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The Top Platforms to Build Your Best Website

An important step in advertising your services, growing your brand or business or sharing your stories is creating a website that showcases your talent. A striking, beautiful website will catch the eyes of readers and potential customers and draw them to what you have to offer. Website creation in 2017 involves less work for better results than ever before. Which website builder is the best for you?

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How to Use Budgeting Apps to Their Fullest Potential

From all the apps on my phone, Mint is probably the most useful and helpful — besides my period tracker and Starbucks of course. After I put my predetermined savings from my paycheck into a separate account, I have to spread my money out to suit all aspects of my budget. I've always had trouble with this since capitalism has basically ruined me.

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How to Make Money in Your Sleep

Step one: Go to sleep. Step two: PAYDAY.

What an impossibly perfect concept. But could it be possible with a little creativity? Yes. Here's how.

Bloggers are a group of people that have made the commitment to building a following by posting consistent, quality content. But most of the time, the efforts of bloggers go tragically uncompensated. For most, blogging is a labor of love, but it's definitely possible to reap some green rewards with affiliate program marketing.

Affiliate program marketing is a process which allows you to link established and substantial merchants to your website and earn a piece of the action on the resulting sales. There is a huge opportunity to grow here. Companies like CJ (Commission Junction) make the set-up easy. They have a broad network of accounts, they handle all the recordkeeping, and best of all, they make the payments directly to you. Advertisers are broken down into easy categories like accessories, consumer goods, electronics, clothing and gifts so it's simple to navigate options to improve your income potential. It's a true one-stop solution for managing your product advertising.

Which companies have affiliates programs?

Amazon and PETCO represent two major merchants that pay high commissions. Knowing how much people love (and spend money on) their pets, PETCO pays commissions up to 15% on pet supplies. According to the APPA (American Pet Products Association), over $60 billion was spent in the U.S. in the Pet Industry in 2015. That's a huge, furry addressable audience!

But can this really add up? Suppose you have a loyal following of 1,000 and have several top links. Taking advantage of affiliate program marketing could give you the opportunity to make commission every day while just doing your daily activities. Then you go to sleep and there you go.

Another huge market is to those who order stuff online. Amazon's affiliate program pays up to 10%. Best of all, you can customize your offerings to match your audience to the best product mix. Though the caveat is, the more traffic to your site, the more money you can make. So get that traffic going!

Without having to sell out to corporate America, and with a little web savvy, you can link a few merchants and use your financial gains to help subsidize your expenses. Maximizing your income through diversification of income sources is a smart way to make more money. Make your website work harder for you, especially while you sleep.

For more on how to get started with affiliate program marketing, click here.

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How to Build Your Website

We're tired of hearing that social media is taking over the world. Yawn. But does that mean we should scrap our websites, just make a killer Facebook page and call it a day? No. Websites are still important, as they lend credibility to your company or services. And a good website will do so much more than that. Here are some tips for making the most of your website.

1. Come up with a great domain name.

Much like a book's cover, a name is the first impression people will have of your company. This is one of your most important decisions, next to what you will name your first child. (Alright, we're exaggerating.) But seriously, take your time when thinking of a domain name. Make sure it is memorable, easy to type, and has keywords. Here are some other great tips for choosing your domain from our friends at GoDaddy.

2. Shell out (a tiny bit) of cash.

If your website involves no upfront money, it's probably going to flop. Remember, this is not the blog you had in middle school. A .com domain costs $0.99 at GoDaddy. All you have to do is search your name, make sure no one has already lay claim to it, and buy that puppy up. A self-hosted website is where you want to be. Being hosted on a 3rd party site means that site owns your site and information. A self-hosted site tells the world that you are a serious entrepreneur because you're willing to make an investment in your virtual appearance. Site hosting such as Bluehost costs $3-6 per month. Not much considering that's just about your daily coffee budget.

3. Get out the pencil and paper.

Woah cowboy. We know you want to go live right away, but we advise you to take a step back. Draw a mockup of what you want the site to look like (no matter your drawing ability). This will help you visualize the user flow and work out any kinks in logistics.

4. Do some "online shopping."

We don't mean actually "online shopping," but shop for websites that you love. What makes your favorite websites so great? Is it their visual aesthetic? Font? Colors? Images? Or is it their short and sweet content? Make notes about what you like (and dislike) about other websites, take screenshots, and make a virtual storyboard.

5. Make friends with a graphic designer.

A really good logo and design can work wonders. Yeah, with a few hours on Photoshop you can come up with a decent logo, but it helps to get a pro. If you're not already BFFs with a top notch graphic designer, there are tons of freelance graphic designers out there. Here's a great place to start.

6. Write perfect content.

Don't bore your readers with your lengthy bio. Keep all content relevant. Your website is not just a home for your portfolio and contact information, but you should tell visitors what you can do for them. What helps is to include client testimonials or blog content that will help give them a clear picture of what you offer. Staying concise, positive, and injecting your personality where necessary will help turn your site into a web destination.

7. Declutter.

It's so nice to open a web page that doesn't bombard you with places to click, photos that pop out of nowhere, and ads galore. If your layout is calm, then your site visitors will trust that you are somewhat of an organized person. Be minimal but don't be sparse. If you're into that modern art kind of thing, just make your whole website one blank white page with white text. (Just kidding.)

Now equipped with your amazing website, you're all set to embark on your journey into the Internet. Want to start from scratch? Here's how!

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