Getting Started
HOW DO I BECOME AN INTERNET MARKETER ?
WHAT IS INTERNET MARKETING?
Internet marketing is simply selling goods and services online. You will also hear it referred to as affiliate marketing. You will be referred to as an affiliate (salesperson).
It is not absolutely necessary to have a website to do this business but it is a better proposition to do so. It is a sales and marketing strategy that is primarily used on the internet and now mobile phones. Affiliate marketing means you operate as an affiliate or agent to drive traffic to particular websites or businesses. You in return receive compensation or payment for your efforts on behalf of the business. You do not have to own the product or service as you will get a percentage of the sale.
Another major way to earn is by selling advertising space on your site to companies such as Google who will place ads on your site and give you a share of the revenue. There are many companies who do this and I will list them in the advertising category.
We will discuss all the ways to make money online and offline as time goes on.
This is going to be a very large website over time and we will assume you are a total newbie to Internet Marketing. That does not mean that there will not be any information for those who have a greater knowledge. In fact I think they will pick up many little tips and tricks, but this website will concentrate on people who are absolutely new to this business on the internet.
Why do you want to be an internet marketer or an affiliate marketer? To make money of course ! So to make money you become what is called an affiliate marketer selling products related to your niche or special subject.
One problem comes from the amount of information and products available to purchase. It is endless and you will spin your wheels unless you lock yourself into a certain method and master that before moving on to another. You will hear all the time the phrase “information overload” and it is so true so before we start, just take to heart the previous statement….master one method at a time. You can have burn out with the amount of information available online.
I have learnt this the hard and expensive way. Don’t buy instantly. Think on it for a while. You will find as we make our way through this that”scarcity” is used as tactic to get you to buy.
It’s all about the power of persuasion.
In the beginning don’t take it all too seriously until you have experimented a while. The internet is very flexible but opportunity rewards the action taker. Experiment, experiment, experiment ! And some of you will be stars from the very beginning !
BASIC EQUIPMENT
1. Computer with an internet connection (preferably fast speed)
2. Printer
3. Head phones with microphone ( and speakers)
4. Notepaper…loads of it
5. Desk file box and cards ( optional)
6. Some files to put your notes (optional)
7. Desk Calendar (optional)
BASIC STEPS
1. Decide your niche. This is the special subject that you wish to specialise in and for creating your markets. Pick something close to your heart to start as it is easier to write about something you like.
2. Decide which type of website you are going to build. A blog (weblog) or a static site. The most popular way of building a site these days is a blog as it is so flexible (and easier to set up).
(a) A blog is current and you can add to it at will and with the available types it is simple. The two main types or platforms are called Wordpress and Blogger. We will go through both on this site. This site is built using Wordpress.
You do this with a WYSIWYG Editor( what you see is what you get)( pronounced wizzywig). There are quite a few choices of WYSIWYG Editors .
(c) Then there are the website design tools which are specifically designed to allow anyone to design and put up a site. They are basically a pick and choose type of software but there is still a learning curve. An example and the best of these is XSitePro, a brilliant website design tool for static sites.
Look at the Basics of Website Building category for more much detailed explanations of website building choices.
3. Setting up basic accounts. ( You will have information all over the place so I suggest you get a small desk file box with cards and keep your details on the cards as well as your computer but this is optional. Just a backup in case the computer fails (and ……..they do on occasion).
BASIC ACCOUNTS
It is probably better to try it out first and see if you think this business is for you.
So the basic accounts you will need are:-
1. PayPal Account (free) ( this can be linked to your bank account) Set up a “Premier” Account so you can receive and pay fees.
2. Visa or Mastercard Account ( One word of caution here. I set up a Debit Card especially for use online so that funds over the stipulated amount could not be deducted so ensuring a small amount of security. Fund it only with the amount you wish).
3. Roboform for your computer. The amount of passwords you will be using is astounding. This is a password manager. There is a free download (10 passwords or less) or a paid PRO download (paid).
4. Zone Alarm is a very good Firewall to give your computer security. Free download or PRO download ( paid).
5. Clickbank Account : This is a very popular way of making money in Internet Marketing selling ebooks. There are many others but this is basic.
6. Get a Google Account ( free) and set up a Gmail email account ( free) or two. That keeps your own email account still for your private use. (You will need an email for PayPal).( You will also need your Google account for other things as well (Eg Adsense, analytics etc).
7. The recommended browser is Firefox ( free). Google Chrome is good as well but most of the top guys use Firefox. Firefox has a lot of addons that can help greatly with your business.
NECESSARY DOWNLOADS
You will need to download some basic software (free) to open the things you download.
PDF Document Opener
First you will need to be able to open PDF documents (online books) so go to ADOBE and download Adobe Reader from there.
Zip File Opener
You will also need a ZIP File or RAR opener. Files are compressed to smaller files to make it easier to download and then you need to open them back up to normal size on your own PC or Mac. Here are 2 free ones. http://www.7-zip.org or http://www.zipgenius.it
And for very high quality you can purchase WinZip or WinRAR.
This is just the first stage of accounts you will need. There are many many more.
There are over 70 categories which you will find in alphabetical order but this is not the order of doing the business.
Go to Basics Steps of Internet Marketing to see the steps which I will list without explanation but hyperlinked to the categories where they will be explained in depth. This will take time so please have some patience as I add posts. It will be well worth it for you!
BOOKMARK this site and in time I think you will be amazed at what you will find on here. This will not be an auto generated site with lots of rubbish but the genuinely useful tips of things I have found in 9 years of searching the internet.
