July 3rd 2008
These are the words that I have encountered while researching in the Internet. I came up with my own definition based on my understanding on these terms. These are just high level definitions but I hope they will be helpful to you. I will be adding more as I encounter more terms.
June 26th 2008
In my first review, I did a trial run on the software and used someone else’s website. I did this just to test how it works. Few days ago, I tried to build the real thing 
Finding a Niche
I really did not spend much time on this one. I am just so eager to start building a site so I just picked a brand. The one that I picked was Adidas. Since I am planning to setup more stores, I’ve created a list of other niches that I would like to try out in the future.
Domain name registration
This step took a while since the good ones are already taken. I spent 2-3 nights trying to find a good name. I thought I found a good name and realized that it was misspelled after I registered it. 
The one that I chose was www.cheapaddidas.com. It should have been adidas, not addidas. I thought I should still use it because I have already paid for it and it appears that a lot of people misspell it. I typed ‘addidas’ in Google and a lot of search results were displayed so I thought it is still fine.
Hosting
I’ve signed up for a new hosting account for my niche store. I signed up with Host Gator because it was the recommended by the BANS site. I got the Baby package because it allows you to create unlimited number of domains on one hosting package. For me, it is a good deal because I am planning to create multiple niche stores. I was also able to get a 20% discount because I used a coupon :) See this link for more details:
http://www.ratraceslave.com/web-hosting/save-money-on-hosting/
After the hosting was setup, I linked the domain with my hosting account. The steps for doing this are detailed in the manual so I found that easy.
Installation and Setup
After setting up the prerequisites, I’ve started installing the files in my new account. This part was very easy because I’ve tried it before. I started to modify the look of the site after. I wanted it to look more like an Adidas store so I sticked with black and white colors. I also did the logo myself. I basically followed the instructions on the BANS site on how to enhance the elements of the page. Everything was pretty straight forward.
Traffic!
I actually don’t know a lot of options on how to promote my store. I started with adding the site’s URL to Google, Yahoo, etc. After about 1-2 weeks, the site can be found on Google. Yehey! I am planning to explore more ways on how to gain traffic so let’s see what happens.
You can visit my Cheap Adidas store at www.cheapaddidas.com
Now a niche store owner,
The Rat Race Slave
June 22nd 2008
I have just downloaded a copy of BANS, also known as Build a Niche Store. It is basically a software that lets you build eBay affiliate sites easily. When an item from eBay is bought through your site, you get a commission. I can’t remember where I found this but it’s in the list of items that I would like to try out. I’ve wanted to have an online store so I thought this is a good start. Eventually, I would like to have several of these so I could work from home.
Licensing
After downloading and unzipping the files that I’ve downloaded from the BANS site, I started reading the license information and instructions on how to register in their forums. The contents of the files were short and straight to the point, not the usual lengthy ones that no one reads. One good thing about this software is that you can use it as many times as you like. Like what is mentioned in their site, you could be building an eBay affiliate empire if you want!
Forums
I’ve signed up in the BANS forums and was shocked to see that there are already thousands of topics posted there. There were also hundreds of topics written under the Success Stories section so I guess it was a good sign. I quickly browsed the forum and found a couple of interesting topics to help members create a good niche store.
Installation
After visiting the forums, I started to read the installation and user’s manual and followed it step by step. I’m already familiar with some items such as uploading files, choosing a domain name, etc so I just skimmed that part. The manual discusses this in detail so it is a good thing for those who haven’t tried it. The installation was so easy follow.
The installer leads you to an admin panel where you could configure the format of the site. For me, this was the fun part. You can change the layout, the colors, add some ads, etc. For those not familiar with HTML, you can change the format of your site using the admin panel. If you can fill up a form, you can create a site. I just played around with this to be familiarized with the tool.
What I think
Generally, I think this is a good software. It is relatively easy to use and has lots of potential. There are also a lot of goodies that can be found in the BANS forum and in the Internet. You can use it for several sites so you can have multiple streams of income.
However, since there are probably hundreds (if not thousands) of niche stores out there, yours have to stand out. With this in mind, you will probably have to know PHP, HTML, CSS and maybe mySQL to fully configure your site.
Since it is a software, you can’t expect it to be perfect. There are probably bugs, hopefully not too many. I guess having the forums helps a lot in this area.
What to do
I haven’t chosen a niche yet so I’m not really done with this yet. I also still have to choose a domain name. I will be featuring my first niche store so watch out for my next post!
The Rat Race Slave
June 19th 2008
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Code: wordpress
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