If you've been following the Cross Blog Conversation between Vera and I, you're getting a good handle on what it takes to become a successful blogger and to ultimately be a super affiliate in your niche. Stay tuned, because we're going to continue working together so that everyone can benefit from the process! 😉
I want to make a quick sidetrack first though, and address the reasons we're moving so fast - and show you why we're doing certain steps in a specific order.
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As soon as Vera decided on her affiliate niche she registered the domain name, set up WordPress (her blog), and next I suggested she go ahead and set up social media accounts and an email list. Why so much so soon, you ask?
Once you choose the niche for your online business, you should take fast action.
Dig straight in and get that business set up!
Some people mistakenly think they should have all of the content (or a certain amount) in place before they "launch" their blog. Others think they should "understand blogging" better before they get started.
There is no "right" amount of content, and it's impossible know everything before you start! The online space is always changing and evolving, so it's going to be a constant learning process...
Plan to learn, implement & revise as you go.
There is no official launch for a blog, or niche affiliate site, by the way. It's not like a Product Launch, it's simply a process. Once you know exactly what you want to do, or a general idea at least, start putting the pieces into place.
What's the worst that can happen? Maybe you change your mind about the domain name you chose. Big deal - change it. Maybe you change your mind about the niche you chose - scrap it and start over. Maybe you made mistakes in the way you set up your social media accounts - delete them and create new ones.
Honestly, you can't do much harm, and everything is a minimal investment anyway. You'll do best going with your gut feeling, or your initial instincts, and just get busy making it happen. There's no point trying to learn everything upfront (like I said earlier, you can't anyway), so don't waste your time...
But wait! I have questions!
While you don't want to become a "professional student" and never actually get your online business off the ground, there ARE right and wrong ways to do certain things.
You'd be wise to get involved in a community of people you trust, where you can ask questions and get feedback along the way.
This will dramatically reduce your chance of costly mistakes, and get you on the fast-track to setting up a successful online business.
I have a Private Brainstorming Group that does just that. It's where I work with people personally on everything from choosing a niche or domain name, down to crafting the ideal blog post title even, and all the other nitty gritty details of starting and running your online business successfully.
So yes, ask questions! But then take action on what you learn, and just continue moving forward. Don't get stuck thinking you need to understand how to do "X" when you're still on step "C" of setting up your online business.
Set up your Domain Name & Hosting right away.
You want to register your domain name immediately for two reasons. 1) Someone else may take it while you're waffling around. And 2) It takes time for a new domain to get "seen" and indexed by the major search engines. So it's smart to go ahead and register your domain, set up your hosting account, and install WordPress.
That way your site is actually online, and can be indexed by the search engines. Even if it's going to take you months to actually get things going, your domain name can start to get some "age" on it.
Tip: Don't put up an "Under Construction" or a "Coming Soon" page. You can simply create one page which could be as simple as what will eventually go on your About page. You'll also include your social media links and an opt-in box, so visitors can opt to get notified by email about "xyz" (what you plan to offer).
The "How-To"
Just in case you're new to all of this, I don't want to leave you hanging without the steps to get your domain registered and your site online. Here are the resources I use, am affiliated with, and recommend:
- Research & Register a Domain Name
- Set up a Hosting Account (choose the Baby plan and use coupon code "save994offer" to get your first month for a penny)
- Install WordPress (or see my WordPress Checklist)
- Choose a Free WordPress Theme
Set up your Social Media Accounts and Mailing List right away, too.
You may wonder why I suggested Vera set up her mailing list and social media accounts right away. Shouldn't she wait until she has "enough" content, "enough" visitors - or some other mystical moment when you somehow know it's the right time? No. You definitely want to do this from the start.
As I mentioned above, you'll want to set up at least a single page on your new domain so it can get indexed and start to get established in the major search engines. And when visitors DO happen upon your site, you want to give them options to stay connected with you and get updates when you do start publishing your content there.
Why wait until you get "decent traffic"? And how will you know exactly what that number is? Meanwhile losing the opportunity to stay in touch with people who ARE visiting your site from the very beginning... 😉
Also, setting up those social media profiles will create links back to your new domain, which will help it get indexed in the search engines faster. Which is smart (!) because when you DO start posting content, you won't have to wait as long for it to get "found" by Google.
Want to get on the Fast Track?
Enroll in the Niche Success Blueprint "Start to Profit" course today!
In my next post in this series with Vera, we're going to look at the actual setup of her social media accounts and mailing list, and go over detailed "how to" of those steps.
In the meantime, if you have ANY questions at all, just leave a comment below this post and let me know...
Stay tuned, this is going to be fun!
If you're not already subscribed by email to receive notification of new posts, you can do that below (see the orange box) so you don't miss out on any of this series...
Best,
p.s. If you're struggling to pick the perfect domain name for your online business, I have a Domain Name Brainstorming Guide for only $10.
But you can actually get it as a FREE BONUS to my other guide, which is currently only $7.47 - which is obviously the smarter option. 🙂
After reading my Domain Brainstorming Guide, if you want some feedback on your domain name choice, simply reply to your email receipt and ask me - I'd be happy to take a look at what you're considering and even offer other available alternatives.
Of course if you're an Elite Member of my Private Brainstorming Group, both the guide and my personal help are already available to you free...
About Lynn Terry
When I was heavier into affiliate marketing, I would do just about the same. Specially when there was a keyword rampage going on.
Acai Berry anyone?
Lynn and Vera, this is an educational topic and one that will always be in big demand! 🙂 I'm looking forward to seeing future posts ! I'm confident in knowing there will be things I can learn and benefit from. Thanks Lynn! 🙂
Thank you, Tammy 😀
I am really loving this blog conversation Lynn! I'm not launching an affiliate niche site (yet), but I've done the homework right along with Vera for my freelancing site. Only thing - I bartered with a web developer so I'm getting a custom WP theme ;o)
As a side note: I encourage others following along to get Lynn's Domain Name Brainstorming Guide, she really is a killer expert at it!
Excited to implement your tips on the next post...
Smart, Kimmoy! And thank you for the kind words. 😀 I really enjoyed brainstorming domain names with you for your new site!!
Will you compile these topics into a ebook? It's so interesting.
Yes, we'll wrap it up later into a download where people who missed the series live can read through it easily. I'll send out an email when that's ready, so make sure you're subscribed if you're interested. 😉
Hi Lynn,
This is essential advice indeed. I'm the sort of person who will unintentionally procrastinate if I allow myself to. In other words, I'll 'work' on lots of thing but not actually get any momentum. I'll just be working 0n getting everything in place and acquiring knowledge before taking any necessary steps to actually move forward.
My mindset changed when I came across the teachings of Alex Jeffreys. Among the many things that he taught me which helped me immensely there was a phrase that stuck with me: "Don't get it perfect, just get it going".
While there are essentials to get in place at the beginning, just as you mention here, there is no need to get everything perfect to begin with. If we try to do this then things will never be perfect and we'll never take action.
The key is to get the bare essentials sorted out and then plough ahead. We are always learning and there will always be things that we can/want to/need to change as we go along. But, as the saying going, the most important step of the journey is the first one.
I also like that you advise against putting up an "Under construction" page. Unless there is a very, very good reason why you need to take your site down, there should be no reason to put up a sign saying that the page is under construction.
Pages are always under construction and even if we're doing an overhaul then why not just leave up the old page until the new one is ready to go? Unless impossible, our visitors should always have something worthwhile to look at/do on our page. They should never be greeted with an "Under construction" sign. It's annoying and looks amateurish (Internet veterans will surely remember all those personal hobby sites from the likes of Geocities, Xoom, Tripod, Lycos et al that often had that familiar little yellow triangle with the outline of a workman on it!)
If I had tried to get everything perfect I'd likely still be at the same place I was last year - nowhere! Instead, I am taking consistent action and am seeing the benefits of doing so.
Kind regards,
Glenn
Great points, Glenn! On "perfection" check out this post: http://www.clicknewz.com/5485/perfectionism-trap/ LOL that will change your whole outlook on perfection! 😉
And yes, "Under Construction" and "Coming Soon" are pointless messages for your visitors, and they're also negatives in regards to SEO...
Hi Lynn
A very educational and informative post, I'm looking forward to your next post.
By the way, what would you think about Mailchimp and Aweber ? Which one is better ?
Thank you !
Hi Tommy,
Great question! I actually have a blog post about that coming out soon. I personally use and recommend Aweber: http://sswt.aweber (aff). MailChimp has a reputation for NOT being affiliate-friendly. More on that in a coming post, though. 😉
Thanks for your advice Lynn
Mailchimp has free feature and support customizing the email template, but being not affiliate-friendly isn't good.
I've heard a lot about Aweber, so I'm looking forward to your post.
Aweber offers a lot of templates and tutorials & easy customization as well. They are definitely the market leader in Mailing List Management - which is the reason I chose them, and choose to stay with them. 😉 I'll let you know as soon as the article is live!
Hi Tommy,
Regarding MailChimp not being affiliate-friendly, see this discussion we were having on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lynnterrybiz/posts/637332239612249 ... 😐
I finally have that post ready for you, Tommy 😀
See: http://www.clicknewz.com/7348/mailchimp-vs-affiliates/
Lynn,
Great information you're providing. I'm very new to all of this and can't wait to get up and running. When you research the domain name and it's already registered, the page results will give you other options, is it okay to use the same domain name as someone else but with a different extension such as .ca, .org...etc?
Thank you, Julie! Personally, I would never do that. You may run into trademark issues for one, but you'll also create confusion for your own visitors. If your site does well - and you expect it to! - people will automatically type in the ".com" when they hear about it.
Ideally you will choose something different, unique to you, and register the .com. You can also register the other top level extensions of your domain to protect your brand - which is a smart move.
p.s. ".org" SHOULD be reserved for *real* organization. Unfortunately there are no requirements in place, so that extension has totally lost it's meaning and reputation...
p.s. There are SO many GOOD domains still available, which I prove almost daily brainstorming with my members 😉 - so I would just keep searching until you get a really great domain that IS available.