About four weeks ago, I wrote an article titled 'Making Money While You Sleep'. I received so many enquiries that what it says to me is that people are desperately looking for ways to supplement or earn an additional income.

I also had some questions posed to me as some persons tried out the links that was mentioned but was having a challenge for whatever reason. Just like the headline of this article, everything is "figure-outable" and any marketing approach you pursue, whether it is online or offline, you will be posed with challenges especially if it is new to you and you are not familiar working with the various technology.

One of the issues that was brought to my attention was setting up the blog. Some of you may already have a blog, but for others, they need to set up one. Setting up your blog is quite simple and while I mentioned using wordpress.com to do so, that particular site allows you to set up a free, as well as a paid site. It is always best to go for a paid Wordpress site as it is against Wordpress' policy to use a free Wordpress site for selling or promoting products. If you are serious in promoting and selling other people's products, then you definitely have to go with your own real estate which will be in your name or name of your business (not one with a wordpress.com extension e.g. www.example.wordpress.com). To get started, I suggest getting a paid Wordpress site in the following manner which would be cheaper than buying it from Wordpress.com or even Wordpress.org:

1. Purchase a domain name. The most popular place to do so is via godaddy.com. Should you decide you want to own your url and name of your blog, feel free to use my discount code to get a 20 per cent off https://www.godaddy.com/?isc=wowlp. Be careful and take your time in selecting a name, for this will be the name of your business and it cannot be changed unless you purchase another domain name. The cost for purchase normally ranges from US$10 to US$15 per year

2. You will need to have a host who will host your domain name on their server. There are many options, so do your search to find the most affordable or contact me at http://helpdeskja.com/contact/ and I can offer you some suggestions.

3. Wordpress comes with its free themes. A theme is like the skin or structure of the website which can be customised to create the look and feel you desire. Free themes come with limitations. If you want to be able to make changes periodically so that the look and feel is not dull and boring, then go for a premium theme. This can cost you a whopping US$70 or US$80 but you can work magic and it gives you the professional, polished look and finish. As I mentioned earlier, if you want to get a discount on this figure, reach out to me using my 'contact us' page on my website.

4. If you are serious about pursuing affiliate marketing as a path to earning income or increasing your book sales, then I suggest getting the step-by-step plan to get started on the right track from an expert in the field of affiliate marketing. Here is the link http://48104ambr1seodjok-44ndq9r.hop.clickbank.net/.

Steps 1-4 above can be used by anyone, both authors and non-authors. In the past article, it made reference to persons who are authors who own products and want to leverage other people's efforts to increase the visibility and sales of their books. This would mean setting up their own affiliate platform which can be done on their website using this link http://bit.ly/UqvlsF.

Why would you want to do this? Because you need a sales team working for you and what better way to have a sales team than having your own affiliate platform which is set up to be automated from sign up to choosing banner and text links to payout on two levels!

This is another useful and beneficial approach to marketing your books and other products for both you the author and your affiliates.

SOME FREEBIES

I hosted a FREE webinar on the topic 'Make Money While You Sleep' on February 21, 2013. If you would like to get access to the recording, to help clear up any questions or concerns you may have, feel free to go to my website or http://theselfpublishingcenter.com/affiliate/ to access the replay.

Another helpful source rich with information is my radio show. It has grown so significantly that over 23,000 persons have viewed my profile. I have guests from all over the world, who I interview, who share tips and resources to help you on your writing, publishing, marketing and business journey. I even do giveaways to those who call in or text via the chat room. Check it out at this link http://bit.ly/15lIVTW.

Corine La Font is an author, certified author assistant and online book marketing specialist. Get a copy of her book at http://amzn.to/TFHQka. Tune in to her radio programme at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/helpdeskja. She can be reached at corine@helpdeskja.com or visit her website at www.helpdeskja.com