Internet Marketing   If your building websites for any reason at all, you NEED to look at this: It's FREE!!! Go get it before it isn't... The best free site builder tool there is...   If you're thinking about starting an internet marketing adventure, how you start can make all the difference.  There's an old saying (from somewhere) that says if you're trying to learn something new, learn from the best.  Why would you do anything else?  There is an enormous amount of material out on the Web about how to get rich quick with this or that scheme.  If you haven't realized it yet (and I hate to be a bubble-burster) there is no such thing!  It all takes time, work, and effort.  But there are real possibilities, and to make any of those possibilities reality, there is a body of knowledge that you need to have.  So I think that the most important question you need to answer first is where to get that knowledge. I spent 25 years in the software business designing and developing financial software for banks and brokerage houses, so when I decided to change direction and make a go of it on my own online, I thought I knew a lot!  Well, I quickly came to realize that I really didn't!  I spent a month or two cruising the net in an attempt to decide whether or not it really was possible to make a living online.  To make a long story bearably short, I decided it was and started the process of deciding how to learn how to do it.  I'll spare you the details about all the packages and schemes I looked at - some of which looked very good at first glance - and get right to the point.  There are really only a few VERY good packages/courses out there to get you going.  The best one I've seen - and it's sitting right next to me on my desk - is from the Internet Marketing Center.   I'll tell you what's in SOME of it - although please understand that there's so much there that I can't possibly mention everything -  then you can go take a look for yourself. First of all, the product is called "The Insider Secrets to Marketing Your Business on the Internet".  It consists of two binders (yes- real paper) that are so full of good stuff, it's tough to get started describing them.  The first binder covers five major steps (which I'll describe), broken down into thirty one lessons.  By the way, this is the 2004 version of the course, so the material is very fresh.   Step One The Introduction begins with some great marketing concepts that you need to have a firm grip on before you get started.  After all, a lot of people who go online (myself included) don't necessarily know anything about marketing - and there's a lot to know!  I think many people trying to start an online business miss this very important point.  The first point made is to "follow your passion".  Now, you may think that sounds kind of corny, but think about it for just a minute.  If you intend to do all the work necessary to get started, doesn't it make sense to be involved with a topic you love?  The problem, of course, is deciding what that thing is. The trick is to be a little bit patient and you can solve the problem.  I did - and I'll admit I was a little skeptical about it at first.   There's much more in the introductory section, including the idea of finding a niche market and solving a problem, and the importance of automating as much of your business as you can.   Lesson Two  The title of Lesson Two is "Decide What You're Going to Sell".  Sounds obvious, right?  Well, maybe not!  There are an infinite number of choices here.  In fact, the course points out that you could actually start by selling someone else's product.  It's called affiliate marketing, and I think it's a great way to get started in the online world.  There is much less risk and expense and you can learn an awful lot while not risking very much - except your time.  If you're not already familiar with the affiliate marketing process, do a few Google searches on it and read.  Of course, Lesson Two gives you a lot more facts about such things as drop shipping products (keeps you're garage much cleaner), and the idea of starting you're own affiliate program - which just means paying other people a commission to sell for you.  In my little online niche, I'm finding that a lot of the people trying to sell their goods and services online don't have an affiliate program - so I contact them via email and suggest that they should.  Many of them have replied that they are working on setting one up and will contact me when the program is in place.    Lesson Seven Lesson Seven is called "Determine if You Will Need Funding" and covers the necessary aspects of finding the money required to get yourself going. Maybe you don't need any - and can work at it part-time after your day job until you start generating some income.  The lesson covers all the standard methods, and rightly warns against getting in over your head with credit card debt.  The lesson also describes a few very helpful case studies about people who have made a success of it without borrowing any money at all!  Read this lesson carefully and take it to heart!  There are a few "traps" that are easy to fall into when starting out - one of which I narrowly avoided myself.  It has to do with advertising - it's so easy to advertise online and your hopes for positive results can be so high that it's easy for your costs to escalate bit by bit unless you watch very carefully.  Make sure your ads produce MORE than they cost!  Obvious enough, right? :)  Step 2 Lesson Seven is the last in the set of lessons in "Step 1".  Step Two has four lessons that cover designing and building your website.  And you know what?  It's far, far easier than you might think.  As I mentioned above, I spent twenty five years in the technical side of a software company, so technical issues don't worry me very much, but that doesn't mean that I'm expert in HTML and other web-related technologies.  And you know what else? I don't want to be an HTML expert! And here's the really wonderful thing - you don't NEED to be anymore!  In the early days of the net, you pretty much had to be a techno-geek to make any progress.  Not true these days.  First of all, there are so many tools around now to help that ANYONE can build a wonderful website without knowing much of the technical details underneath it all - don't tell your friends! We don't need the competition.  In any case, read these four lessons and you'll know all you need to know.  When I started, I signed up with a hosting service that provides an editing tool that walks you through all the details just by asking a few questions.  No programming required.  The lessons mention that you can hire a programmer to do the work for you - which you can - but I don't think even that is necessary - unless you have particularly complex technical requirements.  Anyway, you certainly should not let technical considerations get in your way.  Lesson Eleven points you to good resources for tips about web design, and includes case studies and pictures of some well-designed sites.  In addition, one of the best teaching tools for web design is the Web!  Do some surfing and look at the sites from a design point of view.  Are they cluttered? Are they easy to use? Are there lots of annoying, flashing things going on?  You know a lot more about what makes a good site than you think!  Trust your common sense and you'll have no trouble at all.  Step 3 Step 3, which includes Lessons 12 through 16 covers salescopy - it's called "Preparing your Salescopy".  Lesson 12 first of all explains why your business needs salescopy, and goes on to distinguish between what IS salescopy and what is NOT.  The main point is that it takes more than a big, flashing headline to sell a product.  The difference between short salescopy and long salescopy is made very plain - and when the use of each is appropriate.  Lesson 13 gets down to the specific elements of your salescopy and how to produce each one.  The specific elements include headlines, sub-headlines, detailing benefits, identifying your target audience, and much more.  Great stuff, especially for those of us who had their heads buried in technical manuals (or somewhere else) and have not been directly in the business of selling.  Read and learn! Step 4 Step 4, titled "Set Up an Automated Ordering System", includes Lessons 17 through 26, and covers the nuts and bolts of doing business online.  Everything from accepting credit card payments, and a slew of other ways of accepting payments gets fully covered.  This isn't stuff that you would necessarily know how to do - unless someone who has done it shows you.  There's a great section in Lesson 20 that goes over the difference using the right shopping cart on your site can make.  If you don't understand what I mean, you WILL after reading this set of lessons.  This block of lessons also teaches you the importance of automating as much of your customer service operations as you can  - and how to do it, and has a lesson on preventing returns, and how to deal with refund requests.   Step 5 Step 5 is called "Prepare to Collect Your Visitor's E-Mail Addresses".  What's covered here are the techniques you can use to build your customer list.  This whole aspect of doing business online really opened my eyes.  I still get a kick every time I get a new customer signed up.  Step 5 consists of lessons 27 through 31.  You're taught a huge number of alternative ways of collecting email addresses.  In addition, you'll see and understand the process of storing and  managing your lists and how to profit from them.  The lessons cover newsletter production and how powerful the newsletter technique is - and how easy it really is to do.  Step 5 moves you from "theory" to practice - read Step 5 at least three times!  You won't regret it. And that's only the first binder..!!! The second binder, called "Advanced Techniques and Killer Tactics" gives you another thirty lessons in five steps that cover everything from search engine strategies (I just re-read that lesson last night) to methods for increasing the traffic to your site, to email strategies, to live chats, to discussion forums, and how to track your success..and more!! I could go on and on, but I think you've got the idea that this product is current, comprehensive, and well worth your time.  By the way, the product, from a production point of view gets an A++.  I'm a nut for typos, and I've only found one in the hundreds of pages I've read through.  From start to finish this is one very professional job!   If you've read this far, and I hope you did, you owe it to yourself to click on the link below and find out more.  Don't waste your time and money with fly-by-night products that don't deliver.  If you really want to blast off on the net, read this stuff...then read it again...  Click on the product image to take a look!   Best Regards and Good Luck, Pete Cullen GettingStartedOnline.com P.S.  If you have any questions, please click the small "Contact Us" button at the bottom of this page.