Welcome friend!
Before you can get started with anything, you need to understand the basics of Internet marketing. You also need to understand what Wealthy Affiliate is and how to take advantage of the resources, tools, and support that are available for you to use to create a successful business online.
Our goals initially are to teach you the fundamentals of marketing and how the whole Internet thing can lead you to success. You may be coming into the Wealthy Affiliate community "jaded" from failures or illegitimate programs you have run into along the way...so we are here to increase your comfort level.
If you are truly willing to work at this, you will become a very profitable marketer. There are no doubts about that. A phrase we always refer to is "we have never seen some fail at this that didn't quit". This is true in every aspect of the meaning. This does not mean you will be a tumbleweed for the next 10 years, rather it confirms the fact that if you truly believe in yourself and apply the principles that we teach here at WA, success will become inevitable...a reality.
Before we even get started we would like to thank you again for coming to Wealthy Affiliate and would like to personally welcome you to our growing community of aspiring and successful Internet marketers. It is trulygreat to have you here and you have taken a big step to further your online success by joining Wealthy Affiliate.
So, What Exactly is Internet Marketing?
Internet marketing is a variety of things to many different people as there are many ways you can "market" on the Internet. There are literally thousands of different paths people follow to success, taking a combination of their own formula, things that are learned from others, and common Internet marketing strategies.
In saying this, Internet marketing can be broken down into a very simple form: a consumer and a product.
The job you have as an Internet marketer is to align these two entities through your marketing techniques. It does not matter how you connect these items, but this is how you will generate money.
A consumer does not necessarily need to buy something either. The two most common forms of marketing online are the result of your potential customer...
Performing a certain Action. This could be filling out a form, accessing a trial, or otherwise. This is know as CPA (Commission Per Action) marketing.
Buying something. This is probably the most typical. This is known as CPS (Commission Per Sale) marketing. They could either be buying your product or someone else's product (affiliate marketing).
Another thing that you need to understand is that you DO NOT need your own product to succeed as an Internet marketer as there are 10,000's of companies that are literally begging for people like yourself to promote their products/services online in exchange for a commission.
The reason why companies are so eager to have you promote their product/service is because they are much better off having 1000 affiliates spending their own time and advertising money than it would be to spend the company's time and money on promotions in house. Not to mention that having 1000's of affiliates promoting a product gives a company a LOT more reach to connect with potential customers.
So How Is All of This Tracked?
Companies have something called affiliate programs that they use to track your sales. When you sign-up to an affiliate program or a network you are given a unique sales link which you will then use to refer people to the company web page. This link will uniquely identify you as the affiliate who referred that visitor to their site. If the visitor ends up making a purchase, you will get a commission.
That is right! A unique link is typically how the money you earn is tracked.
There are many Internet marketers that are earning $1000's each and every day promoting other peoples products. This may seem crazy, but it is the truth! We have many members here at Wealthy Affiliate who earn this much! You are not required to have any prerequisite knowledge to do this, and everything you are going to need to succeed is provided for your training and networking opportunities here at Wealthy Affiliate.
There are many different avenues you can take as an Internet marketer, and there are many different techniques you can use to make money online. Before we get into these, you need to know that you DO NOT need to know everything in order to succeed.
As you get started, you will be much better off focusing on one Internet marketing technique and becoming an expert in that area than to diversify as a generalist. Look at many different professions and you will see that the specialists always get paid more (a general practitioner does not get paid what a brain surgeon gets).
Below is what a typical transaction looks like within the Commission Per Sale model. You will notice that "You" are the affiliate in this case...and you are connecting the customer with the company. Again, this is done through your unique link provided to you by the company.
How Can WealthyAffiliate.com Help?
We have created (and continue to create) timely resources, tools, and support systems that enable all members at Wealthy Affiliate to succeed online. We have added many components that members recommend, so never feel like your input does not matter. Our vision is to create as many successful Internet marketers online as possible, but more importantly, give WA member's timely information and resources that will increase your online earning potential.
There are many ways that you can succeed online, and you need to understand that the Internet is growing at such a rapid pace that there are not enough affiliates and Internet marketers to support it. This means that the opportunity to make money online has never been better, and affiliates alone are earning $100,000,000 each and every year. It is not uncommon for an affiliate to earn $1000/day online, and ANYONE can do this if they work at it.
Wealthy Affiliate will provide the resources necessary to get you there. We will continue to build value in this community and year over year WA will evolve into a brand new life-form. We do not wait for things to happen, we make things happen!
Our Affiliate Program - A Quick & Easy Way to Make A Sale!
The WA "Affiliate Program" is one of the most lucrative programs you will find, and the great part about it is that you can promote something that offers value. Who wouldn't want to make more money online and become part of a supportive Internet marketing community like Wealthy Affiliate? You will find that it is very easy to recommend Wealthy Affiliate and the amount of people looking to earn some extra money online is HUGE.
As an affiliate you earn $20 per month for each referral. This means that if just one of your referrals stays 10 months (quite common), that you earn $200 for a SINGLE referral. Imagine if you could refer just 10 new members every month...this amounts to a great recurring income stream. We also allow members to join for 1-year paid up front. If you refer a 1-year member you will be paid $175 for that referral (and $175 for every year they stay!). Keep in mind that 1 in 10 people sign up for 1-year, so you can see why the WA Affiliate program is one of the highest paying anywhere online.
We have created a full WA Promotion Guide that you can use to promote Wealthy Affiliate that you can refer to at anytime. We add new resources and tools, as this guide evolves, so check back regularly for updates. We want to make it as easy as possible for members to make money promoting WA!
WA Affiliate Program Promotion Guide
We realize that this is only the first week of the action plan, and may well be your very first week as an Internet Marketer, so we want to show you how you can make your first sale online without having to do anything!
A great way to earn some quick money promoting Wealthy Affiliate is to recommend your friends. If you refer 2 friends not only will you be welcoming 2 people you know to a great opportunity, you will essentially be getting your membership for free.
An easy way to refer a couple friends to Wealthy Affiliate is to send them an email letting them know to check out the program. Include your unique WA Affiliate link in the email so that you receive credit for the referral if they join!
You can get your unique affiliate ID by clicking here
Example Email:
-------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Friend Name,
I'm not sure if you know this, but I am a member of WealthyAffiliate.com and am finding the service Great! WealthyAffiliate.com is a website that teaches members how to make money online, and I thought you may be interested in checking it out.
Check out Wealthy Affiliate Here:
http://www.wealthyaffiliate.com?a_aid=YOURID
If you have any questions, just let me know!
-Carson
-------------------------------------------------------------
If you want to add your WA referral ID to your Facebook, MySpace, or other social network, here is your own UNIQUE affiliate ID. If you use this ID you will earn a commission for every single sale.
Your Unique WA Affiliate ID: http://www.wealthyaffiliate.com/?a_aid=YOURID
If you like Las Vegas or would like to meet us in Las Vegas, you need to read this. We love our members here at WA and we would like nothing more than to meet our affiliates in Las Vegas. We run a promotion each year where you can earn your way to a FREE trip to Vegas to meet us along with other members that have achieved these goals. The criteria is actually not that hard to achieve, and with a little work you will be flying to Vegas to hang out, party and talk Internet marketing ON US!
WA Incentive Program Details Using Your Time Wisely
As an Internet marketer, you are going to need to understand how to use your time efficiently and not get too distracted by external forces. For one, the Internet can become a big time hog as you can waste hours "surfing". Don't worry, we catch ourselves doing this on occasion and often times it is part of our research process, but limit the time you spend "surfing" online.
Another mistake that many new marketers (and even some seasoned ones) make is falling into the trap of always seeking "the next greatest thing". Hyped up offers will pop-up all the time and it's important to avoid subjecting yourself to most of them. These "Hyped up" offers on how to get rich overnight are all SCAMS, every single last one of them. Focus on building a business and don't look for something that will make you a millionaire overnight...it just won't happen.
Keep track of everything that you do. Sometimes even the most obscure online tasks will lead into a new niche or opportunity. Always have a pen and paper handy so you can record your ideas. If you don't put your ideas on paper then they will never get looked at again. Trust us, you WILL have epiphanies and it is important to record your ideas, heck, you may have the next million dollar idea!
You will also want to use the organization, task management and campaign management tools that we offer here at Wealthy Affiliate. These can be found within your "My WA" section and will help you stay on track.
Remember, in order to succeed as an Internet Marketer you have to implement your ideas and take action. WealthyAffiliate.com will teach you exactly how to do this!
The WA Community
We truly believe that a community of people who are working together is much more powerful and will lead into much greater success than people who work alone. In a community we can not only learn from each other's mistakes, we can help others. In turn, someone will help you. This philosophy is one reason why Wealthy Affiliate is so valuable.
We provide you with several mediums where you can interact with us (Kyle & Carson), as well as fellow members of the Wealthy Affiliate community. You can leverage these mediums to not only improve your own Internet Marketing skills, but as channels to build long term business relationships and friends all over the world!
WA Spaces
Every member at Wealthy Affiliate has access to their own WA Space. Here you can create your profile, and essentially your own space within Wealthy Affiliate. This will allow you to connect with people at Wealthy Affiliate by building lists of "buddies", create your own blog outlining your progress, as well as giving people insight into who you are with your mission statement and the addition of photos.
We highly suggest that if you have not already created your space that you do so by visiting the following link. This is going to tie into many advancements that will take place at Wealthy Affiliate in the future and you will need a WA Space to take part in these.
Create Your WA Space Right Here!
WA Jobs
Do you have skills to offer people here at Wealthy Affiliate? Or, perhaps you have the finances to get work done for you, but are not sure how to find someone that can help. Well WA Jobs is the place to go if you are looking for work, or want help getting some work done. Many members at Wealthy Affiliate post jobs regularly that fellow members can bid on. If your bid is accepted, you get the job (and you get paid to do the job).
Conversely, if you need to get some work done WA Job will be very beneficial for you to use. Maybe you want to have a website built, need some articles written, require some graphic development, etc., there are many people at Wealthy Affiliate that would be more than happy to work for you. Post your job at Wealthy Affiliate and get quality work done for reasonable prices... and we do not charge escrow fees! WA Jobs is provided to members as a medium to communicate and work together, we don't charge a penny.
When you complete a job, reviews are written by the owner, and the bidder. The better your reviews are, the more people that will want to work with you in the future. This keeps people honest, and is why this system is so effective. Post or bid on a job today!
Browse the WA Jobs Marketplace Here!
WA Forum
The forum is probably the most overlooked aspect at Wealthy Affiliate, yet there is so much great information within it that you would be very foolish not to spend a significant amount of time reading past posts. We recommend that all members go over at the very least some of the posts that have been labeled with a Sticky icon. 
The $500 Challenge has also proven to be a highly valuable forum as well, and this is one that you want to spend hours reading through.
So what makes the forum so valuable? Wealthy Affiliate is a "community" where we are all working together to create mutual success online. We share, we learn, and we help each other using the forum as a medium to ultimately create success. There is enough room for all of us to make large sums of money online, so by sharing something in the forum. Whether it is a mistake, a success story, something you learned, or a question you have, you are going to be bettering your position within the community. Other members are ALWAYS more than willing to help fellow WA'ers out.
If you are new to using forums, that's OK! You are going to find that our forum is very easy to use and navigate. It'll be that "thing" that you read while you have your breakfast, or before you go to bed at night. The Wealthy Affiliate forum is just a great place to learn about making money online. We have a full tutorial dedicated to learning how to use the forum. In the main menu at the top, hover (place your cursor over) "Help", then click "Forum Help".
Get Started in the Forum Here!
The power of building relationships is 100% important in this business. Trading skills and knowledge is something that we have "promoted" here at WA since day one, and we fully support a shared knowledge community. There are no secrets, and you are only limiting your own potential by holding back. Offer value, and it will come back to you 10 times over.
Getting Help
The great part about Wealthy Affiliate is that help is always there when you need it. We understand that Internet marketing can be overwhelming, and often times a mentor or someone who can help will really make the difference between success and failure.
In general, successful people have asked questions to get where they are, and they also spend time learning from others. Without asking questions there is a good chance that you will stay stuck. Don't become one of those people that were ONE question and ONE answer away from succeeding.
Additionally, you should follow this weekly action plan very closely as you will be a much more advanced marketer by the end of it. You are going to be learning everything you need to succeed online, and with the support that is available, all you need is a desire to succeed and it WILL HAPPEN!
If you can't find something here at WA, we have a Site Map to help you find it. This makes it quick and easy to find what you are looking for.
Check out the Site Map Here
Next Step
Next lesson we are going to dive right into some of the "finer" details of Internet marketing, and discuss many components of Internet marketing and techniques you can apply to start earning income online. We will be showing you the Top Affiliate Networks, how to choose industries that are highly profitable, and bust up many of the misconceptions that you probably have about Internet marketing. You will also learn about sweet, free and easy to implement marketing technique that can get you headed in the right direction. Next week you are going to have to make some decisions about which "path" you want to take, and we'll help you choose.
In order to take full advantage of WA, follow this lesson, and familiarize yourself with Wealthy Affiliate. You've got lots to do!
Reply
