April, 2017 - Incite Wealth

How To Build Your Own Website For Free

Many people would like to get involved in the grand landscape of the internet. Some of you may not be happy just commenting on social media or sharing other people’s articles. Maybe you would like to share your own opinions with the world or create studies of your own to benefit the online world.

Maybe you are looking to build a website to generate a passive income. This is a very common avenue for creating wealth these days and you are probably wondering how to build your own website for free.

Well, I will explain to you just what you need in order to create your very own website from scratch. What you will read here is a general overview on website creation. At the end of the article I will offer you some free coaching sessions if you are truly interested in building a site!

First, let’s start by talking about what you need to do in order to make this dream a reality.

Understand The Key Elements Of A Website

When you are building a website there are some key elements of a site that you must understand.

A Domain- A domain is the first thing that anyone needs to start a website. You cannot create a site without first having a name for it. The domain for this website would be “incitewealth.org”. In order for people to find your site it must be registered under a domain.

Usually unique domains can cost anywhere from $10-$20 (some that are already taken can be purchased for thousands. However, this is an article on how to do it for free. There are free domains available from SiteRubix. Go ahead, get started and create your own free domain with this tool:

Now that you’ve created your own unique domain, let’s move on to the next key element of a site.

Hosting- Hosting is needed for your website so that it has somewhere to live. Essentially this is the only way to describe everything that is happening behind the scenes within your site. To build a successful back-end you usually will need an extensive knowledge of code.

The back-end of your site, simply put, is the hosting and functionality portion of your site. Essentially this is what makes links clickable, videos playable, images linkable, etc. Without a solid hosting platform your website will have no hosting power and will just be pretty much a blank page.

Luckily for you there is now a wide variety of hosting platforms out there. My personal favorite is the Wealthy Affiliate hosting platform as is has lightning fast speeds, access to hundreds of WordPress Themes and plug-ins, and even offers you round the clock SiteSupport.

Plug-Ins- Plug-ins are extremely important because they, through your hosting platform, can help users to navigate your site, and they also help you build your site in a manner that becomes user friendly. Plug-in examples are shown below.

Plug-ins also effectively help you rank in search engines through SEO optimization add-ons and offer your site security with SSL (a secure sockets layer).

If you are interested in allowing users to share your content on social media you can allow them to do so using social plug-ins that will generate this option, just like the buttons you see at the top and bottom of this post. Plug-ins are generally free when you have a good hosting platform or go through WordPress to design your site.

Pages- Pages are another key element of your site. These are fixed pages that will always be accessible by users unless you choose to hide them behind the scenes. Pages are important because they can give users an overall idea of what your site is about.

Ideally you will have an About Me or Getting Started page so that users are able to understand more about you. After all, transparency is the key to website design and people want to know who it is that they are listening to on the web. It creates a personal experience rather than just reading some text on a screen.

Pages can also be used as your categories which is another key element of your website after posts.

Posts- Posts will be your content. They will be what your reader shows up to see and usually the reason that someone comes to your website. I am focusing around a niche site here assuming that you are passionate about a particular topic and would like to share this passion. Posts are just like the one you are reading here, and are usually contained within a particular group.

Posts are usually displayed on your home page unless you are strictly marketing one product and want to push people to there. Then you would ideally create a splash page but that is another subject entirely and not really related to building a free website.

The recurring run of posts on your home page or under your different sections is called your blog roll. This is what will update every time you write a new post.

You generally want your posts to be pretty lengthy (1500-2000 words) so that you are taken seriously when founding your site. This will be a tough battle so make sure that you are only writing quality content starting out. If you plan to build a successful site you must continue writing steadily and make sure that your content stays consistently valuable to you readers.

Now on to the grouping mechanism for these posts.

Categories- Categories are important because this will allow you to group the next element under particular topics. Eventually you will probably want to make the categories your primary menu element like the one at the top of this page.

If you click on any of the links in the top menu you will be taken to a particular category where you will find multiple posts.

That brings me to another key element:

Menus- Menus are important because they are the navigation panes of your site. They allow people to get around your website seamlessly and find what they are looking for. Shown below is an example of a menu you could create if you were building a site very similar to this one.

Obviously you will have very different menus based on your niche, but the concept still remains the same.

Since you are trying to keep readers on your site for as long as possible and provide them with as much quality information as you can, having effective and seamless menus is important.

That pretty much covers the overall basics of the elements of a site. Now let’s talk about making it look good.

Building Out The Face Of Your Site

When building a free website you will realize that you already have so many theme options after selecting a quality hosting platform. This takes all the HTML and CSS coding out of the equation so that you don’t have to spend hours of your own time making things look nice.

If you do want to learn some of this there is a great set of books on HTML and CSS that can help with the basics and making small custom adjustments to your site later. These are available on Amazon for around $30 and have helped me a great deal.

After you get the framework of your site created you will want to build how it looks. This is done by installing a theme on your site that will format all of the key components listed above to look and function a particular way.

The theme selection interface looks something like this and can be found via the “themes” link on your WordPress toolbar.

The aesthetic of your site is important because people like simple. These days with hundred of ads on individual pages it is extremely hard to read anything quality without making it worse with a bad layout or design.

Since you already have hosting because you signed up for a free Wealthy Affiliate account you now can login to your site and work on the aesthetic. Keep it crisp, and simple.

Make Your Site Topical

Usually this is called finding a niche. The easiest way to do this is by choosing your interests and searching them in the Google Search Bar to see what’s popular. Below is an example of possible niches revolving around making tacos.

Ideally you want to create something that is dedicated to one specific subject that you are interested in. Now that you have your own domain, your topic should fit cohesively with that domain.

This is important because you don’t want your domain to be named “lasereyesurgery” and begin writing about the most competitive NFL games of the week. The focus here should be creating a topic that makes sense, and something that you can keep writing about for years to come.

Try not to be too broad when creating a topic for your site. If you create something that is just fitness, that can be anything. You need to narrow it down to maybe weightlifting form, or nutritional guides, or something along those lines.

If you want to check out my main niche site which just so happens to be dedicated to “fighting fitness fads with facts” then cruise over to incitefitness.org for an example of what I’ve built there.

Without a topic for your site you will essentially be scrambling for content and readers will not stick around when no posts are related to each other. If you showed up here expecting to learn about building a website and the next page you clicked on was based around cute cats you would probably leave the site (or not if you love cute cats).

Deciding on a topic is free, so you still have spent zero dollars and are well on your way to creating a website. Isn’t it easy?

You Don’t Have To Build a Niche Website

There are other ways to become an authority site. You can take up the e-commerce approach and sell physical items. You actually don’t even have to sell your own items. While I don’t personally run any e-commerce sites, you can get some excellent background information on e-commerce by clicking here.

You can also run gallery sites or just promote your own VLogs. More and more YouTube video creators are using their own domains and website in order to expand upon their YouTube VLogging and create an authority site strictly dedicated to their YouTube channel. If you are interested in the video side of things you can do this as well with the right hosting platform.

Hopefully this gets you started with your site. If you would like to learn more and gain access to a completely free platform that will teach you everything that you could possibly need to know, contact me directly inside Wealthy Affiliate where you can get personal coaching from me if you sign up for the premium option.

I did say you can do this for free, but there are benefits to putting out a little bit of up front investment. We can talk about those when you contact me for help here.

If you have any immediate questions about this post or just want to offer some insight to readers feel free to comment below, I always respond.

3 Key Things You Should Be Doing Now To Achieve Financial Freedom Later

You are probably wondering how to achieve financial freedom in the future. The struggle to achieve financial freedom is one that plagues households all over the world so you are not alone. The idea behind living financially free consumes many people and they ultimately spin their wheels because they have no guidance on how to set themselves up for success.

In order to help you not get distracted by all the fluff and empty promises offered by the “get rich quick” gurus out there, I have compiled my personal list of 3 key things you should be doing right now in order to achieve financial freedom later on in life. These are real life solutions, not some magic formula that will make you millions overnight.

1. Get Out Of Debt

One of the biggest problems in society today is the abundance of debt that consumes individuals. You can never achieve financial freedom, and ultimately entrepreneurial success if you do not get yourself out of debt.

If you are currently in credit card debt (one of the most common types of debt), you must dedicate your time and efforts to getting rid of this debt.

If you are in student loan debt, read my article on how I paid off my nasty student loans in a little under a year.

If you owe a mortgage or maybe have a small car loan out, that is acceptable because some debts are too large to pay in full in any short amount of time. However, make sure that you can refinance or have your rate lowered so that you can afford the most important step (step 3) that I will talk about below.

The biggest problem with people in excessive debt is that they can’t get help escaping this debt. If you do need help, I highly suggest you find a program that suits your needs.

I have found a program that I recommend that has helped thousands of people fight off debt collectors, credit card companies, and even allows people to keep their homes. In fact, many people end up getting paid out after using this service. With a 60 day risk free trial period it is more than worth it to see if you can truly make money and escape your debt at the same time.

2. Educate Yourself

Many people think that the only way to become educated these days is through rigorous schooling. This is not true at all. There are so many ways to self educate especially with the accessibility of internet resources these days.

If you are struggling to make money, find a job, or struggling with life in general…A few good reading materials and the right platforms for education can really help. I can say from experience that attending a university will teach you a ton of information in one specific field.

However, attending a university doesn’t teach you everything you need to know to make it in life. It doesn’t teach you how to be an entrepreneur when you have absolutely no money starting out. It doesn’t help you to make money online, or even to build yourself an excellent resume that will land you a job.

Self education can teach you everything from networking skills, to technical skills that you may need in the future. In addition, there are always certification courses offered online that will allow you to build yourself some credibility when applying.

The more you learn the more valuable you become. You can also use the things you’ve learned to teach other people. This is one of the fastest growing markets on the web and the creation of digital content is quickly becoming one of the best ways to make money this day and age.

If you have ever wanted to work from home, land the job of your dreams, or become financially free and see your goals become realities, then it is necessary that you learn as much as you can.

Don’t just learn from every resource out there. While learning a large quantity of information can be helpful, you want to tailor your self-education to topics that will benefit you or that really fine tune your interests and passions.

A main interest for me was online marketing so I have now built multiple successful websites just by educating myself and leveraging resources like Wealthy Affiliate and Affilorama.

3. Invest Your Earnings

One of the hardest things out there is figuring out where to invest money. With thousands of different options including real estate, online business, the stock market, private investments, or advertisement it is hard to know what will generate you more revenue in the future.

You should never be sinking your money into items that depreciate. Necessities are understandable but make sure that you are investing your earnings in things that will end up making you more money in the long run. One of the easiest things to invest is your tax return. Check out some solid suggestions on what to do with such a large lump sum.

There is also some importance to understanding how to create a variety of income streams for yourself. I’ve managed to create 7 forms of income for myself and some are definitely more profitable than others. Did you know that the average millionaire has a minimum of 5 forms of income? This seems like a lot but after you break down all the different possibilities of where to invest your money you will quickly realize that it’s not too hard to attain.

Why These 3 Things Will Lead To Financial Freedom?

It’s hard to imagine that three simple elements like this can contribute to the ultimate goal of financial freedom but they certainly can. When you remove debt from your life you are essentially removing money leeches.

Debt accumulates and perpetuates and can keep you from turning what you earn into more money. When in debt you are just paying out all the money you work hard to earn in the first place. If you want to be financially free this model is not sustainable.

When you finally pay off all of your debt you will then be able to spend the same amount of money you were spending on debt on investments instead.

The second point of self education is important because if you don’t teach yourself how to properly manage your money and adjust your life to propel yourself forward, you will not achieve financial freedom as you hope to.

By investing a large majority of earnings now you can see huge potential for earnings in the future. Making more money on the money you are currently bringing home is the only way to be truly financially free.

Eventually you may find a program or outlet that will allow you to make money from anywhere in the world or make money while you sleep. This is the ultimate goal and true luxury lifestyle.

Financial stability is not to be underestimated. This allows a legacy to be created that you are establishing the pillars for in your lifetime. Work hard now so that your children’s children will have the life that they dream of. In the end, you will likely have the life you dream of as well.

If you have any questions or comments for me, feel free to leave them below. I would love to talk about any struggles you may be having and see how I can help.

Affilorama Review: Fortune or Famine

Product: Affilorama

Category: Affiliate Marketing Community

URL: Affilorama

Pricing: Free initial sign up, option to buy extra tools. (Premium sign-up option initially $1, $67/month after that)

Rating: 4.6/5.0

What Is Affilorama?

Affilorama is one of the largest affiliate marketing communities in the world. They offer a comprehensive, all-inclusive marketing course and collaborative space for affiliate marketers to work together and they offer commission for those that choose to promote their community.

Affilorama is free and includes three main portions: an affiliate marketing quick start guide, a downloadable roadmap for your success, and over 120 video lessons that walk you through the step by step process of becoming a successful affiliate marketer online.

This platform has been featured on multiple major online business websites including Forbes, MOZ, Technorati, The Washington Times, and FORTUNE.

In addition to their overall platform Affilorama offers additional tools that allow you to manage critical components of the website creation and scaling process including SEO, PPC, Social Campaigns, and niche offerings, and more.

Who is Affilorama for? Affilorama is for anyone interested in Affiliate Marketing who wants to learn and truly wants to succeed in building an online business. They offer a free membership so you don’t have to have a steady income to get started. All that’s required is an internet connection and drive and determination to get through their lessons.

How To Sign Up For Affilorama

Signing up for Affilorama is quite simple. Just head over to their website by clicking here. That will take you to the main page and click the sign up now button.

This will pop up a sign up sheet that is super simple. Just input your name, email, and create a password and you’re rocking and rolling.

If you wanted to upgrade to premium with access to a 7 video starting guide there is a bonus. $1 Premium Sign Up for your first $30 days. In addition, Affilorama offers a 60 Day Moneyback Guarantee if you aren’t satisfied.

Key Features

Huge community boasting over 8,000 active members.
120 Awesome Video Lessons showing you exactly how to build an online business from scratch.
AffiloTools- An application that Helps with SEO, PPC and Social Campaigns and can easily lead to more profitable leads and conversions.
AffiloJetpack- Another critical application that helps to accelerate your business through pre-selected niches, powerful keywords, and great graphics.
Rank Tracking Tools- Keep track of your rank in top search engines
Seamless integration with marketing platforms. This allows you to see your Clickbank revenues in addition to your Analytics performance.
Keyword performance tracking. Tracks your individual keywords and shows you where your traffic is coming from.
Integrated social media tools. Shows likes and social media performance for your niche site.
Competitor statistics. Shows if your competitors within your niche are catching up in terms of traffic.

My Personal Experience

I wanted to share my personal experiences to support what the testimonials above are saying.

Affilorama has surprisingly helped me tenfold. I have so many metrics I can use to track my performance on my websites. It honestly could not have come a better time. When I first started using Affilorama I was tracking performance in many different places.

I generally would use Analytics, jump to my affiliate program sites and track my performance in separate reports there, in addition to tracking social media on each respective social media site.

After finding Affilorama I was able to track everything in one place. This boosted productivity due to less wasted time on data analysis and tracking.

Affilorama also helped me to learn things from a different perspective than the one I get at Wealthy Affiliate. Essentially Affilorama fills in any small gaps I may have had with their wide variety of video lessons.

Their site support is another awesome feature. If you have any questions or concerns related to Affilorama their team of experts will jump right on it. They are very responsive and get back to you promptly.

I wouldn’t say that Affilorama is the key to my success, but I would say that it definitely is a product that can help anyone looking to start their own online business.

I am a firm believer in expanding to multiple platforms so using Affilorama for it’s amazing tools should be inevitable. It offers a great support system and comprehensive information that allows you to really scale your business and see success that you may not have when limiting yourself to one platform.

My success using Affilorama: In addition to Affilorama helping me tremendously with boosting my websites to the 4 figure a month range, they allow you to become an affiliate of their program as well without having to purchase any products.

I have many times stated that you should never have to purchase a product to market it. It doesn’t make sense that you would be forced to drive a BMW as a BMW salesman. While it helps if you know the car inside and out and have driven it yourself many times, you only need to be an expert on the subject and Affilorama makes it very easy to become an expert on their tools and overall platform.

Since Affilorama is so easy to market I have seen spectacular commissions come from Affilorama and intend to never stop using their services and tools. Finally, they will help you with outsourcing. After working on sites every single day turning my days into 18 hour work days, Affilorama has given me the proper instruction on outsourcing some of the day to day tasks of operating a niche site like this.

I highly encourage you to head over to the site and check out their Introduction post and free video lessons. If you aren’t convinced after that then maybe affiliate marketing is not for you and that’s okay!

Final Thoughts

I personally could not be happier with my experience with Affilorama. When they say they are the best out there I would agree that they are one of the best most certainly. Their educational resources and tools are an absolute must have for anyone looking to become a successful affiliate marketer. It is important that you diversify your options and opportunities and Affilorama has helped with this tremendously.

It is well worth the free membership to at least get started. If you don’t then purchase the additional options that Affilorama offers I would certainly be surprised. Once you begin to really dive into the community and offerings that Affilorama gives you I can say with confidence that you will not want to leave.

I think that the two major platforms Wealthy Affiliate and Affilorama are the only platforms you need in the affiliate marketing industry that will drive you to success. They supplement each other amazingly and easily push you to achieve your goals whether is is $100/month or $10,000/month it can be done with hard work, dedication, and a little help from these platforms.

Fortune or Famine

I give Affilorama FORTUNE tag. I am always ripping apart platforms here as majority of online services are complete scams these days. It is not very often that I find something legit.

When something like Affilorama comes along it is easy to write it off initially as just another affiliate site. After checking out their website and joining for myself I have to say it’s earned the Fortune tag from us over here at Incite Wealth.

Remember, never limit yourself to one form of income or one educational resource. Learn about my multiple forms of income here.

If you have any questions about Affilorama or would like to talk about your own personal experience there please, I encourage you to comment below!

How To Pay Off Student Loans In Less Than A Year

There are millions of Americans out there struggling with extreme student loan debt. Everyone is pressured into going to college these days and quite frankly, it costs a fortune. Graduates are faced with the looming payback period and don’t really understand just how much it can influence their personal finances.

I have personally paid off all of my loans, and have come up with a guide to pay off student loans in less than a year. If you want to learn how to live debt free, and do it as soon as possible, keep reading.

I managed to take care of all my loans and you can too.

The Effects Of Student Loans

Student loans can really take a toll on you if you aren’t careful. Student loan debt across the nation is, according to Mark Kantrowitz editor at FinAid, growing at a rate of $3,000 per second.

While in college a large majority of people forget about their loans completely. They see a check come in and take care of their tuition but are not conscious of the total amount of the loans that is perpetuating until they suddenly have to pay them back.

I have seen so many friends go to school for 4-5 years, take out the maximum allowable on student loans, and be stuck with $50-100k worth of debt upon graduation. This can be overwhelming depending on the average salary for your major.

Would you invest in a house that is guaranteed to be worth less immediately after you buy it? No. So why would you invest in an education paying out a ton in loans that isn’t worth it from a salary standpoint when you finish.

Most graduates these days don’t even manage to find a stable, well-paying job right after school. I know you might be thinking, what about the grace period? Well, 6 months is hardly a grace period, especially when some of those loans are still racking up interest behind the scenes.

If you really think about how much student loan debt you are in, it is probably enough for a down payment on a house, or enough to pay cash for a nice car. Wouldn’t it be nice to be a millennial, or any age and be able to actually own the place you live in?

The harsh reality is, student loan debt can actually ruin your chances at ever buying a home.

This is not because they tear down your credit, but because even $60k worth of student loans can add up to a $500-1000 payment per month depending on what you earn. In some states, this is a mortgage.

If you do use the pay as you earn option that many lenders allow, you will just be stuck paying more interest on those loans as time goes on.

Granted, refinancing options are available, but when I tried to refinance through SoFi I was given a rate that turned out to be the average of the rates I had initially had for each individual loan.

This doesn’t make sense as now I’m just consolidating multiple loans into one giant loan with the same crappy rate. Then the pay as you earn option flies right out the window.

One key concern that should be brought up when discussing potential loan consolidation options is that you are then removed from any potential forgiveness programs, or PAYE (Pay As You Earn Programs).

Although these programs might not be the most lucrative in terms of interest… there are some other benefits to them.

These programs are important because they allow you to lower your overall payment month to month and help you tackle individual loans ultimately using the methods outlined in this article without being burdened by too giant of a payment.

Any extra payment you make during this period is counted as overpayment and reduces your timeline to payoff which is the ultimate goal.

It should be noted that, sometimes these personal loans can be tied to some form of collateral. Ultimately, your 401k, home, car, whatever you use to pledge your allegiance to paying off this loan can be at risk.

Having these loans, both your traditional federal student loans and any potential consolidation or personal loan you take out can really hinder your long term movement towards generational wealth.

You’re probably feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the bad surrounding student loans, but that’s okay.

All the negative effects of student loans aside, there is a way to pay them all off and you can even do it very quickly.

I didn’t say this was going to be pretty, but if you take care of the evil veil of debt now, you will never have to worry about it again.

Steps To Pay Off Your Debt

1.Pay while in school. This one is the hardest for people, and you are likely taking out loans to afford school in the first place. However, if you have excess after your loans get paid out, or you make enough working part time that you can pay towards your loans.

Do it now! The future you will thank you. I made the mistake of not doing this. While I managed to pay off my loans in less than one year it was much more painful because I didn’t pay towards them while still in school.

2.Live below your means. You will likely have just graduated and see a huge pay increase from working down the street at the local deli for minimum wage. This doesn’t mean you can forget about your loan payments coming down the line.

Don’t inflate your lifestyle. Live in the same place, drive the same car, and eat like you are a broke college student for just a while longer. Don’t plan the expensive trip out of the country to go backpacking and gallivanting all over. You can do that AFTER you pay off your debts. Oh and quit buying clothes you don’t need.

In addition, stop hitting the bar every single weekend. If you step back and tally up how much you spend on alcohol each weekend, you will be horrified. This is the first thing I did and I cut my drinking to almost zero.

3.Create a plan. You need to know exactly what the maximum amount of money you can afford to pay on your loans per month is. I quadrupled my minimum payment on my $65k debt and paid directly to the principle balance with any excess.

I lived in an apartment well below my means with roommates for my first year. This allowed me to spend whatever I could actually afford for rent on my loans.

However, I couldn’t do this without a plan. I had a strict budget that I had worked out, and I used multiple apps to keep track of my minimum expenditures. Mint and HelloWallet are both solid choices to download for budgeting.

4.Pay off the largest interest loan first. This has become commonly referred to as the Avalanche Method. As you begin to pay down loans interest can still stack up very quickly on any larger loans you have. If you get rid of these larger, high interest loans right off the bat, the accruals from the smaller, low interest loans will not cause you to drown.

Once you pay off the highest interest loan, go to the next highest and pay that off, but still pay the total amount you designated in your planning session above. To clarify, still pay the minimum on every single loan, just pay the excess to the principle balance on the highest interest loans.

5.Lump sums go to loans. This one is probably the hardest to stick to. I came into decent amounts of money randomly in returned security deposits that I had essentially forgotten about, large tax returns, and small bonuses at work.

Any time you receive a lump sum like this that you were not expecting, put it directly towards your debt. This money was not necessary, and usually you wouldn’t have thought twice if you didn’t have it. Pretend it never happened and knock down some debt with it.

I took my $12,000 tax return and applied it straight to multiple loans. It paid off 3/11 loans right then and there. Christmas bonus, same thing, paid off loans. Keep doing this and you’ll be shocked at the impact it will make on repayment.

6.Stick to it. One of the biggest problems with aggressively attempting to pay down your student loans is the fact that it doesn’t feel good. Sometimes you have to do things that don’t feel good in order to see the reward later. The light at the end of the tunnel is there let me tell you. You just have to keep moving towards it.

If you stop paying on your loans or drop back to the minimum you will quickly realize that the interest will once again catch up with you. There are many spreadsheets out there that can actually help you knock out these loans using my above method with little to no Excel experience.

Final Thoughts…

I have knocked out my own student loan debt and I am now saving to pay cash for a home using the same method. The fact of the matter is, if you are willing to do this for just one year in order to pay off your debt, why not stay hard at it for 2-3 in order to better setup your life for the future.

It’s not easy to be an entrepreneur, work a full time job, and focus on paying off all your debts. But let me tell you, it can be done and you will be a much happier person with much less stress because of it.

If you are stuck in limbo between jobs, this is the best time to pursue an online marketing career to supplement your future income. My personal favorite route to success is Wealthy Affiliate.

How To Make Money From Home: Affiliate Marketing

These days there are all sorts of scams online promoting ways to get rich quick or make money in five minutes for doing absolutely nothing. The harsh reality is that this isn’t possible, and anyone promising you millions in a month is probably lying to your face.

If you want to learn how to build a legitimate online business and understand how to make money from home, you need to learn more information about a real option. An option that I have utilized myself, and utilized quite well to be seeing the results I am.

This option takes time and hard work. You have to learn as much as possible about a subject, write about that subject, and eventually sell that subject. There will be many grueling hours that you put in before you see a return.

However, you can start Affiliate Marketing for free if you find the right sites. You essentially are making money for telling people about the things you love to do, which is the best kind of money to be made.

In addition, you can eventually work all over the world while traveling almost full time. This isn’t to be confused with the promotion of quitting your day job right this minute. You have to pay your dues and be a motivated individual to succeed in the online market place, but there are great tools out there to help you.

If you want to get started making money from home keep reading because I’m going to explain to you exactly how I’ve done it.

What Does It Take To Break Into Affiliate Marketing?

All you really need is an affiliate link. Ideally you will set up your own website which can easily be done with free domain generating websites or tools like the one below.

After you have created your own unique domain name, you now have a platform to market products. The next step is to find somewhere to host the back end of your site and manage posts, pages, comments, etc. There are multiple sites that do this for free including WordPress and Wealthy Affiliate.

Ideally you will not start right out of the gate marketing products as you have to gain credibility within the search engines before you can head down this road.

This is called SEO or Search Engine Optimization. SEO is extremely important because it allows you to rank in search engines. This means that your pages will be seen straight away when users perform searches, and you will see more traffics and clicks to your website.

Once you have begun to write about the things you enjoy, you will soon realize that there are millions of products and programs out there that relate to your topic. I generally suggest targeting something narrow. More information on targeting a specific niche can be found here.

After you streamline the possible products that you can market, find a site or program that allows for affiliate marketers. Generally this means that they will assign a specific link that tracks the referrals that you send to their product page. If sales are generating when people click through your link then you receive a commission.

Commissions can range from 4% or so all the way up to 75% for some programs and my favorite affiliate programs can be found here. With the internet growing at an extremely rapid pace and only 47% of the worlds 6.4 Billion people currently on the internet, the only place this market can move is forward.

The last thing it takes to start your own affiliate marketing endeavor is dedication. You can’t slack off after 2 months of working on building this platform. You have to understand that hard work over time is rewarded substantially with results.

Why Is This The Best Program For Working At Home?

Affiliate Marketing is hands down the best route I’ve found for working at home. There are many different ways to work from home at this point including doing marketing and sales for big corporations like Xerox. Freelance writing and graphic designing, as well as drop shipping and customer service have become common work at home industries also.

There are also MLM options out there where you can buy a product at wholesale prices and then market it and sell it to your friends or people within your local market. This usually ends up in a ton of product sitting in your garage never moving because people know better than to buy the crappy products that MLMs push.

I am convinced that these aren’t as sustainable long term as the market changes frequently in these industries. As these markets change it is harder to adapt than adapting your niche website to what’s popular at the time. If you were to write a how to get rich instantly blog, that would probably be popular right now and adaptable since everyone is trying to break into the online marketplace over night. However, there are proper steps you have to take to become a successful affiliate.

When you are starting out affiliate marketing you need some sort of self learning opportunity than can help guide you on your way. I have talked about Wealthy Affiliate pretty extensively because this platform provides you a great community to learn about affiliate marketing and figure out just what works and what does not.

I would say that Wealthy Affiliate is the best affiliate program on the market because of their generous commissions (~50%) as well as the quality education on affiliate marketing that they provide you.

In addition you will have up to 25 custom domains hosted with a premium membership. Wealthy Affiliate is also selling a legitimate product against the scammers out there that force you into buying some outrageous traffic generator that generates artificial traffic through your site instead of learning how to create real sales organically.

So now you have a work at home platform where all you need is the internet, a bit of savvy when it comes to being a convincing writer, and dedication to whatever it is you are working on. There is a very real possibility of you making a full time living with affiliate marketing.

If you want to learn more I highly suggest you sign up below.

If you have any additional questions feel free to post them in the comments below and I can personally respond to you. If you want to know more about affiliate marketing or other work from home opportunities I can answer those questions in the comments as well.

Is Timothy Sykes a Scam Artist?

You are probably reading this because you are interested in trading penny stocks, or interested in learning the secret to making millions of dollars in the stock market.

Let’s be honest here. If you want to make a lot of money fast, you aren’t going to do it by long term investing. That’s why so many people have turned to day trading, and specifically, day trading penny stocks.

If you have stumbled upon Timothy Sykes’ Instagram, Facebook, or any other outlet of Tim’s you have probably seen a decent amount of people throwing hate at him.

You have probably seen or heard accusations from people that have lost money in the stock attributing their misfortune to Tim. Well, I am here to tell you the truth about Timothy Sykes and answer the question, Is Timothy Sykes a Scam Artist?

Background

Timothy Sykes is a famous Penny Stock Day Trader. His claim to fame is turning $12,415 into approximately $4.37 Million strictly via trading. This doesn’t take into account all of the other business outlets Tim has created throughout his years as a wealthy trader.

Tim first started trading penny stocks with his bar mitzvah money which accumulated to the $12,415 figure listed above. With this he developed his strategies initially by trading stocks in the long direction. Essentially buying a stock, holding over night, and selling into morning spikes. This is perhaps one of his most popular, and still very relevant and simple strategies.

After Tim really began to make a profit, he began to skip his college courses just so he could trade stocks. Eventually he grew his account to $2 Million and thought it would be a great idea to fire up his own hedge fund.

Unfortunately Timothy Sykes made a few bad moves trying to invest long term and ended up losing almost everything that multiple investors had dedicated to his hedge fund. Although he had become the leading short biased hedge fund according to Barclay for three years that dream soon ended.

Tim’s wild west attitude came from a highly regulated hedge fund world where he couldn’t explain his methods and process of day trading to the thousands of people writing him emails. This infuriated Tim and he has since founded the empire that he runs today.

Initially Tim Sykes wrote his own book called An American Hedge Fund that became a best-selling autobiography and continued on to write about his experiences in his blog.

Tim then founded Profit.ly, which is essentially a platform for anyone interested in trading penny stocks and learning Tim’s strategies. In addition, Profit.ly gave traders access to a community to share ideas and grow as traders, work on their own strategies, and learn from others who have succeeded and failed in the stock market.

Tim has also built an insane online stock screening platform called StocksToTrade which is one of the most valuable tools a Penny Stock Trader can invest in. He has since been featured on almost every major news outlet including CNN, Bloomberg, and CNBC just to name a few.

Now that you’ve heard all about Tim, I want to tell you my story, and really shed some light on whether Timothy Sykes is a scam artist like so many say he is.

My Experience With Timothy Sykes

I had read every stock market related book I could find like Warren Buffet’s Essays and The Intelligent Investor by Benjamin Graham. As much as I enjoyed these reads and felt that I had learned a ton, I could quickly tell that unless I had $500k to drop right then and there, I was never going to grow my small account into millions of dollars investing this way.

I came to Tim’s website after reading all about him online. I was interested in the stock market and making money as fast as possible. I knew that long term investing wasn’t the way to go. I stumbled upon his YouTube video lessons and I watched every single one. I was hooked.

So I initially wanted to join Tim’s Challenge but didn’t have the money. I made it my goal to save up as much money as possible and open an ETrade account. When I opened my ETrade account I went all in with Tim and Profit.ly as well. I signed up for TimAlerts which is Tim’s lowest tier of chatroom access, daily watch lists, and gives access to hundreds of video lessons. Back then it was still $49 a month.

My first couple trades went terribly. I hadn’t studied enough, didn’t know what I was doing, didn’t listen to Tim, and I lost around $400 of my $2000 account. This happens to SO many people, and had I quit there I would have been one of the many people hating on Timothy Sykes for “making them lose money”, when really it’s their own fault for being unprepared.

I didn’t let this discourage me. Matter of fact I knew I needed to learn more about the stock market and really understand patterns including technical and fundamental analyses. I purchased Tim’s How To Make Millions DVD and binge watched the entire thing, twice.

I went back to Profit.ly at this point and back to the chatrooms. I was alerted on trades but now knew better than to chase things that I was not comfortable with. As Tim says, “trade like a retired trader that will only come back into the market for the perfect trade.” These words have stuck with me and are what have led to my current success trading Penny Stocks.

I’m not one of Timothy Sykes’ millionaire students, at least not yet, but I can tell you I have made money using his strategies. I grew my ETrade account from $2000, well I guess $1600 after the huge loss to $2873 in just 2 short months.

If this doesn’t seem like a lot to you, realize that’s a net growth of 43% in two months. The S&P 500, probably the best return on investment of the indexed funds available only gains on average 8-10% each year. I quadrupled this in 1/6th the time.

Unfortunately, I became unemployed, and cashed out my ETrade account to pay for my college tuition that quarter. While this was a tough decision, I had to do it in order to complete my education, judge as you will.

Since then, I have come back to Timothy Sykes’ teachings and started with a much smaller account. $1000 until I get back into the swing of things. My account value sits at $1587.76 after 3 months of being back and following Tim’s strategies.

So Is Tim Scamming People?

You decide. You’ve heard my results and all I can do is be honest with you and share my own personal experiences. I am not one to hype things up and pretend like Tim has made me millions. If Tim had made me millions at this point I probably wouldn’t have joined Wealthy Affiliate and started my own online business.

However, with the revenue I receive from online endeavors I now have the proper money to trade in the stock market and I bet you know exactly who’s strategies I’m going to use to make my own millions. You got it, Timothy Sykes.

If you want to chat more about his strategies, feel free to make your own free Profit.ly account and contact me via my profile here. I highly encourage you to watch the video below which gives a great introduction into how to trade penny stocks for those who are just starting out.

There are a lot of so called “gurus” out there that will add you to mailing lists and convince you to sink copious amounts of money into their platforms, don’t do it. The only guru that is NOT scamming you is probably Timothy Sykes. Who knows, maybe Penny Stocks aren’t for you, but if that’s the case then maybe making money isn’t for you either.

I say sign up here.

Good Luck!

How To Make Money Writing Articles

We all know the internet is growing each and every year. With 6.4 Billion people on the planet and only around 47 percent of those people using the internet (a large majority still with 3G networks) there is endless opportunity.

While there is no shortage of content out there for all the internet beginners to read, you can still make some money by contributing yourself.

You might now be wondering how to make money writing articles. Well I have a couple key ways to do this that you might find interesting.

Build Your Own Website

The first way to generate revenue online strictly through writing is by building your own website. If you build your own website that gives you all the control over your own niche, what you want to write about, and in the long run how much you make.

There are multiple ways to monetize your content. The first would be through affiliate linking. Affiliate links are links that allow people to click through to a product, sign up or buy that product, and then you receive a commission on their purchase. There are tons of different affiliate opportunities out there including major companies like Amazon.

Think of any product on the market. Now that you have one in mind, go search google for that product + affiliate program. Tell me what you find in the comments.

I would put a good amount of money on you finding an affiliate program for that product. If it doesn’t come directly through that brand then there is probably a third party such as ClickBank or Commission Junction taking care of the affiliate marketing for this company.

Many of these affiliate programs will offer you awesome commissions. These can range from Amazon, generally on the low end at 4-7% all the way to private products that come in around 65-70%.

While that seems insane, digital products are usually pretty high priced and once created there is no cost to ship, etc. Therefore the profit margin is huge and marketers don’t mind giving you large commissions.

Essentially all you have to do is write out quality content and the rest will work itself out. Before you know it (usually 3-6 months, sorry it doesn’t come overnight) you will be earning a pretty steady income from affiliate marketing.

If you want to learn more about how to do this I highly suggest you check out my Wealthy Affiliate Review where you can learn absolutely everything you need with tons of support from the community for free. No credit card required either.

Freelance Writing

If writing is your strong suit and managing the behind the scenes isn’t really what you want to get into, then I suggest freelance writing.

This can remove all of the necessity of affiliate linking, managing different product reviews, and trying to make sure you’re consistently generating content that ranks within search engines. This is often called Search Engine Optimization or SEO.

A lot of people out there write for blogs or websites that are currently in very good standing within the internet already. This makes it easy to become a recognized writer.

If you write well, you can get paid extremely well to write out good quality content. As you learn SEO many people will pay for content that is optimized to target particular keywords as well.

Don’t really know how to get started? No worries. There are even opportunities out there that can place you with particular jobs. Check out my review for Writing Jobs Online. They do a great job of generating new and exciting writing jobs with some of the top websites out there.

Let’s Talk About The Cash

Okay so I know a lot of people are interested in writing content because they want money. Don’t get me wrong, who doesn’t?! So many people these days have become freelance writers or built their own website and now they can travel the world and work full time.

This sounds like an amazing life, but is it a reality?

It most certainly is. I personally know that almost all of the dedicated community members at Wealthy Affiliate and those that use the affiliate marketing techniques, or even freelance writing opportunities above are generating a steady revenue.

How much you make is completely up to you. I know some people that only make a couple hundred bucks a month. I also know others that are leveraging every resource they can and knocking down $250,000 a year by managing multiple websites and writing quality content every single day.

There is something to be said for hard work and dedication. Just like anything you do, writing online will require drive and determination. There is really no easy magic solution to making money from home. If you work at it though, you will see amazing results as I have with this site and with many others that I have generated in the past.

With all the ongoing changes in algorithms from the search engines you never know when opportunity is going to strike. Something may change drastically next month that harms a lot of the well established pages and allows you to capitalize with the content that you have been consistently writing.

If you are interested in writing content online for yourself or other people, I highly encourage you to take advantage of the free domains offered through SiteRubix. Go ahead and create your first domain below!

This will get you well on your way to building your own website. If you want to just stick to freelancing, leave me a comment below and we can talk about the possibility of you writing great content just like this for me.

Everyone Wants To Get Rich Now

These days everyone wants to get rich now. Well, here’s the deal… Unless you hit the lottery (the odds in winning are about 1 in 14,000,000) then you probably are going to have to work your ass off to get rich.

Bam, there’s the truth. This lifestyle will not come easy and you will have to spend countless hours grinding away. Whether you do it online or through some sort of brick and mortar business or through inspiring others to pursue their full potential…whatever your methodology is…you will have to WORK.

18 Hour Days

A large majority of people think that there’s some secret formula. Those people are also the same people that think one resource is going to make it happen for them. Guess what… That’s not how it goes down.

I want to level with you right now. The reason that I’ve become successful over the years and have been able to build a fully functional, revenue generating online business is because I work 18 hour days.

There you have it. If 18 hours doesn’t sound doable then I encourage you to become comfortable with where you are at in life right now because you will stay there. However, if you are motivated and you can push yourself to grind every day for 18 hours then keep reading.

What do 18 hour days encompass?

Waking up at absurd hours. I sometimes wake up at 4:00am to make coffee, shower, and prepare to get my business operating. That and the stock market opens at 6:30am.

The necessary research has to be done so that I can appropriately judge the market at the opening bell. Check out my Penny Stocking series to learn more about how I generate an income trading Penny Stocks in the morning.

Overwhelming Positivity. You won’t truly understand how grueling long hours like this are until you experience an 18 hour work day. I’m not talking about a day where you mess around for half of those hours on social media or watching television.

I’m talking about a real 18-hour work day. Non-stop hustling. Well, you need an insanely positive attitude, and you need to understand that success WILL COME if you just keep pushing forward. This positive outlook will save you from quitting at the starting line.

Failure. Have you ever worked an 18 hour day on something, thought it was perfect, and received zero engagement on whatever project this was? I have. Guess what… It’s not exciting whatsoever.

I want to tell you that you will fail. I’m being up front because not everything is perfect, and expecting everything to be perfect is just setting you up to quit the first time something doesn’t go your way.

Leverage Every Resource You Can Find

The average millionaire has a minimum of 7 incomes. That might sound like a lot but lets break some of mine down right here.

Affiliate Marketing– Wealthy Affiliate provides me with a beautiful platform for building an online business. It allows me to create and host websites in addition to receiving commissions for sending others to learn all the secrets to affiliate marketing that I have.
Penny Stock Trading– Profit.ly and specifically Timothy Sykes has taught me insane amounts of information that I never would have imagined. I couldn’t have pictured myself understanding and trading the market every single day for the last two years, and doing it successfully without this guy.
Real Estate– Did you know that you can actually buy and sell houses without using any of your own money? It sounds insane, but there are tons of systems out there that are creating millionaires every day. I use Nick Ruiz’s unique system.
Instagram– Selling shoutouts and advertisement space on Instagram has become one of the most popular ways to create a passive income in the last two years. Want to check out my progress with my most recent endeavor? Follow @incite.wealth. Who knows maybe it will inspire you to start doing this as well.
Web Advertisement– All of my successful websites have received requests for advertisement. In addition, I have installed Google’s Adsense on these sites. This leads to around $0.48 on average per click. That doesn’t seem like a lot but when your traffic chart is showing 2000 clicks/day…well…you do the math.
My Day Job- Everyone talks about becoming loaded and quitting. Well that’s not me. I absolutely love my day job, I get to be creative, innovative, and still have a great work life balance so I can come home and blast through managing all of my other sources of income.
My Own Community- I’m working on building a community as I write this. I am building an empire of millionaires, innovators, and successful or driven individuals. Think you have what it takes? Email me or leave a comment and I’ll show you where to apply.

Learn From Those Who Have Done It

Your best resource are those around you that have created their own success. They have no special talents that you lack, they have put in the hard work and it has rewarded them tremendously.

They say that you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Look at your life right now, think about the people you spend the most time with. Are these the people that are pushing you towards your goals? Are they holding you back or hating on your drive for success? Get rid of the toxicity in your life.

There are tons of people out there building networks of successful people. I encourage you to join these networks. Not just one of them, but as many as you can. This is where you will see results.

The very popular Gary Vaynerchuk recently threw this quote out there…”Eat shit for 24 months & eat caviar for the rest of your life.” I absolutely love this quote. You will have to put in your time. It doesn’t happen now. You won’t be getting rich with some get rich quick scheme.

Maybe two years seems quick to you, but to me it seems slow. I say get rich slow. Get down and dirty. Get drug through the mud. Learn what it’s like to have to hustle every single day for two years. It WILL BE WORTH IT when you become financially free.

I hope this has inspired you not to get rich now, but to get rich as soon as you realistically can, by putting in as much work as you can and staying focused with your eyes on the prize. Here’s a picture of a yacht for motivation reasons.

The Best Place To Travel In March

Koh Samui, Thailand

Koh Samui is an island off of the east coast of Kra Isthmus lying within the Gulf of Thailand. It is the second largest island in Thailand and is home to many fantastic beaches, tropical blue waters, and beautiful scenes of nature.

Koh Samui is in close proximity to other major island travel destinations in Thailand making it the perfect destination for your next vacation. Originally a Thai fishing community, Koh Samui has since been transformed into a world of resorts and has become a very sought after destination for tourism.

There is no shortage of culture in Koh Samui, and there is a wide variety of individuals from all over the world who visit Samui year round. While this island is a fantastic place all year, the best time to visit is in March when the weather is great, the beaches are lively with visitors, and the wildlife is out and about.

March Weather:

March is one of the warmest months in Koh Samui and that makes it prime time for a nice dip in the ocean. The weather doesn’t range much. Here’s the daily outlook for March in Samui.

As you can see Samui stays pretty consistent in the mid 80’s F which is prime weather for a beach getaway. No sweaters required. In addition, nighttime in Samui stays about this temperature as well, so you don’t have to run back to the villa and change for your wonderful evening out at the local Samui hotspots.

In addition, with Samui being located in the tropics it is understood that usually the island is a rainy place. Often times a visit is accompanied by thunderstorms and you are most certainly going to get wet.

However, March in Koh Samui sings a different tune for all you out there who aren’t rain fans. It is one of the driest months averaging only 4 days of rainfall over the course of the month. This means that you can enjoy the warm sun and will have no worry of needing a parka on your adventures.

Cost of Visit:

Depending on where you are from, the exchange rate for travel to Thailand is fantastic. When I went just last year the exchange rate was coming in around .0286 USD per Thai Baht. So 100 Baht is only around 3 USD.

In addition, prices in Koh Samui are not generally consistent with the US or other places of the world. Thailand is cheaper overall, meaning high quality Thai food is low cost. Let me tell you, the food in Thailand is absolutely AMAZING. For the price? Who can beat it. Some evenings we would have huge meals for only 100 Baht. Meaning that our meal cost us only $3. These were full entrees also, not a McDonald’s cheeseburger.

I know you are probably wondering at this point about the cost of lodging. Well, that is also very reasonable. You can choose to stay at an extremely upscale resort, or you can use Airbnb or your own private research to find an equally comparable villa. I personally chose Green Coconut Village on Koh Samui because of its proximity and friendly staff.

Your stay is partially about the people, and having a friendly staff to help you navigate the island is very important when you are somewhere you have never traveled before. I commend Green Coconut Village for this.

In addition, we were close to the best beaches and night clubs on the island for our evening fun. We had great restaurants right down the beach, and the price was great for a 3 bedroom villa. The overall cost averaged for us around $175 a night for the entire villa and great service.

So if you are looking for a place to stay I would suggest this quiet village. It allows you to remove yourself from the night life and relax and enjoy the beach during the morning hours if you please.

Things to Do:

Koh Samui boast countless things to do. I have a few personal favorites directly on Koh Samui and some additional ones from the surrounding areas. Here are my top 5 things to do when visiting Samui.

Rent a moped and explore the entire island in a day. This is a stretch as there is so much to do, but the scenery and different small villages through the island are amazing. You can take a scooter around the main highway and end up exactly where you started. I would encourage you to get an early start as it does take quite a bit of time. My personal favorite stops are the multiple waterfalls. If you snag a map from the Bo Phut area you’ll easily be able to navigate the main land marks.
Take a speedboat from Bo Phut over to Koh Tao and Nanyuan. Koh Tao has some of the most beautiful snorkeling in the world. It is home to some of the best diving reefs on the planet as well. If you are scuba certified this is the go to! If not snorkeling is still great. Also, you’ll want to hike to the top of Nanyuan which is perhaps the most famous photo spot in all of Thailand. No pictures here. Just trust me and go see the beauty it has to offer for yourself.
Party it up at the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan. Full moon party is quite the experience. If you at all love nightlife and culture this is the place to experience everything. I suggest jumping the fire jump rope, sliding from the top of one of the popular beach bars down onto the beach, or hanging out by one of the many stages watching fire dancers go crazy.
Eat at the best restaurants on the island. I’d honestly just start walking down the beach and go to the first place you come to or whatever looks enticing to you. Most of Koh Samui’s restaurants have fresh caught seafood from that morning. Usually you can ask to have it cooked any way you would like as well. In addition, have yourself some Thai Tea and some quality cocktails overlooking the beach at sunset. You won’t be disappointed.
Lastly, meet people! Everyone in Koh Samui has an amazing story. You can easily meet the restaurant owners who have been running the place for years. I personally met people from all over the world…English teachers from Canada, Restaurant owners from Spain, Vacationers from Sweden, you name it. Not only that but meet the locals. Our tour guide to Koh Tao was originally from Myanmar and had moved to Thailand to explore the water every day.

I hope these tips help on your visit to Koh Samui. If you do stay at Green Coconut Village tell the staff I say hello.

Not convinced? Want more information? Let me know in the comments below and let’s chat about Koh Samui.

Been there yourself? Love it or hate it? Share your thoughts below also.

If you are wondering how I work from these awesome destinations all over the world cruise over and check out my Wealthy Affiliate Review.

Also check out the Best Place to Travel in April.