Motivated but going nowhere

[danielmcgonagle@yahoo.com]

I am not the analysis by paralysis type, however, I feel that way because I have been researching too many affiliate programs.
I don't know what it is I like so much that would give me a good thing to promote, the Internet Marketing seems like a good place to lose a lot of money unless you know what you're doing.
Is there an affiliate program that will help me through my growing pains and make me some money while I am doing it?
Thank you in advance for your response

[Linda Buquet]

Hi Daniel,

Welcome to 5 Star. What you are going through is common and if you buy and read every ebook by every self proclaimed affiliate guru you will stay confused.

Here are 3 that I recommend. Pick the one that you think would be best for you and work that one system just to get started. Then you can get more creative and branch out a little. The very 1st step is to get started.

www.affiliateclassroom.com. Free or low cost trial. Step by step training system.

www.jamesmartell.com I know many affiliates that have made lots of money with his system.

www.sitesell.com Another proven system.

[danielmcgonagle@yahoo.com]

Ok, thank you.

I think I could use the step by step tutorials, for sure.
I am worried about coming up with a product of my own, or finding my passion and exploit that for my gain....
I am hoping these 3 programs will help.
I 'll get them all and go from there, thank you very much

[Linda Buquet]

oooopppps no. Not suggesting you get them all. That will make you even more confused. Suggesting you review them all then pick the one that sounds best to you and follow that one system just till you get going.

[danielmcgonagle@yahoo.com]

I didn't get all 3, just the AC.com tutorials.
There is a similar program from a guy in Malaysia (Mr. Chan) do you know anything about him and his products?
BTW, I thought I'd change the self-defeating thread title

[flvhosting]

Originally Posted by Linda Buquet

oooopppps no. Not suggesting you get them all. That will make you even more confused. Suggesting you review them all then pick the one that sounds best to you and follow that one system just till you get going.

Thanks for the info Linda

[bcowan]

Think I'd agree with the other responses here but might add 1 more thing....

A common mistake is to grab a whole bunch of affiliate programs and dilute your promotions with multiple 'messages'. Have patience, choose a select few related group of products and concentrate your efforts.

Make sure that you're learning from respected & successful internet marketers.

[StephenR]

What are your hobbies? What do you do in your spare time? For your first online marketing venture make it something you are passionate about. Make it something you know about...not something you just happened to read about.

Find a few good affiliate programs within your niche. Search around and find affiliate programs that pay out 40-50% on informational based products and 10-15% on tangible items.

It's crucial you only promote a few affiliate programs per niche site. Anything more than that will confuse your prospect.

If you do not have an Adsense or Yahoo! Publisher account yet DO NOT signup until you have some good quality content on your site. Lets say 10 pages or so with NO affiliate programs on them yet.

Once Google and Yahoo! check your site and see the quality information they will probably approve you. [Note - Do not be discouraged if Yahoo! does not approve your apllication the first time around. They are a little stingy with memberships so just let your site mature and reapply later.] Once this is all sqaured away you can go crazy.

Be sure to mix Adsense in with your product/service reccomendations so you'll at least gain something off of your visitor. If you have little experience in web development then sitesell.com and their Site Build It platform are an excellent and economical start. However your needs will soon outgrow its capabilities as your knowledge grows and the general market progresses.

[J.Albright]

I certainly understand your problem. I started investigating IM and affiliate marketing about four months ago. It was overwhelming. I thought I had to purchase every ebook and read them all like crazy.

Then I woke up. I focused on two ebooks. That's it. From the info that I found in just those two ebooks, I was able to get started.

I don't want to give the names of those ebooks. (One I am an affiliate for, and one I am currently not an affiliate). I don't want people to think I am pushing those books on this forum.

But I will say the trick is to focus. Focus just on one or two books, and follow those books. Otherwise, you will get overwhelmed with all the IM marketing stuff that is out there.

[Lisa76]

StephenR and bcowan hit the nail on the head. It's all about finding your passion and then focusing on a handful of affiliate programs that fit your niche.

When I first started on the web in 1998, I bought a lot of affiliate marketing books too and I became an affiliate for them. I was basically inspired by Allan Gardyne of AssociatePrograms.com, but after a while I realized I didn't have the following that he has so it was difficult for me to compete in a saturated niche where there are so many gurus.

I thought I could just add a bunch of sales pages on my existing site to get people to buy them. My site wasn't really content-rich, it was just a bunch of sales articles trying to push these products.

So I shifted my focus and built two websites on topics I enjoy: web design and fitness. I created a bunch of content on both sites and sprinkled in Adsense, along with affiliate programs that relate to the theme. My income started pouring in after about a year of building.

You can do it! Just pick topic FIRST, then find programs later. Don't become what I call a "backward affiliate" Those are the ones that join the programs first and then build sites around the products. Choose a topic you're interested in and then go from there.

Good luck!