Maybe as a small business owner you have heard different terms tossed around regarding your website or online presence. This post will help to define some of these terms for you.
If you still have any questions please contact us or just leave a comment below.
Why is the online vocabulary confusing
Any new endeavour has its learning curve. Deciding to add blogging to your life is no different. Whether you are blogging for fun or adding it as an important tool for your business website, there are many new things to learn. Unfortunately the information available online isn’t always clear or accurate.
There are also so many different ways you can have a presence online that trying to decide among the various platforms available, and their uses can be overwhelming.
The first distinction you need to make is to know the difference between a “website” and a “blog”.
Most people (including me) use the words interchangeably when speaking with the average Joe on the street. I refer to all my online properties as “sites” or “websites”. Technically however, most of them are actually BLOGS but look like websites to the average user.
Distinguishing Characteristics of a Website
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– Static
– No built-in way to interact like commenting.
– Usually just focuses on one particular product or service.
However, the word “website” is a general term and can refer to most ANY online property.
Distinguishing Characteristics of a Blog
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– The ability to easily update and add content
– Interactive with commenting features and integrate social media
– Often designed to be informative beyond just the products being sold
*NOTE* This site is a
Deciding which one you need depends on what you want to use it for. If you have a small local business like a jewellery store or a hair design studio, you can get away with just a static website. HOWEVER, I would suggest you don’t though. I think EVERYONE should use a blog platform unless you never have anything new to say about your business.
Using a blog you can add new pages of information, post sales and specials, as well as update the branding and make announcements. If it is the appearance you are worried about, blogs can be spruced up to look like top of the line and elegant sites. Learning to use a blogging platform is fairly easy because the
There is more detail on the differences between a blog and website in this post.
Blogging vs Affiliate Marketing
Blogging and Affiliate Marketing are two other terms that get tossed around as though they are interchangeable. They are not the same but they are often used together. You can be a blogger without being an affiliate marketer and you can be an affiliate marketer without being a blogger.
What is Blogging?
Blogging is a word used to describes the action of writing blog posts and publishing them. For example this website is a blog. I am writing this post which makes me a blogger. The activity of writing the post then publishing it is; “blogging.”
What is Affiliate Marketing
Switching these words around to say “Marketing as an Affiliate” might help to make it clearer. Where an Affiliate is one thing and Marketing is another.
Marketing is also different than “Advertising”. Marketing uses advertising methods and platforms as a tool. Marketing involves research, analysis, tracking, promotions, and lots of trial and error.
An affiliate is someone who has an agreement with a company that will reward them when they help to sell a product. A blogger who can also be an affiliate, is often referred to as a publisher. Here is more detail on what affiliate marketing is.
How Blogging & Affiliate Marketing Work Together
This website is a good example that combines blogging and affiliate marketing. On this site you will find affiliate links that will take you to a recommended product. Should you purchase I will get a commission.
For example this next link will take you to GoDaddy where I recommend you take advantage of their great pricing on:
Cheap domain names (which you need for your blog).
If you have ever tried to find the perfect domain name and got frustrated with punching in the names one at a time then you have got to TRY THIS. GoDaddy has a bulk domain name feature where you can put in a whole list of possible names and find out what is available in a nanosecond.
🙂
They also offer specially optimized WordPress servers for speed – a great price starting at $1/month! The WordPress Hosting is REALLY simple to use too even if you are already set up on another server they have one click transfer. It’s great and I can tell you first hand it works smoothly.
Another recommendation I always make using my affiliate link is for StudioPress. The Genesis Framework is what I been using for several years to build professional looking websites on the WordPress platform. There are always new themes coming out and the StudioPress group of folks are always keeping up to date. Lots of great help when you need it and there is a private help forum you have access to when you buy the Genesis Framework. I have used other developers but do prefer these guys.
Those were examples of 4 affiliate links from 2 different affiliate companies. Commission Junction and ShareASale.
Thanks for the info – I’d been trying to figure out the difference. I always thought a BLOG was something that woman did with recipes.
🙂 Funny!
With affiliate marketing, there is no assurance that your current strategy will work in a month’s time. Whether it’s due to Google updating their ranking algorithm, your favourite affiliate program shutting down, or media buying costs increasing, you’d be wise to mitigate against the possibility of major changes.There are two very effective ways to do this: diversification and by building your recurring revenue.
I don’t know if I agree with you on the “diversification” completely. Spreading yourself too thin can work against you. Time and time again it is proven that a tight little niche can be very profitable. I go into that with a little more detail here