Don't wait for your site to be "finished" before you get it online. I'd say, once you have the merchant pages done, even if you don't have articles yet, get it out there so Gogglebot can find it and start the clock "ticking" for aging your site. Why? Because Goggle has a long talked about "aging delay" where new sites don't really rank well for ANY of their terms for about seven to eight months. I saw this on my first site, it was #2 and #5 in MSN and Yahoo and not even in the top 1000 in good ole Goggle.

So, rather than wait, get the shell of your site out there and then work on slowly building your articles. This looks good to Google too, because it sees a steady stream of fresh content going up and we all know Goggle like freshness! I have another friend in Canada, who does content sites this way, and he put up 10 new sites and got a PR3 on all of them in the last update, without any articles or links.

Googspy!

2005-05-15T20:06:00.000-06:00

So, have you checked out the new online spy tool which was launched on April 25? It's amazing that Google has made this type of competitor marketing information public! My personal theory is that they'll get us drooling over it, addicted to it, and them BAM--start charging for it! Speaking of money and Google......did you know that they posted profits in excells of ONE BILLION dollars for the first quarter? Not bad.

Anyway, I'm happy about Googspy. It levels the playing field for us little guys, we can have access to the marketing decisions and research of the big guys (namely, our competitors).

So rush right over there while it's still F-R-E-E!!

By the way, there's a great article written by Alan Gardyne abou this new tool. Check it out here.

Back in the saddle again!

2005-05-10T15:12:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been quite a while since my last post. It's amazing how life can just zip along at such an amazing pace.

I just finished my first affiliate content website (way off schedule, but that's another story). I'm saving my last twenty articles for that site to post one per week over the next twenty weeks. You see, now that I'm essentially "done" with the site, I want to continue to have regular site updates so that the spiders (namely, Gogglebot) will see that there is fresh content going up regularly. They like this. This is actually what James Martell calls his "pour" technique.

I need to wait for a couple of months now, to really see where this site is going to go. I keep forgetting that I just put the bulk of the content up in the last month (over fifty articles). So, I don't really have an accurate picture yet.

You know, the thing that is the hardest about this business is that nothing happens overnight. At least not if your doing content sites. It's hard work and staying motivated (and waiting) is sometimes hard to do. But I know if I keep on working at it, I'll be successful. After all, I've got a bunch Martell students who are ahead of me and doing very well.

WordTracker & Overture: Different Results

2005-02-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

Why when you do research at WordTracker, do the results vary so much from the Overture keyword suggestion tool?

Typically, the Overture search numbers will be far greater that what WordTracker is telling you. Why? You have to remember that the Overture numbers are geared toward PPC (Pay per Click) campaigns, not SEO research, and of course Overture has something to gain if you see lots of searches for a particular key word or phrase. In fact, Overture results do not take into account that webmasters run automated queries for tons of phrases and that can greatly skew the results.

My suggegstion is to spend the money to get a Wordtracker subscription. If you're like me and your budget is limted, you can buy research time for just one day for about $8.00. It's much more reliable. Another idea is to run a Google AdWords campaign and/or an Overture campaign for your keywords so you can see if people are really searching for your phrases. Gather your own data.

I use a numberof keyword research tools to compare, including Wordtracker, the Overture tool, and Keyword Map, and a few others.

James Martell's 2005 Updated Manual

2005-02-12T10:26:00.000-07:00

Well, I just got ahold of James's updated manual. I'm one of his students who bought the 2002 version (last year) and felt that it was plenty "in date" even though the year was 2004. Plus, I had access to every update and new piece of helpful information he learned via his "updates" area on his website.

However, he decided to incorporate all his updates PLUS the benefit of his experience (since he wrote the manual) in affiliate marketing. I was a little "ho hum" about getting it at first, just becuase I knew that I had stayed current on his updates page, but WOW, the beginning of the manual starts out with a recap of 28 points he feels it important to call our attention to! These points are more than a blueprint of "how to's", they are absolute GOLD if you're someone like me who is putting together sites largely on her own. (This is also why I subscribe to his "Affiliate Buzz" to stay plugged in).

The "28 points" cover things like:

Why a backwards link check of competitor sites is no longer important on Google
New optimizing techniques that take advantage of Google's "stemming technology"
How to pick keyword phrases that are EXACTLY what people are looking for

I could go on and on! If you are in the affiliate markeing game, this is a must have book. Even if you don't do or don't want to do content sites, there is still a lot of valueable information.

Oh, did I mention, all his student go this new book (with over 80+ new pages) for FREE. James is a stand up guy and it's great to be on his team.

What's wrong at Google?

2005-02-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

Has anyone noticed the search results at Google have been really off since about the first of Febuary? MSN and Yahoo are percolating along just fine, but Google's results are just plain bad. Here's an example: I went to serach for Jessica Simpson's new Dessert Beauty line of products. Here's what Google told me was worthy enough to be in the "TOP 10":

Position #4: a spam site of nothing but a page of keywords
Position #6: a CREDIT CARD site what was using "Jessica keywords" at the bottom of the page!
Position #10: a german porn site that had optimized for Jessica Simpson in the meta tags, but NOWHERE ELSE.

So I ask you, why do I kill myself to follow the rules and practice good and above board SEO tactics when Google is obviosuly rewarding for bad behavior?

There's a GREAT thread going on about this over at Search Engine Watch.

I guess this qualifies as the "occastional rant".

Staying Motivated

2005-01-31T11:03:00.000-07:00

Staying motivated is very important in any field but it's especially important to someone building a content site. There is definitely a monotony that comes when you are steadily adding content. Sometimes it can seem like it will take forever to populate your site. It's work. Hard work. But so incredibly worth it in the long run. And, the more quality your content and well researched your keywords are, the more rewards you will reap.

So, how do I stay motivated? Well, I went out and bought a small pewter elephant to put on my desk. Ok.....why? Well, I saw a motivational speaker a few years ago who reminded us all of the old saying, "How do you eat an elephant?" We know the answer: one bite at a time. This is a truism for any job, task, hurdle to overcome or whatever. But, it really keeps me focused that baby steps will get you there. If you're like me, I want it all done NOW. I'm not too good at "slow and steady wins the race", but I keep my eye on the goal and do what necessary TODAY to get there.

Google's aging delay

2005-01-28T10:03:00.000-07:00

Well, my site has been up for 5 1/2 months now and I'm steadily adding LOTS of content. I have to assume the SEO instruction I've received has been good (actually, GREAT) because my site is ranking well in two of the top three engines. I'm #5 in Yahoo and #12 in MSN. Google you ask? Not even in the top 1000. In other words, burried.

In search of an answer, I was led to Jill Whalen's site, High Rankings. In an email exchange, she explained that Google has an "aging delay" in place. There are various theories as to why, but the general concensus is that it takes new sites about 8-9 months to show a ranking over at the big "G".

All this to say, time will pass, and I will eventually learn where I "stack up" at Google. Oh, you can read the article on Google's aging dealy at Jill's site.

Happy New Year!

2005-01-18T16:23:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd better write something before January was over. I hit the ground running this new year. To wrap up my beginning entries, I got started in affiliate marketing quite by accident, from someone I met on eBay, and decided it was an excellent fit for me as a new stay at home mom. I built my first site last year and launched it in August. Our family moved from California to Colorado in late September and then the holidays hit, so the bottom line is that I'm hot on the trail of finishing my site by February 28th. I plan to start my second one in March. I'm heavy into content writing at the moment and after I've exhausted my keyword list, I'll be done! Four to six months later, after the site is fully indexed, I'll really know how much money it's going to make. I can already see my traffic and sale jump, as I add ten and twenty articles at a time.

eBay is not just for buying things...

2004-12-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

After I gave notice at my job, I set out finding a way that I could earn a living from home. As a new mom, I was plenty busy, but our new family needed to bring in some additional income to offset my former income. This was how I ended up on eBay. I began selling off our "odds and ends" and brining in some money. I aslo began to look for a product to sell. It was through my serach for finding an eBay product to sell that I met Tiger Todd. I bought an information product from him which I actually never ended up using. Oh, it was a great product, but we ended up emailing back and forth and through an email signature on my correspondence, he discovered that I was a webmaster of my old employer's site and my own family site. He suggested that I use these skills to build affiliate websites. I was blown away. I'd never even heard of affiliate marketing. I began to investigate the potential of this arena and was really excited.

Affiliate musing #1

2004-12-23T19:32:00.000-07:00

My story: I found my way to becoming an internet affiliate marketer quite by accident. I had left the dog-eat-dog corporate world to take a quick time out to have a baby. Yes, just a brief "blip" in time to have my son and get back to it. Uh huh. Long story short: I never went back. I had spent years earning the big bucks and took one look at my son and knew I could never leave him. But, I do have a practical side and a side that is used to conquering anything I do. So, as I set out to "conquer motherhood" (yeah, right!) I also began this incredible adventure into "making money online". More later.