Internet Marketing 101 (Part 1)

This is the first in a series entitled Internet Marketing 101.  This series focuses on the basics of Internet Marketing; it will cover the basic pre-requisites to creating an income online and will outline all of the basics steps required to get started.  This is a 5 part series and the five parts are: finding your interests, selecting and buying a domain name, selecting and finding a web host, joining affiliate programs, and building your website.

Part 1: Finding Your Interests

Let’s face it.   Making money online is very nice.  The first check I ever received from ‘working online’ was for nearly $300 and I was floored when I received the check in the mail and cashed it.  I couldn’t believe that in just 3 weeks I was able to make $300.  I wanted to keep going with that promotion and making more extra money…who wouldn’t?  The problem was that once my first marketing campaign wore off, commissions were flat and really wasn’t inspired to create a whole new campaign on this one topic that I found quite boring.  So I got rid of that idea and moved on.  Since then I’ve been on a journey to really understand how Internet Marketing works and to see if I could learn something that could potentially lead to a profitable future.

I’ve learned a lot since then, but the lesson that has been the most fruitful is that it is a lot easier to make money when you enjoy what you are doing!  This is so simple but so profound!  When you start working online, it really will be a job at first.  You’ll spend a lot of time researching markets and products and strategies, so why not just work with something that you like?  Not only will this help you to be more excited about your work, but you will spend less time learning about something that you already know something about. 

For example, do you like soccer?  Why not start a soccer (Futeball!) blog or discussion board?  You can promote athletic products, tickets for events, and so on.  By picking something that you already enjoy, you will also be more motivated to sit down and create content for your site.  You will be able to understand more easily the different directions in which you can take your site.  You will be more effective when communicating with your users.  You will be more successful!

So, here’s your homework:  sit down for a while with some paper and a pen.  Write down your top 10 favorite things.  Be specific (sports is very general, while Indiana Hoosiers Basketball is more specific).   We’ll pick up from here in the next article.