Internet marketing, as an industry, is rapidly becoming a major part of many household's income. While a number of Internet marketing professionals are earning 6, 7 and 8-figure incomes online, society as a whole may well be impacted to a far greater extent by thousands of people using Internet marketing to keep their families out of harm's way as the economies of the developed countries continue to deteriorate over the next few years.
Most of the press surrounding this new industry focuses on a few success stories of well-heeled 'Gurus' or the inevitable cheats who foster SPAM by the boatload, but the truth, and the importance, of Internet marketing is that it can allow everyday people, grasping at straws to try and maintain their lifestyle, to protect their assets and maintain their standard of living during the current downturn.
Far from the perceived 'Get Rich Quick' panacea that some purport Internet marketing to be, the truth is that it's a business, like any other in that it either takes money or time investments to launch, must be nurtured heavily like any newborn, and that there really are NO guarantees as to how any one individual will do, nor even how any one venture will do, even for the most experienced Internet marketers.
There are a few major differences from traditional 'brick & mortar' businesses, however. First, and perhaps most importantly, it IS possible to launch a successful Internet marketing business with no major financial investment, provided you already have a computer and an Internet connection. The launch process can be strengthened and the income horizon shortened with deeper pockets, to be sure, but they aren't the prerequisite in Internet marketing that they are in the offline world. This becomes a major factor for those trying to dig their way out of financial distress, avoid further declines in family finances or achieve a better-funded lifestyle for their families.
The second major difference is the amount of valuable information on starting and running an Internet business that is available for free online. A search at Google for 'making money online', 'Internet marketing' or 'Affiliate marketing' will return about an equal amount of resources that are for sale and that are available for free. Almost every Internet marketer, operating in any niche you can name, offers a free newsletter or 'e-zine' that dispenses a great deal of free information as well. Try to imagine an automobile manufacturer or pharmaceutical company sending you regular information on how to compete with them, how to recreate their products, etc.!
Thirdly, many of the most powerful Internet marketing tools are available for your use for free. Blogger or Wordpress allow you to set up a free blog, hundreds of blogging directories allow you to list your blog and/or blog posts in their directories for free, and article directories all over the world will publish and distribute your articles for free. Numerous Internet marketing giveaways are held each year, allowing you to get your inital products to sell for no investment, or you can choose to start out in Affiliate Marketing, which then removes the need for you to have a product of your own at all.
Affiliate marketing refers to selling other people's products for a percentage of each sale you refer, similar to a commissioned salesperson in the offline world. But with the high profit margin on downloadable digital products, the commissions routinely run from 50% to 75% of the sale! Using a free blog and article submissions to drive targeted traffic to these sites is probably the easiest way to get started in Internet marketing, since you have no capital outlay to get started and can earn a substantial affiliate income. And many reputable companies running an affiliate program, such as ours at Team Champigny, provide ongoing training to help people maximize their affiliate earnings. We take it further than most by having Jeffrey Levesque, our Team Champigny Affiliate Manager, host free training teleseminars each week to teach the methods, point out new opportunities and answer every question our affiliates may have, but any reputable Internet marketing company offering an affiliate program will also have various training resources available to their affilates.
Making money online through Internet marketing is a huge field, yet often painted with the brush of 'teaching others to make money online'. While that's one fast-growing aspect of the business, the truth is that it's one of the smallest niches - and definitely the most competitive. I don't recommend the 'make money online' area for anyone who does not already have strong marketing skills - you're up against some of the best marketers around, drawn by the fact that the top individuals are earning millions per year in this niche.
But then again, more people are making more money in the bigger niches - children, pets, sports, health, fitness, music - all of which draw huge audiences online. Do you have a passion for gardening? Then tackle that niche for your first online business. Are you a soccer nut? A role-playing-games aficionado? A connoisseur of fine wines? A lover of rare and antique books? Each of these niches has people making a good income from their Internet marketing endeavors - and so can most people if they stay within fields they're truly passionate about.
While great marketers can feign their passion about any topic, most people do not have the tenacity and patience to build a business, online or offline, that deals with any subject not important to them personally. If you love dogs, you'll put a lot of effort into your dog sites and take the time to answer questions, research new information, write your e-zine and eventually start writing your own products to sell to other dog lovers online. But if you love dogs and write about Golf, a subject you're not particularly keen on, other aspects of your life will quickly distract you from your online efforts, causing your new online business to fail from a lack of attention and effort.
And speaking of focus and effort, that brings us to the hardest part of estanblishing and Internet business and making your Internet marketing efforts profitable - focus. Most people reading this information and considering their own Internet marketing business have never been self-employed and have never truly worked from home. And unfortunately, as an employee you have probably learned to do as little as necessary to maintain your job, having seen that putting in more effort brings no accolades, no extra bump in your paycheck, and can in fact create resentment among your co-workers. You continue to perform each day to avoid the wrath of your boss and to keep from being fired, but spend more and more of your day chit-chatting with your fellow cubicle-dwellers.
That has to be 'unlearned' completely if you want to be successful online in Internet marketing! First, there will be no one standing over you to ensure you get your work done for the day - YOU have to make sure you do it. Just putting in the minimum effort won't cut it either... With the exception of a few individuals who came into the business with huge personal funds to invest, no one I've met at our level or above got here without LONG hours over the keyboard, day after day, week after week. Yes, eventually the revenue you generate can allow you pleasures few can afford with their salaries, luxury gifts to yourself and extensive travel, etc - but it comes from a plethora of hours working diligently and staying focused on your projects and your goals!
So in truth, far from being a 'get-rich-quick' industry, what Internet marketing offers the average person online is a way to truly be rewarded based on their own efforts, focus and dedication. If you're the one in your office who is always putting in the most effort, always going above and beyond the call of duty, the one who's still there at night long after the others have left, you can probably make a lot more money online than you are in your job. But if you're the stereotypical party animal that shirks responsibility, gets by on as little effort as possible and dreams of beachcombing by day and partying by night, stay with the job you're lucky to have right now - those qualitites will get you exactly nowhere online.
To give yourself the best chance of succeeding online, start with goals that require small steps. Learn enough to get started in your niche, track down a few affiliate programs related to the subject you're passionate about, set up a blog and make related posts to it, write articles on the subject and use the author's box for your affiliate links to those products, and work the system til you make $1. That shows you you can earn money online, and that first affiliate payment, even for $1, will be a big boost to your motivation and self-confidence online. Then focus on doing it again - that second dollar shows it wasn't a fluke, that it's actually a system you can repeat over and over again, with ever-increasing results.
From that point on, how far you go and how much you earn is up to you. Only YOU know how much time and effort you can spare your Internet marketing enterprise; only YOU know whether you're looking to make $50 a week to help cover the bills, a few hundred a month to go into your vacation account or your retirement fund, or even enough to leave that cubicle behind and focus on building your own business and hopefully becoming wealthy along the way. But no matter which category fits you, they all start with small steps and sub-goals, so don't start out with huge expectations or the disappointing spots along the path will stop you before you get there.
Internet marketing CAN be your solution to protecting your family, your assets, and your income. It can also be a financial and time drain that will suck the entrepreneurial life out of you. Be prudent in your decisions about what to do, what to buy or pass up, and about to what level you want to immerse yourself in Internet marketing. Starting small will give you a great taste of the industry and what's required to succeed - and that's the information you need to know whether you want to persue your Internet marketing business or not. Internet marketing isn't for everyone, just like any other profession or postion. But for those of us thriving in it, it's the best 'job' in the world!
I can only hope you're as happy in your chosen path as we are in the lifestyle that Internet marketing is providing for us. Hopefully we'll see you at one of the live Internet marketing seminars that are held each year, and you'll be able to relate your own success story to us then!
Dr. Edward Beck
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Real Money Online?
Awesome job Doug.
Sincerely,
Ed
http://theincomenut.
Mark Waltzer
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Great Knol...
Mark
http://www.analytixs
karthikeyan rajkumar
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great info...
http://blogtenet.com
Kathiravan Manoharan
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Thanks for the Study!!!
-Kathiravan Manoharan
http://kathyravan.bl
http://paisamechanic
Fione Tan - eOneNet.com Internet Marketing
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Only if you want to make money online!
Even if it's mini steps, then at least you are trying out something on the Internet. Attending internet seminars are one of the shortcuts to get started so for entrepreneurs out there, wait no more!
Regards
Fione Tan
Founder of http://www.eOneNet.c
http://www.InternetM
http://www.FioneTan.
http://www.1internet
Robert Greco
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Online Marketing Solutions
Very detailed information for those looking to get a solid and honest insight into Internet Marketing.
Making money online can either be easy or defficult, but taking small steps just like you mentioned is the way to go.
Keep up the good info.
- Rob
Learn It, Use It, Profit...
http://www.shockwave
mooodyman
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"First Couple of Internet Marketing"
I too spent the last few years buying, reading, learning and missed the "Take Action" part, totally to my chagrin. I became an "Expert" at nothing as I soon learned when I started to get serious. All those hours and spent brain cells didn't prepare me for the actual work. When I did get started everything I thought I knew had to be relearned and the learning curve started all over BUT for good cause this time!
With Doug's patience and guidance I made my first Affiliate sale and Commission using his system and products, in fact I took a screen capture of the report and printed it out and have it posted above my monitor! Other positive results have followed since :)
This article reflects exactly what Doug is all about and his breadth of knowledge on this subject is immense. He is a leader and teacher. I highly recommend Doug & Teri as Mentors, Coaches and best of all Friends. And...
I'm Lovin' It!
"Mr Emotions"
John Cussons
http://www.pixelmecr
http://www.MrEmotion
http://www.IMovator.
http://www.JohnCusso
Kathe
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Online Opportunities Are Abundant...
So many people have been swept up in the "get rich quick 'cause he or she did it..." mentality that when they don't make it all right then, right now, they give up.
Ok, so they don't get wealthy (although they still COULD), these days, paying a few bills or putting some gas in the car CAN be a big help to many families.
I hope others read your words and then THINK about what they really want and what they are willing to sacrifice to get it. Yes, there are sacrifices to be made in any business. You sacrifice your day to go to your job if you work offline, you should at least understand you need to sacrifice those same hours to work for yourself.
It's that EXTRA MILE that the real winners will take. When they turn that corner, that's when the real opportunity will present itself. DARE TO SUCCEED. Challenge yourself. Do more than the average, and watch YOUR business grow and blossom the more experienced you become.
Keep up the good work guys!
All My Best,
Kathe Lucas,
http://www.wackywedn
http://www.launchale
Anonymous
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Internet Marketing DOES work!
That's when I met Doug Champigny and my fortune changed! Doug knows what he is talking about because he not only can do it himself, but he can train Internet novices like me how to turn a profit on the Internet. Once I earned that first dollar, things really turned around for me and it all started falling into place.
The secret is to find a mentor (I highly recommend Doug Champigny) and don't ever give up. Once you find a mentor, make sure you do what they say. Nobody likes someone who asks for help and advice and then doesn't follow that advice.
Follow Doug and do what he says and you'll do well.
Best Wishes!
Charles Burleigh
http://www.CharlesBu
Rick-The Affiliate Marketer Macaulay
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True enough!
There's no "easy Money" way to get rich on the Internet. With mentoring and direction I made a thousand online in my first month, but was spinning my wheels for 2 years before then. Buying every promise that hyped the "get rich quick" promise, which left me broke and frustrated.
The Internet can be a free training ground to learn online marketing and Team Champigny (which I'm a member of) is a great way to learn for free and make a profit. On the first night of our training call a fellow made his first online sale ever! It was great to see.
Just don't give up!
Rick Macaulay
http://www.RickMacau