Module 2 Affiliate Checklist
Affiliate Checklist
So this module is more about insuring you have all the bases covered, this is the basics, before you can become an Affiliate you need to be able to launch websites, send and receive email, run scripts and test out new ideas/methods. Think of this area as your homebase, where you can do whatever you like, test whatever you like and launch whatever you like.
You also need Firefox and some extensions that you will be using daily for affiliate marketing.
Now let’s set it up, so we can move onto the real stuff. I am going to write down what you need to do so just follow along and chill out.
Your Personal Blog
You will need to build a personal blog so we can set up and Optimise it, once that is done you can apply the same strategy to your other sites for Affiliate marketing, so think of a name for it, it can be anything.
You can even Geo targeted the domain name, for example if you’re in the UK then get a co.uk, if you’re in Australia get a .com.au, you will need an ABN for the .com.au but its only $70 to register an individual business.
If you want to skip the geo targeting then just go for a .com, but make the name local, like SeattleSEM.com, I suggest you go a .com for now.
Make sure it’s available by going to RegistrarStats GoDaddy or NameCheap.
Domain Registration
Now once you have confirmed you domain name is available it’s time to register it.
You have loads of choices here but its best to just stick with the best, so we are going to be using Namecheap because they offer free private registration for the 1st year and have the best registration prices online once you need to auto renew.
So all up you will only be $9.95 in the pocket for the domain name if you’re going with a .com and only $2.95 if you’re going with a .info.
Your hosting will only be $4.95 to $19.95, but you will have a personal blog ready to go, be able to send and receive emails and host new Affiliate sites, so it’s a very cheap process that we are doing now, if you cannot afford hosting then just holla I will give you a free hosting account that can handle a basic personal blog.
So in this example we will be using Namecheap because they are perfect for affiliates. Click here to go to Namecheap now.
You will be greeted with this screen, enter your new blog name and hit search.
Make sure your new blog name is ticked and click add to cart.
Ok next up you click express checkout.
You will now need to sign up so hit sign up now.
Fill in your details using RoboForm and complete the checkout process. You will be taken to your control panel, click view next to number of domains in your account.
OK now just click on your new domain name.
Enable your WhoisGuard then click Transfer DNS to Webhost.
Enter ns1.speedydns.net and ns2.speedydns.net and click save changes.
OK done your site is waiting to be transferred to your hosting company.
Move on so we can hook up some hosting and get this online.
Choosing a Hosting Provider
Instead of reviewing a whole bunch of hosting providers let’s just focus directly from the Affiliate Marketing perspective.
You need to go with 1 of 2 possible options when starting out.
Reseller hosting
Reseller hosting is the first and most obvious option, it’s cheap, reliable, low maintenance and allows you to add unlimited domains to your account. You will get a cap resource limit and you cannot run server intensive scripts on reseller as it’s a shared resource system, but reseller hosting accounts are the best solution for starting up and successfully running an Affiliate Marketing business.
I recommend Hostnine or Hostgator.
Hostnine is also a good provider for mass hosting. The best thing about hostnine is they offer server locations so you can change up your IP addresses.
Hostgator is just as good, they are both very capable and offer enough variation in pricing to suit anyone’s needs.
We will be using Hostnine today, but I recommend you get accounts at BOTH.
Click here to go to Hostnine and click reseller hosting.
Select Reseller Entry.
Select I will update my nameservers on an existing domain Or I will register a new domain, then enter the domain name you just registered with Namecheap and click continue.
Leave everything as is and update cart.
Click Checkout.
Now use RoboForm to enter you details, fill in any other required fields and hit complete order.
You have now got an unlimited hosting plan.
Hostnine will help you get your new personal blog added into your account in a matter of hours because we have already transferred the DNS, so complete all the above steps as we will be using what you have just setup throughout the training.
VPS hosting
Most affiliates only need reseller hosting, so you can skip VPS hosting until you require it.
The VPS hosting is a little more bang for your buck, basically they are watered down dedicated servers that share system resources but allocate and allow access to the core system in a virtualization environment. So in other words you can run higher intensive scripts and host larger scale websites.
You can run 1000s+ of sites per VPS easily, just make sure you tell the hosting provider that you need to be put on the stable boxes and don’t need regular updates or reboots. It’s also the best practise to split your VPS assets into categories. Scripts and Websites on separate managed VPS servers in my opinion is the safest and most reliable bet, not to mention the most cost effective solution offered on the internet.
My suggestions for you are Jumpline VDS for $19.95 per month or the more expensive but highly stable Wiredtree, Wiredtree in my opinion is the best VPS hosting online.
QUICK TIP, want a free VPS for 12mnths valued at $19.95 per month? I found this excellent deal offered by SiteSpinner, get SiteSpinner for $49.95 or SiteSpinner Pro for $99.95 and get a VDS from Jumpline FREE for 12mnths, I am serious, SiteSpinner is like a Dreamweaver killer and excellent for creating webpages quickly, you can drag anything onto the canvas and position it in real time, no coding needed, the tool is so so good for creating landing pages and opt-in lists, even iFrames to frame into WordPress, I went and got the Pro version because it’s so simple and easy to use and allows MOBILE design, you don’t need to know HTML, It’s actually a really good tool that will save you heaps of time.
Proxies and Secure VPN
You will need good proxies or a Secure VPN connection to maintain anonymous surfing when testing out Affiliate offers, checking markets and forums and signing up for multiple accounts on web2 and social sites. I like the peace of mind also knowing that if I am doing market research people do not know who or where I am from. It’s also very important to have access to proxies in Canada, Australia, UK and the US for checking out offer pages on the Affiliate networks.
VPN Services for Complete Privacy
Go Trusted, you get a free 7 day trail then $5.99 per month, this service will create a secure VPN connection between your PC and there servers, Go Trusted also encrypts all data communication so you are completely anonymous. Please note however Go Trusted as far as I know only tunnel connections into the US, so you will be seen as a US based IP address. Sign up to Go Trusted here.
BlackLogic has a BlackHat feel, with excellent service, BlackLogic targets the market where people may be in a restrictive environments, such as work, government, schools, they also offer dedicated IP address, now this is really important if you need to maintain a static IP address, plans start at $15 per to $20 per month. Check BlackLogic here.
WiTopia has a few services one being a RADIUS WiFi service, government and large corporate standard security for your wireless connections, it’s a good idea, setting up your own RADIUS is a major hassle, you get a free 30 day money back guarantee. WiTopia also has VPN for iPhone and mobile devices, plus SSL VPN for PC and MAC for $39.99 per year. Good service, check them out.
BUT YOU WANT THIS FOR FREE RIGHT???
Free is good, go to Cyber Ghost and download the basic version.
Once you have downloaded the installation file, select your language you will get this screen wait for the program to download and finish the installation.
You must restart you computer now.
Once you have restarted your computer launch Cyberghost and click Create New Account.
Just fill out your details and click send registration.
Check your email and enter the code CyberGhost sent you and click Activate my Account.
Enter you email address and password then click login.
Change your username from your email address to something else.
Click Connect basic.
Success, you’re now behind a VPN server. If you cannot connect fix your firewall rule set and forward ports 8080 and 8181 UDP in your router.
If you want more options then check the below, but Cyber Ghost will cover your bases for now.
Proxies for Offer Checking
Like I said above you need to have access to proxies in Canada, Australia, UK and the US, and thankfully you have quite a few options, you could host your own VPS servers in each country and run a proxy script through the VPS, I find this option is best if you need 20-30 different IP addresses per country.
BUT there is also the shared proxy host option.
What I recommend to start off with is simply worldproxy202, use that script which connects you to proxies throughout Canada, Australia, UK and the US, another great aspect about worldproxy202 is it’s a free service.
The last option is to purchase proxies from a reseller, however I don’t always like to support these services unless I know and trust who is running them. I much rather set up my own VPS proxies, it’s safer and it removes any trust or privacy issues.
I cannot recommend any proxy resellers at the moment, if your desperate for large scale proxies just contact BM..
Hagiohost offers proxy hosting from $4.95 to $14.00 per month. If you really want loads of proxies Hagiohost is the best solution for private large scale proxy networks on a budget.
Another idea is to use dialup and reconnect each time you want a new IP address, obviously this is a country specific option so it’s not always a solid alternative for the international Affiliate Marketers.
All the above depends on what you’re doing and want to be doing, I suggest just starting off with either a cheap VPN from any of the providers above or
Hagiohost or use worldproxy202 until you need to expand further. If you are creating 100s of social network accounts per day then I recommend you find a decent proxy provider or set your own proxy network up.
So you’re now using VPN for security and privacy, proxies to mask and hide your location and allow access to international offers.
Content Management and Site Deployment
This is without a doubt a major component of your success, you will need to decide on a platform that you feel comfortable with, that you can edit and use effectively without wasting time. I suggest WordPress, but many affiliates use Joomla, so I might as well give you a decent list to start from.
The way I construct myself into a market depends on the market and amount of assets and infrastructure that is required to compete on a level I feel comfortable with. By this simply it’s imperative to adjust goals and allocated time in larger markets. It’s defiantly a good idea to start out with WordPress initially but WordPress is certainly not the only game in town.
Joomla
Joomla is the most advanced Content Management System, it’s clean, professional, dynamic, FREE and highly customizable.
Joomla be expanded into full blown membership sites or simple 1 page shop fronts. Joomla can be configured for large scale market presence but also small targeted landing pages. Joomla is search engine friendly and is the professional’s choice for long term whitehat business sites, it’s great for shopping cart integration.
Joomla was born from the Mambo CMS, I think the devs split and one lot went and created Joomla due to legal bs, they created opensourcematters.com and 1000 peeps joined up in one day and Joomla was born, its pronounced JUMLA, meaning “all together”. Joomla is the world’s largest open source CMS platform.
I recommend Joomla to those of you who have either the time to develop and learn the system or those of you who have a web design background and experience. The major drawback is Joomla has been designed for website professionals and not your average affiliate so the plugins available are more aimed at business not affiliates unlike WordPress.
Recommended Joomla Templates
WordPress
WordPress is by far the easiest Content Management solution, you can deploy hundreds or even thousands of WordPress sites a week, the system is designed to be user friendly, content friendly and search engine friendly. We will be focusing on WordPress throughout this training.
WordPress history is kind of boring, it’s just the evolution of the b2 blog platform which is trying to make a comeback ironically enough called b2evolution.
Anyway WordPress has literally 100s of options for web development and infrastructure, and it can be exploited in numerous ways, such as webstores, memberships sites, blogs, landing pages, cloaked networks, blogfarms, squeeze pages you name it you can do it on WordPress thanks to the extensive array of plugins available.
I won’t go into anymore details on WordPress as we will be setting up a WordPress site in module 3.
Recommended WordPress Theme Developers
Bogan Marketing will be releasing free WordPress themes for affiliates. But you can also check out the below.
The “Others” 4 Dynamics
I always suggest checking out new Content Management Systems, it throws of the scent on your link farms and mixes things up, Google sometimes even responds differently to the various CMS platforms, but a lot of this can be traced back to the theme or template being used.
Speaklight is a new rapid development platform that allows quick roll outs of predesigned dynamic content sites.
Sweetcron handles the social web2 stuff and creates a homebase for your online identities, worth doing if you trying to blow one up in a market and put a real face behind it. It’s also a good idea to check on your outsourcers if you outsource this type of work.
b2evolution is a blog platform that WordPress was born from.
Magento is an E-Commerce platform made for shopping sites. The perfect companion for larger business, affiliates wont and don’t really use this type of stuff.
HTML Static
HTML sites are great for split and multivariate testing.
I only use html static for split testing, iFraming and opt-ins, what you can do is format a WordPress theme and have its clone ready in HTML so you can split test the page easier, I will get into this later, as I have decided to go over this in some later training.
Dynamic sites that have web2 and social integration are better long term than static on all levels at the moment, because they’re easier to setup and work with. But static still has its uses mainly for paid traffic and split testers. I cannot comment on HTML5 but Google is moving with it, so I guess its cutting edge and future proof, HTML5 has replaced Google Gears so you should check it out.
Setting up your Local Development Server
I highly recommend installing your own local development and testing server, this allows you to test and refine sites/ideas without sending them straight into the wild. I use a LDS for webpage development, script testing and learning, you can also run loads of great scripts locally such as scrapers and link builders.
It’s also a great idea to have carbon copies of your main sites hosted locally so you can test new plugins and site optimisations without risking your online stuff.
Apache, PHP and MySQL servers are very important and understanding them will enable you to be a better whatever.
I use WAMP server for better stability, I find some of the other WAMPs to be buggy and slow.
Download WAMP and follow the onscreen install instructions.
Some Local stuff to install on WAMP
Firefox for Affiliates
If you don’t use Firefox then do yourself a huge favour and download it here, all the plugins below are free, unless you want SEM Rush or Keyword Spy subscription.
Firefox Plugins for Affiliates
The best plugin for affiliates is the FREE Keyword spy plugin, this allows you to tear right into a market’s main driving factors instantly.
Go to keyword spy here then click the Take Free Trial, this is a FREE TRIAL LIFETIME account.
Fill in your details and click Start Free Trial.
You will be automatically signed in, click download plugin.
Click Install Plugin Now.
Click allow in the tip right corner.
Click Install now.
Click restart Firefox, the plugin will now be installed.
Check it out down the bottom of the sidebar
The other great plugin to analyse websites and search results is SEO Quake, this excellent plugin gives you details such as page rank, Google, Yahoo and Bing index, Alexa rankings, domain age, Delicious index, who is, SEM rush rank and price, keyword density and internal and external links. It’s a must have plugin for SEO and SEM research if you’re using SEM Rush, this is also cool for tearing into Adsense networks using ad planner, show you how to do this later…
Objection clears private data from flash cookies called Local Shared Objects, many good marketers have been burnt by forgetting to clear these cookies, always clear your private data when switching or logging into multiple accounts on the same social networks.
Foxclocks is another plugin I recommend, allows you to see different timezones from around the world.
FireFTP is a really decent FTP program for Firefox, we will be using this as our ftp program.
Live HTTP Headers is a plugin to analyse traffic and data being passed to you from a website, this is an excellent plugin to test and find redirects, cloaked links, affiliate links and last but not least to make sure cookies are being dropped on your affiliate links.
Trashmail.net, one of my favourite plugins, you know those optin lists you just want to check out but want to keep your real email private, then use this to generate a temp email address, set the days, the amount of emails and your forward address. This is a must have, I think the full service for tons of forwards is only $5 a year or something, only problem is you must use the same forward to address.
Codetech is a free HTML based editor in the shape and form of dreamweaver, this is an excellent editor for on the fly editing and peeking at the coding behind pages. If you don’t have a HTML editor defiantly grab this, if you are into web dev definitely grab this, in actual fact just get it.
You may or may not know how important a screen shot of a webpage can be in pushing up your conversions, especially with the review sites, you can also just cut up bits of sites and make new landing pages or framed sites for submits. This is a must have for Affiliates. I use Screen Shot in Flock browser just for this, its way better and more stable than Screen Grab for firefox, but you will need to install flock to use it. If you want the best screen grab program that is browser independant then check out Jing by Techsmith.
Adsense Preview, wild little plugin to test out ad positioning, look, size, colors and feel for Adsense on a website. Must have for any Adsense advertisers or those thinking of implementing Adsense on their sites.
Web Developer for Firefox is an insanely good plugin if you are web developer, go figure. You must have this, the plugin contains everything you will ever need to pick apart websites and learn all about them, and it covers everything, for example previewing sites you have developed under different screen resolutions.
You also need Firebug, another wild web dev plugin I cannot believe they give this stuff away for free, this is my favourite plugin.
RoboForm is the only auto form filler you will ever need, password manager/generator and general must have tool to help make filling in forms and details a breeze. You go to have this if you are an Affiliate or link farmer, plain and simple, you should already have it installed.
And last but certainly not least is SEO Blogger, very cool for writing SEO articles.
If you’re into Google Chrome then checkout Chrome SEO it’s also sweet.
Email Marketing and list building
Most people who have been marketing or testing and actually doing everything possible to make money in Affiliate Marketing will tell you the money is in the list. And it’s true, for a few reasons, first you’re creating another revenue stream that can make you money behind the scenes, second it allows you to form a stronger relationship with you market, third list building can help you with market research that you cannot obtain through your fontend websites, fourth you are generating more income than people not using list building allowing you to compete in a market for longer periods, fifth once you have a subscriber you can keep selling to them over and over again, sixth you can do ad swaps with other list builders and double you list size ect, the reasons for list building goes on and on, I could list a 100 reasons why you need to start building email lists.
POINT is list building is very important, very important.
You will find most people if having a choice to spend money or join a list, they will join the list. Even if they are not interested in spending money they will join your list if your offering them something of value, each visitor to your site can be costing you money, so please don’t waste that money, you need to utilize each visitor, offer them something of value for an extra 1 in your email list..
List Building Services
Constant Contact is a nice mail service, super easy and offers all the bells and whistles in a professional interface and environment. To prove they are one of the best if not the best Constant Contact offers a 60 DAY FREE TRIAL, that’s 2 months of your list taken care of right there.
How to sign up to Constant Contact
Click here to visit constant contact then click Try it!.
Fill in the form and click Start my Trial down the bottom.
You will get a processing screen, wait for it to finish and it will log you in automatically.
You’re now ready to start list building, we will cover this in detail in a later module.
ATTENTION check Mail Chimp NOW!
MailChimp, Its was pretty cool, but now its pure insanity for list building, for starters the forms are easier to load into CPA wordpress blogs, and the main reason, SOCIAL PRO = MIND BLOWN, hardcore email marketing/marketing that allows you to tear into your lists subscribers, there is so many doors being thrown open though this its not funny, its beyond and above.. Check it here
Want even more email options? But why? (MAIL CHIMP is now KING)
Then you should check the following.
Aweber is the biggest and the arguably best, starting at $19.95 per month Aweber is for great for affiliate list building, it also integrates with plenty of other services you could find yourself using. If you sign up now they give you a free email marketing course, I suggest you seriously consider Aweber as they are the premier service for Affiliate Marketers. Click here to sign up and get the free course.
ListBox is for sending out mass amounts of emails without opt-in verifies. You can get 5,000 sends for just $15 and it gets cheaper the more you spam, I mean send. This service is for those of you who can build or accidently build a major sized list but don’t want to pay too much to check if it converts.
BigResponse is Interspire Email Marketer hosted for you, read below for more information.
Interspire Email Marketer, this is the business, its got a good interface and nice set of features, very advanced mailer, great for those of you paying a lot of money for a hosted solution. I highly recommend it if you have massive lists and can afford to get this running on a VPS or dedicated server, I suggest you do some research before loading up your server with this software as you can get blacklisted quickly.
OEM Pro is another self hosted solution, pretty good, light weight but extremely powerful with a rock solid price to match at only $249.95, if you don’t want to fork out monthly fees and need a cheap and reliable solution then go this, it runs fine on shared hosting too and can manage small niche lists with ease, again research is your friend when your hosting your own mailer as it’s not easy and beyond this training.
Few Loose Ends
Local Encryption
This is also kind of important, you can keep all your files secure, such as domains, passwords, software licenses, whatever by using a simple free program called TrueCrypt
.
Download it here then follow the instructions, its mega easy encryption and I highly recommend it.
Backup
Backing up should be like a religion to any decent affiliate, I backup online and offline daily.
Get a portable stick to backup onto and get a portable drive to backup onto, yes get both of them, its only like $200 tops.
You can then backup your important files online using anything just encrypt the files before sending and you’re solid.
RoboForm automagically does this for your passwords using Good sync, its sweet as we discussed in module 1. If you still don’t have RoboForm installed then doooo iiiiiit.
Recommended Actions
- Decide Between Hostnine or Hostgator OR BOTH
- Consider getting SiteSpinner or SiteSpinner Pro for the free 12 month VDS server
- Get Cyber Ghost to take care of your VPN requirements or use BlackLogic if you want heavy duty
- Use worldproxy202 or Hagiohost to handle your proxy requirements
- Get WAMP and Install WordPress
- Get the 60 DAY FREE TRIAL from here to take care of your email list building requirements
- Download the Domain Spread Sheet to keep track of your domains
- Secure your stuff using True Crypt, then backitUP
Conclusion for Modules 1 & 2
OK you’re ready to go you should have the bookmarks imported, RoboForm installed, a domain name at Namecheap, hosting at Hostnine or Hostgator, a free VPN from Cyber Ghost and your list building ready to go using the free trial from Constant Contact and your files locked down using TrueCrypt.
Total price for all this should only be $29.80USD, can anyone say sweeet!
Once you can tick off the above lists move onto the next Module 3 Installing WordPress so we can get you running WordPress like a pro. If you have not followed along and don’t have any of this stuff ready go back to module 1 and complete the steps required…
