As an affiliate marketer, you'll probably want to set up an affiliate review site sooner or later. There are a few different reasons why this might be the case.
For one thing, many companies that allow you to promote their products as an affiliate require you to have an affiliate review site for them to check out. They want to make sure you are a legitimate affiliate.
They want to make sure that you understand their target audience. There are, unfortunately, some affiliates out there who scam companies… which has led to a crackdown on applications that might require you to have a website.
You also want an affiliate website because it is just a good idea. You want to have a sort of home base on the web for the things you promote and review as an affiliate. You want to get traffic, even while you're sleeping. That means having a website.
Also, one of the most important things you can do as an affiliate is to build a list. If you build a list that is very targeted to the types of things you promote, then you can make sales just by sending a simple email. If you focus on building a list via your website and build your list up over time, you can absolutely earn a full-time income as an affiliate… as long as you are in a profitable and popular niche.
Creating an Affiliate Review Website
I'll assume that you plan to create an affiliate review website. An affiliate review website is just what it says on the tin - a website where you write reviews as an affiliate.
One of your goals as an affiliate marketer is to develop a lot of trust among the people in your niche. You want people to trust you and to come to you when they are wondering if they should buy a product or not. You want them to come to you whenever they have a problem or question related to your niche.
On your affiliate review site, you will have sections where you might talk about the details of certain products and where you talk about the pros and cons of certain products. You may compare and contrast certain products so that you can help people make informed buying decisions.
You will also use your affiliate review sites to build relationships with the people of your niche. They will learn about you and what you stand for.
On your website, you might have a contact me section, an about me section, a disclaimer section, a terms of service section, an affiliate disclaimer section, and more. Note that certain affiliate programs, such as the Amazon Associates program, require you to put a specific disclaimer on your website and on all of your promotions stating that you are an affiliate and may earn a commission.
But What If I Don't Know How to Build a Website?
If you've never created a website before, then this might be intimidating to you. How on earth are you going to get started?
You will have to go through some trial and error as you work to build your website. But, I think you'll find that today's tools make it easier than you might be expecting.
And, if you're totally stuck and don't want to spend any money on creating your website right now, you can go to Blogger.com (owned by Google) and build a free blog to get started with. It is extremely simple to set up a blog with Blogger and there are fantastic instructions that will help you do so.
What I recommend over time, and if you do have more experience with creating websites or are willing to learn, is that you register your own domain name, secure your own hosting, and install the WordPress script for your website.
WordPress is blogging software, but you can really turn it into anything you want it to be - including an affiliate review site. Again, there is a (small) learning curve at first, but I think you'll find that WordPress is very easy to work with overall.
Study Other Affiliate Review Websites
One thing I recommend you do before you get started creating your own affiliate review website is to look at what the competition is doing.
Remember that success leaves clues. If you can study what already successful affiliate marketers are doing with their websites, then you can get some fantastic ideas for what you should do with your own affiliate review website.
For example, how many articles, specifically review articles, do they have on their website? Do they have an about me section? Is the content more generic or are these people really communicating and connecting with their audience? Do they have a lot of reader participation on the site? Do they have social media attached?
Start to take notes as you study these other affiliate review websites. If you're stuck for how to find these review websites in the first place, just do a simple Google search. Search for reviews of the types of products you are interested in promoting.
Now, in certain niches you will probably come across professional reviews from heavy hitting companies that have a lot more muscle, money, and know-how than you might have right now.
Don't let that discourage you. Do some more digging to find review websites that were created by marketers just like you. That's something you'll be able to more easily replicate at your current level.
Also remember that those "heavy hitters" started out just like you when they began, and look at them now. That will be what people think about you some day.
Should You Create a Narrower or More General Affiliate Review Website?
Another question you might have is what depth your affiliate review website should go into. There is no one correct answer to this question.
In some cases, you will be focusing on a very tight group of products or a very specific sub-niche. Your review website might have just 5 to 10 articles or so, total. It depends on what's out there on the market already and what comes out in the future.
Some people even create specific affiliate review websites on just one product. In that case, you can write a variety of articles and reviews on the very same product.
If you want to become a true authority in your niche and have a website that promotes for you day and night, and can earn for you for years to come, then you might want to create a more general website based on a specific topic within your niche.
So over time, your website might have hundreds and hundreds of reviews, commentary, and articles on it. That won't be the case when you first get started, but you will start your site with the plan in mind that you will grow it over time.
At this point, you've chosen the product or products you want to promote. You have an idea of if you are targeting a more general or a more specific niche or sub-niche.
Plan your website accordingly. If you're first getting started, then you might want to create a review website around a specific product or specific groups of products. Maybe you'll be more ready to create a larger review website over time.
Just know that the quality of your content does matter. You need high-quality content that will really resonate with your audience. You aren't going to write something just to write it. You're going to write reviews and articles and blog posts because they're going to help people who visit your website.
And if you're thinking that you don't have the writing skill to write great review articles, you should know that there are freelance writers that can help you do that for a very low cost.
If you find this content helpful, you can find lots more like it, that you are free to use for your own purposes, at my main site: http://www.PLRContentSource.com