What is the next step? (Where do I start?). What must I do? (I have to try something). Why is it not working? (I cannot stop now). What do I have to do to set up my Affiliate Marketing Business, The Right Way?

These are all questions that used to go thru my head when I was working on my "next" project, hoping that one would work out and make me the absolute success I have always wanted to be. But it was exactly these questions that put me down too, until I asked myself the magic question: What must I do to set it up, The Right Way?

Basic Steps to Home Business Success

If you are just starting out, start building your sites by example. That is right, Build Sites by Example.

What I mean by this is simple ... there are a gazillion websites out there so I am sure there is one in your niche too, so go there. Check out what you like about these websites and start testing. Visit sites in other niches and be inspired by everything they are doing.

What words did they use that caught your attention? Where did they place the opt-in box? Where is the AdSense code? What colors are being used and for what?

Check them out. Subscribe to their newsletters and see if you can learn from them. If you like their writing style, try to make it yours. Just copy every single thing you like about the other websites then rehash the ideas to see if it will make you more money. Maybe some sites will have products that you will like and fits to your target audience.

A good place to find products that you could market is ClickBank. They have a wide range of products to choose from. You may find something you could market to your list or website visitors.

Of course, if you are just starting out you will need to know at least some basic HTML. This is very easy, you can do that with FrontPage where you see everything you are doing. Some people recommend using Dream Weaver (Longer learning curve but more powerful). There are also many free web development tools. One for the purist at heart is CSE HTML Validator Lite.

When you look for a good website builder, you need to see if they will offer full support as your skill to build web pages increases. What I mean by that is that you should be getting answers on all your issues and the program should always work on improvements that match the skills of today's webmaster.

The next step, after you have created your website, is getting a domain name and solid reliable web hosting. You can go for the cheaper ones so you will save money, but in my experience having a reliable web host is a must (even if it will cost you a bit more money).

When you purchase a domain name, make sure to do some keyword research and buy a domain name with some keywords in it. So if we take internet marketing for example, a good name could be internetmarketing.com. It has the keywords "internet marketing" in it so it will stand a better chance in the search engines when you target the phrase to get your visitors from them.

In Conclusion...

OK, I have given you the basic steps when you start building your website. Now take everything you learned from here and start building yours today. Take action to grow your business and income, now!