How to Upgrade Wordpress the Easy Way

Posted 11 April, 2008 in How to...

There are some excellent, easy-to-follow guides posted that will quickly and easily step you through the process of manually upgrading your blog to the latest version.

It is very important to do this, both for security reasons, and because it seems that blogs using older versions or Wordpress are not being indexed. Read More…

For a quick and easy set of instructions, visit: Blogging Tune.

You will also find lots of excellent blogging tips on this site!

For a more detailed look at the installation process, and with some extra ‘tips’ visit
the Wealthy Dragon at: The Wealthy Dragon.

On this site you will also find excellent information on “Creating and Awesome Home Based Business” - as the title of the site states.

Here is the download link for the Wordpress Automatic Upgrade Plugin.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-automatic-upgrade/#post-2560

Now, having said all of this, I’m off to move this site to a new server so that I can complete the upgrade. It’s been a task I’ve been putting off for some time now, but my current host has an extremely user unfriendly control panel making even the most simple tasks an unpleasant chore. So the time has come to move on, which I’m about to do.

Regarding the New Wordpress Upgrade to Version 2.5:

If you are using an older version of Wordpress be prepared for a BIG surprise when you upgrade. There’s a whole new interface to learn how to use. But all the old features are there, so take some time and find your way around.

---

How to Get Started: Affiliate Sales and Marketing

Posted 11 March, 2008 in How to...

Selling online is a profession and an art.

When you know how, you have the potential to generate a good income from online sales.

There is much to learn. This is true of any profession!

The best way to get started is to educate yourself. The best resource you can possibly invest in to get the education you need is Canada’s own Rosalind Gardner’s eBook: The Super Affiliate Handbook. Be sure to listen to Rosalind’s inspiring podacast while checking out this offer!

It is best to sell affiliate products online via your own website. In order to do this, you need four things:

• 1. A domain name.
• 2. A web host.
• 3. A website.
• 4. Products to promote.

1. How to Register a Domain Name
Best way to register a domain name is to open an account with GoDaddy.com

I have used goDaddy for 10 years now without a problem. The reason I use goDaddy is that I have instant and complete control over the management of my domain names via the online control panel.

NOTE: Create your account with goDaddy BEFORE you search for a domain name. Login to your account then search for a domain name.

That way, if the name is available you can register it immediately. If you don’t register the name immediately, it may be quickly registered by a ‘domain tasting’ site that monitors domain name inquiries. Read more about ‘Domain Tasting.’

Here is a link to World’s Largest Registrar - GoDaddy.com

To register a .ca domain name, I both use and recommend the services of Bare Metal.com.

I have used their services for over four years now without one single problem. Bare Metal is located in Victoria BC. They offer excellent customer, email and phone support!

2. How to Open a Hosting Account

The next thing you need is a hosting company. It’s best to have a hosting account that is different from the domain registration account. This gives you added control over both your domain name and your website.

The best hosting company to use is Canadian Web Hosting. Their prices, service and support are excellent. They use cPanel with Fantastico to enable you to manage your hosting account. With Fantastico you can install with one click, the latest version of Word Press, Shopping Carts, Image Galleries, Classified Ads, Forums and so much more.

Here is a link to Canadian Web Hosting.

Another excellent hosting company is Host Gator.

Once you have your domain name registered and hosted, you are ready to create your affiliate marketing website.

3. How to Create A Website

For an instant website, the easiest thing to do is install Wordpress from your hosting account c/Panel. Wordpress is easy to customize and use and there are lots of free templates available to enhance your website design. A big bonus with Wordpress sites is that Google loves them. Wordpress also has many free, site-enhancing plugins plus a built in RSS feed, so a lot of the difficult back-end work is already in place and ready to use.

If you prefer a traditional website rather than Wordpress, both Canadian Web Hosting and Host Gator. offer a free, online site builder. You select the template you want, then the ‘Site Builder’ wizard steps you through the process of creating and publishing your very own website.

For a custom designed, professional website I recommend the Website Design Services of Blue North Studios.

4. How to find Affiliate Products to Promote.

To get products to promote you need to join either affiliate networks where merchants offer their affiliate sales programs, or find private affiliate programs offered by the product owners.

A good affiliate network to begin with is Commission Junction.

Here is the link to the Commission Junction website. Commission Junction.

Once you register an account with them you can start searching for merchant affiliate programs to join, find products to promote and get the links to copy and paste into your website.

For digital products, Clickbank has lots to offer.

Here is the link to Clickbank!

If you want to sell your own, downloadable private label manuals, courses, eBooks or any other digital product, the very best top-rated product is DL Guard. (Download Guard)

Here’s the link to DL Guard.

You can also find both Network and Private Affiliate Programs by doing a Google search like this:    productkeyword+affilate

Example: health+affiliate

I found the MarketHealth.com affiliate program this way, and it is one of my favorite programs to date.

To Sum Up…

For more information on Affiliate Marketing, take a minute to read some of the other posts and pages on this website. I only recommend products and services on this website that are bona fide, excellent resources. There are many other affiliate networks out there - you need to research each one carefully before deciding to join.

Having said that, it is always YOUR responsibility to check things out for yourself before joining any program or network.

The potential to earn a good income online with Affiliate Sales and Marketing is tremendous. If you want to work from home or generate a residual income - take the time, invest in some quality products and training, then get started - just do it. The best way to learn is by doing, after all is said and done.

If you need coaching or assistance in registering a domain name, setting up a hosting account, or getting started with Wordpress, please give me a call: Val 613.628.9489

My services are available to residents of Renfrew County and the Ottawa Valley at very reasonable rates.

I you want a custom designed website that you can manage yourself, I recommend the services of Blue North Studios located in Renfrew Ontario.

Now - off you go! Get started. Soak up information like a sponge. Put an icepack on your head from the ‘Information Overload’ headache you are bound to develop.

And after all is said and done - Have Fun! Make Money! Then Share the Wealth!

---

How to Earn Income from eBay’s Affiliate Program

Posted 30 January, 2008 in How to...

The eBay Affiliate program enables you to earn commission for every item sold on eBay - providing, of course, that the buyer has linked to eBay via your affiliate link. The eBay affiliate program offers some interesting alternatives for affiliate marketers and is worth serious consideration, especially if you are marketing or promoting high ticket items.

eBay’s affiliate program is run in the U.S. and UK by Commission Junction and in Germany by Affilinet. You must first become a member of either of these sites, and once accepted, you then apply to the eBay Affiliate program through a link on these sites.

By clicking on the affiliate link on the eBay site, you will be taken to a page with more information and a link to Commission Junction’s application form.

In order to be accepted as an Affiliate for eBay, you will need to provide details that include your website address, purpose of your site, your site content and so on. The application is then examined by eBay; your website is checked, and if everything meets their standards then you are approved.

Once you have been approved as an eBay Affiliate, you can use any of the affiliate tools eBay provides to create some interesting product and marketing campaigns for your website.

As with any affiliate program, when a potential buyer sees something of interest and clicks a link from your site, when they make a purchase your affiliate ID is credited with the sale and you earn the resulting commission.

As an example, I have set up a small ‘Product Review Site’ to enable customers to evalute DVD’s currently listed on eBay. When someone clicks a link from the little storefront shown below, and goes on to search and purchase any item (from any category on eBay) and completes the purchase, I earn the resulting commission.

The example below was created with the ‘Product Kit’ tool from the eBay ‘Tools’ page at: http://affiliates.ebay.com/ns/Tools.htm

The DVDs shown below are a very low ticket item product, but one that serves well as an example of the type of marketing links you are able to generate as an eBay affiliate. It goes without saying, the higher the purchase price on the items you promote - the higher your commission payment will be.

I like the eBay Affiliate program because you can create so many different types of links, RSS feeds and so much more. Because of eBay’s extensive category list, you have an unlimited number of products to choose from that tie in well with related content on just about any type of website.

You could build an entire Affiliate Sales empire by simply incorporating listings from eBay into your website.

How to Implement an Effective Link Exchange Program

Posted 1 December, 2007 in How to...

Developing and implementing an effective link exchange program is something every webmaster needs to consider if they are looking to to increase their site’s popularity and search engine rank.

The primary reason for exchanging links is to improve both traffic and search engine rank through inbound links.

The easiest method of creating a link exchange is to simply email the webmaster of a site that interests you and ask the webmaster to exchange links with you.

A key factor in developing an appropriate link exchange program is the relevance of the site you want to exchange links with. Webmasters should link with websites that have relevance to the topic and content of their own website. Having a link from a website with no relevance could potentially negatively affect Search Engine Result Pages.

Types of Link Exchanges

There are essentially 3 types of link exchange; reciprocal, one-way, and 3-way links.

1. Reciprocal Linking: You place a link on your website to another’s website, and they provide a link back.

2. One Way Links: A link to your website from a third party site is referred to as a one-way link. This is the most beneficial link you can receive, especially if it is from a site that has a good Google page rank (PR3 or higher) and is relevant to your website.

3. 3-Way Links: Providing a link exchange between multiple sites, but not directly to the two primary sites is referred to as a 3-way link exchange. In a three-way link exchange, site A would place a link to site C, and site C would place a link to B.

NOTE: Another type of creating links is the deep linking method, which includes inserting a link in a blog post such as this. For example: Dear Flabby: What do I have to do to lose weight?

An effective reciprocal linking strategy definitely adds value to your website and webmasters should take appropriate care in implementing an effective link exchange program with suitable websites.

« Previous