How to Host Your Amazon Affiliate Site on WordPress
There’s no denying WordPress is one of the biggest content management systems around. With its iconic look and flexible functionality, it’s become the platform of choice for bloggers everywhere. And with the recent introduction of the Amazon Affiliate Program, it seems only natural that more and more people are seeking to use the CMS to create their own online store, or even just an affiliate site to promote products they love.
While it’s great that more and more people are discovering the perks of owning a blog, it can be a bit daunting to learn how to host your own website. Thankfully, we’re here to help with five simple steps to get you up and running with a gorgeous and functional Amazon affiliate site in no time.
Choose A Hosting Provider
Before you can begin building your site, you’ll need to pick a hosting provider. Just like with picking a domain name, you’ll want to seek out a company that is both reliable and affordable. There are many solid choices out there; Bluehost, for example, powers over 300,000 sites and is one of the most popular hosting providers around. You can get a free one-month trial and cancel any time you like. There is no obligation to continue with the service.
If you’re looking for a more affordable option, check out WordPress hosting from DreamHost. They offer some great features like free backups, daily malware scanning, and free domain privacy. With their hosting, you’ll only need to pay a low price for what you get. You can sign up for a free trial and try out their service for yourself.
Install WordPress
Installing WordPress is the first step to getting your affiliate site up and running. You can download the free WordPress software from their official site if you are looking for a hosted solution, or you can use a third-party installer like Softaculous to install it on your own computer.
The great thing about WordPress is its modular design. This means you can customize most features to fit your specific needs. For example, if you don’t want to use their pre-installed themes, you can always download a free theme and install it on your site.
WordPress also offers a wide range of premium themes and plugins that you can use to further enhance your site. Many of these themes and plugins are specifically designed for use with Amazon affiliate marketing, so you can be confident your site will look the part.
Install A Theme For Your Site
WordPress encourages users to download and install themes from their official library. Themes are like skins for your site; they give it a clean, modern look and feel while also enhancing its functionality. And because themes are open-source software, you’re guaranteed to find a suitable match for your needs.
If you’re looking for an easy solution, try out the Amazon affiliate WordPress themes. These themes were built with three goals in mind: to make running an affiliate site as simple as possible, to provide convenience to new site owners, and to look professional.
Create Your Blog
Blogs are like webpages, but with articles that are more than just mindless chatter. They can be a source of valuable information on almost any subject. And although they don’t have to be, blogs often include a variety of content, from useful tips to enlightening analysis. To create your blog, you’ll need to pick a username and password, pick a theme for the site, and set up an about page with a bio.
If you’re looking for a step-by-step guide to creating a blog, you can use this handy guide from Freshwrench. It will walk you through the process of creating a professional-looking blog in no time at all.
Promote Your Blog With Guest Posts
One of the cornerstones of any thriving blog is a good mix of informative and entertaining content. Your visitors will benefit from your fresh new perspective on old topics, while you can use your platform to promote products and services that you believe in.
To begin, you’ll need to identify and contact relevant bloggers in your industry. Once you’ve secured a few notable guest posts, begin pitching to brands and businesses for sponsored posts. The idea is to build a strong following that will be valuable to your affiliate marketing efforts. You can also use these guest posts to educate your audience about health and wellness.
Once you’re up and running with a healthy mix of content, it’s time to start promoting your site to attract both new and existing customers. You can use various methods to do this, from social media to email marketing and more. The great thing about a blog is it’s relatively easy to grow a following and can be used to promote multiple platforms, from social media to email.
WordPress can integrate with many external systems to enhance your affiliate marketing efforts. For example, you can use their built-in email marketing system to send out weekly emails with special offers and helpful tips for your affiliate marketing efforts. Or, if you’d like to stay connected with your audience through social media, you can integrate their Twitter and Facebook plugins into your site.
Since picking WordPress as a platform was such a crucial decision, it’s important to note that it’s fully mobile-friendly. In fact, you can test to see if your site is responsive (i.e., displays well on a smartphone) by entering your site’s URL into your phone’s search engine. If the URL is accurately entered and the content can be displayed without any problems, then you can be relatively certain your site will look good on any device. You’ll just need to decide what screen size and format you’ll use.
Use An Optimized Domain Name
An optimized domain name is any domain name that is both unique and memorable. This will help drive additional traffic to your site. When picking a domain name, you should avoid words that are too common, as these may cause your site to be inaccessible to certain users. As a general rule of thumb, use hyphens and underscores instead of spaces when naming your domain. Also, make sure the domain is available.
Build A Content Library
A content library simply refers to a collection of content that you’ve gathered over time, whether through blogging or some other form of content creation. If you’ve been putting off building a content library for your blog, now is the perfect time to do so. A content library will not only make it easier for you to find relevant content to post on your site, but it will also provide a valuable asset to potential customers.
Use An Email Marketing Software To Grow Your Audience
There are many reasons why you should try out email marketing software. Not only does it make creating and sending out promotional emails easy and hassle-free, but it also gives you the ability to segment and target the right audience.
Take Care Of Your Visitors With These Helpful Tips
Once you’ve created your website using one of the methods discussed above, it’s time to turn your attention to growing your audience. To begin, make sure to add and populate a content library with helpful and informative articles. Remember, people come back for more when they’re already familiar with your content. So if you’ve been steadily adding value to your site, your audience will continue to come back for more.
Next, begin to engage with your audience. One of the best things about a blog is it provides you with a steady stream of engaging content. You can use your blog to share valuable insights and information, as well as put yourself in the position to answer questions.
If you really want to make the most of your blog, you can use various methods to encourage your audience to engage with your content. You can give them something to chew on in the form of a blog contest, for example. At the end of the month, you’ll be inundated with entries from your contest-loving audience. Consider using a third-party plugin like Akismet to battle spam and enhance the user experience on your site.
Since picking WordPress as a platform was such a crucial decision, it’s important to note that it’s fully mobile-friendly. In fact, you can test to see if your site is responsive (i.e., displays well on a smartphone) by entering your site’s URL into your phone’s search engine. If the URL is accurately entered and the content can be displayed without any problems, then you can be relatively certain your site will look good on any device. You’ll just need to decide what screen size and format you’ll use.