All online business thrives on information.  Of course, that information must be accurate and relevant in order to be of any use to the enterprise.  Only under those conditions does that information become part of the knowledge base that is central to the success of the business.

This key concept is as true in the affiliate marketing industry as in any.  Particularly important to affiliate marketers are accurate and up to date guidance on niche selection, keyword research, traffic source and copywriting.  For a beginning affiliate marketer the learning curve is extremely steep, but even the most successful affiliate businesses must continually learn in order to keep up with the fast changing world of electronic communication.

While there are many venues that claim to provide all sorts of tips, entice with magical “secrets” and sell solutions that are described as absolutely necessary, it is had to know which is hype and which is genuine.  Many affiliate marketers have found a path to greater success provided by Anik Singal’s Affiliate Classroom.  Parts of that widely respected and frequently recognized source became somewhat outdated.  It has now been revamped into a new version, Affiliate Classroom 2, which is fundamentally now a university for affiliate marketing.  This totally new version is going to be open for members (probably for a relatively short period of time) in mid August, but they are building an informational contact list now.I urge you to get on that list quickly for Singal’s updates.  If you do not make it in time, be sure to see if there is still room on the waiting list.

Singal’s remarkable success as an affiliate marketer and educator to other successful marketers caught the attention of Business Week Magazine, which chose him as one of only four “young entrepreneurs of 2008.”  That is an outstanding honor.

Affiliate Classroom 2 gives you the whole picture–all of the context–of affiliate marketing.  Defining, refining or even expanding your niche is covered in all the necessary detail for a beginner or for an experienced marketer.  Keyword research, which is fundamental to all that we do in online marketing will come into much sharper focus for you.  Do you want to learn more about new ways of finding inexpensive or free traffic? Affiliate Classroom 2 will come to your rescue.

You really owe it to yourself to get more information by signing up for the no-obligation list.

I’m sure you’re wondering–there is an affiliate program, but you may not use your own link to purchase the program.

If you are just starting in Internet business, either as a new business or as an expansion of or supplement to your already existing business, one of the first decisions you will need to make is what size website to build.  A large site has its advantages, among them that it has the potential of becoming an “authority” site.  At the other end of the spectrum, a highly focused mini-site has its own share of benefits.

Here are a few potential reasons that you might contract for a mini-site, or even build it yourself:

1.  A mini-site can rank in the search engine results for keywords with fewer external links than a large site.

2.  It seems logical to start on a small scale and add other mini-sites as I am ready to grow.

3.  I won’t have to come up with as much content for a mini-site as I would for a large site.

4.  I’ve noticed that most of the other businesses with whom I’ll be competing have small sites, and it seems to work for them.

5.  It is easier and cheaper to build a mini-site.

6.  My husband or wife forbids me to build a large site!

Anyone could easily construct a list of advantages for larger sites, as well, but that is not the focus of this article.

All of those reasons are valid.  Actually, I have no idea what your spouse said or what the implied threat was for disobeying.  The other reasons make sense only if you conduct the all important preliminary research.  Number 3 is true, however, you may find that you will update the content on some of your pages periodically and perhaps even add specific landing pages if you do pay-per-click advertising campaigns.  Reason number 4 is niche specific, so I’ll take your word for your belief that it is true in the case of the market in which you are competing.  If we hold all other variables constant, the fifth reason is a slam-dunk–self-evidently true.

I have written elsewhere about the extreme importance of careful keyword research for a mini-site.  If you have followed my advice in that earlier piece (settling on a very few, closely related semantically, long-tail keywords), the first rationale is correct.  If any of those terms are unclear, I suggest that you read that article prior to continuing with this one.

That leaves the second reason pertaining to starting on a small scale and adding more mini-sites within the same general niche over a period of time.  Here’s how I recommend you go about that:

1.  Hang onto that original list of keywords that you constructed (or out-sourced to be constructed for you).

2.  You have already set up your first site for closely related keywords in that list that have long tails.  At this point, examine the master list for another small set of closely related key phrases; they, too, should have long tails.  Do the same competition analysis for these keywords that you conducted on the first set (as recommended in that previous article).  If this set of keywords meet the same standards applied to those you used in the first site, then it’s time to begin mini-site number two.

3.  Get links to this site through article marketing, directory listings and other external link building.

4.  Once that site is on its way toward improved search engine rankings and increased traffic, repeat the process for site number 3…and so on.

After a while you will find that you have conquered all of the viable keywords in your niche.  Then it will be time to begin serious efforts to improve your conversion rate by testing as many variables within your site as you can identify.  You may decide to take on a new, preferably related, niche, but not until you are sure you have maximized your traffic and conversion rate.

This won’t all happen in the first month; creating a solid business takes time.  Be patient and act wisely, and you will definitely succeed.

So you’ve decided to start your first online venture…  Do you want to good news or the bad news?  The bad news is that you have an immense amount to learn.  The good news is that there is a lot of reliable information on the Internet that you can find for free or for relatively little money.  The bad news is that many of the sites that you will come across are scams (at worst) or not credible.  The good news is that you’ll be able to tell the difference sooner than you think.

One of the best ways to start your exciting education if to locate reputable course with the essentials of starting online.    As long as you are diligent in following the lessons and applying what you learn as you go, that will get you well on your way toward distinguishing between the scams and the legitimate offers, between the metaphorical wheat and the chaff.

You’ll find that you have a lot to do, although some of the unscrupulous marketers will try to trick you into believing that if you follow their plans, you won’t have to work very hard at all, and everyone will magically start to send you money.  You must manage your time with care, and promise yourself and your family that your excitement over your new adventure will not occupy all available time.

Look for free information about some of the topics you learned about in your introductory course at article sites, like A1Articles.com or EzineArticles.com.  Search for trustworthy blogs and site and keep looking until you find several.  Locate sources for information concerning topics such as your business niche selection, search engine optimization, design of business sites and other such related topics.

Don’t rush out to buy anything, yet.  The next step is to sit down with some paper and pencil.  From the list of things that you don’t yet know how to do, determine what interests you and and what sounds so boring that you would rather outsource the tasks.  Don’t worry, you can learn to do anything on that list.  Simply decide whether you want to invest your available funds in learning resources or in labor to actually perform each task.

Now, at last, the time for shopping has arrived.  If you find yourself tempted to buy an instructional product that you find, say a course on affiliate marketing or a set of videos about search engine optimization, hit your pause button.  At this point, you should do two things:  1) Add the web page to your favorites list so that you know you can find your way back to it later.  2) Put on a pair of “critic’s glasses.”  Analyze the structure of the sales page that you found so convincing.  At some point in the not too distant future, you want to become a copywriter as skilled as the one that had you reaching for your wallet.  Now, go off to find some comparable products and go through the same process.

I impose a mandatory three day waiting period before I buy something I’ve just found.  That gives me time to consider it rationally, removing myself from the emotional responses elicited by the well presented offer.  After those three days have elapsed, if I am still convinced by the miracle cure that I discovered, I use my bookmark to find it again, pull out my payment card and buy to my satisfaction.

Beware!  Buying can make you feel good, but your new purchase does you no good unless you use it, and using it means implementing the strategies that you learn about or the procedures for which the software was designed.  In other words, you must act!