AFF - Affiliate Marketing For Newbies - WordPress, A Gift From the Gods?

So you've chosen your niche, found a product you can promote, done your keyword research and registered your new domain. You're well on your way to realizing your online business. The next step is to build a website to entice people to buy your stuff and capture information about interested clients so you can build a list for future marketing efforts.

To build your site you're most likely going to use WordPress. WordPress was originally created as a blogging platform but most people use it to build websites. WordPress works a little differently than regular website creation tools. Instead of installing it onto your computer it is installed onto your web server. To access it you have to log onto your server with a username and password. The problem with this is in order for you to edit your pages and posts you have to be connected to the internet. Not a big deal usually.

To install WordPress you'll go to the cpanel screen on your web host and find the WordPress icon. Click it. You'll then be guided through the installation process for your webpage. This is when you're going to find out how good or bad your web host's technical support system works. Not that it won't go smoothly but chances are if you're new to this program you will hit a couple of snags here.

The instructions are a little vague. You have to decide where you're going to install it, what you're going to call it, how you're going to access it and what usernames and passwords you're going to use. If you haven't already got yourself a notebook for recording all of your new usernames and passwords I suggest you stop here, go and get a pen and paper and write down all of the info that you're entering. Not a bad idea to do this from the very beginning. Since I've begun doing this I've amassed a huge collection of passwords and usernames and if I were to lose these due to a computer crash my online workings would grind to a screeching stop.

Once you've installed your site you can take a look at the themes tab. There are probably thousands of free themes available that you can install to give your site the look and function you want. There are hundreds of free plugins as well to enhance your site. There are several excellent online tutorials available to guide you along with your site. Just remember that when you post your content it will be pushed down toward the bottom of the page as you make more posts. So if you want the customer to see a certain portion of your site without scrolling down make sure you get the format worked out. Usually the last post you make is the first one seen.

Once you get the details sorted out, WordPress is a very powerful program. You can get a site up and functioning in a matter of minutes. Pop in your affiliate links and banners, write your posts, include a contact page and privacy statement page, maybe a little bit about yourself and why you're there and you've got the framework set up for making some sales.