How do you know about Internet Marketing?

You’ve made the decision! You want to start earning a living on the internet. But you know nothing about the ways and means of making a living online, as you’ve never done this before. Honestly, you are LOST. You are on your own. There you sit in front of your computer not knowing where to start. You are thinking…

Where do I start???

If you are at the generic starting point, the first thing is for you make a list of your interests and passions. Some of them may be downright silly, but that’s perfectly acceptable. For example, my list would be writing, reading, internet marketing, health, yoga, success, motivation, and animals. I don’t know much about music and that’s okay with me. To succeed in anything in life, being passionate about it is the key. Keep that list aside, you will need it later.

There is more than one way to skin the cat. Let’s first take a look at some common ways of making money on the internet.

Survey Sites
These are silts that give you surveys. If you qualify for a particular survey, you can earn anywhere between $10 to $50 for taking one survey. If you fall in the right demographics, you will be earning at the most a few hundred dollars per month. You will not ever get rich from doing these surveys. Remember, never to pay for any of them.

MLM – Multilevel Marketing
You get people to sign up and they in turn have to do the same. Some of these MLM programs go as deep as 10 levels. Just be cautious with the ones that have no service or product, as they are considered illegal pyramids and will be shut down eventually. These programs, when legit, do work perfectly. You need to get the guidance of a seasoned marketer to understand which ones are good. The earning potential can literally be thousands and millions of dollars per year. The fact is that most people who join these fail. About 5% of people who have success with these programs fall in the income range of below $10,000. Only about 1%-2% make above $10,000/month. Be very cautious because they are not everyone’s cup of tea.

Affiliate Marketing - Selling others products
Selling others products is called Affiliate Marketing and this can be wonderfully lucrative if you have enough time to promote the products. Everything depends on the product and how you advertise. You must ensure you choose a product that people are interested in.

Clickbank is a major company that offers this service. You need to do a lot of research on a product before trying to sell it. There are hundreds of products to choose from. The earning potential with affiliate marketing is unlimited. Just like MLM, most affiliate marketers fail, because they don’t know how to advertise

Starting your own business
The potential earnings with your own business on the internet is unlimited. You may make your own ebook, start some sort of a service, or create a software or product and sell it. You will need your own domain, web hosting, and website.

When I am talking about ‘your own business’, I sure don’t ask you to go for anything that is readymade and owned by many others. It is always better to build a product or website from scratch, which belongs to you and you only. If you are not proficient enough, get one made exclusively for you.

Freelancing
Freelancing gives you the freedom to do what you want on the net, and do it the way you wish to. You are your own BOSS. This is not easier than the others, as it involves even more dedication and commitment. If you are creating a website for yourself, its okay if you delay it for some reason. But when working for a client, its definitely NOT okay. You need to be willing to give it your all.

There are several roads you could take if you wish to get into freelancing. Writing, web designing, graphics designing, software development, photography, and anything you can think of. Freelancing pays very well if the quality of your work is good. This calls for a separate topic altogether.

What happened to the list of passions?
Good question! You must be wondering what happened to the list of your favorites that you prepared. I am getting to that. That list is very essential in whatever you choose to do online, especially if you plan on starting your own business and creating a website or even for selling affiliate products. Imagine me creating a website on ‘music’. What would I end up earning. Nothing! I have no idea what I would be talking about and people will see through the façade and leave me without a whisper. The crucial thing is giving valuable information that people are always on the lookout for. Even if you are selling affiliate products, you will be able to do well only if you know what you are talking about. In fact, freelance writing also entails writing on something you enjoy. See, what I mean by ‘passion’!

Within your passions, find a niche through keyword research, that has a lot of monthly searches and does not have a ton of competition. This way you can make a killing when you promote it to the masses.

Programs not worth looking at
Note that I have not talked about paid to read email programs, randomizers, doublers, paid typing companies, selling advertising, etc. because I don’t feel these are worth looking into, as most are scams and it is extremely difficult to weed out the bad from the few genuine ones that exist, unless you are a pro and have been here for a long while.

Well! There you go. The options are in front of you. Which one suits you best? Look at what you are from inside. Your personality, your goals, ambitions, and your passions all play a major role in helping you succeed.