Internet Marketing and
Online Business Basics

Graphic of an internet purchase If you have been on the internet for any length of time, you've undoubtedly received emails from marketers or seen web pages that will sell you all kinds of e-books and tools that are guaranteed to make you BIG MONEY immediately and that it will be SO EASY.

Do you believe them. If you do, then I have some land on the moon that I'd like to sell you at a very good price.

Sellers make the Money, not the Buyers

Now, I don't deny that many people have become rich, even millionaires, through online businesses, but almost all of them have done so in ways very similar to how one makes money and becomes rich in the REAL WORLD: Through lots of hard work, dedication to a good idea, using their skills, and being persistent.

I will also admit that some people have made lots of money very quickly online, but,... and I mean BUT, these instances are rare and are the exceptions, NOT the RULE.

One thing I can GUARANTEE you, is that the internet if FULL OF OVERLY-HYPED PRODUCTS. That's how marketers sell their products and that's how the bulk of the online money is being made.

The bulk of the money being made online is not being make by people who are buying products, it is being made by the people who are selling the products.

And, just like in the off-line world, there are good products and there are bad products, and some are just plain junk.

So, if you want to make money online, then your best chance for this to happen (although not the only way) is to have something to sell. And even more importantly than having something to sell, is having a product that consumers want to buy. It doesn't matter how good your product (or service) is, if you can't get people to buy it, then your business will fail.

Buy Your Products and Tools Carefully

In order for you to be successful online, there are many things that you will have to learn, and programs and tools that you will have to buy.

Online, almost every product is hyped as being the best one on the market, and that it does a better job than all other competing products. So how do you know which one is really the best and which one you should buy?

Just like in the off-line world, if you are going to buy something, do your research first. And especially don't buy on emotion. Take, with a grain of salt, any testimonials that are posted with the product on a sales page. They might be true, and they might not be true.

Graphic of person doing internet research Find out whatever you can about a product before you buy it.

Go to the Blogs and forums and see what people are saying about it.
Check for product reviews by the reputable online technical magazines like PC World (www.pcworld.com) and PC Magazine (www.pcmag.com).
Check for product reviews at the websites that are known for their unbiased reviews such as Cnet (www.cnet.com)
Look for customer reviews of products at retail websites that allow customers to make such posts. Amazon.com is one such place but many others are starting to post such reviews.

Choose your products carefully and wisely. Buy only one at a time and get the one that you have determined will help you the most at that point in time. It will be very easy to get overwhelmed by everything that you feel you need to buy and need to learn.

Some of the programs and tools that you may need to purchase to help you run an online business include:

Accounting software
A Good Graphics program
Web Design program
Word processor
Spreadsheet program
Database program
Keyword Research Tools
SEO tools
List Building Tools

Don't Purchase Tools & Programs Based on Emotion

Picture of emotion Many products are marketed in a way to make you believe that if you do not buy them RIGHT NOW, then it will be too late, that you will miss out on a great deal and your only opportunity to BE SUCCESSFUL.
Don't believe it.

If the product is any good, then it will be available tomorrow and it will probably be available 3 months from tomorrow.

Once you purchase the one that you think will be of the most help to you, learn how to use it. Put it to work and see if you can get some good results using it. After a test period, take a step back and analyze what you have accomplished. Determine, if you continue to work at what you have recently learned and accomplished, will it help you, your business and your chances of making money. If so, then be persistent and keep on working at what you are doing.

When you are ready to try another product that you think better help you achieve your goals, then do some more research. Again, analyze the products to see which one might be the best one to help you meet your goals.

In general, be thorough, be patient and don't rush into emotional purchases.
Keep your eye on your goals and don't be distracted by every "MUST HAVE PRODUCT" that you see advertised.

Always Strive to Be Better and Improve Your Business

Don't think that once you learn how to do something or become successful, then your learning can stop and you can just coast the rest of the way. The internet is always changing and there are thousands of other people online who are competing with you who have similar products or goals.

There will always be someone else who comes up with a better "mousetrap", a another way to steal your customers, and who will figure out how to "out market" you. If you don't continue to improve and learn more, then you will lose ground and ultimately lose your business.

Picture of girl striving to be better at internet marketing Some of the things that you will likely need to learn something about and that could become KEY to the success of your business are:

SEO or Search Engine Optimization
Pay-per-click advertising
List building techniques (customer lists)
Email marketing
Blogging
Keyword Research
Affiliate Marketing
etc.... the list goes on and on.

The basic concepts for each of these things will stay somewhat the same, but there will be new techniques, new technologies and new ways of implementing them that will continually change, and sometimes this change will happen very quickly.

So as change happens and competition increases, you will need to change with it or stay one step ahead of the game. The harsh reality is that if you don't adapt your online business and techniques to the changing world, then your business will reach a "stagnant point" and soon thereafter will "crash and burn".

Success Off-line is Just Like Success Online

Just remember, that if you think you can make BIG QUICK MONEY online, your chances of doing this are no better than your chances of doing this off-line in the real world.

And to be successful in the off-line world, it takes lots of hard work, dedication to a good idea, using your skills, and being persistent. The same thing that it takes to be successful online.