basic skills the newbie should look to develop

[dandy dan]

Can any of u guys tell me which skills a novice such as myself should be developing from the off in this business, and which skills i can leave until i have my foot in the door i.e which are the most fundamental and which skills are secondary. thanks

[Panky]

Depends on what your interests are. Learning css, html, and how to generate your own traffic are good skills to learn. Learn to sell the niche(s) you are most interested in. Learning to sell period is an asset. Selling, in general, does not come easy to a lot of people.

Put it to you this way, the more skills you can develop on your own, the less money you will be spending to outsource work.

Over time, you will figure out where to best allocate your skills. Some people know how to design, but they still outsource design jobs because they can spend time in another area to improve their business. However, they still have the skill as a back-up.

If you are interested in programming, learn to develop the skill.

If you are interested in blogging, learn how the blog software works and how to write to sell a niche.

If you are interested in building galleries and freesites, learn how to use an html editor and/or css, and an image program such as Photoshop.

If you are interested in running a TGP, learn how the different scripts work, how to trade traffic, and how to create a site built to sell.

So it really depends on what interests you. Everyone enters the business with different skill sets and on different levels. Some people might be awesome programmers, but they can't use a program like Photoshop. Other people might be able to write html and do wonderful things with CSS, but writing a decent blog post is difficult for them.

[dandy dan]

i have started looking and copying some basic html with arachnophilia. it helps being able to preview as i am builiding a page. i am just going to practice making basic pages for awhile and when i feel a bit more competent i will need some advice on how to make them better and sellable to the viewer.

Also, do u know of any basic site layouts i should look at which are
A; popular
B; simple
C; effective(in sales terms)
I would like to aim at practicing building sites which are useable in this industry, instead of just aimlessly building sites for the sake of it, and thanks again for the advice, you are indeed a fountain of knowledge

Also, what is ICQ and how do i catch it?????

AlsoAlso, is there anywhere i can get some free pics to put on these sites just so i can get the look and feel right. thanks

[Panky]

Originally Posted by dandy dan

i have started looking and copying some basic html with arachnophilia. it helps being able to preview as i am builiding a page. i am just going to practice making basic pages for awhile and when i feel a bit more competent i will need some advice on how to make them better and sellable to the viewer.

Also, do u know of any basic site layouts i should look at which are
A; popular
B; simple
C; effective(in sales terms)
I would like to aim at practicing building sites which are useable in this industry, instead of just aimlessly building sites for the sake of it, and thanks again for the advice, you are indeed a fountain of knowledge

Also, what is ICQ and how do i catch it?????

AlsoAlso, is there anywhere i can get some free pics to put on these sites just so i can get the look and feel right. thanks

For site templates, the best way is to look at sites that appeal to you. You can also do searches in Google for niches that you like and see which sites are listed. Pick through them. Make a list of things you like and don't like about a site and build a site based on those elements.

Building a site that attracts bookmarkers and sales is trial and error until you find a formula that works for you.

For example... take a TGP site... When you look at The Hun (http://www.thehun.com) and Shemp (http://www.shemp.com), these are two completely different sites, but each one works for them. Guaranteed, these guys have been around for many years, but they have been here for years because they found a formula that has remained profitable for them.

There are so many different types of sites out there and each one is unique. Each one has something just slightly different. The best way to learn is to pick apart the sites that interest you the most. What is it about those sites that makes you want to click? What about them makes you want to bookmark them to return later? Would you or would you not buy from the site?

ICQ is a chat/IM client. It's popular among the webmasters.
http://www.icq.com

If you want all the chat/IM clients, (MSN, ICQ, Yahoo, AIM), in one program, you can use Trillian.
http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/

For my chat/IM client, I use Pidgin. (http://www.pidgin.im/) It works on Windows or Linux and handles all the popular chat/IM clients such as, ICQ, MSN, AIM, Yahoo,...

You can get free pics from the sponsors to use to promote their sites. Almost all of the sponsors have zip sets of content available for download that affiliates use to promote the sponsors sites. The main thing is, do not use one sponsors content to promote another sponsor. Make sure to read the terms of how you may or may not use the free content. If you are not sure, ask your sponsor rep or someone listed on the sponsors contact page.

[Mister E]

The people who responded to this thread prove an important point!
It is so important to spend time at Chat Boards like X Nations.


Read as much as you can and watch the threads unfold. Learn who is who see how each board differs and give it a few days before you begin posting.

I had an extensive tenure in this business then left to play music. When I returned, I acted on impulse, as I am want to do!

I pissed off a mod at another (unimportant) Board then realized my error was in not reading the rules....

The bottom line: a lot of business can be done and, as important: many incredible people are out there, waiting to say hi and get to know you.