FAQ
1. I don’t know html, how can I run a website? This is a great question, and sometimes it is the primary reason why so many people never get started on a website that can make their lives better by providing additional income. I am not going to tell you that you will never have to learn html, but I can tell you that you don’t have to know anywhere near as much as you might think. A good template is a great place to start. But if you are creative enough and are familiar with some of the basic page layout programs then a great solution is to get some visual based html software. For more information, I suggest that you start out on my resources page and read the guides available there. The guides can be followed step by step to get even the most novice user started off on the right track - and once you get rolling you can always count on Mr Beach Bum and all of the wonderful visitors here to help you by visiting the forum, blog, etc.
2. How will I find topics to blog about to keep people interested? What interests you? You can blog about anything you want and it is best for you to blog about stuff you love and share your insight - that is what people look for in a blog. I will say that you probably shouln’t blog about a topic you are not that familiar with, people will be able to tell quickly and your site will likely fail. However, the more obscure your topic is, in most cases, the more apt you are to be successful. Let’s say you love to collect coins. And maybe you excel in collecting an especially hard to find type of coin. Blog about that. Have the blog bring people who are also interested in this type of collecting to your site and read about some of your most rare finds and where you found them. Then tie in some product links that people can use. For example, become an affiliate with a travel website and maybe suggest a specific coin show that you like to attend and offer up a link for discount airfare. Maybe you can recommend some special gear that you like to use in your collecting. Offer up some links that your readers can use to buy that gear from online retailers that you are affiliated with. This is only the tip of the iceberg. Go to the resources page for even more information on this topic.
3. I’m a stay at home mom and interested in making extra money but what can I make a focus for my website? How about a website that deals with what you deal with every day? Share your techniques for keeping the kids happy, healthy and maintaining your own sanity. While you’re at it, provide some links for other moms out there to use like a spa package, dental programs, online retailers like Target or even iTunes for a good music fix. It all goes back to you figuring out what you like. How many people out there do you think like the same stuff you do? Stick with what you know and share it with other like minded people. Tell them about products you love and use and tell them why they too should use it. Just about any product for sale on the web can also be sold via an affiliate link from your website. Yes, I repeat JUST ABOUT ANY PRODUCT FOR SALE ON THE WEB CAN ALSO BE SOLD VIA AN AFFILIATE LINK FROM YOUR WEBSITE. What does this mean? It means that you can sell the very same products you use and love to other like minded people and make a nice commission based income for yourself without lifting a finger. That is the beauty of it all!
4. What do you get out of this? I get to share the knowledge I have gained and help you and others like you and me to get started on making money online. That is #1. #2 is that people coming to this site will use my affiliate links in order to start up their own websites, etc and I too will make some money. This is how I have managed to avoid charging people a large sum of money for my “secrets”. I may someday put all of this into an e-book but my resources pages will always be available for free to anyone visiting this website.
5. Why should I put money in your pocket by clicking on links when I can go to these websites on my own? I give everyone visiting this website a wealth of information totally free of charge. All we expect in return is that you will use the links we supply. Can we stop you from going to those sites on your own and circumvent our provided links? No. But hopefully you will agree that this site will always be a wonderful, free resource for you to use any time you need it and we will help everyone stay up to date on trends in the affiliate market and the Mr Beach Bum Blog will keep you posted on new programs and vendors that you might consider. All of this wonderful information can only remain free if visitors like you use our provided links to join your own programs. Your success is our success. We’ll be here every step of the way for you and all we ask in return is that you use our supplied links.
6. When will I start making money? This is a very tough question to answer because there are a lot of factors involved. Some people are able to hit the ground running and make money right away. Most people, however, will not see results quickly at all. The hardest part in all of this is to be persistent. Keep blogging. Keep your content fresh and keep changing out links, banners etc. This is where mrbeachbum.com can come in particularly handy for you. Websites tend to have a slow and steady growth but once they really start working it becomes evident how you will be able to maintain it. Like anything, you will learn along the way. Some things you try will work, some won’t. But if you remain persistent and not give up without a fight, you’re apt to do well in the long run. Mr Beach Bum helps give your website a boost by offering up the potential to link to your site. Google puts a lot of weight into site linking these days and this is a great way to get things going.
7. Why do you give all of this information for free when other sites charge for it? Excellent question! Yes a lot of sites sell an ebook and offer up information to people who buy their product. I probably could sell you the Mr Beach Bum Guides in an ebook form and charge a nice fee for it and maybe make some fast dollars but I really do want you to succeed so that I too can succeed. The fact is, I may offer a product some day. But the Mr Beach Bum Guides on this website will remain free for everyone who comes here. Period. The time spent on researching programs and blogging, etc will be rewarded by the wonderful visitors to this site who use the free information and utilize the provided links to get their own businesses started. Another way to look at this is that I saved you up to $100 by giving you for free the same information that others would have charged you for. Now all I ask is that you take that $100 and use it to get started on your own money making website. If you use my links for web hosting, domain registration, web templates, etc then you’ll be indirectly paying for the use of the Mr Beach Bum Guides. For more information check out the About page.
8. There is a lot of information on this site. Where do I get started? The best place for everyone to start is on the About page. Once you’ve read that, move on to the Resources page and read the guides that follow. It’s a lot of information to take in but I’ve tried to keep it all as simple as possible to follow regardless of your skill level. You can also send me an email directly and I’ll do my best to get back to you quickly. The email is listed on the about page. I do ask that you read that prior to sending me questions, just so you know the basics.
9. What is an affiliate program anyway? Let’s say I have a product to sell and you like it a lot. You like it so much that you tell all of your family and friends. Suddenly I start getting all of these people who say you told them that I had this wonderful product to sell and my sales increase based on your referrals so I pay you a commission. This is the very basic example of an affiliate program. Another way of looking at it is a term I like to use -”performance based advertising”. Traditional advertising is passive. You pay a flat fee to put an ad on tv, in the paper or in a magazine. Does this work? Yes! But does it work online? Sort of. There are still very successful forms of passive advertising online but this is quickly becoming a thing of the past in favor of the “performance based advertising” solution or Affiliate Marketing. Just about any ad link on almost any website you click on now is more than likely an affiliate link. Probably the only exceptions nowadays are the big players. For example, a banner ad on Yahoo is probably still placed with a high flat fee. Amazon.com was one of the originators of this powerful form of advertising and even today you can join their program and pretty much make a living by selling products via your website with Amazon doing the backend shipping and payment processing. The idea behind this is that you’ll have an audience that you can bring to the table who will buy products from the company you wish to partner with. The other wonderful thing is that there are so many great companies available to you now that you can find some that will match up well with any website you can conjure up - and YOU have the power. It is entirely up to you who you will do business with, which is kind of the opposite of how the more traditional “passive” advertising model worked. So get started today. Check out my About page for more information.
10. Why do you have a blog ? The blog is meant for more real time, ever changing information. Let’s say I come across a new affiliate program that I really like and I want to share it with you. I think the blog is the best way to get the word out quickly on these programs. You can add the Mr Beach Bum Blog to your Yahoo and Google start pages too so you’ll be automatically notified of a new blog via RSS feed.
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