Superficially, it is a good thing, especially if you sell digital goods online and have felt the bite of someone pirating your hard work–I’ve been there and done that, so I empathize. However, if you dig below the surface of these two bills, you’ll see they are more harmful than beneficial to the internet entrepreneur.

Let me offer you a scenario…

You run an affiliate website. You post pictures and links to products, and you also allow user-submitted content (i.e. comments, reviews, articles, etc.). Say one of those photos is copyrighted or a link goes to a website which is suspected of infringing on someone’s copyright/intellectual property, then access to your site can be blocked, ties to your payment processors (to include the merchants who pay you) can be cut, and you can be sent to prison for up to 5 years. All over a picture or a link, possibly one you didn’t even post yourself.

Yes, that’s a worst case scenario, but it’s still a possible scenario. If you’re new to internet marketing, this could easily end your business before it starts. If you’re not new to internet marketing, this could easily demolish your existing business.

What’s worse, should these two bills pass, other countries may follow in the footsteps of the US and impose their own laws which may be even more restrictive and damaging to their online denizens.

I urge you to learn more about these two bills and how to fight them at American Censorship (there’s even a video which lays it all out in easy to understand terms).

And if you feel so inclined, you can join in the blackout on January 18, 2012 from 8AM-8PM; should you, you’ll be in good company because Wikipedia (English), WordPress, and Reddit will be blacking out their sites as well.

Wishing you much success!

• WordPress is flexible: With WordPress you can choose whether to use a post or a page to promote a product. You can also choose to enable comments on your product pages in order to solicit user-generated content on your website in the form of reader reviews. It also allows further customization by choosing whether to have a static front page (rather than a long page of posts) so you can highlight particular products or your mailing list.
• WordPress supports themes: There’s a saying that you only have once chance to make a good first impression. Designing and testing a new look every other week for a traditional site is time-consuming, but with WordPress, it’s as simple as picking out a theme you like, uploading it, and clicking a button. WordPress’ theme capabilities make modifying the look of a site based on whether someone is looking at the homepage, a category page, or a single entry page a reality. That means you can better optimize each area of your website for higher conversion rates.
• WordPress can be extended with plugins: Being a lightweight software application, WordPress doesn’t come with every capability under the sun right out of the box, but that doesn’t mean you can’t add that capability. With plugins, you can have WordPress do a number of things such as maintain a mailing list, create shortened affiliate links and track their clicks, or even import affiliate product feeds directly into your website.
• WordPress has built-in author management: One part of growing an affiliate marketing business is learning when and how to delegate. Since WordPress allows for multiple authors, you can easily have other people create and add content to your website without giving out your personal admin information or giving them too much power over your website, only enough to get the job done.
• The WordPress community is huge: Since WordPress is so widespread, there are many volunteers who develop themes, plugins, and understand the intricate workings of the software and can offer help should you encounter a problem. There are also a number of guides and books to help you get started installing and using WordPress. Basically, if you ever get stuck on something, there is most likely someone right around the bend that has an answer.

It should be more than clear that WordPress isn’t just for blogging anymore. Use the software to help manage your entire affiliate website and watch your productivity go through the roof.

The Comment Relish plugin is simple…it sends an email the first time someone leaves a comment on the website. This email can be customized and personalized to help you establish a rapport with that reader. However, if you run a heavily trafficked site or are on a shared host with certain restrictions, you’ll want to install the plugin with caution.

Back Up Your Website with cPanel

If your host uses cPanel, there’s a good chance you already have a built-in backup capability. (I use and recommend HostGator, which does have cPanel.) Depending on the size of your site, you could have a complete backup ready to download within minutes. This backup will take care of your email accounts, databases, files on the server…everything.

1. Log in to your website’s cPanel account
2. Scroll down to the Files section and click on the Backups icon
3. In the Full Backup section, click on Download or Generate a Full Website Backup
4. The next page will ask if you wish to be notified via email when the backup is complete—this option is good if you have a large site which will take time to process, otherwise you could probably leave it blank and check back a few minutes later; if you leave Home Directory in the dropdown, the backup file will be stored in the directory above /public_html/
5. When the backup is finished, you can either download the file directly from the backup page, or you can log into your website via FTP and navigate to the directly above /public_html/ and download the file that way

If your host doesn’t offer cPanel, you may still have access to an automated backup facility, but you’ll need to read your hosts knowledgebase or contact them for assistance in using it.

Back Up Your Website Manually

This method is rather tedious, however, it gives you a level of control over what is backed up. With the above method, you’d back up all your website’s files. If you decide to move hosts and that host doesn’t have cPanel (or uses a different configuration entirely), it could be a bear to reinstate the backed up files.

1. Before you back up your website manually, it’s a good idea to have a plan. Take note of the email addresses/passwords currently in use on the site, along with database usernames/passwords, and any other relevant website information. (I prefer jotting these things down in Notepad.)
2. Log into your hosting account and back-up your MySQL databases by exporting the data via phpMyAdmin
3. Download your website files via FTP
4. Zip up your notes, databases, and files and save in a safe place

Back Up Your Website with an Online Service

When you use an online service such as Mozy, you meld flexibility with ease of use. The upshot is that such services aren’t free (they, however, can be quite cost effective). With online services, you will also be able to schedule your backups to suit your needs.

But, what’s a blook? Basically, a contraction of the term blog and book, which was coined way back in the day by Jeff Jarvis. Of course, the term has fallen out of use in recent years, but I’m hoping for a comeback.

And one way to see that happen is to tell people how to create a blook of their own. If you’re on WordPress, it’s actually pretty easy with a quick and simple plugin. There’s a small caveat, however, because the plugin is still in alpha. Using the Anthologize plugin, you would be able to comb through your blog’s archives and choose which blog entries you’d like to include in your book.

Another way to create a book from your blog’s archives includes using Kalin’s PDF Creation plugin which allows you to comb through your blog’s pages and posts in order to output your blook in PDF format.

Of course, there’s always the manual way of creating a book using good old-fashioned copy/paste. Go through each of your blog’s pages individually, selecting and choosing, editing and tweaking as necessary, and paste the content into a document file which can later be converted in a plethora of formats, including PDF, ePub, Mobi, etc. As you may have guessed, this last option probably gives you the most flexibility, however, depending on the size of your blog, may require the most amount of work.

To close up, always make sure you use your own blog’s content and not someone else’s, at least not without her permission first.

Also, this may catch some people off guard because these habits aren’t what one might expect. Here are some of the things I do each day, in no particular order, which I feel contribute to my successes:

I listen to music — especially classical — and I think about the skill of the artist and all that goes into the creation of each note. Imagine, for a moment, all that it takes to create such harmony, flow, and timing. Music, in and of itself, can be a huge inspiration for developing your own skills. Music also has the power to push you forward, even when you feel like lagging behind.

I keep a journal. Since I was a child, I’ve captured moments of my life in a journal. Happy moments, sad moments, my hopes and fears all laid out on paper. Even now, when I go back and read those captured moments, I realize just how far I’ve come in my life and it motivates me to keep pushing forward.

I appreciate what I have. It’s easy to take things for granted, especially if you’re not exactly where you want to be in life. But, even when you’re not where you want to be, there is still plenty for which to be grateful. I try to take time each day to reflect on what I’ve accomplished, what I have in my life, and just appreciate all of it.

I dance like no one’s watching. Dance, regardless of the style, is a release–energy surging through the body and spilling out into the world with each movement. Dancing teaches you to control and direct that energy — of course, I’m sure the same could be said of any physical activity.

I read books, lots of them. The written word has become a dear old friend whom I try to visit each day. Reading expands your imagination, knowledge, and wisdom by sharing in the experiences of another. In essence, reading gives us an opportunity to see the world through another’s eyes. Although I haven’t been able to get as much pleasure reading done as often as I’d like, I do read something each day.

There are far more things than what’s listed above to include planning, positive thinking, writing, drawing, enjoying nature, and maintaining an open mind. Each person, however, will need to discover her own combination of positive habits for success, because, like most everything, success is different for everyone.

Rosalind’s book is about getting your affiliate marketing foundation set, while the WordPress Affiliate Guide is a flexible blueprint specifically for leveraging WordPress for affiliate marketing based on years or testing and tweaking. In fact, the WP Affiliate Guide is built on the principles outlined in Rosalind’s guide.

But let me not stray to far from the topic of this post, reviewing the Super Affiliate Handbook so you can decide whether it’s a worthwhile guide to help you build an affiliate business.

When I purchased my copy of Rosalind Gardner’s Super Affiliate Handbook, I was wary of its promises, but over the years, I’ve come to realize just how invaluable a tool it is. The fact that it’s been around (and updated) since 2003 is a testament to its value.

When I first read the book, I was a bit put off by its focus on Pay Per Click advertising methods, which was confusing and because I didn’t have the kind of money necessary to make a go of it. As a beginner, I found myself floundering to understand it more than once, almost submerging me in information overload. That’s something to prepare yourself for if you’re brand new to affiliate marketing.

However, when you do get past all of that, the Super Affiliate Handbook is something worthy of being printed out and referenced often. There is a goldmine of information contained within its covers, and although it may not come complete with action-steps in a step-by-step sort of way, with a bit of trial and error you’ll get it sorted in no time flat.

The book is just over 200 pages long. That’s intimidating to put it mildly, but luckily there isn’t too much filler. Yep, that’s 200 page of straight dish to work with and it’s available instantly in PDF format.

It starts off by explaining what you’ll need to get your affiliate marketing business started (some things being obvious, such as access to a computer that can get on the internet), then it explains what affiliate marketing is, how it works, and the types of commission structures.

Since I was a newbie when I first purchased the guide, I remember going over it with a fine-toothed comb multiple times to make sense of it and then set out to build my first affiliate websites. At the time I knew HTML and CSS and had begun working with a new software called WordPress, but at the time, I never thought about using WordPress for the affiliate website process. WordPress was only powering my personal blog–it wasn’t even widely distributed or adopted then, so it was very inflexible.

That said, my first affiliate website was built using standard HTML and CSS. (It was huge by the time I actually switched it over to WordPress and it took a whole lot of overhauling to make it happen, but I’m much happier with it and its management now.) And I earned back my investment five times over in the first month by using her methods. I did a short happy dance because I realized, this affiliate marketing thing actually works.

Over the years, the Super Affiliate Handbook has undergone various updates and with the most recent, it now includes a marketing section which goes well beyond Pay Per Click advertising.

One thing I truly respect about Rosalind’s guide is that she teaches you how to build a business, not how to build a website that will be obsolete in a few days.

The writing style is smooth and entertaining, sometimes outright funny, which makes reading the book and following the prescribed methods seem less like a chore. She even shares with you one of her completed affiliate sites as an example and explains how she came to put it together and how she keeps it up, what type of affiliate promotions she uses, and even how much she earns from it.

The handbook explains:

• How to find a niche (pg. 25)
• How to evaluate market demand (pg. 32)
• 6 keys for choosing the right domain name (pg. 42)
• How to build content and increase your conversion rates (pg. 66)
• How to write product endorsements (pg. 77)
• How to make money from your website (pg. 93)
• How to market your new affiliate website (pg. 132)
• How to become a super affiliate (pg. 171)

This guide is certainly one of those rare finds in the internet marketing realm, and it’s certainly one everyone who wants to work from home should download and read immediately, taking plenty of notes.

Download the Super Affiliate Handbook and get cracking!

There’s a good chance that if affiliate marketing or online marketing isn’t your full-time business, you have another job to worry about; that other job will limit how much time you can devote to growing your affiliate business. To get a better idea of what time you have available and when, for the next 72 hours (3 days), take careful note of how your time is spent.

Once you know how you spend your time, you can easily see where you’re wasting time and where your time slot can’t budge. It will also show you when you’re most creative and alert. Those are the times when you’ll want to sneak in some business development.

You can do that by setting aside chunks of time (think 30 minutes) to developing some aspect of your business. For instance, if you know you need to write articles for a newly developed site, use one session to map out your planned articles, another to write them, and another to schedule them for publication on the site.

The beauty of WordPress is that you can schedule your posts and articles to publish when you’d prefer rather than immediately. So there’s really no good excuse for not having a regularly updated website.

But sometimes a little extra motivation may help, and that’s when you need to bargain with yourself–even better if you can rope someone into holding you accountable. One thing that helps me is to draw up a contract with specific terms in bullet point (i.e. I will publish 10 articles per week on each website, etc.), and my reward if I stick to it. Yes, it’s important to reward oneself. Then I print off two copies.

One copy gets put somewhere I’ll see it often throughout my day, and another gets filed away with a trusted friend who nudges me every week to see if I’m sticking to my contract. Soon enough, working on your site will become a habit and you can move on to drafting a new contract with yourself.

To start, you need to create a list of the websites you’ve already purchased. Go through the list and ask yourself, “What is the purpose of this site?” Based on your answer, add the domain to a specific category, for example Affiliate Network or Personal/Just for Fun. Since everyone is different, it’s best to come up with categories which best suit you and your organizational style.

After you know more about the domains, the next question to ask yourself is which stage of the developmental process is each of the sites in, then organize them into sub-categories of the main categories. For instance, if you’ve only registered the domain of a site you know will be in the Affiliate Network category, then create a sub-category called Undeveloped and add the domain name to it. Other sub-categories might include In Development and Fully Developed.

Once you’ve finished going through your domains and websites, it’s time to start the filing. As wonderful as computers are, sometimes I like to have something tangible I can reference, even when I’m not online, so I prefer to use a three-ring binder for this method, however, you can use whatever you feel most comfortable with.

That said, in my three-ring binder, I’ll add dividers for each of my main categories and then color-coded dividers for each of the sub-categories. Now, this is where things get interesting, because I write notes directly on the divider pages–the important thing to remember is write in pencil so it can be easily erased and updated later if necessary.

On the primary category divider pages, I’ll write the domain name and a short overview of the site with a quick note about its stage of development. On the sub-category divider pages, I’ll write the domain name, and more elaborate notes on its development stage. For each of the individual sites, I’ll then fill out a general information sheet which outlines the login information for various parts of the site (hosting, email, database, etc.), a break-down of the operating costs, and overall website goals.

Whenever a site moves from one stage of development to the next, I simply move those pages from one section to the next and update the necessary sub-category divider pages.

Like I said before, this is a method which works for me and it may work for you. But it’s important that you use an organizational method which feels most comfortable to you and your style of work.

First, make sure you have all your ducks in a row: Secure your new hosting account (I highly recommended HostGator WordPress hosting–use the coupon code wordpress for a special deal); make sure to make a back-up of your current website; check your logs and identify any slow traffic days and times (because that’s when you should begin your move), and, finally, take a deep breath.

The following will apply if you have an average-sized website, however, larger websites can use this walk-through as a guideline. OK, ready? Let’s begin.

1. Close commenting and trackbacks on all posts and pages. Taking this action means you’re less likely to lose any comments or trackbacks during the move and you can always go back after you’ve finished and open them both up again.

1. Log into your phpMyAdmin account and select the desired database table
2. Select SQL from the tabs
3. In the Run SQL query box, type the following code: UPDATE wp_posts SET comment_status = 'closed' and ping_status = 'closed';
4. Click on the Go button to run the query; all of your WordPress posts’ comment and pingback/trackback statuses should be closed

2. Delete all the spam comments from your database. It’s amazing how much spam can accumulate in the database if you aren’t diligent about keeping it clean. Luckily, deleting spam is as easy as logging into your WordPress admin and deleting it from your Akismet account. If you don’t have Akismet installed, you’ll need to follow the instructions below to delete it directly from the database.

1. Log into your phpMyAdmin account and select the desired database table
2. Select SQL from the tabs
3. In the Run SQL query boxy, type the following code: DELETE FROM wp_comments WHERE comment_approved = 'spam';
4. Click the Go button to run the query; all of the comments WordPress identified as spam will be deleted from the database.

3. Delete any other unnecessary data. It’s not uncommon for database-driven websites to fill up with cruft. Now’s the perfect opportunity to go in and clean it out. Log into your WordPress admin panel and delete any draft posts you don’t intend on finishing and comb through the comments which are awaiting moderation.

4. Optimize your database tables. This removes any stray data that’s lurking in your database which could cause errors or sluggishness down the road.

1. Log into your phpMyAdmin account and select the desired database table
2. Click on the Check All link and make sure a checkmark appears in the boxes next to each of the database rows
3. From the drop down menu in the lower right of the database rows, select Optimize table from the list
4. The process should start automatically and provide you with a report when it’s finished

5. Export your database. Now that you’ve removed the cruft and optimized your database, it’s time to export it. Assuming your new host will have phpMyAdmin installed, it’s a good idea to export the database as an SQL file.

1. Log into your phpMyAdmin account and select the desired database table
2. Click on the Export tab
3. When the export page loads, double check that all the database tables are selected, the output format is .sql, and place a checkmark next to Save as File
4. Click on the Go button and when prompted, select a name for your file

If your database is large, think 50MiB, then you’ll need to break up the export–you can export individual tables as opposed to all of them as the same time.

6. Download your files using FTP. Assuming you used the built-in website backup service, you’ll need to manually download your individual WordPress (and other) files using an FTP client such as Filezilla. If you manually backed up your website using FTP, then simply copy those files. (Make sure it’s a copy and not the actual backup files.)

7. Set up the database on your new hosting account. After you’ve created the database, import the SQL file that you exported from your previous hosting account.

1. Log into your phpMyAdmin account and select your newly created MySQL database table
3. Select Import from the tabs
4. Choose to browse for the import file and select the SQL file you downloaded from your previous host
5. Click on the Go button and you should receive a summary report when the process is completed

8. Update your wp-config.php file. Since you’ve created a brand new database, it’s important that you open the wp-config.php file with a plain text editor (or an editor specifically designed for editing PHP files) and update it with your new database information.

9. Upload your files to your new hosting account. Make sure that you keep all the file structures intact.

10. You’re ready to update your domain name’s DNS. Using the temporary URL provided by your new hosting provider, double check that the files are working as necessary. Due to WordPress’ design, you should be redirected to the main domain name–this is normal behavior which signifies that everything seems to be in order. Go ahead and switch your domain name’s DNS to the new host and give it some time to propagate throughout the web (about two weeks to be safe) before canceling your old hosting account.