I recently posted a thread in my forum where I asked the members to give advice to people who are new to building websites and making money online.

I received a lot of insightful comments, and quickly noticed a common theme among the replies.

There was a lot of emphasis on planning and enjoyment — two things that are often ignored by people just starting out.

The Planning

I mention this a lot, but I’ll say it again.  People don’t just stumble upon websites or blogs like they do a store on a street (unless they’re using StumbleUpon.com.)

So while you may have a great idea for something, you have to consider how people will find you.  And not just any people, but people who will be interested and/or need what you have to offer.

One of the most common reasons people fail is they don’t put a lot of research into their ideas.  Coming up with a great idea is an obvious first step, but execution is the most important one.

You really have to educate yourself on how people use/surf the web and what techniques are available to draw traffic to your site.  A lot of people believe their great idea is enough to funnel traffic to their site, but it doesn’t work that way.

Enjoyment

Where would I be if I didn’t love what I do?

Well for starters, I’d probably still be at my 9 to 5 job.

The love for this business is what kept me going all these years.  I haven’t always had high-trafficked websites, and my affiliate checks used to have fewer numbers on the left side of the decimal.

I spent many frustrating days and nights scratching my head over code, or trying to figure out how to FTP the right PHP so my URL wouldn’t be 403.  (Yes, it rhymes.)

But in the end, I’ve always found this process rewarding.  There’s nothing like that sense of accomplishment when I learn something new, plus it keeps me wanting to learn more.  My love for writing and teaching others has also made the ride fun.

So that’s the attitude you have to have about this or you are doomed to fail.  Enjoyment comes first and then the money.  Not the other way around.  You have to find something about this process that will keep you motivated through the challenging times.

A lady once told me “If my site would just make some money, I would probably enjoy this more.”  But the real trick is you have to enjoy it enough to stick around long enough for your site to make money.

And let me be honest. Some of you must come to the harsh realization that this may not be for you.  The desire to make a lot of money and be successful is a start, but the enjoyment is what keeps you going when the going gets tough.  People who make a lot of money whether it be online or off, typically enjoy what they do.

Are there days when I feel totally uninspired and uncreative? Absolutely. But those moments don’t usually last long and are often due to external situations not related to this business. So you may have to ask yourself. Am I really enjoying this or am I enjoying the idea of financial independence and financial security more?

I’ll let you ponder that one for a minute.

If you remember nothing about what it takes to succeed online remember two things: planning and enjoyment. These two alone will take you very far out here.

And planning should go beyond “I want to make money and I want my site to have X, Y and Z.”  In fact, that’s not planning.  It’s a goal.

Research your market.  Find out what people in your niche need and want.  What kind of problems can you help them solve? Look for forums in your potential niche and keep an eye out for recurring topics.  Check out existing websites and blogs and look for gaps and areas of opportunity.  Hone your writing skills and study up on the various ways to market your website.

Don’t forget to read the forum thread.  There’s some great advice from people who have been there/done that.

Feel free to add your own advice and lessons.  And if you’re a newbie, absorb the information like a sponge!  You are fortunate to get this kind of advice that a lot of us didn’t have when we started.

I have no regrets about my overall journey online because I believe any mistakes I’ve made have taught me great lessons.  However I want to discuss some things I would do differently if I had the opportunity to start over again.

Using Free Web Hosts

I told my “free web hosting story” in a recent YouTube video.  In a nutshell, I used free hosting some 11 years ago and the company decided to start charging. Anyone who did not want to pay their ridiculous monthly fees lost their site.

Fortunately it wasn’t a huge loss for me because I had already moved to paid hosting for my main site and those free sites were just sitting out there collecting Internet dust.   But it taught me a huge lesson about the price of free… especially when it comes to web hosting.

Of course, there are many more reasons not to use a free host, especially if you are starting a business. However, my story is quite common when it comes to free web hosting space.  Many of the companies simply cannot afford to remain free due to their own server costs.

Learn CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)

When I was still at my 9 to 5 job some years ago, a coworker kept telling me about all the wonderful benefits of CSS. I remember it going in one ear and out the other.  After all, I was just getting the hang of HTML and didn’t need anything else confusing me at the moment.

Now that I understand what CSS can do and I see how much time it has saved me, I wish I would have learned it much sooner.  There is nothing more rewarding than being able to change your entire design in minutes by updating one file.

I recently completed a mini facelift of 2 Create a Website and it took me all of 15 minutes to update all 140+ pages.  Heck, it took me longer to decide on the colors I wanted to use than it did to actually update the entire site.

Being familiar with CSS will also help you greatly if you have a blog.  Blog templates are typically designed using CSS so having this knowledge will be a great benefit for you.  This is especially true for Blogger users.  There aren’t as many templates available for Blogger as there are WordPress so I find a lot of Blogger blogs with the same design.

The best way to learn CSS is to visit a site that teaches the basics like W3Schools or HTMLDog.com.  Knowing the fundamentals will help with syntax and will also help you troubleshoot should you run into problems.

You can also learn the lazy way (as some call it) and download a template that already has a stylesheet attached and study the stylesheet to see how the coding actually affects the page.  FreeCSSTemplates.org is one of my favorite free template sites.

This is the way I learned, but I frequently find myself going to sites like W3Schools if I need to troubleshoot something. Let’s face it. If you want to get the most out of CSS, you really should learn the fundamentals.

The Internet Marketing/How to Make Money Niche

I always tell people, “If you are not making money yourself, you should never create a site on how to make money or market online.”  Not to mention the “how-to-make-money” niche is so heavily saturated.

This advice often confuses people because 2 Create a Website focuses on Internet marketing and making money, yet it is successful.  But what a lot of people don’t know is I had a site before that which primarily focused on Internet Marketing and it failed.

The problem was I was not making much money at the time so my site was filled with paraphrased, common facts that you could find anywhere. My content was not fresh. Not to mention, I didn’t do any research and had no idea how competitive the niche was.

When you first start out trying to make money, it’s very tempting to build a site about how to make money and talk about what you’ve learned thus far. However, if you are not making much it’s very hard to build credibility and it’s equally as hard to put out fresh content because you cannot rely on your own experiences.

I believe 2 Create a Website has been able to compete in this saturated niche because I can now use my own success stories and personal experiences to inspire my content and people understand that I am actually walking the walk and not just talking the talk.

I Didn’t Own Most Products I Recommended

I either own or have owned/used most of the products/services I recommend on my sites, but I haven’t always done so.  I remember when Site Build It! first launched 9 years ago, I blasted ads and articles all over my site because I was so excited about the $75 residual affiliate commission.

As my site’s traffic grew,  I continued to get more and more questions about the product and most of them I couldn’t answer because I didn’t own it.  I started to feel a bit uncomfortable because I was raving about the product as if I really owned it.

If you want people to respect you and your recommendations, you really have to be familiar with what you’re promoting.  Not only will you feel more genuine, but you’ll find it will boost your affiliate commissions.  Anyone can say a product is “great”, but a solid review that contains your own personal experience with the product will get you more mileage.

Also, don’t be afraid to talk about the negative points of a product.  It actually adds to your credibility and shows you’re not afraid of giving people all the facts.   Will it turn away a few potential customers?  Maybe, but the credibility you’ll gain will improve your site’s overall earnings in the long-run.  I cannot say enough about the importance of credibility.

Multiple Websites/Blogs

When I first started out, I tried to maintain multiple websites when I hadn’t found success with any of them.  The problem with starting out with too many sites is that your energy is spread too thin and you cannot focus.

If you’re doing something wrong that is preventing you from succeeding with one site, you’re probably making that same mistake on the others. So if you haven’t figured out how to succeed with one site, no point in starting others until you discover how to build traffic and make money.

Yes, I have multiple sites now, but I have discovered what works for me so I use that same formula for my additional sites.  And if the sites are related, I use the existing site to promote the other (i.e. 2PlanAWebSite.com and 2CreateAWebSite.com).

Don’t overwhelm yourself.  Focus on one website or blog at a time if you’re just getting started.

What About You?

What have you learned since you started marketing online? I’d love to know what you would do differently if you had the chance to begin again. C’mon… don’t be shy.

Want to make money with an information affiliate site, but tired of bouncing from topic to topic?

Don’t feel like you know enough about anything to publish an interesting website or blog?

Is the word “expert” discouraging you because you don’t feel like an expert on any topic?

You’re not alone. It’s a feeling that plagues many first-time website builders and bloggers while they rack their brains trying to come up with the right topic.

The word “expert” is overrated and part of the problem is the way we often define it.  You may feel that in order to be an expert you need a degree in the subject matter or know enough to teach some sort of class.

Well I can tell you that when it comes to making money as an affiliate (like me), that couldn’t be further from the truth.

We’re All Experts on Some Level

Someone once told me, “Lisa, everyone is an expert on some topic because there will always be people who know less than you and desire to learn what you already know.” That taught me to stop trying to be everything to everybody, and target people I knew I could reach with my knowledge.

Years ago a programmer told me my site would never succeed because my HTML tutorials were too simplistic and didn’t cover more advanced web design languages.

Well, if 2 Create a Website was targeting ColdFusion or Dot Net programmers, perhaps this guy would have been right.  However, that’s not who I’m targeting so I’m not really concerned with what people like him think.

When I created my site, I knew there were people out there like me who just wanted to learn enough to launch a basic website without getting too involved in the technical gibble gabble.   So THAT’s the audience I focused on.

Does that make me “The Official Expert” on Web Development?  Of course not, but it makes me an “expert” to the people who want to learn what I know.

I brought my own flavor and personality to a topic that has been done over and over again. This is a big reason I have been able to compete in a niche that is immensely saturated.

Avoid The Inferiority Complex

Many people have anxiety over their first site because they don’t feel they know enough or they’ve found too many sites that they perceive to be “better” than what they can do.

The information is certainly an important part of your site, but your writing style, presentation, voice and content organization also play a role in how successful your site will be.  It’s the total package.

Research your potential competitors.  I bet you will find gaps and areas you can improve upon. There’s always room for creativity and a unique perspective.

Don’t avoid a topic you are truly passionate about because you are intimidated by your competition or other people who appear to be experts.

Any topic that is worth considering is going to have some competition.   Just find a way to reach your audience in a way other sites may not.

It’s time we look at the way we define the word “expert”.  When it comes to information affiliate websites, it doesn’t mean you have to be all-knowing.

It just requires you to present your information in a fresh, unique way that will reach an audience who wants to learn what you already know.

Now of course I am not implying you should never strive to learn more and continually improve your site over time.  I just don’t want you to get stuck in neutral because you feel your site could never compare to your potential competition.

Dig deeper.  You are already an “expert” on many things.  You don’t have to know more than everyone, but if you know more than a group of people in your niche, build a site to reach them.

Become THEIR expert.

When you’re new to website building, web design can be a very intimidation process.

Heck, even if you’ve been around awhile it still can be intimidating if design is not your forté.

So here are some tips for getting off on the right track when designing your first site.

Tip 1 – Familiarize Yourself With a Web Editor

There are many different editors out there. They all have their pluses and minuses so it’s important to find what works best for you.

Just make sure you learn to use something. It will make your life easier, trust me.

If you’re on a budget, Nvu or CoffeeCup may be a good choice. Nvu is free and recommended by many newbie Webmasters.

CoffeeCup is not free ($50), but comes with some awesome templates. There’s even a free, 45-day trial.

If you don’t mind splurging on some really good software, I recommend Dreamweaver. I recently switched to this program after FrontPage started phasing out.

With a price tag of $400 I’m sure you’re wondering what it possibly does. My short answer to that is everything. And while I don’t use half of the features this powerful program provides, I like DW because it’s great for people of all levels.

If you’re a beginner and just want to learn the basics of creating a page, you can use DW for the basic HTML commands.

But if you want to take it to the next level and learn more about CSS (see Tip #2), XML and other Web languages, DW will support those too.

There are also a lot of customizable features in Dreamweaver, so you can set it up so your favorite commands are easily accessible.

Whatever editor you decide use, buy a book or use your favorite search engine to find a tutorial that will help you get familiar with the program.

You don’t have to learn every menu function or feature, but you do want to learn the basics such as creating links, bolding text, starting new paragraphs, etc. There are some great free online tutorials for almost every popular editor out there.

Tip 2 – Learn The Basics of CSS

CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets, and it’s basically a sheet of attributes that assigns various styles to your website. Don’t let the acronym scare you. It’s pretty easy to learn and a very handy function if you just learn the basics.

One style sheet can govern how your entire site is designed while giving it a cohesive, consistent look.

For example, you can declare your sitewide font style, font size, hyperlink colors, background color, table design, etc. all with one file.

That means if you ever want to change the look of your site, you just edit the style sheet instead of opening every page and changing the HTML code directly. What a huge timesaver, especially if you have a large site.

The best way to learn CSS is to find a site template that already has a style sheet attached. For example, I bought my site’s template from dreamweaver-templates.net and there was a style sheet included.

I’ve learned a lot just by changing colors, sizes, etc. to see how they affect my site’s layout and design.

Dreamweaver also has a function called CSS Layouts that will help you learn more about CSS and apply it to your site.

You can also go to W3Schools if you want to learn the basic CSS attributes and creating a style sheet from scratch. There are some good tutorials there.

Tip 3 – Find a Design Template

As I just mentioned, I bought my template from dreamweaver-templates.net, but there are many other sites that offer templates, some even for free. FreeCSSTemplates.org has some free ones you can download.

I would highly recommend you choose a template that includes CSS, unless you plan to create your own style sheet from scratch. Again, if you use Dreamweaver then this is pretty easy to do.

Once you’ve found a template you’d like to use, open it up in the editor you’ve chosen. Always save a backup copy of the template in case you want to start over.

Most templates only come with the index page (the homepage) so if you want additional pages simply “Save As” from the homepage to create new pages.

I’ve created a basic 3 column CSS template you can download to learn how to design a web page.

Tip 4 – Learn Basic File Management

Websites are basically a series of files organized on a server. Whatever Web editor you use, you should organize your website files so they are easy to find and manage.

Don’t just throw all your files in one folder. Organize them into logical sub folders and always store your images in a separate folder.

So, if you have a site about cooking, you may have your main index file (your homepage) and then you’ll have a series of sub folders (i.e. baking, grilling, frying, etc.) And inside those sub folders will be pages that go in those categories.

When you start setting up your site, the sub folders could likely be navigation items on your site.

So before you use your web editor, you need to create a folder on your hard drive where your site will live.

Let’s say you create a folder called CookingWebsite and it resides at…

C:\Documents and Settings\User\CookingWebsite

If you downloaded a template, you want to store/save all the template files inside this folder. And if the template came with an images folder, put the images folder inside this same folder so the path to it would be…

C:\Documents and Settings\User\CoookingWebsite\images

Make sure you keep the template’s file structure the same as when you downloaded it.

So when you open up your Web editor and start a new site, most editors will ask where your site lives locally. You will navigate to this new folder you created and this is where you’ll go to update your site each time.

Keeping your file structure organized will help, especially if you’re using a Web editor. Not only is it easier to find files, but linking the pages and adding images is much easier when everything is organized into folders.

Tip 5 – Learn How to FTP

I know, I know. Another dag-blasted acronym. FTP just stands for file transfer protocol and it’s the process of transferring your files (web pages) from a local environment to your Web server (or your hosting account).

If you’re using a regular web host, you can setup an FTP account at your host’s control panel.

Most web editors will allow you to save your site directly to the web using your FTP username and password. So you simply choose the “Publish Site” command in your editor, and generally you’ll be prompted for your FTP information.

Voila! Your site is live and kickin’.

If you’re not using an editor or your editor does not have a publish feature, you can download a separate FTP program to publish your files to the Web. Filezilla is a good one and it’s free.

Or if you use Firefox, download the FireFTP plugin. You can access it from the Firefox Tools menu and you don’t even have to close your browser to use it.

Tip 6 – Find a Graphic/Image Editing Program

You don’t have to become a full-fledged graphic designer, but it does help to know how to resize and touch up graphics. Gimp is a free image manipulation program you can use to make minor graphic edits.

If you want to create images from scratch Paint Shop Pro and PhotoShop are two popular programs used for this.

I use PhotoShop for all my graphic needs. Yes, it’s pricey, but does everything under the sun (including animation) and I’ll never need to buy another program again.

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So there you have it! Six tips to get you started with your first website. It’s really not that intimidating if you just do it. Becoming comfortable with a web editor and finding a template is half the battle.

Here’s to your first website! (Cheers)

I receive a lot of the same questions/concerns from wanna-be website owners. Let’s face it. Getting started can be a very overwhelming process.

From choosing the right web host, deciding on the perfect niche to selecting the right domain name and then totaling up all the costs involved.

Whew! It can be intimidating at first. So below you’ll find my responses to many of the common questions/concerns I’ve received from people wanting to create their first website.

There Are Too Many Sites On My Topic

Obviously you want to avoid very broad topics (i.e. employment, kids or sports, etc.) and stay away from heavily saturated niches like making money online, etc. If you’re looking at topics that are too broad, then of course you’re going to encounter a lot of competition.

But if there is a well defined niche you want to go after, don’t back off just because you’ve noticed a handful of sites that exist on the topic. A little competition is a good thing and will keep you on your toes.

Just because someone else has a site on a topic you’re interested in, doesn’t mean you won’t be able to rank high enough to receive good traffic in Google, Yahoo, etc. If your site becomes a hit with your audience, they will link to you voluntarily and this will help your search engine rankings.

You can actually use competition to your advantage by improving upon what your competition has already done. Think about facts or features they didn’t include that you could add to your site. There’s almost always a better way of explaining or presenting something, so capitalize on that with your site.

I Am Not Good With Computers!

I hear this one all the time, and it’s the most common reason people hesitate to get started or outsource their website design completely.

Now I’ll admit. I’ve always been pretty comfortable around computers. I’ve had one in my house since 1986 and before the Internet became popular, I was usually sitting in front of the monitor, mesmerized by some role-playing game.

However when it comes to creating websites, I’m not so sure much of that experience came in handy, other than being familiar with the general computer functions (opening and closing programs, saving, etc.)

So my point is, even if you aren’t particularly savvy with computers, that doesn’t mean you’ll have no chance at success with a website.

Now don’t get me wrong. You do need some levels of patience with computers and feeling intimidated by the machine is not going to make the website creation process fun. You will need a basic understanding of folder and file structures on your computer, but that’s pretty easy to pickup with time.

So don’t sell yourself short just because you aren’t computer savvy or you don’t have a computer-related or Web design degree. I certainly don’t and I’m managing pretty well for someone who is completely self-taught on website creation and management.

With programs like Dreamweaver and CoffeeCup at your disposal, along with templates to help get your design started; you can learn enough to create a decent website without being particularly computer savvy.

I Don’t Know Enough About Anything to Make an Interesting Website

When I hear people say that, I feel they aren’t digging deep enough or don’t fully understand the concept of generating money from an information website.

We all have something we are passionate about or at least have a great deal of knowledge on. And you don’t have to stick to tutorial-based sites. It can be something comedic or fun.

For example, say you love reality TV. You could create a site or blog that rants about the ridiculous things that happen on your favorite reality shows. You could make it funny or sarcastic and spice it up with your own personality.

With the help of Google ads and other entertainment-related affiliate programs, your site can become a money-making machine if you can generate enough interest.

So don’t take the process so seriously as you brainstorm. If you don’t have a special skill or hobby you can write about, think about your day-to-day life. What are you always talking to your friends and family about? What bugs you? What makes you laugh?

Or is there something you’d like to know more about? Often times people build sites on topics they’ve recently experienced and then they research it to learn more about it.

When I created flat-stomach-exercises.com, I wasn’t a fitness guru. (I’m still not.) I experienced some tummy flab issues as I entered into my late 20’s, so I picked up a few books along the way and began educating myself.

As I learned about the topic, I began to write articles for my website in my own words. So I became enough of an expert to create an informative site based on what I learned. You can take this same approach if you are struggling to find a topic.

I Don’t Have Much Time To Work On My Site

The great thing about owning a website is you have the flexibility of working on it when you want. That being said, if you don’t have a lot of time to invest into building and managing your site then don’t expect miracles when it comes to making money (if that’s your goal).

You definitely get out of this what you put into it. And while I would love to say I only work 2 hours per week on my site, I’d be lying to you.

I work hard, but the beauty is I love what I do. And when you enjoy the process, you don’t mind spending the time building, managing and promoting your site.

If your site is information-based, you’ll find it may require less maintenance once the traffic starts coming in and your site is more established. For most of my sites, I can leave for months if I want and still generate income because the traffic levels are high enough to keep the money coming in.

I no longer have to devote the kind of time I used to, however I had to work hard to get to that point and that meant devoting several hours per week until my site reached that desired level of success.

Nothing in life is free or easy, so if you want success, you have to put in the effort and time.

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Be sure to download my free book, The Perfect Site Guide.  It will cover the basics of choosing a topic, creating and marketing your site or blog.