Every year, new websites crop up to take advantage of the growing trend of passive income. Not all sites are created equally. Some may be well-made but poorly trafficked, while others might be poorly designed but have a good following. It is still a good idea to start a site, but only if you plan to get serious. Here are some aspects how to start your first affiliate marketing website with Bluehost.
RESEARCH THE COMPETITION
Like any other product or service, there are numerous options on how to build an affiliate marketing website. Social media following, e-commerce features, and web hosting, among several others, are all popular options in the marketplace today. While they might all meet your needs, it is critical to know what is there or what you can realistically offer. The first tip is to research the competition and see what you have to set yourself apart from the crowd. It can be a difficult task as you will have to do a lot of digging. However, it is critical to know what your competitors are offering for you to create the best offer possible.
CHOOSE A NICHE THAT INTERESTS YOU
Choosing an appropriate niche can make a significant difference between creating a successful affiliate marketing website and not creating one. Look into potential niches like art, entertainment, lifestyle, or even fitness and brainstorm how you can make your site stand out among other options in your niche.
Build A Website
It is highly recommended that you get a web designer or developer to build your initial website. There are countless template options on the market today, so it can be challenging to pick one that matches your needs exactly. However, you do not have to stay with one web design as you can change it anytime when necessary.
After building your website, you will need a hosting account to put your website on. The best option is Bluehost because they have excellent customer support, cheap hosting plans, and you also get a free domain name when you sign up for a hosting plan. It is one of the most popular hosts out there because of this. You purchase the “baby” or “starter” plan, but if you have money to spend, purchase the “business” package, which includes unlimited domains. That can be useful in the future if you decide to create multiple sites. Bluehost also has a 30-day money-back guarantee.
SEARCH FOR AFFILIATE NETWORKS IN YOUR NICHE
You might have the best affiliate marketing website globally, but if it does not pass through an affiliate network and get approved by other affiliates, it means nothing in the end. Therefore, it is critical to know which networks are the best in your industry and which ones have the potential to grow this year.
GET YOUR SITE INDEXED
The first tip was critical because if you do thorough research of the competition, you can easily look up their content marketing plan and see how they have gotten their websites indexed by search engines. You need to get your website indexed. You could be running an affiliate website for months, but nobody will see what you are offering if you do not get it indexed.
CONTENT CREATION
You need content on your website every day or two. In reality, many people can write great articles because they know what they are talking about and have strong writing skills. However, you need to have an audience too. Filling your site with mediocre content that no one reads will not help you in the long run.
There are a few ways to deal with this issue:
Have good writers create articles for you and pay them based on performance. That is what most sites do but can be expensive if you are not making money yet. You are also at the mercy of an individual’s creativity and quality of writing, so each writer has a style that readers might not like or understand. You will have to be very selective in what you allow on your site because you might see low-quality writing or plagiarism. You can request guest posts and allow people to submit their work for free on your website as long as they include an affiliate link. You can review the article, decide to publish it, and pay the writer afterward.
If you cannot create your content, you can reach out to guest bloggers who have expertise in your niche. If they agree on a price with you, they can write each article with their name and include an affiliate link of their choice at the end of each article. In that way, they will receive part of the earnings each time someone clicks on the affiliate link.
The best sites have a mix of both written and video content. The more resources you have, the better your chances of success.
TRAFFIC GENERATION
You will need to generate traffic via Twitter, Facebook, websites, journal posts, or forums. There are ways to do this effectively with free tools, but it will take time to reach thousands of people with this method. Most successful people use paid to advertise like Facebook ads and Google Adwords, but you also have to be willing to spend money on this because there is no guarantee it will work for you either.
If you do not have money to spend, then use social media websites to create a buzz around your website. Twitter and Facebook are free, so you can easily share your articles with your followers. You will see instant results and see the traffic coming in within minutes. If you do not have adequate time to do this or want an easier way, use ManageFlitter, which automatically retweets/shares posts from users who fit specific profiles of popular users on Twitter. That allows you to boost traffic every time you post new articles instantly.
Starting an affiliate marketing website with Bluehost can be a complicated process when tackling all the tips at one time. However, once you know what you want to market, you can quickly build it up. There are many things to consider, like choosing a niche, designing a website, and acquiring traffic. Therefore, these tips can help you get your site indexed and make it easy for potential customers to find your offerings on search engines.