Learning PHP/MYSQL
Submitted by KE on Thu, 05/22/2008 - 00:44.
I hear a lot of people who do AM saying that it's very helpful to learn php/mysql because you then create these large databases of information which will make it easier to scale up.
Does anyone here have a recommendation on a book or video that's free but that does a good job of teaching you php/mysql?
I'm still in the process of learning PHP and I'm pretty much in the learn what I need to know to do what I'm doing now stage. I've been doing JavaScript for about 6 years which makes it a little easier to pick up PHP I think. I purchased a few books.
PHP & MYSQL for Dummies
PHP & MYSQL Bible
Website SEO with PHP
If you're looking for some free resources and tutorials, you might want to look at
http://wdvl.com/
Hope this helps.
James
My personal opinion is that you don't need to know PHP or MySQL to be successful in affiliate marketing. I have been a software developer for over 10 years and the only advantage to knowing PHP and MySQL is that I can save a few dollars when building my own sites. Does this make me a better affiliate? No. Does it save me time? Maybe. If I outsource a site then I can spend my time creating campaigns, ad copy, keyword research, etc. These skill are more important than knowing how to program using PHP and MySQL. I am not saying that these are not important but merely trying to point out that as a beginner it would probably be a better use of your time trying to develop your skills as an affiliate rather than a web developer.
Cheers,
Jason Woods
Follow me on Twitter
I'm not a programmer. My brain just won't do that kind of thing but I have learned just enough php so I can hack WP blogs and so I know what to ask for when I outsource php work.
Look at it this way. If you were going to live in France, you'd learn French right? But, if you were just going to visit, you'd get a phrase book in order to understand the basics so the taxi driver didn't charge you $300 for a simple 5 minute journey!
Are you going to make your living as a php programmer? No, so just learn enough so you can get by and have someone fluent in the language do all the hard work.
In order to get up to speed, I recommend the following books:
php solutions by David Powers.
php Visual Quick Start Guide by Larry Ullman.
Very well stated!
Twitter.com/RyanHakes
Jason,
that is interesting that you are a software developer and you feel that it gave you no special advantages when it came to AM.
I thought php helped one create huge databases and allows one to automate many of their AM business functions.
Yeah PHP is great for creating dynamics websites and applications on top of a database. But my knowledge of PHP doesn't make me a better AM. It just means I can build my own sites if I want to. It also means I can create utilities to automate my business if I want, but who has the time? I'm in this business to make money, period. I would much rather spend my time researching products, markets, niches, keywords, writing ad copy, creating campaigns, testing landing pages, etc. than throw together a website. Yeah sure I can program and I can even write decent articles for my sites but that doesn't mean I am going to. These are the things that I would much rather farm out because they take up a lot of my time and they are not the CORE tasks of my business. My business is to market products and services for merchants. I am not in the web development business and I am not in the article writing business. I devote my time to those things that matter the most and the other things, even though I am quite competent to do my self, I farm out.
Cheers,
Jason Woods
Follow me on Twitter
That post is volume packed with clarity and focus for the determined affiliate marketer. I'm printing it out to re-read when I get off track.
Thanks Jason!
Twitter.com/RyanHakes
jason,
thanks for clarifying this point for me. it's very helpful because I was grappling with whether or not I should learn php/mysql (which would have taken me a long time) but after reading your entry above, I' am now sure that it's not something I want to spend time on or that I'd even enjoy doing.
It's about the marketing and you are right about that.
I come from 13 years professional programming and have found that in some cases it has been a disadvantage because I get sidetracked and think I can do php, HTML, etc when I should be focusing on the marketing, etc ..
Do you really need to learn PHP / MYSQL to build your website ?
Sounds like you haven't decided on what niche you want to pursue eh ?
The PHP that you may need to know such as dynamic keyword insertion for landing pages is really easy and is just a case of cutting and pasting and searching google
If you do need to learn some php there are lots of online resource though ..
This is a great resource for PHP and MySQL
http://w3schools.com/
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http://twitter.com/dschuyler