{"id":2499,"date":"2009-02-04T17:15:36","date_gmt":"2009-02-05T03:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rosalindgardner.com\/blog\/?p=2499"},"modified":"2019-03-10T07:37:50","modified_gmt":"2019-03-10T14:37:50","slug":"affiliate-marketing-business-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rosalindgardner.com\/blog\/affiliate-marketing-business-services\/","title":{"rendered":"Basic Services for Your Affiliate Marketing Business"},"content":{"rendered":"

“These are services that I wouldn't be without as an Internet marketer…”<\/em><\/p>\n

Here is a list of basic services<\/strong> that I wouldn't be without as an Internet marketer. <\/p>\n

Please note that the services I use and recommend are listed in alphabetical order – not<\/em> in order of importance. If you are just starting out, the “must-haves” are marked with ***<\/font><\/strong>, although in time you will likely discover that they are all “must-haves”. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

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  1. Autoresponder<\/a> ***<\/font><\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Blog Templates and Themes<\/a> ***<\/font><\/strong><\/li>\n
  3. Graphics \/ Stock Photography<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Hosting Service<\/a>***<\/font><\/strong><\/li>\n
  5. Market Research Services<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Marketing & Advertising Services<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Outsourcing Services<\/a> (Find Programmers, Designers and Writers) <\/li>\n
  8. Webinar & Meeting Services<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

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    1. Autoresponder Service ***<\/font><\/h2>\n

    If you don't build a list, you're not building a business — pure and simple. Your list will become your most important business asset<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

    And don't even consider building that list without the services of a third-party autoresponder service. My autoresponder of choice is Aweber<\/strong> — no holds barred. I've been doing business with them for almost 10 years (at the time of writing) and they've never lost a lead and their service is fabulous. And yes, I have sampled a number of the other services, but always came back to Aweber. Sign up for Aweber Autoresponder <\/strong><\/a>now or read my review<\/a>. More autoresponder service options are listed here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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    2. Blog Template \/ Theme Suppliers <\/h2>\n

    Make your website beautiful the easy way by getting a Professional WordPress theme<\/a> for your blog. This blog uses the eleven-40 theme by StudioPress<\/a>. <\/p>\n

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    3. Graphics and Photos <\/h2>\n

    You can add visual interest to your blog posts as well as give your readers clues about content by adding clipart, graphics and photos. Don't be tempted however to copy and use any image that you find online. Most images often are copyright protected, and you need permission before you can use them on your site, and many webmasters will not give you permission to use their images.<\/p>\n

    So, rather than spend time emailing other webmasters and then waiting for permission, I highly recommend using iStockPhoto<\/a> where you can pick up images for as little as $1 a piece.<\/p>\n

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    4. Hosting Service ***<\/font><\/h2>\n

    You've taken the plunge and decided to get your own website. Excellent!!! Find out which hosting services I currently recommend<\/a> for having top-notch features and services.<\/p>\n

    If you're still debating whether or not you actually need a web site, please read Free Hosting is NOT for Affiliate Marketers<\/a> and “Do I Really Need My Own Web Site<\/a>?<\/em>“. <\/p>\n

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    5. Keyword & Niche Market Research<\/h2>\n

    Which keyword phrase is more popular? “Dog training collar<\/em>” or the more generic “dog obedience training<\/em>“? Don't know? Knowing which keyword phrase gets the most searches is very important if you want to reach the largest possible audience and hence, increase your sales.<\/p>\n

    I use and recommend a service called Wordtracker, which lets you optimize your website content by finding the most popular keywords. You can also use Wordtracker to generate thousands of relevant keywords<\/strong> to improve your organic and PPC search campaigns. Last but not least, most marketers use Wordtracker to research online markets and find niche opportunities before they spend valuable time and money building a site around a niche market that may be too small to be worthwhile, or worse not even exist. <\/p>\n

    Wordtracker<\/strong><\/a> offers a FREE trial<\/strong> service, which for starters, may be all you need. <\/p>\n

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    7. Outsourcing Work to Programmers, Designers and Writers<\/h2>\n

    Having trouble getting that plugin work? Do you want to tweak your site but don't know where to begin – or are scared that you might break something?<\/p>\n

    Every so often there will probably be something you want to accomplish with your site that you just don't know how to do — or don't have time for. For example, although I like to do basic design changes to my own websites, I will not even attempt to design an ebook or report cover. For that work, I prefer to use professionals such as Vaughan Davidson of Killer Covers Design Service<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    If the company that sold you the script offers only installation services but leaves ‘tweaking' up to the individual webmaster, it's time to hire a professional programmer. I've had good luck hiring programmers and other freelancers through Freelancer<\/a> and Fiverr<\/a>. <\/p>\n

    Here are a few of the categories under which you can post jobs for freelancers:<\/p>\n