When those thinking about entering the world of online affiliating and ask me where they should start, I tell them if they want long term success then they should plan a big authority site that after a year will have 1000 quality content pages. I know many prefer mini sites using exact match domains but with Google clearly targeting thin affiliate sites, a big authority site is a much better option in my opinion. If you take the time to study any niche then you will find that authority sites with 1000+ pages are few are far between. The reason this is so is simply because such sites require a lot of planning and effort.
Just creating 3 quality articles each day will of course mean that during the course of a year you will have 1095 articles. One of the articles should in reality be 500 to 750 words which should on the main section of your site. This article should have a quality call to action that links to one of your sales pages. The other two articles could be used for a news section. I will still say that a news section is a must for most affiliates. With Google News approval, daily news articles can easily generate hundreds or even thousands of unique visitors a day which you can either filter to your sales pages or use to build a list. In my opinion targeting Google News and list building are “no brainers”, so I’m simply amazed how many experienced affiliates neglect to do so.
Through working with many new affiliates I can tell you that most affiliates are simply not capable of creating even 3 pages of content a day. Most start off with a wave of enthusiasm, but this in most cases subsides after around a month. I guarantee that many reading this article will agree and have sites that are crying out for content, although the simple truth is that most fail to stick to a regime of churning out content, day in, day out.
As I said in my previous article, there is a global workforce available to help you. If you plan to become a successful affiliate then one of your very first tasks should be to delegate the task of creating content. Where though do you start?
Your first port of call should be www.elance. Using Elance you can post a job for a set of articles and get dozens of writers applying to write for you for as little as $5 per article. You can check the feedback of each applicant and even ask them to supply a sample article based on the topic of your choice. If you have a bigger budget then you can offer $10 to $20 per article which of course will attract the very best Elance writers. Of course the actually skill sets and abilities of the applicants varies immensely so you will have to devote some time find a writer who is right for you. For new affiliates I strongly advise you post at least a couple of jobs on Elance. Doing so will put you in contact with at the very least a few good writers which you can call upon when you are struggling.
Another great source for online help is www.onlinejobs. This site is used by thousands of Filipinos looking for work. From experience I will say that 95% of the applicants will not be suitable as I found that there English writing skills were simply not up to scratch. If though you have the time to persevere then you will find a few rough diamonds. I have hired Filipino writers and virtual assistants and have been amazed how good they have been. If you are willing to invest some time teaching them how you want things done then in the long term you will end up with a quality loyal writer or assistant. I have one Filipino who works for me who runs on of my sites on his own. He writes articles, post articles, edit images and even link builds so I can get on with other things. Filipinos on the whole expect a much lower wage than their US or European counterparts. My approach has been to start them on a fair Filipino rate then as they improve reward them on a regular basis. I don’t have a problem rewarded Filipino’s with Euro rates once they have proved to me they are worth it.
Just a few weeks or so ago I was tipped off by an account manager who told me about a special promo his company would be running over the Easter weekend. I was too busy so I simply forwarded the email to one of my writers, added a few comments and asked the writer to create an article for me giving then a set time to post it. If I did not have writers available to me, then in all honesty I would not have produced the article. The article generated over 30 RMPs during the course of the weekend which only cost me a mere $15!
