I got a line the other day from Craig… who feels he’s done enough research to take his first exciting leap into an affiliate project. He’s wondering what tools he should use for this first project. Here’s his question : -

Hello Kirsty,

A fan of AffiliateStuff,

Well Craig, first off and software aside… for your first attempt I would
actually suggest that you find a niche area which you are interested in
and perhaps even go so far as to create a site purely focusing on one or
two products.

I’ve answered a question relating to this on the blog. Honestly, it is so
much better to hone your skills on a small project. That way, when you do
a big site and put a lot of work into it, you can be sure that it is
genuinely going to work for you. So many would-be affiliates jump in feet
first with a gargantuan project only to discover the concept / their
techniques are duff and they have wasted a disheartening amount of their
valuable time and effort.

http://www.affiliatestuff.co.uk/getting-started-as-an-affiliate/what-size-of-affiliate-site-effective-content-ask-kirsty/

http://www.affiliatestuff.co.uk/getting-started-as-an-affiliate/ask-kirsty-how-do-i-find-my-first-affiliate-niche/

In terms of what software to use.. well, I can only tell you what I use
personally! I create site templates in dreamweaver (although friends have
said great things about Joomla being easier), and for sites featuring lots
of products I get my dear old other half Duncan to do me a nice SQL
database.

I’ve not ventured into sites with price comparison functionality, but I
have heard a few good comments about Price Tapestry. I believe it could
be used quite adequately to make a small first site (although as I say,
not a forte of mine). Perhaps you could nip onto the A4U Forums and ask
about that as there are a whole lot of people on there deeply into price
comparison who could point you in the right direction if you told them
roughly what you were trying to do. If you’re not already on there (Not
sure if you are a UK bod or not), give it a go… they’re a friendly
bunch. Just tell them I sent ya!

A Wordpress blog might be a really easy way to set up your first site. There’s a huge number of free templates available, and many can be easily altered to create a good basis for a site. Then you have the added benefit of the many powerful and easy to install widgets that plug right into the back end, and a really easy to use content management system. I find this makes it really easy to add lots of valuable content and new pages at the touch of a button. This would be a really easy way to create a first site centred around a very small number of products. This blog is based on a free Wordpress template… it took me around 1 day to work out the system (I’d never used Wordpress before) and alter it to my requirements.

Hope this helps a bit. I know that finding your way in affiliate land can be an uphill struggle at times!

Craig also asked a follow-up question based on my response: -

Firstly thankyou for the reply and of course you can use it in your ask
kirsty series.

This is what im getting from your reply i think it’s helped me greatly, then
keep these websites small and targetted. Like i used halloween masks above,
then do halloween kids costumes ect..

You’re definately on the right lines there Craig. Pick a small niche area and work on that first then expand your activity to build your expertise.

In terms of datafeeds, the data you download from the affiliate network and then use to create your SQL feed will contain prices, images, and product names and descriptions. As you suggest, it’s really essential that you add your own unique content to this in order to create a decent chance for yourself to rank for some of your niche terms. It’s also a good idea to identify the terms you think you should be ranking for prior to creating this content so you can angle your carefully devised prose towards them.

Good luck!!