First things first. The purpose of this blog is to get you started on the road to riches in the comfort of your own home. No mean pushy bosses to tell you what to do, make your own hours, work in your underwear or PJs if you like, bath when you want to, take as many coffee and bathroom breaks as you need, bring your kid or baby to work every day if you so chose, bring your dog, cat, parakeet, iguana, personal pet python to work with you today and every day for as long as you want to make money.
Sound good? Great. First for the questions.
Is this a get rich quick scheme?
Yes and no. Yes, it's possible to get rich doing this, but no, there's no scheming involved.
Do I actually have to work to make the money?
That depends, you make as much as you want to put into it. The more work and time you put into your business, the more you'll make. And sometimes, if you set things up right, you can make money and not do anything... but that's after you've done the work. Or you can hire someone else to do the work and sit and polish your toenails, but then you'd still have to pay them.
Do I need to know how to do fancy html codes and be a computer geek to do this?
Absolutely not.
Do I need any talent of any kind to do this?
No, not really. You'll be mooching off of my talent to make money.
When can I start?
Right now if you want to.
Will you help me do this?
I'll write this blog and keep adding to it. You can post questions here and I'll try to answer them or point you in a direction to someone who will answer them, so in taht sense, yes, I'll help. Will I come to your house and do the work for you, no, that's a negative.
Can I listen to music while I work?
Yes, it's avidly encouraged.
Can I use your ideas to set up different websites and sell other people's things?
Sure, that's up to you. This advice is free and can be used to set up a website to sell most anything that is sold online.
How do I start?
Glad you asked. First thing you need is to get yourself a domain and a webhosting plan. Yes, there are many different places to buy domains and many webhosting plans to chose from. But honestly, there's only one company I can recommend wholeheartedly for this, and I have my reasons.
Bluehost is the way to go and this is why:
They're cheap, they're honest, they give you a lot of bang for your buck and they have great technical support. I've never had a problem with them and I've tried many out there. They will both host a domain for you and you can buy other domains for them very cheap and with privacy included. Many who have shops on Cafepress and many other affiliates with Cafepress use Blue host and there's good cause. Bluehost servers will work very well with CPSHOP, which we will get into later on. Bluehost domains have privacy included (you'll pay 10 bucks per domain extra for this with other companies... even if they give it to you free at first, if you renew they'll hit you with these costs. If you have several shops or several domains, as you probably will once you get the hang of how to do this, it will add up to a lot of money).
Why do I need privacy anyway? You need privacy because otherwise you're a sitting spam duck and besides, you should have control over information that's private like where you live, what your phone number is, any number of things... if you don't have it you could be setting yourself up for credit card fraud, or having bill collectors or ex girlfriends or boyfriends hunt you down... any number of things that are just not worth it. And if you use bluehost, they'll do it for free.
They also give you plenty of free email accounts, a free domain with the purchase of a host account, lots of bells and whistles that even I don't understand, credit for ad programs like google adwords and msn shopping... different stuff that varies, plus sub accounts that attach to one domain, so you can host a bunch of different domain names off of one account saving you oodles of dough... and they'll talk you through how to set it up and get it going in a very patient calm voice on the phone, even if you call in the middle of the night feeling frantic and have no idea what you're doing. That's my favorite part.
Bluehost also gives you a FREE SITEBUILDER tool to build your site for you. (more on this later).
So, you got yourself a host account and a domain. Now what?
Now you have to get a Commission Junction Account
go to: Commission junction
Get a publisher's account, it's free and easy. To help you understand how it works
here's some step by step instructions from our friends at Dogwire:
The Affiliate Program is an easy-to-join system that enables Webmasters to earn monthly paychecks by promoting the following:
+ Products in the Bluesyworld & CafePress Marketplace
+ Products in Bluesyworld & CafePress shops that have opted in to the Affiliate Program
+ Create & BuySM
Earn up to 15% commission on all qualifying products + 30 return days.
You can earn a flat 15% commission on all sales from qualifying products in accordance with the Affiliate Commission Schedule. No messy commission scales or tiers to ponder. Plus, receive credit for all sales purchased within 30 days.
Becoming an Affiliate is Free and Easy
1. Review the Affiliate Agreement.
2. Complete the Online Affiliate Application.
3. Create and add your links to STORENAME and CafePress.
4. Begin tracking your traffic and earnings online.
After you have joined the affiliate program:
Below is the the code you can use to link to us on your Web site. Choose the one that best fits your purposes and then follow the three simple steps below. Some basic knowledge of HTML coding is required.
1. Highlight the HTML code immediately below the image you have chosen.
2. Copy the code.
3. Paste the code where you want it to appear on your web page.
4. Change click-XXXXXXX to your PID number key from your CJ account (e.g. click-1234567).
some helpful info, the Bluesyworld Cheat Sheet --
To Link to the Bluesyworld Store Once You're an Affiliate:
http://www.cafepress.com/bluesyworld
To Link to a SECTION in the Bluesyworld Store:
http://www.cafepress.com/bluesyworld/sectionnumbergoeshere
To Link to a specific product in the Bluesyworld Store:
http://www.cafepress.com/bluesyworld.productnumbergoeshere
There will be more info coming up about advertising and other successful affiliate info... as well as info how to create your own store (because once you have a host and a domain, the possibilities are endless, after all... this is your main launching point).
I do suggest investing in a good HTML program, a what you see is what you get is always helpful. If you have the cash, I say nothing beats the power of Adobe Dreamweaver.. it might be a bit much of a tool for you if you're a novice, but if you're intermediate or willing to learn, you can do some really awesome sites with this thing.
But there are plenty of free HTML editors out there to help you get going, including the one that comes with bluehost. So don't let that stop you from creating your dream job and making money form home by doing what you love.
best,
bluesy
www.bluesyworld.com
