Not a dedicated server either (although, if you don’t, why not?). It’s time for you to have your own server so you can test your sites, backup data, and run software only a server can run to take your Affiliate Marketing into the big leagues.
Think about it…. Wouldn’t it be nice to do your accounting, backend processing, test websites and scripts, use all that FREE (as in beer) OSS software out there to your advantage? You bet it is. And anyone who’s making real money out there has one too. They won’t tell you (well, most won’t), but they do. It’s an essential tool.
Here’s what you need to do. First, a shopping list. Then, what to do.
Buy a computer, a solid P4 machine, 2Ghz or above. I got one from Warehouse Point for $350.00 Dual Core, 4Ghz, 2GB RAM and an 80GB drive. Plenty of machine at a cheap price. And no, I don’t get a commission if you click and buy from them. If you get stuck, get ahold of their Sales Department on the phone. they’re good.
Now, you’ve got this shiny new computer. Here’s what you need to do with it.
A) Download a copy of Centos Linux. 90% of the webhosts out there are using Centos so just do it.
B) Burn the iso onto a CD, stick it in the new shiny computer, and boot it. The rest is pretty straightforward stuff. And you don’t need to pick/choose/do anything fancy. Just get it installed. Heck, install it all. You’ve got room.
C) Now, The new computer has Centos installed. Boot it. Log into it. Bring up Firefox and surf Virtualmin. Download and install it. It’s REALLY SIMPLE. The free version is good enough. This will let you create domains, email, webhost configs, etc. all point and click.
So, that’s the short version of getting your own home server online. What to do next you ask? Simple, download some web applications and install them.
1) Download HomeBank for solid basic accounting. It runs in the GUI.
2) Download WordPress and install it to develop that next great Affiliate Marketing site.
3) Download Website Baker if you want to develop with a easy/simple CMS with decent plugins and a less formal structure than WordPress.
4) Google bash curl twitter script You’ll find simple SIMPLE scripts that can automate your tweets (don’t do anything stupid, ask me nicely and I’ll write a blogpost on how to automate twitter).
Now think strategically for a minute. With a full Linux server you can do things you can’t easily do with your desktop machine. Like have a full webserver with perl/php/Apache etc.,to test with. Like being able to copy entire websites LIVE with scp/ssh. Like automating some RSS feeds.
And if your adventurous, you can consolidate ALL your social web interaction with a single application that runs on that webserver. It’s not full boat yet. But Mozilla Raindrop will let you tie in ALL your social web interactions on a single web session that’s running on your new webserver. Technically, it’s an Open Conversation Aggregator. It’s not in full release. It’s very beta. And it makes everything else look like an amateurish also ran. Give this one a little time. It’s gonna save you hundreds of hours.
Is this for everyone? Well, no… it’s not. You have to have a little patience, a little time to learn, and the ability to not get frustrated and just quit because something is new. But master your own server and your webhost, dedicated service provider, or VPS provider won’t keep you waiting to troubleshoot any server issues you may have. You’ll know and understand what’s going on.
You’ll also be able to develop, test, and roll out entire websites and website updates faster and better than your competitors. And that means real money.
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