Does a new affiliate site need a landing page?

[dorono]

Hello there,

I am new to this forum, and new to affiliate marketing, but am very eager to learn and help others where I can (my field of expertise is in WordPress/web development).

At any rate, I am thinking of launching my first affiliate site which would be a content-packed blog with great info and relevant ads, but I understand that the #1 biggest priority is to build a strong email list.

I'm wondering how I would build this list, as I've been told that simply placing the opt-in form in the sidebar makes for very little results when your site is new and unknown.

Here is what I am thinking to start:

1) Create a really simple 10 or so page e-book that I'll give away for free
2) Create a very attractive landing page on my domain with a video intro and give the e-book away for free in exchange for an email sign up
3) Once the user has confirmed their signup and received their e-book, then I'd direct them to my affiliate site, which would be blog.[mydomain].com (as opposed to www.[mydomain].com where the landing page would live).

Does that sound like a smart first stab at it, or do you think I'm missing the mark here?

Thanks so much!

Doron

[dorono]

Thanks so much for the insights.

After experimenting and investigating, I may just try to keep the blog on my domain and create landing pages for specific products.

My concern is that a landing page for just a blog may turn folks away since they don't know me, so why would they want to give me my email address in exchange for an e-book that they may have no been Googling for in thge first place.

I think that I will do what you're suggesting and just really focus on delivering value and wait until I've established trust to start selling anything, and of course, never be a spammer.

Thanks again Werna!

Doron