A little while back I took a survey from my list and asked what sort of
information I might be able to provide in order to serve you better.
I’d like to thank the many responses I’ve received, and in return I’d like
to share with you, over the coming few weeks, about How to Build an
Affiliate Site.

Firstly, what is an affiliate site?

t’s a site where you compare a range of products or services, and
allow your visitors to make their own minds up about a product.
The beauty of an Affiliate Site is that you don’t need to own a product,
all you need to do is COMPARE products.

ver heard of Choice Magazine ? I hope so. It’s one of the largest
organisations on this planet that performs rigorous tests on products.
Now you won’t need to be as creative as the Editors from Choice to
create your site, but you can still use the same principles when doing
it.

Let me share with you an example now of a site I’m building so that you
may pick up some ideas. I’m building on the *hot* topic of PayPal
account closures, and providing information about alternative
systems instead of PayPal.

ere’s my site (which is still in progress):
http://imagainstpp.com

As far as HTML Editor goes, I’m using XSitePro, which is one of the neatest programs around – very intuitive, with a realistic price.

Now as you travel through my site you’ll see a lot of the blab about
the PayPal horror stories, etc, but I’ve set the site up with two things in mind:
1. To provide quality alternatives to PayPal, and
2. To cash in on Adsense clicks.
Both streams of income should become quite lucrative, over time.
For now I’ve put up two “alternatives” for systems that internet
mar/keters could use, and this is my “Affiliate Site” in action:
1. Alternative Affiliate Systems, and
2. Alternative PDF Creation Tools
I’ve also got a Bonus Download section for people who want to take
things away with them after leaving the site. The only thing it lacks,
at this stage, is a pop-in form to collect signups and build my list of
anti-PayPal subscribers – but that can come later.
For the meantime, just take a stroll around the site and see what you
think. I aim to upload a lot more information to the site in the coming
weeks, and I’ll share what I’m doing to make the site appealing
and informative.
http://imagainstpp.com
Also along the way I’ll share how to optimise the site for the Search
Engines (SEO) – using “on-page” optimisation.
Here’s Your Assignment, If you choose to take it…
Now that you’ve seen a working live example of an Affiliate Site, I’d
encourage you to think about your own. It doesn’t have to be as
elaborate a topic as mine, and it doesn’t even have to be a site.
You can easily compare products on a Blog, no need to even OWN a
website.
When creating your site, here’s what you need to do:
1. Target a niche – don’t let your topic get too broad
2. Find relevant products – and provide a comparison
3. Add glossy pictures and tell the real truth about the product.
For the last one, you may need to invest in the product, or you may
alternatively approach the owner and ask if you could review their
product.
Make sure you cloak your affiliate links and set your site up to provide a genuine comparison. When ready, start promoting your site. If you
set up your site to attract the search engines, then promoting will be
taken care of for you.
Before I go, here’s a few popular topics that could get your creative
juices moving:
- online dating comparison
- DVD burning kit comparison
- registry cleaner comparison
- membership site comparison
- hosting comparison
- etc …
Once you’ve settled on your topic, find the right programs to compare,
then add your affiliate link to the site.
No matter which way people click on your site, if they make a
purchase you should be credited for the sale !