Many people try to start earning money online by doing affiliate marketing and one of the reasons why they choose affiliate marketing is that someone told them that you do not need a website to get started.
This is true, however this is rarely how someone is able to build an ongoing, sustainable business or income online. The internet is changing and evolving on a daily basis.
There was a time when you could sign up as an affiliate for a specific offer, get your affiliate link and then promote that link using adwords or some other type of paid traffic.
And if you picked a good offer that converted well, it could make you some money. However, Google Adwords and other traffic sources have changed their rules and that type of marketing no longer works.
In todays online environment even if you do not want to pay for a website you can get started by using a free web 2.0 site which will allow you to post content on it. That will work because for people to go to a merchant that you are promoting and make a purchase then you will need a website to work from so that you can presell your prospect prior to sending them to your merchant.
Here are some of the benefits of having a website :
1.) You will be viewed as more credible to your visitors. This alone can have a big impact on a persons decision to make a purchase or not.
2.) You will be able to pre-sell your prospects from your site.
3.) You can capture email information to followup with your visitors in the future.
4.) You can post reviews which can be very helpful for people that are not sure about making a buying decision.
5.) You can get your site ranked in the search engine result pages and this can help you get more free traffic to your site.
These are just a few of the many different reasons why you need a website to be successful and make money online. In addition by having your own site you will have more control over your users experience.
Many free sites like Blogger or Wordpress.com limit your ability to fully customize certain aspects of your site. Often they do not allow you to have certain features like popups or customized templates and this can have a negative impact on the growth of your business.
If you are planning on starting or growing an online business that you can build and grow over time. A business that you can earn passive income with and have the ability to increase its value and sell for what ever the market will pay you, then you need a website that you own and have control over.
Free websites are ok if you are just starting out and you want to test the waters before you start investing any serious amount of time or any additional money. However, once you make the decision that you are ready to get serious about making money online, then need a website that is yours.
Click here to can get a Free Ebook that will walk you step-by-step through the entire process of creating your first money making website. Here is where you can learn more about why you need a website to get started and make money online.