I’ve been involved with affiliate marketing off and on for a year or so to varying degrees of success. I started affiliate marketing because I have huge student loans from medical school and I wanted to have a supplemental income on autopilot while in residency for 4 years. So far, I’ve made a few dollars here and there, up until a couple months ago.

Introducing BANS (Build a Niche Store)

BANS is a script that builds an Ebay store for you with minimal fuss. All that is needed is a webhost that supports PHP and MYSQL databases. Affiliate income is provided through the new Ebay Partner Network (EPN). The basic jist is that you buy a domain and some hosting, use the easy script to setup the store and then show listings based around a niche. A combination of the BANS software and the EBay RSS Feed drops a 7 day cookie on the website user’s computer when they click any listing on your site. Then any auctions that the website user wins in the next 7 days, you get a 50% commission. Sounds good right?

So Easy Even a Caveman Can Do It?

Now hold on there a second sparky… I did not say this wouldn’t take a little bit of work now did I? Truth is, if you follow my instructions you can have your first of many BANS Ebay Stores up within an hour and at a total cost of just over $100. This cost lets you generate an unlimited amount of Ebay stores with the script and provides great hosting with unlimited domains to attach to your account. My first 10 days, I made $35…and this was while I went away on vacation to Orlando, FL too! This month I’m on target to generate about $200 from my Ebay commissions alone. Yes, a farcry from all the crap that these other Internet marketers feed you about “MAKE MILLIONS TODAY!!!” but if you are looking for something real to begin your online empire with, I believe this is it.

Are you still interested? I’ll detail the steps you need to take along with some discounts along the way! Go ahead and read on.

The Bans Plan - Part II - Start to Finish

So you’ve decided you want to take the plunge. Good for you! You’ve left the field of empty promises and have started to work toward building a real online presence. Let’s cut to the chase. You must follow these instructions IN ORDER to save yourself some heartache, money and time. I make these recommendations because I’ve watched people try to do things the wrong way and end up 100 bucks in the hole with no Ebay approval or hosting that does not work. So pay attention, follow the links (which open up in a new window for your convenience), and let’s make some money together.

Step 1: Apply to the Ebay Partner Network.

Click here to apply to the Ebay Partner Network. Don’t worry, it is free. Do this first before anything else. If you do not get accepted to EPN then you cannot use the BANS script. EPN is where all of your affiliate commissions come from. Once accepted, be sure to fill in all of your account details, including your social security number and payment preferences. After you have finished this, goto step 2.

Step 2: Purchase BANS (Build a Niche Store) - cost $99

Click here to Purchase BANS (Build a Niche Store). This is the biggest investment here. A one time $99 fee that lets you generate unlimited stores on unlimited domains for life. It’s well worth the price in my opinion as I recouped that amount in just 17 days with the script. When you get the download link, be sure to download the version that says “FULL DOWNLOAD” and not the “upgrade” one.

Step 3: Obtain Web Hosting Service.

Click here to start with Hostgator(with discount). When you sign up, chose the “Baby Croc” plan under “Shared Hosting”. Clicking the link above will get you 2 dollars off your first month of service. Pretty much it is $9.99 a month. The servers are very fast and I have had no problems. Customer Service is great too. Your account comes with the ability to host unlimited domains and pretty much limitless file space. This is very important because you will be building multiple BANS stores soon. I am currently hosting this site, 13 BANS sites and 4 other sites on my account. As you get settled into BANS more you’ll be building upwards of 50 stores. Afterall, 100 stores generating just $1 a day each translates into a paycheck of $36,500/year. Hostgator hosting allows you an afforable way of duplicating your efforts.

If you haven’t done so already: Click here to Start your HostGator Hosting Account (with discount)

P.S. use coupon code wordpress for 99 cents for your first month. Or SPRING for 7.95 first month.

Step 4: Buy your domain(s)

(Be sure to read on for coupon codes too). Okay, you have setup your HostGator account. Now you need to buy a domain (read: .com site) to point to your hosting account. This is where a bit of time will come in. Think about what you want to sell. Golf clubs? Nail Polish? Weight Loss pills? It doesn’t matter to me. What DOES matter is that you find a name for your website that has a keyword in it. For example, one of my sites is based around Golf Equipment. Therefore, my site is aptly named: “thegolfdad.com” The good news is you can either buy a .com domain for $9.99/year or a very cheap .info domain for 99 cents! I personally go with .com sites but I do have a couple .info sites which generate me income daily. Now read closely:

First click here (opens up in new window): www.GoDaddy.com

Then, when checking out, use the following coupon code(s):
If purchasing some .com domains: OYH3 ($3 bucks off each .com and 99 cent .infos if you click the link)
If you go nuts and spend over $50: BTPS7 (20% off your entire order over $50)

There, I saved you at the very least $5 for just reading my article this far.

Step 5 - Point your main domain to your hosting account.

This is the tricky part. You need to “Point” your domains from Godaddy.com to your web Hosting at Hostgator. To do this, be sure to note the DNS/Nameserver information given to you in your welcome email from HostGator. They will look like this:

ns###.hostgator.com (Note the # will have numbers there)
ns###.hostgator.com

Log into your godaddy account and look at your domain names, click on the one domain you want to manage. In the centre of the screen, you will see something like

Name Servers: (Last Update 9/15/2007)
NS49.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
NS50.DOMAINCONTROL.COM

Click on the NS49.domaincontrol.com link - and you get a screen to change the two nameservers.

Hostgator will have provided you something similar -

ns###.hostgator.com
ns###.hostgator.com

Now replace the godaddy nameserver information with the nameserver information from hostgator. It can take up to 48 hours for the change of nameserver to work round the net but most of the time it took a grand total of 1 minute for me.

You will have to do this for any other domains you purchase also. If you get stuck, the BANS forums have a wealth of information on troubleshooting. You can look there also!

Step 6 - Uploading your BANS Store Script

Let’s make this free and easy. Click here to download the free FileZilla FTP Client. Download this, enter your account details from your hostgator account email and upload your entire BANS Store to your web server space you purchased from HostGator.

Step 7 - Read the BANS Manual to setup the rest of your store!

Congratualtions! You are on your way to making your first Ebay commissions with BANS! It is my wish that you see immediate success. In general, the average BANS user sees commissions within a week of setting up a good niche store. (It took me 3 days). For further questions and motivation, read the Buildanichestore.com forums or check back here for some encouragement! Happy Selling!

-Richie