…so why not start here (or right where you are at, actually)?!? One of the first things you need to do is to think about how you want to do internet marketing. Do you want to work it as a full time job, or as a sort of recreational pastime or hobby, or somewhere in between. Write down your thoughts and list some of the things you would like to accomplish with your efforts–such as a full time income or just to supplement your existing source; to market you own products whether they be physical or digital; to blog to your hearts content sharing you lifetime of experience, knowledge and wisdom; to market the products of others by being an affiliate or drop shipper; to become the next big thing on YouTube by creating a viral video; or do a combination of two or more of the above suggestions.
When you have a good idea of where you want to go with your internet business, it is time to educate yourself on how to accomplish your goals. Some people have the luxury of paying other people for producing their products and building and then setting up their websites, but I am assuming you have more time than money. Also, I believe that it is good to know how to do the things it takes to be in the internet business such as building and maintaining websites. (Fortunately, WordPress makes this easy and convenient for the average person to do. You don’t need to know how to write code and all that other techie stuff.)
Many books have been written about how you can make money online. There are books about achieving success on eBay and Amazon.com, making money with blogs, building a Squidoo lens, doing article marketing, profiting from affiliate marketing, and building niche websites, just to name a few. However, despite all these resources the vast majority of all new marketers fail to make any money online. Not only do they fail to make money, they often end up losing a lot of money while trying to make money! Even more importantly, they waste precious time.
They simply do not have a strong enough foundation on which to build an online business. They lack the basic insight and knowledge required to succeed. They try to run before they can walk, or start walking without knowing where they are going. I have no doubt that it is possible to become a successful internet marketer in a short period of time, but only if you start off with a clear understanding of the basic concepts of internet marketing.
There are many internet marketers who have already produced excellent training on how to get started and then build a successful internet business–therefore, I am not going to reinvent the wheel here, but rather, add my personal experience and knowledge gained to the arsenal of quality information on making a living online. Please keep in mind that internet marketing is normally not a way to get rich quick. It takes time and hard work to build the momentum needed to attract customers and/or followers. My intent here is to help reduce some of the time and effort that it takes someone if they were starting from scratch like I did.
Many people consider internet marketing as one of the best ways to strike gold. And you know what? They are right. Where else can you set up a business within a couple of hours at virtually no cost and start making money 24 hours a day from customers all over the world? The better prepared you are the bigger your chances will be to strike gold in internet marketing. The more you know about internet marketing the less likely you will be to make stupid mistakes and fall for “get rich quick” schemes.