Chislyn

People that know me well know about my web business. They know I make enough to pay the bills, and enough to live comfortably in a place like Buffalo where home prices are as low as $30,000 for a decent house. It always astonishes people when they tell others what I do and the money that can be made. Most people just don’t think it’s possible. Some want to get involved and help me out. I would love the help and need the manpower, but beyond not wanting to work with friends (which generally I believe is a very bad idea), it is also difficult because of a knowledge gap.

I’ve been on both sides of this, but when one person knows a lot more than the other, the more knowledgeable person ends up doing more of the higher level work, or spends too much time teaching the other one the basics. Just like anything else, there’s things one should know before approaching others for partnerships or help. To be respected in any business one must “talk the talk” and be able to converse about the industry as a whole, or at least be willing to do so. Keeping up is very important with every business and good reading material is essential. I am by no means an expert, but thankfully I’ve found some great resources for learning and want to share them with you.

Books

Aaron Wall’s SEO Book

Aaron Wall is one of the premier names in the business. By reading his blog, which is another great resource by the way, one can see he’s been in the game for a while and see how smart the man is on this subject. The sites he has, including his blog, rank very well for very competitive topics. His book has all the basics you need starting out and provides foundation for learning and building traffic to your sites.

Industry Figures And Their Blogs

The most live, thorough, and in-tune updates and news on the industry comes from the blogosphere. I mentioned Aaron’s blog already which a great one. Here is a list of more below.

NOTE: Some of these guys are at odds with each other as their styles vary. I’m not at a level where I care much about the publicity power struggle or the industry politics. It’s actually pretty funny to read about. These people all have good ideas, all make a lot of money, and are all good for the industry. That’s good enough for me.

Shoemoney’s blog - Jeremy Schoemaker has a blog, radio show, and is basically a big figure in the industry. His approach is more white hat and he seems to focus on viral marketing. I read his blog to stay in touch with the industry as a whole, see his predictions, and for inspiration.

Aojon and the Wicked Fire forums - The Super Affiliate Marketer former super affiliate marketer taking to the next level by starting his own affiliate program. Quadzilla put in well on Shoemoney’s radio show when he said starting your own affiliate program has a lot of potential. Jon’s latest post talks about his resignation from the affiliate marketing gig to do just that. His blog and forums however has gobs of helpful and lucrative information about affiliate marketing, PPC arbitrage, and other related topics to making money online. Sign up for his forums and look through his blog archives. He is very candid about the business and doesn’t hold back.

SEO Black Hat Quadzilla - He’s one of the primary figures if not the primary figure for black hat SEO. His blog actually talks a lot about white hat topics recently, and he addresses that in a semi-recent post. He’s been “chasing the money” for a while now as he says in the Shoemoney radio show (notice the pattern here.. yes, the show is well worth listening to) like I have through different industries. Like him I think the mobility of this business alone is a reason to get into it. Being a black hat, Quadzilla discusses topics more related to the technical side of the business. I haven’t joined his private forums, but judging by his intelligence and old blog posts, I’m sure they are worth the $100 per month if you want to do black hat seo.

Frank Watson - He keeps up with the search engines very well and is a moderator on SearchEngine Watch (another great resource.) He also has a great viewpoint as he sees from the big spending advertiser side of the business. I read his blog on a regular basis.

There are a lot more, but here is a list to start from. Readers, feel free to leave comments with other good resources, and come back for part two.