Have you ever paid attention to how your WordPress posts perform in the SERPs compared to your pages?

I am often asked which is better for SEO, so I decided to create a video revealing my opinions and discussing what has worked best with my newest WordPress website.

I’d love to hear your stories too.  I’ll see ya in the comments!

Have you ever written an article and wished you could find a better way to phrase something?

Do you sometimes repeat the same words in your copy over and over again?

I have these issues all the time and often find myself browsing an online thesaurus for word inspiration.

OneLook to the Rescue!

Well, thanks to a BlogCastFM Interview with Laura Belgray, I now have a more useful tool in my arsenal.

It’s called OneLook – a free online dictionary that lets you perform a variety of different wildcard searches to find related words, concepts and phrases.

For example, let’s say you want to write an alliteration, and you need three words that start with the letter g that mean “happy.”

Simply type the query, g*:happy and the site will churn out the following results…

You can also seek out related phrases that begin with/contain certain words or match a given concept.

If you enter **happiness** OneLook will reveal phrases that contain the word happiness.

Pretty cool, huh?  I could play with this tool all day!

So the next time you find yourself stumped when you’re writing, or you’d like to unearth a more interesting way to phrase something, fire up OneLook.

It’s like a dictionary on steroids!

And while you’re at it, you might as well tune into the BlogCastFM podcast.  It’s chock full of actionable, noteworthy copywriting tips from Laura.  I really enjoyed it.

Are there any tools you use to help enhance your writing?  Do share!

Affiliate Marketers Shouldn’t Create Their Own Products!

Yep, that’s what someone told me on YouTube when I asked my subscribers what kind of book they would like me to write.

My critic went on to say that I should not sell my own products because I already offer so much free advice.  What could I possibly put in a book that would be worth anyone’s money?

He believes affiliate marketers should stick to selling other people’s “stuff” instead of trying to create their own products.

I have to say.  That was probably one of the worst pieces of advice I’ve received in my 14 years of affiliate marketing.

If you want long-term success online, your ultimate goal should be to sell your own product(s).

From our exchange, I could tell he assumed I was just going to regurgitate everything on my site, throw it into a book and slap a price tag on it.  But what’s so ironic about that is many people suggested I do just that!

Once again, I learned that oh-so-valuable lesson I wrote about last week…

YOU CAN’T PLEASE ALL THE PEOPLE ALL THE TIME.

Having said that, I understood his concern.  It was never my goal to just paraphrase my site and put it into a book.  I knew I had a lot of information and lessons tucked away that could be packaged up and presented.

So yes, there were a few naysayers who spoke out against product creation. However, the overwhelming majority requested a book on niche websites/affiliate marketing, and those are the people I listened to.

This was two years ago, but thanks to a very debilitating RSI (typing) injury I went through in 2009 and 2010, I was never able to start the book.  Writing for long periods of time was just too painful and I had other priorities that kept getting in the way.

I was also having trouble with the direction of the book, so I chalked it up to bad timing and decided to table the project until I was ready to dedicate my time to it.

Hello NWS!

Nevertheless, that is all behind me now, and I have completed Niche Website Success!  It’s a very detailed, practical guide for creating a niche website and includes numerous strategies I’ve used over the years for building websites, AdSense, affiliate marketing, video and more.

And because I don’t want you spending your hard-earned money on something you don’t need, you can download the table of contents.  Check it out and browse the chapter info.

Want to Be an Affiliate?

The news just keeps getting sweeter!  If you have an audience that would benefit from Niche Website Success, I am offering a whopping 75% commission.  All you have to do is sign up with Clickbank (free) and grab the code to promote it on your website!  Click here for details.

Thanks for all the amazing feedback and testimonials you’ve sent me thus far.  I know it took forever to get this puppy out, but hopefully you’ll find it worth the wait.

Check out Niche Website Success!

My Promise to You

The issue with launching products when you’ve been known to give away so much for free is people often worry you are going to start selling out or pitching your product down their throats every chance you get.

Let’s hope you know me better than that.  I will continue to provide free resources, advice, tutorials, etc. as always.

I am simply diversifying my income as often suggested here on my blog.  Hopefully you are doing the same.

Last Thursday I published a video about rejection.  It struck a chord with many of you because it’s something I think most of us can relate to as Bloggers/Webmasters in some form.

I told a story about a lady I was helping with her blog.  She was considering a slightly controversial topic and concerned about what people — particularly men — would think.  (Her topic involves relationships to an extent.)

I reminded her that you can’t please all the people all the time.  There are always going to be critics, and you can’t spend time worrying about who is NOT going to like your site.

My comments caught the attention of Chante from My Natural Motherhood Journey and prompted her to do a video response.

She touched upon an aspect of opening yourself up that I did not in my video….

The backlash.

And I’m not just talking about an article or two from someone who disagrees with you.  I’m talking about extreme forms of backlash where people go out of their way to discredit your content, publicly ridicule, or rally the troops against you.

Certain topics that are more controversial often yield extreme, emotional responses from people.  So if you’re thinking of going online and sharing your opinions about certain topics, you have to be ready for what comes with it.

You may think that goes without saying, but it’s a point I should have made in the video.  It’s one thing if someone doesn’t like the way you look or simply disagrees with your stance.

It’s a whole other issue when people rally to get your Facebook page removed or harass you in some way.  Unfortunately some topics lend themselves to that kind of reaction.  Great points, Chante.

“Lisa, You Can’t Relate.”

In the video response, Chante suggested that I couldn’t relate to getting backlash because I haven’t had to deal with any criticism in my niche.

Well, I may not have had any accounts removed (Chante’s example) or anything extreme, but I’m no stranger to criticism.

From being called the N-word many times on YouTube to being told that women shouldn’t/can’t teach programming, I’ve had my share of criticism over the years (especially on YouTube and via email).

It just goes to show that no matter what topic you choose, there will always be something for someone to say.   Sure, some topics evoke more criticism than others, but most people have to deal with it on some level.

And the more popular you become online, the more you will receive.  It’s just the way it is.

In fact, one reason I wanted to do that video was because I have grown a lot over the years.  I used to be very concerned about what people thought and negative comments on YouTube used to really rattle me.

I’ve joked in the past about YouTube being like online therapy for me.  The more videos I made, the more comfortable I became.  Negative comments hardly phase me at all now.

So what about you?  Have you ever been afraid to reveal yourself or write about certain topics because you feared rejection or extreme forms of backlash that Chante referenced?

And if you have been criticized, how did you handle it?  Please share.

You have probably noticed all the short and pretty links on different blogs and Twitter by now. Perhaps you’re unsure of which one you should use, or if it makes any difference.

But it does.

The main reasons people use URL shorteners are to make very long affiliate links shorter and prettier or to track clicks on the links, or both.

So here is a break down of the shorteners I am using and the reasoning behind it.

Clicky.me

This shortener is connected to Clicky Web Analytics and you must have an account with them to use it. You can register for it for free, and you can even use the Web Analytics feature for free for one site. It is a great service and I highly recommend it.

Clicky.me isn’t as busy as others so there is still chance you can get some really pretty links, for example I managed to get clicky.me/WPthesis for my affiliate link to the Thesis theme for WordPress, or clicky.me/wpstart for my affiliate link to Lisa’s WordPress Starter Guide.

This shortener has a tracking feature so you can see how many clicks each link received. Also, you can use it to shorten Clickbank links which is a big advantage over some other shorteners (more on that below).

Su.pr

This shortener is a part of StumbleUpon and you must have an account with them to use it. Registering an account is free.

There are some great features you can use with Su.pr:

• you can just shorten the URL
• you can write a tweet or a Facebook update with the shortened URL and send it out
• you can schedule the tweet or the update for a later time

The absolute winning feature of this shortener — when someone clicks on an URL shortened with Su.pr, at the top of the screen they will have a StumbleUpon toolbar which increases the chance of the page being “Liked” on Stumble and going viral.

This shortener has a tracking feature and you can use it to shorten Clickbank links.

Goo.gl

Goo.gl is Google’s URL shortener and you do not need to sign into your Google account to use it. However, if you want to build your URL history (which you should), then sign in before you shorten your URLs.

This shortener does have a tracking feature but don’t use it to shorten Clickbank links because the URL will be disabled:

Bit.ly

Bit.ly or Bitly.com is probably the most popular and used shortener out there. You can use it without registering or logging in, but if you want to have the history of clicks and links you should create an account.

You can customize your URLs but since it is so popular you will have to be very creative to get a name that hasn’t been taken yet.

This shortener does have a tracking feature but don’t use it to shorten Clickbank links because people who click on the shortened version of the URL will get a big warning (and you probably won’t make a sale):

Other Options to Consider

Ow.ly is a shortener from HootSuite. You can use Hootsuite for free and they have a tracking feature for Ow.ly links.

Tiny.url or Tinyurl.com is a free shortener that you don’t register for. It doesn’t have tracking feature but it will let you customize the short version of URL if the “custom alias” hasn’t been taken by someone else.

Two WordPress plugins that will do this for you are Simple URLs and PrettyLink. Note that Simple URLs stopped working for me with the WordPress 3.3 update so be selective about using plugins as a solution for shortening your links, because there is always a possibility for them to break.

Share-a-sale shortener is the best thing you can use for Shareasale affiliate links. Shareasale is a big network with products for any niche and most of the merchants over there will even have deep linking options (linking to specific product rather than the home or sales page) so you can really put their shortener to great use.

Conclusion

Like it or not, you are probably going to end up using shorteners even if you don’t want to, for example when you tweet using HootSuite or some other management tool. So you might as well pick one shortener and use it all the time to track clicks on your links.

Another benefit is they help you memorize some of your custom affiliate links, like I can do with my Clicky.me examples above.

If you haven’t paid much attention to this before, the start of the new year is the perfect time to give these shorteners a try and start making your links look pretty and track your marketing efforts.

You may have noticed that my blog’s homepage now has static content along with my recent posts.

I’m in the process of launching a book on niche websites (thanks to all my email subscriber’s feedback), so I’m making room for promotion and will be doing some experimentation very soon.

Plus, I want my homepage to have more of an intro with a personal touch.

Adding posts to your static homepage is pretty straightforward for most themes, but if you use the Thesis Theme, the steps are a bit different.

So I’ll begin by showing you how to do this with most themes and follow up with Thesis instructions.

Instructions (For Most Themes)

1. Create a new static Page in WordPress.  Title it whatever you’d like and add your content. This is going to be the content for your homepage. Save the page.

2. Create a new Post. Title it whatever you’d like (i.e. Blog), but leave the content area blank.  Save the page.

3. Go to Settings >> Reading in your WordPress admin panel.   Choose the static page you just created for your Front Page, and the Post page for your Posts Page.

Select Save Changes and that should be it!

For Thesis Users

The instructions are very similar for the Thesis theme, but require some modification.

1.  Create your static page as instructed above and add your content.

2.  Add the following code to your custom_functions.php Thesis file..

function static_front_posts(){
if (is_front_page()) {
?>
<div id="my-static-front-posts">
<?php
$custom_loop = new WP_Query('showposts=10&orderby=date');
if ( $custom_loop->have_posts() ) :
while ( $custom_loop->have_posts() ) : $custom_loop->the_post();
echo '<div class="post type-post hentry post_box top">';
echo '<div class="headline_area"><h2 class="entry-title"><a href="' . get_permalink() . '">' . get_the_title() . '</a></h2>';
echo '<p class="headline_meta"><abbr title="" class="published">' . get_the_date() . '</abbr></p></div>';
echo '<div class="format_text entry-content"><p>' . get_the_excerpt() . '</p></div>';
echo '<a href="' . get_permalink() . '">' . '<span class="more-button">Read More</span></a>';
echo '</div>';
endwhile;
wp_reset_query();
endif;
?></div><?php
 }
 }
add_action('thesis_hook_after_content','static_front_posts');

If you want to adjust the number of posts that show up, change the 10 in the following line to whatever number you’d like…

$custom_loop = new WP_Query('showposts=10&orderby=date');

Email subscribers:
If you cannot view the code, click here to read this post on my blog.

NOTE:  Even though some sources say to create a blank Posts page as mentioned in the first set of instructions, I did not have to do this for Thesis. I only had to create a static page and add the code to my custom_functions file.

This is what my Reading Settings looks like…

Other Solutions?

Of course there are many more ways to customize your homepage with static and dynamic content, so if you have some solutions, tips or tricks up your sleeve, please share!

People often ask me for help when it comes to dealing with disabled AdSense accounts and preventing click fraud.  So I did some digging over the weekend.

You may not realize it, but Google has quite a bit of documentation on these topics to help AdSense publishers keep their accounts in good standing.

Preventing Invalid Activity

While there’s nothing you can do to completely protect your account from sabotage, the following article has some tips and guidelines that may help you guard against invalid click activity.

Click here for more details.

Pay special attention to the tip about “partnering with untrusted websites.”  They used the example of paying for traffic from questionable sources.

Often times these services send artificial traffic via bots which can generate false impressions and clicks on your ads.  That’s a surefire way to get banned from AdSense.

Always do your homework before signing up with any “traffic generation service.”  If it isn’t clear how they are generating the traffic to your website, that should always raise red flags.

Notice Anything Suspicious?

Google encourages you to monitor your traffic logs, and if you notice any reports that indicate suspicious IP addresses, referrers or requests, complete this form.

Analytics does not provide visitor IP information, but you can use a service like PIWIK or the WordPress StatCounter plugin to obtain such information.  Your web hosting control panel should also provide more detailed log info should you need to research visitor information.

A lady once told me she was able to get her AdSense account reinstated after producing a report with her appeal that showed a pattern of suspicious activity from an IP address on the day she was banned.

How to Appeal Your Disabled Account

Let’s face it.  Sometimes Google gets it wrong and disables accounts owned by people who were playing by the rules.  If you feel your account has been wrongfully disabled, you can appeal using this form.

“AdSense is a Scam!”

People often claim AdSense is a scam when their accounts become disabled.

AdSense is far from being a scam. Google actually wants AdSense Publishers to succeed because the more quality, relevant websites their advertisers have access to, the more revenue Google can potentially earn.

That’s why they have an AdSense Optimization Team — a task force dedicated to helping publishers maximize their earnings so Google can ultimately earn more.

My point is, Google really has nothing to gain by disabling AdSense accounts for “no good reason.”  So I’ve never understood the scam complaints I often receive in the comments of my YouTube videos.

If Google disabled your account, it’s because they believe there’s a risk or evidence it has produced invalid clicks — which is not fair to their advertisers.

You have to realize that the AdWords advertisers are Google’s customers and top priority — not us, the AdSense publishers.

If they suspect click fraud or notice any strange patterns with our AdSense accounts, they will do what is necessary to ensure their advertiser’s money is not being wasted on invalid clicks.

Unfortunately this sometimes results in people’s accounts getting wrongfully disabled.  That is why they allow you to appeal.

At the end of the day, Google is doing what’s best for their business and that is protecting their top revenue source — which is the AdWords advertisers.

It’s impossible to protect your account 100% of the time, but if you follow the guidelines on the articles above, you can minimize the chances of your account becoming disabled.

There was an interesting post made on Website Babble last month from a member (jeffG) who was seeking more examples of everyday people (as opposed to blogging gurus) who are making worthwhile money from their blogs.

His post read…

We’re all aware by now that WordPress is the easiest way to build a website, but I was wondering how many of you actually make good money? And when I say “good money” I mean enough to enhance your existing lifestyle. I’m not talking about a dollar or two from AdSense per day.

I was at a social media event in Atlanta today and I was talking to all these WordPress users. Some had impressive followings on Twitter, Facebook, even Google+.

For some reason I just assumed a lot of these people did this for a living. As the night went on, I began to learn that very few of them made a lot of money. I don’t think I met one person that was full-time online or even close. And they said it was their goal.

So I’d like to know from the bloggers here, how many of you actually make good money? Yes, WordPress is too cool for school (as the old saying goes), but if your goal is to make money from your site and you’re not making much, what do you attribute that to?

Of course, we know that people make money with blogs.  However, I also receive many e-mails from people who struggle with the monetization part of blogging.

Obviously, the number one problem is lack of traffic.  However, there are blogs that receive decent amounts of traffic, yet the owners still have trouble converting sales for numerous reasons.

I love getting feedback from you, so I want to open up a discussion with people on both sides of the fence.

If you are making money with your blog, what are your top earners (ad sales, AdSense, product sales, etc.) and what suggestions would you give to those struggling?

Let’s inspire and learn from one another!

I’ll Start…

As many of you know, most of my overall earnings come from my static website, but my blog does pretty well considering it receives much less traffic than my main site and I consciously keep selling/affiliate links to a minimum.

My top earners here are AdSense, sales of my WordPress e-Book and various affiliate commissions.

My blog is not heavily monetized.  It has always been a brand-building tool that has helped build credibility and connections with my followers.

——————————–

How about you?  How does your blog earn money?  Are there any lessons that you’d like to share with others?  Any struggles or frustrations?

1)  You Compare Yourself to Others Too Much

There’s nothing wrong with using successful people and their stories for inspiration.  After all, everyone needs someone to look up to when learning.

However, many of you just get carried away.  How long it took blogger ABC to reach X amount of visitors or make X amount of money has absolutely no relevance to your individual situation.

There are just too many variables involved when it comes to building traffic and making money so it’s impossible to compare.

And if you discover you are behind the pace of someone who is successful, it’s like getting a one-way ticket to Discourage-ville.  Don’t put yourself through that mental exhaustion because it doesn’t even matter.

Who cares if it takes you six months longer to make money than someone you admire.  As long as you are learning, growing and having a great time, enjoy the ride!

2) You’re Surrounded by Negativity

It always floors me when I read such comments like “You can’t make any worthwhile money online.”

Seriously? 

I often wonder where these people are hanging out online and who they’re subscribing to?  If you’re following the right people, it’s not hard to find successful, small business/affiliate websites online.

A lot of people who are struggling get their information from others who are failing (or have failed).  Negative people like to surround themselves with like-minded people because they validate their beliefs.

If you want success, surround yourself by more successful, positive people and get out of that sea of negativity.

That’s one reason I started a Website Success Stories forum. I want to inspire newcomers and give my forum members some positivity to chew on.  I just love reading the stories there.

Also, if you’re just starting out, be careful who you share your dreams with.  A lot of people still don’t understand this “internet thing” and it’s easy for them to chalk it up to “playing around” or “wasting time online.”

I’ve met so many people who have let their families and friends discourage them achieving their website goals. It doesn’t matter what other people think.  You know what’s possible out here and that’s all that matters.

Stay focused and keep your eye on the prize!

3) You Don’t Network

Networking is a must, especially because search engine optimization is becoming more personalized and all about who has you in their social circles, who’s following you, “liking” your content, etc.

I haven’t spent a lot of time on specific social media strategies, but if I were starting today and looking for a way to build my exposure online, this would be one of the first things I’d tackle.

Even though there are negative sides to social media that still bug me (it creates distractions, narcissism, etc.) it’s become so big, you can’t ignore it.  Not to mention, it’s free to use!

When was the last time you’ve researched website owners in your niche and introduced yourself or shared their content?  Or are you just writing in your own corner of the Internet waiting for people to notice you?

Take a lesson from bloggers like Ileane Smith of BasicBlogTips.com and Brankica Underwood of Blog Like a Star.  Both are very well-known in their spaces and will probably tell you they’ve built the majority of their following through social media.

They don’t just produce great content, but they generously share other people’s work and build relationships with their followers.  Follow them.  You’ll learn a lot.

4) You’re in the Wrong Niche

This can be a painful realization — especially if you’ve worked very hard on your site for a long time.

However, if it’s always a struggle for you to come up with new content and be creative, that could be because you aren’t as interested in your niche as you thought you were.

That’s OK.  It happens to a lot of people.  I went through several sites before I came up with 2 Create a Website.

There’s no rule that says you have to do this right the first time.  If there was, I’d be long gone.  So don’t be ashamed if you have to try something new.

Remind yourself that you’re human and it’s all part of the process.  Rome wasn’t built in a day.

5) You are Disconnected From Your Readers

Polling my subscribers was one of the best strategies I’ve ever implemented.

It’s so easy to get caught up in what you THINK people want to read, but unless you ask, you can never really be too sure.

Want to win over your readers?

Ask them what they want to learn…

Listen to their feedback, and

Deliver!

I’m doing just that with a niche website book that will be free to all my e-mail subscribers.  I’m using the feedback from my subscriber poll to ensure I give my readers what they asked for.

This book is long overdue, but better late than never, right?

1. Multiple Product Exposures are Very Important

Most people never buy the first time you introduce them to a product.

It takes an average of 7 to 10 exposures before someone converts and that’s assuming you’ve done everything else right (built credibility, PREsold effectively, promoted a relevant product, etc.)

It’s important to mention products on several different pages of your website so your audience gets used to seeing them over and over again.

Many bloggers struggle with affiliate conversions because they mention a product in their post once and never write about it again.  Since most posts get lost in the archives over time, the exposure is limited.

One reason 2 Create a Website performs so well with affiliate marketing is that the static, logically organized layout makes it easier to reference the same content and products over and over again.

With my blog, I have to be more conscious of multiple mentions of products I am affiliated with because of the default layout and posts getting buried over time.  (That’s when creating WordPress pages and interlinking posts/pages comes in handy.)

I noticed my affiliate checks for AWeber have gone up quite a bit in the last couple of months, and that’s because I’ve been mentioning the service in more posts recently.

Multiple exposure is key when it comes to conversions.

2. Anonymity is a No-No

When I first started as an affiliate, the Internet was still in its infancy stage.  People were more guarded when it came to sharing personal information.

I remember when displaying something as simple as a photo was considered risky and even unheard of for some.

Boy, have times changed!

Thanks to social media, people are a lot more comfortable displaying photos and sharing information about themselves.  Without a doubt, some people take it too far, but I do believe that anonymity can be a big disadvantage today.

People take much more time to investigate and verify information that bloggers and Webmasters dole out.

They Google you and check for About Me pages so they can learn more about what makes you such a credible source on [Topic X]. This is especially true if your site is about making money or any topic that breeds skepticism.

The more personal and transparent you are, the easier it will be for people to trust and buy what you recommend.  And when I say “transparent” I’m not suggesting you give out information you are not comfortable with.

I just mean that it’s important to share your journey and why you created your site.  This can do wonders for your credibility.

My About Me page is not overly personal, but it at least shows you that I’m a real person with a story.

3. Don’t Fake It

I rarely promote products I don’t own.  If I do, it’s a product that has been highly recommended from a very trusted source and I’ve done a lot of research.

I can usually tell when someone doesn’t own the product they are promoting.  The review is usually very generic and there’s no mention of any personal experience.

Others just slap up a banner and hope for a sale.

If you want to create a compelling, believable review, show that you actually use the product by sharing details on how you use it.  And if possible, take it a step further by creating a video showing yourself using the product like I did in my first Thesis video.

This video helped me generate over $600 in affiliate commissions the first month I promoted Thesis.

4. Over Selling is Lame

No one wants to visit a website with sales pitches everywhere. What a turnoff.  Unless you have a shopping website, keep your selling to a minimum.

One reason I like affiliate marketing over MLM (multi level marketing) and other more direct methods is that it’s a lot more casual.

Rather than writing an entire sales post dedicated to AWeber’s features, I prefer to compose a helpful post about my newsletter strategy with a subtle mention of the service in the copy.

This contextual strategy has always been the #1 way I’ve converted sales with affiliate marketing.  I’ve never been one to write direct sales pieces for products I promote.

I’m just not a salesperson.  In fact, I hate direct selling.  If I am ever forced to make a living that way, heaven help me!

But I do love teaching.  Fortunately, affiliate marketing has given me the opportunity to teach what I know and subtly recommend products and services that relate to what I’m writing about.

5.  Negativity Can Sell

Many affiliates are scared to say something negative about a product because they believe it will hurt their sales.

To be honest, the negative comments will turn people off, but you’ll gain something much more valuable…

Credibility.

Here’s an excerpt from an e-mail I received last week…

Hey Lisa, just wanted to tell you that I bought Site Build It this morning.  What’s ironic about my decision is that it wasn’t the positive stuff you had to say but it was when I saw you on your forum talking about what needs to be changed/updated.  It was actually the first time I’d ever seen an affiliate saying something semi negative/constructive about a product they were promoting.  You won my trust right there.  I wish more affiliates were this honest.

So yes, negative comments about a product will definitely turn potential buyers off.   But as you can see from the e-mail above, this can actually help win over trust with some people.

And even if you turn off potential buyers with your honest comments about one product, the next time you write a glowing review for another, they will take your recommendations much more seriously.

The net effect of giving honest reviews is always going to be positive in the long run.

6. PREsell With Your Own Intermediate Landing Page

One benefit of owning most products I promote is I can create very unique, personal landing pages that PREsells the product before the visitor goes over to the company’s sales page.

This allows me to show that I actually use the product and I can mention any relevant benefits that I know my audience will value.  My Artisteer page is an example of a strategy I often use with affiliate marketing.

I see a lot of affiliates just throwing up banners and linking right to the sales page, but I like creating an intermediate page with a video or personal review to make my content more credible.

Try this.  I guarantee it will impact your conversions in a positive way.

A Special Thanks to My Affiliate Mentor

I’d like to give a special shout out to Mr. Ken Evoy for writing Make Your Content PRESell.  This free book changed how I conduct myself as an affiliate marketer and opened my eyes to many things I was doing wrong.

SiteSell gets a lot of criticism today because they don’t teach you how to blog.  It’s a shame that’s the measuring stick people use to judge them.  It overshadows the hidden gems they provide.

The marketing lessons I’ve learned from Ken Evoy are invaluable.  It’s why I continue to promote SiteSell and I have no intention of stopping — despite any criticism.  My loyalties to SiteSell goes far beyond any affiliate commission.

Bloggers often brag about how easy and flexible WordPress is, and I must say that I agree.   The WP themes are getting slicker (Have you seen the newly updated Headway theme?) and the plugins are becoming more powerful.

However, many people still struggle with building a real online business and converting sales.  SiteSell gave me that education years ago that I still use today.

Putting up a site today is easy, but converting sales and making money is another story.  All the WordPress plugins in the world are not going to teach you how to convert traffic into income.

Ken Evoy taught me how to become a more effective, ethical affiliate marketer, and he is a big part of the reason I am able to do this full time.   Thank you, Ken!

You don’t need Site Build It! to become successful online, but any serious affiliate marketer should read Make Your Content PRESell at least once.

What about you?  What lessons have you learned about affiliate marketing?