Getting Started

Last Updated:  May 15, 2019 

How Do I Start a Online Business-Successfully?

Hello! I’m Verna Mason, the Founder of Moms Trusted Affiliate. Many people ask me, how do I start a online business? This article intends to show you how I got my start and to let you know you can do the same thing!

Since you have found your way to this site, I gather you want to know how to start a online business with little money; or have at least been thinking about it very seriously. But, what is stopping you from being successful and moving forward?

Was it money, not being tech-savvy, or did you share your dreams with someone and they just stomped on them?  See, I understand because I have traveled the same road that you may be on now.

However, one beautiful day I came upon someone who introduced me to a company that changed my life!  It can change yours too.

Maybe none of those reasons stopped you from moving forward with your goal.  Maybe, you couldn’t understand the ins and outs of how to start an online business at home.

You got all kinds of promises from people who said they would teach you all the tips to running a successful business that you needed to know, but that didn’t happen.

 

On top of that, they proceded to upsell you on the tools and resources you needed to even get started. I told you, I’ve been there. So, let me show you how I got on the road to financial freedom with people who actually did what they promised me they would do!

A while back I got caught up with yet another online business scam.    Before doing that, one day I was researching this company to see if I wanted to be a part of it because I began to get that knot in my stomach that was telling me I had gotten myself scammed once again.

While researching the company, I came across a website that was promoting the Wealthy Affiliate (WA).  After reviewing the site, I could not believe what I saw because it was too good to be true.  Could I have found the real deal after all these years I have been searching for the right one!?

I got so excited about this Wealthy Affiliate.  I calmed myself down so I could reason.  My brain was telling me this was just another ‘promise you everything but deliver you nothing things’ – yet another scam.  But, I read that it was free so I thought I could at least take a look at it.

I was very skeptical because for many years I have gotten involved with so many of what I thought were legitimate companies that would get me up and running in my own online business to earn extra income.

I’ve spent thousands of dollars (not joking) trying all the so-called “gurus” new methods that guaranteed success. All of it was hogwash!

What did I have to lose if it was free? I’m not a quitter and I was determined to find a way to get a successful online business. I decided to take one more chance and I’m so glad I did! Wealthy Affiliate is the bomb!!

I want to share what I know about Wealthy Affiliate, and the best way to do that is to check out my review of the Wealthy Affiliate. You can then decide for yourself whether it stands above all those programs that promise to make you prosperous overnight.

I’m a Member – Now What?

The idea of joining Wealthy Affiliate for free helped me to make my decision to become a member very quickly.  And, once I got in and looked around, I knew it wouldn’t take me long to decide to become a full member.

I immediately began the “Getting Started” Level 1 course because it taught me how to get around and what all the resources were and got me building my first website very quickly.

I was impressed with what I saw.  There is a discussion going on at the end of each lesson, and I would scan through them, and I could see how the experienced members were so helpful to the beginners like me.

Specifically, this course is the foundation where you will learn to build your online business so that you can begin to earn passive income.  Complete the lessons in order and follow the instructions step-by-step.  Do not deviate because you may miss something or make unnecessary mistakes.  Most importantly, don’t be afraid to ask questions!

I have to admit that I became a little dismayed about the length of time it was taking me to get my website completed.  I saw some of the other members’ sites and wondered how they could accomplish so much in such a short time.

I’m talking about only a matter of weeks, and some of them didn’t have any prior experience like me.  Then I reminded myself that everyone works at a different pace and there are many variables between each person.  I was pleased that my articles were “content-rich”.

Pretty soon, I completed writing all the articles for my pages that made up the base of my website, and most of them are anywhere from 1200 to 2000 words and some are between 3000 to 4000 words.

I took my time to research my topics and wrote as many words as it took to write what I thought were complete and beneficial articles.

I made it my goal to write at least one blog post each day or at least every other day to keep my publishing rate at 100%.  Additionally, I concentrated on driving traffic to my website and monetizing my site in as many ways as possible so that I can start receiving a passive income.  Somewhere down the road, I plan to create several more niche sites.

Because I saw the value of this affiliate training platform, I became comfortable knowing that I would be successful because of the caring and sharing from the WA community and the founders, Carson and Kyle and my hard work efforts.

Although I have my WA community friends there when I need(ed) them, it was me who had to do the work.  Yes, I applaud myself for doing the work!

Wealthy Affiliate is About

Wealthy Affiliate is about helping people build honest to goodness online businesses.  The founders, Kyle and Carson graciously give their time and knowledge to all who are willing to receive it.

Their goal is not to charge hefty prices for the tools we need because guess what; they give them to us for free! Yes, you heard (read) me right. I said free. It is worth your while to take a little time to see for yourself.

Check out my article about What Affiliate Marketing Is. The writing gives detailed information about this online business that hopefully, you will decide to try.  I don’t want to rehash the complete article here again.  In the most uncomplicated form affiliate marketing is the connection of the advertiser, the affiliate marketer, and the consumer.

Business owners find it is more cost effective to allow others (affiliate marketers) to promote the advertising of their products and services on their websites and in return the affiliate marketer is paid a commission.

It seems to me that this is one of the best and easiest way to get your feet wet with an online business; mainly since you have found a qualified training platform that can get you where you want and need to go at a very reasonable business expense.

Rest assured that Wealthy Affiliate is not some fly by night, get rich quick scam.  To show how upfront they are about helping you get started, you are allowed to test the program out without paying one red cent!  And, that is just what I did!

Wealthy Affiliate is the place to be if you are passionate about having an online business and willing to put forth the effort needed to be successful.

It’s time for some real talk because I need to be very transparent with you. This program provides you with a free Starter Account so that you will have an opportunity to “try before you buy”.  You get a chance to “kick the tires” so to speak.

Because the Starter Account gives you only limited access to the courses, you most likely will not be able to make any money with only the “Getting Started” course.

The Starter Account is only an introductory segment to give you an idea of what the program offers.  Starter members will have the privilege to use Wealthy Affiliate products for free as a Premium member for the first seven days.  The good thing is that you will get two free websites that you can keep forever!

Tuition Free Education

To become an affiliate marketer requires no experience.  At Wealthy Affiliate University you can learn all that you need to know to become successful.

It is a fantastic training center for acquiring the knowledge base to become full time (or part-time), affiliate marketers.

One difference that makes Wealthy Affiliate stand out way above the other affiliate training platforms is that it provides step-by-step training via written material and instructional videos.

Also, the support provided by the founders of the company, as well as the entire community of experienced affiliate marketers is second to none.

Below is a sneak preview of a training video created by one of the Founders of WA.  See what some of the benefits are that you get from being a member of this awesome training platform.

Financial Freedom Comes After This!

Earning passive income won’t come overnight, and it certainly won’t arrive if you don’t put in that initial work!  There is a process to your success, and it will be more detailed when you begin the actual courses.

Here, I will try to give you an idea of what actions to take before you can get that first commission.

1. Choose a specific niche – The first decision you will need to make is to choose what niche. In other words, choose a particular product or service that you would like to promote as an affiliate marketer.  Next, you will need to determine who your target market is.

a)  Many people have a hard time trying to decide on a niche, but it doesn’t have to be that difficult. Answer questions like I show below.

• • • • What is your passion?

If you already have a passion for something, you probably also know a lot about the subject.

• Is there a way to monetize your chosen niche?

 I always recommend that you have an interest or be passionate about your chosen niche.  But sometimes, things you are passionate about are not easily monetized.  If you want a niche that you aren’t very knowledgeable about that’s okay because you can always research the topic and become an expert on the subject!  It is essential to make sure you can earn passive income with the niche you decide to promote.

• Would you be able to write at least 100 content-rich articles about the niche?

 Writing content-rich articles play a significant role in your affiliate business.  Your niche should have enough mass that will allow you to write on and on about it.  You have to write many articles about your niche to enable you to become an authority on the subject.

2. Check to see if there are any affiliate programs for your niche.

a)  Knowing this essential piece of information will prevent you from promoting a product that a merchant is not willing to pay out commissions to advertise. Merchants who have affiliate programs are the merchants who will pay affiliate marketers a commission to promote their products.

If there are no affiliate programs for your niche, you can’t earn any passive income from it.  Move on to a different subject!

I would suggest that you take some time to check out the affiliate programs for your niche because this is where your bread and butter (passive income) will originate.

3. How much commission is a merchant willing to pay for your advertising efforts?

a)  Research the commission rates paid for the products you promote. As an affiliate marketer, you will be doing a lot of work promoting someone else’s products.  Therefore, you want to make sure you are paid adequately for what you do, especially if you are promoting physical products.

b)  Make sure the products and services that you are promoting are of excellent quality and related to your website. Make sure you are knowledgeable about the product, but more importantly make sure you believe in the product and even use it yourself.

4. This section deals with a few different items that are involved with getting your website built. The good thing about it is that all of these things are provided for you when you join Wealthy Affiliate, the most comprehensive training platform that you will ever find.

• • • Build your website based on your chosen niche – Using a content management system (CMS) will make it much easier to create a website. For this, I recommend the WordPress CMS.  It is a “what you see is what you get” kind of editor.  You don’t need any computer coding skills to use it.

 As a Premium member of WA, you have access to thousands of free WordPress themes that are easy to install or change with the touch of a button.

 

• Purchase your website domain – Think of your domain name as you would where you live. Your address is where the building you live in is.  The domain is the address where your website is on the internet.  Give a lot of consideration to the domain name you choose.  Take a look at my guidance to choose a great domain name

Wealthy Affiliate also is a Domain Registrar.  Being a member of Wealthy Affiliate will enable you to purchase domain names directly from the WA platform.  Great convenience!

• Purchase hosting and set up – Continuing with the same thought as above – If your domain name is the location of where your website is on the internet; hosting is the physical place where your website resides.

When you are a member of WA, the hosting is part of the already low membership cost.  It is a very trustworthy hosting supplier.  After several years of membership at WA, there has never been a single issue with hosting downtime that interfered with the exceptional running of my website.

5. Create content-rich articles – After you have completed the foundation of your website, it is time to start writing articles that are pertinent to your chosen niche. The content should be answering questions that your audience may have about the subject.  Content should be motivating and informative.  Engage your target audience so that your readers will keep returning for even more helpful information.

 Not to worry, you will receive the training you need to elaborate on how to write content for your website.

Keep in mind that writing content-rich articles will probably be the most time consuming but at the same time the most valuable part of your affiliate marketing business.  Your goal for writing content-rich material is to present yourself as an authority within your niche.  You do that by continually creating unique and high-quality content!

• Create product reviews
• Answer question and address issues/problems expressed by your target market.
• Produce evergreen content (i.e., material that never gets outdated and will continue to be useful to your market.
• Create informational products that you give away.

6.  Promote Content with Social Media – Building up your target audience will come naturally in some ways just because you write great content that is interesting to your market. Having and keeping your audience engaged will fetch steady traffic that will result in regular sales.

 What is the least complicated way to do this?

• Use social media to get your content to your target audience. There are many, many for you to choose from, but it’s a good idea to stick to the most popular ones or use a social media that caters to the audience you are searching for or are niche specific.

• The social media channels most likely to be used are Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and Linkedin.
• Using social media will allow you to engage and create relationships with your audience. It will build trust and enable you to promote products and services to them.
• While your website is new, you may want to think about writing guest articles for other blog sites that already have high volume traffic.  Make sure that the sites you guest write on are sites that are related to your niche.  Doesn’t make much sense to guest write for a website about weight loss if your niche is about planting flowers.  Choose the right blog to guest write on will lead more traffic to your site.
• Develop an email list to move your content and product offers to your audience. Don’t just throw sale offers at them.  Don’t forget to use the 80/20 rule; 80% useful information and 20% sale offers.  Use email to engage your audience and keep them interested.  Again, this method is a way to build up trust with them.

 

 

There are even more ways you can promote your products and you will learn these as you dive further into affiliate marketing techniques.  However, these suggestions are appropriate even when you are new to the affiliate marketing business.

Be mindful that you should be helpful to your audience first and foremost.  If you can do that, the sales will follow because you have created a level of trust and subject authority with your target audience.

These are some of the tasks you will need to do before you can look for the passive income to start rolling in!

Turn Your Dream into a Reality

Just as I have, I’m sure most people have dreamed of becoming their own boss and not having to work nine to five jobs just to make other business owners wealthy.  Many of us have tried all sorts of things that have failed and are ready to throw in the towel. DON’T DO IT!!

Your opportunity to become a business owner is just around the corner waiting for you. And, I promise you I am not trying to sell you a pipe dream.

Affiliate marketing is a position that requires no experience. The only requirements are that you have a desire to own your own business, you want to earn money, you own a computer and, you are willing to work hard up front to build the foundation of your business.

If you can meet all of those requirements you can fulfill your dream and be on your way to financial freedom.

Wait! I want to be totally transparent with you. You must be the master of your ship. You must do your work on the front end and you must follow the step-by-step instructional training you are provided and ask questions if you need to. No one can do that part for you.

However, we (the Wealthy Affiliate community) will be at your disposable to answer any questions and to get you over any hurdles you may encounter. Our mission is to help you succeed.

You do not have to create your own products. As with any business, it will take some time and effort to build the core of your business. It will not happen overnight.

However, with the use of the specific training and mentoring of the Wealthy Affiliate community, you will be able to build a profitable online business.

Where Do You Go From Here?

Taking that first step to getting started is the hardest step to make. If you are ready to improve your financial situation, want to own your own online business, and are willing to do the work, it’s time to get rolling!

Don’t delay any longer!  Don’t get frozen by fear! You have nothing to lose, but you have everything to gain.

Best of all, real help is available every step of your journey! ANYONE can do this if you take the time to follow the step-by-step training.

You are so unbelievably close to living the reality of your dreams!.

Click on the image below to see my honest review of Wealthy Affiliate and learn for yourself how you can not just learn how to build an online business, but do it!  You will answer that question, “how do I start a online business?”

Please feel free to contact me if you need help with anything. I would enjoy hearing about your process of brainstorming your niche.  Just comment below or you can always get in touch with me through wealthyaffiliate.com (here is a link to my profile).

Verna
Founder of Your Trusted Affiliate

momstrustedaffiliate.com
email: verna@momstrustedaffiliate.com