Will the real truth please stand up: the truth about internet businesses

If you're like 80 million other people today, one of your burning questions is, "how in the heck do I make money on the internet?" Good question. A quick look on the internet will reveal three things. 1: Hype ... 2. Hype ... 3. More Hype ... So, how, really do people make money on the internet.

Traditionally, people make money on the internet a few ways:

1. Sell Your Services. If you have a service you want to sell -- An example would be something like a "virtual assistant" who provides assistant services to business people. The internet is a perfect place to sell such services. But, not just anyone has the skills to be able to sell themselves on the internet. This can be expensive, and takes a lot of time. Essentially, you are still a wage-slave as you are selling your time. No problem with this, but your income will be limited.

2. Sell Your Product. You have a product they want to sell. You want to sell your hand-made pastries over the internet, or collectible alien products, or bumper stickers. The internet can be a great place to do this. Everyone knows someone who sells stuff on the EBay or Craig's list, and with most people making at least some of their purchases on the internet, it is possible to make a good living with an internet business.

3. Participate in a Multi-level marketing program that focuses on the internet. You can participate in a multi-level marketing company and use the internet to sell the company's products and the business opportunity that. The internet is a perfect place for this kind of business, but there are a lot of people out there trying to do the same thing, so you've got to do it right in order to make any money. And just like any other business, it takes work to find your customers on the internet.

4. Sell someone else's products. Usually, this is done through what is known as "affiliate marketing" and, if automated, can product big bucks with minimum of effort. We'll spend a great deal of time on this. For many people, this is a very attractive way to sustain an internet business, and holds a great deal of charm over the other methods.

Why sell someone else's products? For #1 to work, you have to actually be able to provide a service. If you don't currently have a service, you've got to find one, and gain the skill necessary to sell your services. This can take months and even years, depending up the service you are providing.

For #2 to work, you have to have a product. And if you have a product, you have to have inventory, and you have to make trips to the post office to mail the product, and you have customer returns and complaints to deal with. You have to have a website that has a shopping cart, which means you have to take credit cards, and there's a cost to all of this.

For #3 to work you have to find the right company, and you have to distinguish yourself from the other hoards of people trying to sign everyone up to be in their downline.

But in order for #4 to work, you need none of those. You don't need a special service, you don't have to have a product (or store it or ship it, etc.). Consequently, by selling someone else's products, you have to focus on a few things. You have to have a great website, you have to understand how to capture prospects and communicate via email, you have to know how to build a good list, and you have to find good affiliate programs to associate yourself with. With affiliate marketing, a great deal of the upfront "work" involved in running a business is eliminated, and for those who take the time to really learn the skills of internet marketing, comes a great financial reward!

Copyright (c) 2008 Mark Albertson