NetBusinessBlogWork from Home, Business Opportunities, Websites for Sale - Run an Online Business

For anyone looking to use a CMS (Content Managment System) to build their first site, Drupal could save your life?

I know it would mine, so I thought I’d lay it out for you -

What you need to set-up Drupal:

A Linux based Server
One MySQL Database

Get some Hosting Here (if you don’t have a good host already).

A tiny bit about Drupal - it’s a clean, powerful, Content Managment System a bit like Wordpress is. Well in fact, Drupal differs from Wordpress and the likes of PHP-Nuke because they are built around core functions where as Drupal is built on a modular. It’s very light on features and would actually suit a blogger or a news site. (Commonly used for news sites more than blogs)

You can add a host of features should you wish, it could quite easily run an eCommerce Store or Corporate Site.

Step One:
File Download -

Drupals installation is suprisingly easy, start by downloading Drupal to your machine. You will end up with a Gunzipped Tarball file. Windows will not handle the unzipping of this file so you will need a program like WinZip or 7Zip which will handle this for you.

With ethier WinZip or 7Zip right click on extract and rename the folder to “Drupal” - we now need to set-up a database with your host.

Step Two
Database Set-up -

I have a Reseller Account with HostGator so I will be using one of my domains for this guide along with a spare MySQL database (you get loads to use with a reseller account). Access you hosts admin panel and follow the guidelines supplied by most good hosts to add a database.

With the database ready, make sure to make a note of your Database name, Username, Password as we need this later.

Step Three
Upload Drupal Files -

Connect to your webspace via FTP, I use FireFTP Once connected drag and drop the Drupal folder with all files to the html folder provided on your webspace.

Step Four
Install Drupal -

Now you’ve uploaded Drupal to your webspace you’re ready to install and configure it. ON your web browser type in your web address followed by the install location like this - http://www.yourwebsite.com/drupal/install.php - now just follow the on screen set up wizard that will take you through the installation.

Drupal will ask you to add you database name, username, password. You kept this from before right? - then the rest has been made so easy just follow the on screen instructions and you should have a faultless Drupal install. I liked the fact you get to choose SEO friendly URLS in the set-up so you’re ready for Search Engine Optimisation, save manually doing this later using a mod_rewrite and your .htacess file.

That should be it all done. You can now customise Drupal as much as you want, you could get a custom design (skin) and start using it to build news Articles on a niche you might be working on. There are some themes that come ready to use within the Drupal install but nothing will actually beat a custom Bespoke design if you’re going to take your new business/website seriously.

I have to say I love the clean looks and with the power and customisation of Drupal you cannot go wrong with Open Source CMS like this.

Great Drupal Run sites -

The Onion
SpreadFireFox

Popularity: 11% [?]

Popularity: 11% [?]

I have been an affiliate for most the Major Networks and I have also looked after over 5000 affiliates as a Merchant. So I see what an Affiliate needs and what a Merchant needs to provide a good balance and working structure between the two.

I have pros and cons for most of these Networks mostly being in the customer service area, lack of emails on promotions is one. I also have limited patience for their usability and navigation. Networks like Comission Junction make it hard to do the most simple things.

So, onto this newly developed Affiliate Network - PepperJamNetwork -

In this review I want to concentrate on benefits so If you want to know more about the owners / co-founders etc, Read about them Here.

On first glance the overall look and design is nothing new, lets get this straight though. You as an Affiliate want to be the best, you want to create high traffic niche websites or huge converting Pay Per Click campaigns. All that send traffic to a Merchant that will convert and make you more money than you’re spend right?

As the Merchant You want to offer competitive commissions based on your service product and yield the best Return On Investment find the best Affiliate and reward them for sending traffic to them that converts.

That’s it really, in a nutshell - What all the Affiliate Networks I have been involved in lack, is being able to offer more tools and simple communication with the Merchant which enables you to build up a good relationship.

This is what may make the huge difference with the PepperJamNetwork you will be able to build a great relationship with the Merchant and or Affiliate and be offered the smartest tools to increase revenues and profits and all of this from one simple to use admin area.

You want things easy yet if your given better tools and communication you will more than likely work better and increase the chances of building a successful Affiliate Business promoting lots or maybe even one key Merchant.

I wonder what their main goal or USP is - PepperJamNetwork only need to keep it simple but effective at the same time.

Affiliates, this is what you should look for -

- Live daily communication as if you were an employee of the Merchant so that you can better understand their business model.

- Daily live reporting

- Frequent pay outs (for cashflow)

- High commissions while still enabling the merchant to profit

The reason why some Affiliates fail is because they need to understand who they are promoting and how best to promote them - I hope PepperJamNetwork can fill the gap where other Networks are failing…

I was lucky enough to be a Merchant for so many Affiliates which enabled me to gain knowledge from the otherside. I always used to say…if only they would contact me and I would be able give them so much more advice and tools to help them make more money.

That’s the Key with Affiliate Marketing “Communication”

In their own words, this is what they are going offer you -

- Pepperjam Network addresses two of the most significant shortcomings found on other existing affiliate networks: (1) poor, unreliable communication tools and (2) lack of affiliate transparency.

- With Pepperjam Network, affiliates and advertisers can communicate in real-time via Pepperjam Chat™, thereby providing a reliable communication system to build stronger, more profitable partnerships.

- Pepperjam Network provides advertisers with an unprecedented measure of affiliate transparency, which helps to establish trust, protect brand integrity, and lays the groundwork for open, long-term, profitable relationships.

- Pepperjam Network uses Web 2.0 technology to provide affiliates and advertisers with an easy-to-use, clean interface.

- Pepperjam Network offers industry leading SID-level tracking and reporting (great for sophisticated search marketing affiliates)

- Pepperjam Network introduces pepperjamADS™, which is a first-ever affiliate marketing widget that affiliates can use to serve customized contextual ads from multiple Pepperjam Network advertisers at the same time.

- Pepperjam Network contains a knowledge vault, which is exclusive to Pepperjam affiliates. The vault contains exclusive access to a list of tools and educational resources used by Super Affiliates.

- Pepperjam Network represents over eight years of research and development and the combined ideas, feedback, and intelligence of hundreds of affiliate marketers and advertisers.
- Pepperjam Network launched with over 100 merchants and growing quickly, including Blockbuster, Jelly Belly, AeroGrow, Oscar de la Renta, BabyPhat, Rocawear, Ben Sherman, FlyCell, SinglesNet, SEOmoz Premium, and many more.

- Pepperjam Network has its own affiliate program that pays out up to $7 per approved publisher application

- Check out the Pepperjam Network Blog for videos, commentary and updates on Pepperjam Network and the broader affiliate marketing community

- Pepperjam Network is FREE to join.

It does look as though the PepperJamNetwork are offering that missing link that other networks have been ignorantly failing to acheive. Which is, making it easy to build a solid relationship between Affiliate and Merchant. I love the premise of this so far, time will only and always tell…

You will need to sign-up and see for youself and then start to dedicate a lot of time and dedication to make it work for you. The tools and experience are there if YOU want it.

I have already signed up to the PepperJamNetwork it’s you turn…

Still not sure…read more PepperJamNetwork Reviews Here -

ZacJohnson

JohnChow

Popularity: 12% [?]

Popularity: 12% [?]

One part of owning a website that will keep Designers busy is the redesign - you will need one soon I promise!

Whether the look of the site needs updating or the functionality some of not all websites change frequently and this can compromise your search engine rankings. Web designers now need to be very aware of Organic Search Engine Rankings when changing a clients website. It’s not just a simple case of deleting your old files and uploading the newly redesigned site.

Because all your pages have already been ranked and given a listing, any change to a page name or the platform it resides on could be and more than likely be lost. This could mean loss of your business, earnings, everything!

You need to plan carefully yo get this right when thinking about updating your website. I have found one simple solution is to use URL Mapping.

It works by first creating a list of all your old page names and a brief description of what they are about. This is going to be crucial when mapping the old pages to newly designed pages. I recommend you use the faithful 301 Redirect (permanent) This is what all search engines will accept under their rules, Google, Yahoo, MSN, will now read the old page then see it has been changed then your 301 redirect will kick in and this will mean if you had a good ranking it will not be lost and PageRank will also flow through to the new page.

If you’re on a Linux server renaming your pages is easy - just open your .htaccess file if you do not have one make one using notepad and name it .htaccess. Your server will need to have mod_rewrite enabled (check your host for this).

Once you have a complete list of your old pages and you have used a redirect statement for them you can then upload the new ones.

301 needed for .htaccess -

‘redirect 301 / index.html www.yourwebsite.com/index.php or

‘RewriteRule index.html$ www.yourwebsite.com/index.php [R301]‘

All good web designers and coders should tell you this anyway, if you are going to outsource your web design/coding etc. If you’re doing it all yourself always get advice.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Popularity: 16% [?]

I’m going to try and not buy a reseller account from another reseller who has bought their account from a reseller (still with me) so if you’re going to start a hosting business you need to research very reliable Reseller hosts or look into a VPS or Dedicated server.

VPS stands for “Virtual Private Server” and gives you the feeling of having a stand-alone dedicated server but for less cost. VPS also offers you the features of dedicated server but it’s still being shared by others. A good VPS host will allocate enough resources on their VPS to manage the amount they are selling too (without overselling). One sleep-at-night benefit is being isolated from other clients, no matter how heavy their traffic is it won’t affect your website or customers.

For me, it all lies with technical support if I purchased a VPS, hence I would need to pay for Level One support as soon as I launch the site which is an added start up and ongoing cost. This is because of software installs and other technical issues.

The Reseller option is much different (this is why it sells well) it offers a one man band, the opportunity to get started and not worry about too much technical and server maintenance knowledge enabling more time to promote the service and offer customer support. With the Reseller option you are given a “Web Host Manager” software package and with this you can customise the hosting plans you sell (webspace, bandwidth etc.) for your customers.

I wasn’t going down this route but I think I may choose it to get some clients on board without worrying about server installs and purchasing expensive software which are crucial to operating your hosting business and competing with your competitors.

My main selling point (and YOU need one) its called a UPS (Unique Selling Point) is “We don’t just sell Web Hosting we sell Web Businesses” - I’m going to stand out by adding huge benefits - people buy benefits and solutions not technical jargon and specifications.

Note: a VPS is just a Dedicated Server which can be part/fully managed and can be a much cheaper option than Dedicated.

If you were to purchase a Dedicated Server to start your Hosting Business, you would need to have the most popular software installed to compete in this marketplace.

These are some rough costs for you:

Dedicated Server $3000
RackSpace (to house your new server) $280 p/m
Cpanel with WHM $ (yet to find a price)
Fantastico De Luxe $90 (there are lots of add on costs for more servers) and a Annual license renewal at $20.00
ClientExec $199.99 (optional billing, customer and package management)
MySQL $738
Webstats (AWStats) this is free under the GPL licence)
PHP5 (free to download)

I may have missed some bits out, but this gives you a good idea of why many if not all people who want to get into web hosting start with Reseller Account. These are big start-up costs but it’s beneficial to get started off with your right option that suits your business plan. I still think I can use easily get going on a VPS or Reseller Hosting option. I won’t be overselling to get clients so that will be an obvious bonus. (most hosts do this) I think I’m leaning toward VPS to make sure I start with a good structure to the business. I don’t like the idea of another person on my Shared Server killing bandwidth with his own sites or reselling at stupid prices and overselling webspace.

Once you are fully established and running a smooth operation (or maybe before this) and you’re comfortable with your clients and revenue, you can then upgrade and run a self managed Web Hosting Company. All with your own in house or outsourced management team made up of technical support and sales staff.

After searching WebHostingTalk a great forum for any new host to start asking questions. It really amazes me the amount of hosting businesses out there and the amount of people who want to get into this industry (most must be making some sort of living from it). I still believe a huge percentage are failing to get it right from the start.

Onto your name Choosing a Brandable Domain Name - you may think this is not important but it is “Always” you’re not going into this half hearted you should always see it as building a memorable name that will try to convey your USP within one or two words.

In the next part I will talk more about buying a brandable domain name and some options for the design of the site.

Note: I haven’t mentioned this yet, but I’m opting with the Linux Operating System for two reasons (price and flexibility) Microsoft are stupidly expensive and I just don’t see the benefits and never have.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Popularity: 16% [?]

Wanted to update you all on whats been happening at NBB.

Blog still needs some attention - I’m not keen on the logo (bit cheesy really) so that is going to be re-designed along with other creatives (banners). Thinking of getting a quote from David Airey. (he might contact me once he see’s this link in his stats)

Archives are still being fixed along with some coding issues (getting there though)

Not sure if any regulars would have noticed but we are on a new server (London UK DataCentre) and no longer with Hostgator. It’s lightening fast for me, hope it is for all of you? I will plug the guys who look after my servers soon as they are very good!

Competitions are not working out? Do you guys think I need to do Contests / Competitions. I may remove it and focus on content instead of promotional gifts? Feedback on this would be good…

More Affiliates have been signing up to our Affiliate Program which is a good sign, need more to do so though. You can read about our Affiliate Program Here. We basically pay you to send traffic our way - as simple as that!

I’m settling into the new design now and will over the next few months I’m sure, tweak some things. NetBusinessBlog has made no Revenue since August last year, I’m pleased to announce this has all changed since the inception of the new design which I knew would improve Advertising and traffic. Not only that but I am now actively promoting NBB on Digg, Forums etc..I am also taking a concious decision with a little push from SelfMadeChick to make sure I comment on more blogs in my niche.

Going to continue on with my Case Studies and will be looking to take a new writer on, to cover other subjects I haven’t got time to research and write about. In other words, stuff I’m not good enough to write about…

Now to get on with creating more great (readable) Articles for you…

Almost forgot, we are always looking for great Guest Posts. If you think you’re good and want to promote something or yourself within a well writen Aticle you can do so here Guest Articles

Popularity: 16% [?]

Popularity: 16% [?]

I have no clue what Streamy.com is yet, (porn site?) but I do know that I’m getting lots of visitors from them. After hitting the front page I found this “Quote”

Why We Won’t, and Don’t Intend to “Kill” Digg

That’s a rather big statement, wonder if it will amount to much…

I have since read their blog to find they have been around for some time, I’ve only just come across them today. Looks good as I think there is plenty of room for another social meeting ground that shares and spreads information around the web. Maybe not as boring as Digg.

I’m going to sign up to the invitation and see what happens. One blog comment said “Although I visit Digg regularly it’s with little sense of anticipation these days - Streamy looks like it will be much more interesting” I’m yet to see this but I would never have heard of them if I didn’t check my blog stats. One things for sure, I’m loving the traffic they’re sending me!

You can get your own invitation here - Streamy.com

Popularity: 12% [?]

Popularity: 12% [?]

This is just something I always wanted to do because I have a keen interest in Hosting and Servers etc…(geeky I know)

I did give this a start when I was very naive and new to the net I was quickly put off by so many forums stating there is to much competition out there. I still have my domain name and I had gotten used the billing software and even had fraud protection on orders in place from a third party company.

I think although the Market is saturated you can still compete on a smaller level as I 100% believe that 90% of hosting is Customer Service. Some of you who are already hosts may put me right on some pitfalls to watch for, it seems so many new money makers to the net want to jump into this business as they think it might be simple. Like any business it is hard work and I have been burnt by both hosting companies that have gone under and even domain registrars like RegisterFly which famously went under.

Even if you want to start from your home office or bedroom it can be done if you have the correct structure in place. You cannot expect to just get a reseller account and hope for the best!

I believe many newcomers see this as a great starter money maker because other Web Hosts offer unbelievable packages to Resell their Reseller package that you will then sell on. (makes me laugh)

I’m going to do it the Correct way and the way that you should too, if you want to Set-Up a Web Hosting Company and are serious about making it a success.

One thing you must identify is your best skills, mine are branding, organisation, marketing and customer service. I do understand scripts and some code and basic HTML but that’s about it. So with knowing this I’m going to have to get a small team together for the future of this new Hosting Company otherwise It will not run smoothly and I will lose all customers and my reputation. This is probably what happens to 1 in 3 start up hosts…

On that point…although huge saturation remember only a handfull actually offer outstanding support and this is Your MOST IMPORTANT responsibility. Sure, uptime has to be good but if a customer cannot get hold of you 24/7 in this industry you’re a gonna!

So to summarise -

- Be amazing at customer service
- Get an easy to use and customisable billing software
- Offer your customer the best service you can without comprimising on price
- Have a good support team in mind or (one person when starting out)
- Research and look for a great sales team (one person again at start)
- Get the most reliable Server in a fantastic data center (to support you when your Hosting Business grows)
- Get a unique design and do not use a template. Tons of other start up hosts will be doing this and you need to stand out (I’ve seen loads I would not touch that look like this)
- Make it easy to purchase your packages

I know a UK host who outsources the whole business and this makes me un-easy as I think he’s using ThirdWorld services. Please note, you have to make 100% sure these guys know their servers and technical information otherwise you’ll be sinking under so quickly.

At first, outsource to one or two key areas of the business and maybe you can take care of sales/customer service billing etc…If your skill is server based then employ a good person to do all sales/support, this shouldn’t be hard to do. In either case it can be done, finding the right people is the hardest part.

In the next parts we will be looking at:

- Server
- Software
- Design
- Brand name

Popularity: 16% [?]

Popularity: 16% [?]

Final update for sometime as I want to summarise what has happened since I started this case study and what will be planned for the future.

My Budget for this project is - $500

Total amount I have spent so far - $142.83

I have purchased services from the following websites:

Submit2Please - Submission in 500 Directories $99.95
SubmitEdge - 100 Article Submission Service with free Unique 500 word Unique Article $30
NameCheap - SSL Certifcate $12.88

Remember, I’m getting my foundations set out correctly for this little business. One thing I was having problems with was finding a good service that would start some posts for me. It seems after much difficulty I have found a seemingly decent looking service that does actually have staff and answers emails! ForumShock who I mentioned in a previous update is not running so do not try and contact that website.

The next thing to do is pay for the most important service:

WiredFlame

Priced at $237.50

If you’re looking for more, search through these Forum Posting Services and be wary (send them an email first before payment)

Today I am going to Webmaster-Talk forum to start a competition to get a designer to do a unique design for me that will improve conversions and at the same time build more of a brand recognition into the business model. To get this done for free I will offer the designer and possibly a coder a Review here for them or a percentage of my business. Not sure yet, but I will work something out that will hopefully be lucrative for them.

This does work as I have seen it done before on other forums I visit.

I’m going to possibly change the forum software I use if I cannot get a web designer to skin my Phorum software. I’m still happy with my progress as a lot of it is learning new skills as you go along which I enjoy. One of my main strengths is organisation and I enjoy bringing the right people together to help me make this little online business a success.

If you haven’t read my Case Study from the beginning:

Mini (Niche) Affiliate Site using a Forum - Part 1
Mini (Niche) Affiliate Site using a Forum - Part 2
Mini (Niche) Affiliate Site using a Forum - Part 3
Mini (Niche) Affiliate Site using a Forum - Part 4
Mini (Niche) Affiliate Site using a Forum - Part 5
Mini (Niche) Affiliate Site using a Forum - Part 6
Mini (Niche) Affiliate Site using a Forum - Part 7

That’s it for now. The major thing now is my re-design and getting the service mentioned above to complete my content then I can really get stuck into Marketing the forum.

Popularity: 30% [?]

Popularity: 30% [?]

Imagine Ninja Power….can you?

Note: This review is going to be somewhat hampered by the fact I cannot gain access to use the tools and videos on offer via Internet Marketing Ninjas that would give you a detailed analysis of what is available.

I certainly cannot imagine having amazing Ninja Powers but If you want some you need to visit Internet Marketing Ninjas

The Internet Marketing Ninjas Program offers exclusive interviews with top SEOs, PPC experts, social media gurus, affiliate marketing experts and more.

Internet Marketing Ninjas offer a members-only private tools area that can analyze every aspect of your site and your competitors’ sites.

Some of the tools they offer will help you with the following:

* Where are your competitors succeeding, and how can you beat them?
* Are your forward links helping or hurting you?
* How valuable are the links that go to your site?
* Are you maximizing the benefits of good internal link structure?
* What are the strongest pages on your site?

If you are fairly new to the Internet or Marketing Online in general and would like to learn from some very experienced online business owners you might want to give Internet Marketing Ninjas a look. This type of service is only good or I should say will work if you’re at a stage in your online business whereby you are looking to further your marketing knowledge and would like to develop more marketing skills all in one easy place.

Ok sit down, the cost to join Internet Marketing Ninjas is (no monthly plans to gain access to this information) a One Time Fee of $2995.00 that works out to $125 p/m if they offered monthly payments. I can only hope the tools and information in the videos is of top quality - this is where I start to look for a solid Refund Policy (set out below)

Internet Marketing Ninjas will refund online purchases in accordance with the following:

1. No free demonstration of the software was available at the time of your purchase (products which offer free demonstration versions are not refundable).
2. You contact us via email (support@internetmarketingninjas.com) within 10 days of your purchase.
3. You can provide us with identifiable information from your order (including, but not limited to: order number and last 4 digits of credit card number used for purchase).
4. Refunds are made only to the credit card which was used for the purchase.
5. You destroy all copies of the software upon refund (note that some software reports its usage to the software publisher).

So if you login and view the Videos use the software and are not happy with your purchase it seems you should be able to get a full refund. Fairly clear I guess, this is very important when spending this amount of money.

Even for me and I’ve been online for seven years and Marketing for four would gulp when paying this one time fee. That’s not to say I wouldn’t want to pay this much to have these tools and access to some very valuable online business information.

To me the tools are not as important as the knowledge you’ll gain which will stay with you forever which (if of good quality) will help you to structure your business, learn to manage it and run it efficiently using some of the webs best tools.

To some of you this might be just what you’ve been looking for. The only thing left is for you to sum up wether the amount of money ratio to knowledge and tools you gain is enough to make you want to pay this amount

Internet Marketing Ninjas Awaits You

Popularity: 20% [?]

Popularity: 20% [?]

I couldn’t live without…the following is what I use, eat, drink, while I live and work on a daily basis. I thought I would list what I think I couldn’t live without and see what you cannot do without in our Society…

FireFTP

Wordpress Backup

Desktop Backup

A Cup of English Tea (two a day max)

Gmail

Weather

My $25,000 Car

BBC Radio

YouTube (I could live without it really)

NotePad

NVU

Photoshop

MSN Messenger (Version 4.7 No Adverts!)

Mozilla Reminder

Mozilla Browser

My Blackberry

Sony VGN-TZ11XN/B

Logitech Mouse

Smoothies and Juices

Chocolate

Sandwiches

Comedy (at the moment - Russell Peters)

PSP / Nintendo (Original 1987 Console version)

Accoustic Guitar

Microsoft Works Spreadsheet

iTunes

Dance / House Music

Making Money

Champagne

What could you not Live Without?

Note: obviously I could actually live without some of these things, but It would make what I do daily a lot harder! (and probably very boring)

Popularity: 19% [?]

Popularity: 19% [?]