Internet Marketing - Surviving the First Year

So you've decided to take the leap into deep water and go into business for yourself, specifically into Internet Marketing. Congratulations! This was a smart decision, one that will eventually reward you with all the dreams you can dream. Your challenge now is to survive that 1st year.

Hopefully you're reading this early on in your endeavors, and can make the adjustments necessary to keep your enterprise afloat and your bank account buoyant. Here are several things the "gurus" neglected to mention along the way to building your own internet marketing empire!

1 - Who are you listening to? There are a lot of people who've made a lot of money, and they're all too eager to tell you about it, frequently in the form of their latest product. It's very easy to find yourself tuning in too many voices, instead of riding one horse till it either gets you there or is spent. Find a niche that interests you, find products that are either yours or through an affiliate program, and focus entirely on your plan, not allowing yourself to chase rabbits.

2 - What is certain! And that is that the real money to be made in internet marketing is produced in the following ways: owning your own site(s), your own products, your own opt-in mailing list, and your own vision! Think about it! Not one of the internet millionaires to whom we look to for advice has lacked any of these for very long. You bought their products off their sites, joined their mailing lists, and to one degree or another shared their vision. If you haven't already, begin immediately to build your own empire. Build a site, start learning about traffic, linking, opt-in lists and all the other essentials necessary for long-term success. Affiliate marketing will only take you so far. In fact, most of the top affiliates have several of their own products!

3 - The learning curve. There is a certain amount of information you simply have to either learn (or pay for). Don't discount the fact that this will take a little time. One doesn't discover how to build and market a fully- optimized web site in a month. Or three! This is; and because of the fluid nature of the web; always will be a work-in-progress. Do what you can do every day and come back tomorrow for more. Don't be discouraged when the money takes a while to appear; if you do this right, when it does show up it will be worth the wait!

4 - A support system. Get one. Don't plan on supporting yourself from your business right away. It took the best at the very least several months to start seeing any real money. Don't despair if you turn out to be mortal, too. Give yourself a chance at this; the rewards are simply too great. I'll leave you with a quote that sustained me many a night: "I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship." - Louisa May Alcott

Keith Thompson is the webmaster of Internet Marketing Here & Now where you can find lots of information on how to learn internet marketing!

---

Building Community Websites = Success Online

In this article I will discuss how important is it... Read More

The Truth Behind Guaranteed Sign Ups

I've got a confession to make... I have been into... Read More

Having The Right Attitude And Start Becoming A Problem Solver

Do you really want to make money online?Do you want... Read More

Creative Offline Website Marketing Techniques

Although the vast majority of website traffic is the direct... Read More

What Great Online Advertising Really Is!

Many business people have a distorted view about the distinction... Read More

Internet Marketing - Advantages and Disadvantages

Everyone seems to be jumping on the internet marketing bandwagon... Read More

I Was at the Point of Giving Up With My Website - Then Something Wonderful Happened!

This wasn't meant to sound like one of those "rags... Read More

7 Quick Marketing Tips To Uplift Your Profits

1. Publish an ezine.Your ezine will help you to stay... Read More

10 Amplifying Ways To Turn Up Your Sales Volume

1. Make your potential customers forget about the competition. Just... Read More

Money Can Still be Made on the Internet

Even though the days of an IPO generating millions of... Read More

Great Ways To Obtain Link Popularity

I hate reciprocal linking.It is such a hassle. Even specialized... Read More

How Quality Content Will Increase Your Traffic and Sales

Are you aware of how vitally important and valuable CONTENT... Read More

5 Sure Fire Ways To Send Visitors Away For Good

Way No. 1 - Clog Up Their Internet ConnectionImagine it.... Read More

Marketing Tourism Online, Part One: The Basics

This is part one of an article series which will... Read More

Beware the Click Without the Conversion

Why is this funny?Because in essence, a "click-through" places money... Read More

Ways That You Can Make Money From Your Online Business Model

If you are convinced by now that you wish to... Read More

Look Smart Not Small Business Friendly

There is a firestorm of negative press regarding LookSmart's recent... Read More

Online Sales: 10 Incredible Online Sales Tactics To Make Your Sales Soar

Are you interested in making your online sales soar like... Read More

Never Underestimate the Value of Giving Things Away

"Never underestimate the value of giving things away." I remember... Read More

SEO 101... These Tags Really Do Matter

In search of the coveted search engine traffic? Yes? Then... Read More

Online Marketing: Math or Myth?

The numbers are supposed to be big in online marketing,... Read More

8 Benefits Of Helping An Online Business Newbie

Do your remember when you first ventured out in the... Read More

Why Online Business - The Harsh Reminder Why Online Business Is For You

Many people want to achieve financial freedom and they know... Read More

12 Steps to Creating a Business Online

"E-commerce"A word pervading our society, making headlines around the world,... Read More

Information Products: the Changing Trends for 2005

2005 is a great year for affiliate marketers, as online... Read More

Ten Ways to Sell to Your Customers Again and Again

OK, so you're making some sales, either of your own... Read More

The Niche Website Naming Secret

Today I was optimizing a couple new websites for search... Read More

The Internet F-Word

For the last several months I've been collecting and organizing... Read More

10-Essential Points When Considering Pop-Under Advertising

I have been running tests on the use of Pop-Unders... Read More

3 Simple Steps To Get Free Original Content for Your Website

As a web business owner you will be well aware... Read More

Internet Marketing: 10 Ingenious Secret Strategies To Explode Your Sales

Marketing on the internet is getting harder and harder daily.It... Read More

A Day in the Life of an Internet Marketer

I have been working on the Internet since 1998 and... Read More

Yanik Silver Asked Some Questions That Peaked My Curiosity

It's so simple! I wish I'd discovered it a year... Read More