About HDietzman
Rank 34116
71 followers Joined March 2018
Hi there, my name is Heidi! I am so excited to have found Wealthy Affiliate, and ready to make a new start this year as

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asked in
Authoring & Writing Content
Updated

So, I have a strategy question. Maybe it's a no-brainer, but I could use a little expert clarification, as I'm still a newbie... And sorry if this isn't the right place, I wasn

Hi Heidi
Well done for completing course 1 so quickly. Great energy and it will stand you in good stead.
In answer to your question, I would say that you should start with the affiliate products if they are trusted and well established. That way you can build trust with your audience.
It will be great if you can get your own products up and running too as this will likely be a greater source of income in the long run for you.
So I would promote the other products whilst you are creating your own and then once you have all your own products ready to launch, I would do a big push on those. No reason why you can't promote both for a while and see which does better for you. You will need to establish yourself and your brand first though to get some audience trust.
I hope that makes sense.
Gail

Hi, thanks Gail. That strategy definitely makes sense. I guess what I'm finding is that my initial idea for a web-based business was maybe more ambitious than the affiliate marketing model really supports. I feel like I'm really needing to narrow down my niche a bit. But now that I see how simple the process is to get a site up and running, I'm feeling more confident that I'll be able to branch out in the future. It really can be this and that, not either or. It's amazing to me how many members of this community have more than a handful of sites online, all generating traffic. It's very encouraging!

Hi Heidi.
Don't worry about changing your mind about sites or even taking a bit of time to really get into your site. I did exactly the same and I think it takes a while to settle down into what you really want to be your main site. I started one about film studies and another one about musical theatre which is what I thought were going to be my main sites. I wrote the About Me and Privacy Policies for both. When I came to writing my first blogs, however, I had ideas for other websites and preferred those so started again.

I don't think there is anything wrong with that. As premium member you can have lots of websites and in fact, I have since also started another 2 but just as holding sites for ideas later.
What I'm trying to say is that it's ok, everyone I think gets a little overwhelmed to start with and that's fine. There really is a lot to take in here and you can go at your own pace, in your own time. It is not a race.

Most people on here will advise you to start with one site and work on that. There are many very successful people here who did that and some that started a few sites and then eventually focused on one. When that is up and running and making money, you can easily pick up the other sites. Nothing will happen to them if you just leave them sitting there for a bit.

You can also relax and realise that you will make mistakes with your sites too. I changed my theme 3 times in the first 3 months, for various reasons until I settled on a design I liked. Even then, I had to change that because it wasn't a responsive theme, meaning that it wasn't very good for mobile phone users. And when I did, I then had to go are remake some of my menus because it didn't fit with the new theme. Even now, I'm not 100% happy with it, but it will do for now.

But this is all ok, really it is. There's very little that can't be fixed. You can change your theme, your colours, your pictures, your fonts, menus etc, etc. as the site develops. There is no pressure to be perfect first time round - even 2nd and 3rd time round! You should consider everything as a work in progress. Otherwise, you will not do anything for fear of making a mistake. Mistakes are great - we just need to learn from them.
And there is not one successful person on here who will say they never made a mistake or changed something because they came back to it and made it better. It is a process not an end game.

What I suggest you do is work through the certification course and as you go through, think about what you really, really want to write about. What ideas come easily to you? Take a few deep breaths and close your eyes, and ask yourself what you really want to say. I'm sure something will come to you mind and you may be surprised as it may be something completely different to what you have so far. It was with me - I ended up making one site about positive thinking and the law of attraction, and another about WA. My other sites are on hold and one day, I'll get around to populating them. in which case, I will probably go through all the training again to refresh my memory.

I would just get started and use Site Content to write your first few posts. Set yourself a goal of between 1000 - 1200 words. Find a topic you are interested and start writing. If you want to break it down into 5-6 paragraphs, with sub-headings, do that. That way, you only need to write approximately 250-300 words for each sub-heading.

Add in some images and publish your post - then send me the link and I'll gladly have a look and give you some feedback. You can always edit posts anytime as well. Do not be afraid of the 'publish' button. Changes are updates are part of the course here.

I truly hope this helps you and look forward to looking through your site.

You are in good company - everyone feels overwhelmed at first, and then the addiction kicks in.
I even wrote a blog about it which may give you a giggle! Have a read of this: I also used to (and still do) write WA blogs. In the beginning, it was a sort of practice thing because it was easy to get some comments and feedback from other members, and you start to develop relationships and feel that there are a lot of people who can help you - and they can.

Let me know how you get on.

All the best, Gail

Hello Heidi
Very interesting dilemma,
I would suggest to promote competitors products, especially if it is an established successful brand,

Firstly to test the market and to gain some experience before releasing your own product, as you indicated to being a newbie,

This is my advice.

Thanks for posing this interesting questions I am intrigued to see the responses you receive.

Hope this helps, Heidi

Gary

Great, thanks Gary! I definitely plan to begin with promoting the established products out there.

Way to go, good luck with all you do, Heidi. and keep asking such great questions, we all learn by it.

Gary

See more comments

Should I promote my own product alongside affiliates?

Should I promote my own product alongside affiliates?

asked in
Authoring & Writing Content
Updated

So, I have a strategy question. Maybe it's a no-brainer, but I could use a little expert clarification, as I'm still a newbie... And sorry if this isn't the right place, I wasn

Hi Heidi
Well done for completing course 1 so quickly. Great energy and it will stand you in good stead.
In answer to your question, I would say that you should start with the affiliate products if they are trusted and well established. That way you can build trust with your audience.
It will be great if you can get your own products up and running too as this will likely be a greater source of income in the long run for you.
So I would promote the other products whilst you are creating your own and then once you have all your own products ready to launch, I would do a big push on those. No reason why you can't promote both for a while and see which does better for you. You will need to establish yourself and your brand first though to get some audience trust.
I hope that makes sense.
Gail

Hi, thanks Gail. That strategy definitely makes sense. I guess what I'm finding is that my initial idea for a web-based business was maybe more ambitious than the affiliate marketing model really supports. I feel like I'm really needing to narrow down my niche a bit. But now that I see how simple the process is to get a site up and running, I'm feeling more confident that I'll be able to branch out in the future. It really can be this and that, not either or. It's amazing to me how many members of this community have more than a handful of sites online, all generating traffic. It's very encouraging!

Hi Heidi.
Don't worry about changing your mind about sites or even taking a bit of time to really get into your site. I did exactly the same and I think it takes a while to settle down into what you really want to be your main site. I started one about film studies and another one about musical theatre which is what I thought were going to be my main sites. I wrote the About Me and Privacy Policies for both. When I came to writing my first blogs, however, I had ideas for other websites and preferred those so started again.

I don't think there is anything wrong with that. As premium member you can have lots of websites and in fact, I have since also started another 2 but just as holding sites for ideas later.
What I'm trying to say is that it's ok, everyone I think gets a little overwhelmed to start with and that's fine. There really is a lot to take in here and you can go at your own pace, in your own time. It is not a race.

Most people on here will advise you to start with one site and work on that. There are many very successful people here who did that and some that started a few sites and then eventually focused on one. When that is up and running and making money, you can easily pick up the other sites. Nothing will happen to them if you just leave them sitting there for a bit.

You can also relax and realise that you will make mistakes with your sites too. I changed my theme 3 times in the first 3 months, for various reasons until I settled on a design I liked. Even then, I had to change that because it wasn't a responsive theme, meaning that it wasn't very good for mobile phone users. And when I did, I then had to go are remake some of my menus because it didn't fit with the new theme. Even now, I'm not 100% happy with it, but it will do for now.

But this is all ok, really it is. There's very little that can't be fixed. You can change your theme, your colours, your pictures, your fonts, menus etc, etc. as the site develops. There is no pressure to be perfect first time round - even 2nd and 3rd time round! You should consider everything as a work in progress. Otherwise, you will not do anything for fear of making a mistake. Mistakes are great - we just need to learn from them.
And there is not one successful person on here who will say they never made a mistake or changed something because they came back to it and made it better. It is a process not an end game.

What I suggest you do is work through the certification course and as you go through, think about what you really, really want to write about. What ideas come easily to you? Take a few deep breaths and close your eyes, and ask yourself what you really want to say. I'm sure something will come to you mind and you may be surprised as it may be something completely different to what you have so far. It was with me - I ended up making one site about positive thinking and the law of attraction, and another about WA. My other sites are on hold and one day, I'll get around to populating them. in which case, I will probably go through all the training again to refresh my memory.

I would just get started and use Site Content to write your first few posts. Set yourself a goal of between 1000 - 1200 words. Find a topic you are interested and start writing. If you want to break it down into 5-6 paragraphs, with sub-headings, do that. That way, you only need to write approximately 250-300 words for each sub-heading.

Add in some images and publish your post - then send me the link and I'll gladly have a look and give you some feedback. You can always edit posts anytime as well. Do not be afraid of the 'publish' button. Changes are updates are part of the course here.

I truly hope this helps you and look forward to looking through your site.

You are in good company - everyone feels overwhelmed at first, and then the addiction kicks in.
I even wrote a blog about it which may give you a giggle! Have a read of this: I also used to (and still do) write WA blogs. In the beginning, it was a sort of practice thing because it was easy to get some comments and feedback from other members, and you start to develop relationships and feel that there are a lot of people who can help you - and they can.

Let me know how you get on.

All the best, Gail

Hello Heidi
Very interesting dilemma,
I would suggest to promote competitors products, especially if it is an established successful brand,

Firstly to test the market and to gain some experience before releasing your own product, as you indicated to being a newbie,

This is my advice.

Thanks for posing this interesting questions I am intrigued to see the responses you receive.

Hope this helps, Heidi

Gary

Great, thanks Gary! I definitely plan to begin with promoting the established products out there.

Way to go, good luck with all you do, Heidi. and keep asking such great questions, we all learn by it.

Gary

See more comments

Login
Create Your Free Wealthy Affiliate Account Today!
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4-Steps to Success Class
icon
One Profit Ready Website
icon
Market Research & Analysis Tools
icon
Millionaire Mentorship
icon
Core “Business Start Up” Training