I sincerely believe that one of the keys to affiliate marketing success is building a brand. So many people get focused on that one time sale and getting their affiliate link out, that they miss the opportunity to truly capture market share in their industry. I’ve put together this simple step by step outline for getting up and running.
Creating Your Business
Yes, affiliate marketing is a business. If you treat it like one, it will pay you like one. Here are some simple steps I would take to get started with creating your business.
- Choose a Business Name. When choosing a name, I would also look at domain names to make sure the DOT COM name is available.
- A Mailing Address. You may not want to use your home address for your business, so you might want to register a P.O. Box or (optimally) a virtual office.
- Register Your Business Name with Your State. every state has its own rules on what is required.
- Register Your Domain Name. Only use a DOT COM domain.
Branding Basics
There are a few things you will need for your visual presence for your brand.
- A Logo. If you are low on funds, you can start with an inexpensive logo (check Fiverr), but eventually you will want to have something that represents you well.
- Social Media Graphics. These are your avatars and background graphics for your social media profiles.
- (Optional) Business Cards.
- (Optional) Letterhead. You can make something simple using MS Word once you have your logo.
Website Basics
I cannot emphasize the importance of using WordPress to create your website (not the free version of WordPress.) I recommend creating your own website using the WordPress CMS (Content Management System) and the best way to get set up is to create a web hosting account with SiteGround Hosting as they include WordPress with all hosting packages.
Don’t worry if you aren’t big on design. The key is getting it up and running and you can always improve it from there. You can start with the free theme that comes with the installation, or you can do a search and find a free theme, or if you have $99, you can use the Canvas Theme which is mobile ready.
Make sure you have the following pages:
- What You Do. Describe the product or service that you offer.
- About. Tell people about yourself because people do business with people they know, like, and trust, so let them get to know you a bit.
- Contact. This is a huge missed opportunity because so many people don’t make their contact information prominent enough.
- Blog. This is the hub of your content engine, where you will create blog posts. I recommend shooting for a new blog post per week as you launch.
Social Media Basics
I recommend setting up the following social media profiles:
- LinkedIn Profile (Be careful if this will create a conflict with your job)
- LinkedIn Company Page (Only if your product or service serves the business community)
- Facebook Page
- Google Plus
- Google Plus Company Page
- YouTube
- StumbleUpon
Make sure to complete all of your profile information, especially your website.
Do You Need Professional Help?
Hopefully this helps set you on the right track for creating a successful affiliate marketing foundation. If you need help at any step in the process, please contact me and I will reach out or have one of my colleagues reach out to see how we can help you. We have a solid team that creates logos, graphics, websites, and social media profiles all day long.