Want to create my first site, but need some advice.

[matt0216]

I started doing some affiliate marketing back when black friday hit, but I really had no clue what I was doing. I only started because I lost my bankroll on Tilt and Stars and wanted to play on Carbon without depositing.

So, I created an account at Chipsplit, and started to think of ways to get people to sign-up without having a site.
I did ok taking advantage of the circumstances and I've been able to get 70 signups, majority of these came in April since that's when I put the most time in.

With those signups I've made a little less then $1000.

Now, I want to actually build a site and see if I can earn some money that way. I've never built a site like this before, but I don't think that will be my biggest problem. I'm pretty good with design, so I know the site will look good, it's the content and getting people to the site that will hurt me.

So, my question to you guys are:

Where do you get the content for your site? Do you write it yourself, or outsource it?
What's the best way to learn SEO? Or should I just outsource that as well?
Any General advice for someone like me trying to get started?

Thanks for any help,
Matt

[parttimepoker]

If you have innovative ways of getting people to sign up without having a site, you should keep doing that. Lots of people have sites; far fewer have good ways to earn without a site.

Writing is just a cost analysis. Do you like writing? How long does it take you to write an average article? Do you have other work competing with the writing that might result in a better hourly earn? Do you have access to a quality writer at a reasonable rate? Etc.

SEO is a little different, as it's worth it to learn SEO for yourself; what you learn with this site can essentially be applied perpetually across all the sites you build in the future. That's a pretty good dividend and justifies the amount of time and frustration (and uncertainty) you might experience when learning SEO on the fly.

I think the thing with SEO is to resist the urge to go for "quick" solutions and to feel comfortable accepting that most of SEO is about consistency, attention to detail and patience (as opposed to some secret strategy or formula).

As far as general advice, I'd just suggest trying a few projects all at once to start and seeing which one you enjoy working on most. Pursue that one, and the other sites will slowly age and grow while you build a primary site. You can come back to them when you need a break from your main project, and you'll have a nice head start.

[matt0216]

Thanks for the good advice parttimepoker.

[wendybluff]

I guess the first question is what is your budget? Can you spend the $1000 you made, or more, or less? My advice:
- if you are new, do your own writing first before buying them; this way you will understand better what it takes to write good articles (note that with the Panda wave, junk content is not recommended)
- SEO: do it all yourself, only outsource when you master it (otherwise you will be cheated).

[kingcobra]

It's all about effective time management, and there is lots to do building up your websites, with a limited amount of time to spend. It's best to get at least a decent selection of good content first, even before you worry about traffic too much. You do need a plan though to build your traffic and that's a very substantial part of the business, so it's never too soon to look to develop your skills here.

As a general rule, farming out the SEO end is a pretty expensive proposition, especially for newer affiliates. If and when you get big enough you can look at doing this, however for now it's far better to spend your time learning with a view to doing it yourself. It's not really that hard to become adept enough if you're willing to put in a little effort here.

As for farming out the content, well some people are skilled at writing good poker content, but most aren't. Among the ones that aren't, many look to do it themselves anyway, which is definitely a mistake. There are as many poker sites with poor content out there as there are stars in the sky. If you don't want to become lost in the vast array of outer space, you need to honestly assess your abilities here, and if you're not comfortable with them, at some point it definitely pays to consider hiring the services of a professional.