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 bouyant. 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