It’s very possible – more like probable according to the latest statistics – that as an Internet Marketer you’re you having PROBLEMS…

-Grabbing and keeping surfers’ attention…

-Driving lots of targeted traffic to your Web site…

-Generating scores of quality leads and prospects…

-Building a huge, responsive mailing list…

-Making enough sales to cover your expenses (even though your goal is to make lots of money to do the things in life that you and your loved ones really want to do).

If you’re experiencing ANY of the disheartening problems mentioned above, a big reason for your lack of success could be that you’re making a marketing mistake of Xorkian proportions.

Many of you (especially baby boomers) will remember “Mork & Mindy”, the popular and funny sitcom of the late 70’s. Mork (Robin Williams) was an alien from Planet Ork sent to Earth to study human beings. He looked just like an earthling (though he did not behave like one) and lived in Boulder, Colorado, with beautiful Mindy (Pam Dawber).

I want you to imagine for a minute that Xork (Mork’s brother) and his girlfriend Xindy arrived on earth a couple of days ago. Now they’ve decided it’s time to learn to drive a car – the one parked in your driveway.

Having seen TV commercials about “filling up”, the first thing Xork does is to grab the garden hose and fill your near-empty gas tank with water.

What do you think will happen next? How quickly do you think Xork will learn to drive? How far will he go? You can pretty much figure out that the whole project will be a disaster.

Yet, the car is in great working order (except for the content of the tank), the keys are in the ignition (tsk tsk tsk…), the roads are fine, the weather is great, the instruction manual in the glove compartment is very informative and user-friendly, Xork and Xindy are patient students and they really want to learn. And yet, disaster looms. Why is that?

Because the ‘essential’ ingredient for the success of this endeavor is a tank full of gas. And in the scenario I just described, there’s no gas – just water. No matter how good the car, the road, the weather, the manual, the student or the intention, without gas Xork & Xindy ain’t gonna go nowhere.

Does that sound like some of your Internet marketing endeavors?

Here’s why that’s the case: no matter how many people are on the Internet, if you don’t have the ‘essential’ ingredient, you won’t have a whole lot of traffic. And without the ‘essential’ ingredient, the little traffic you’ll get will be made up of poor quality leads, they won’t sign up for your newsletter, they won’t join your business opportunity, they won’t buy your products or retain your services. And you might go broke as a result.

Now, let’s juxtapose your situation with the Orkans’ to bring the point home. No matter how good the car (your computer), the road (the Internet), the weather (the Marketplace), the instruction manual (all the Internet marketing strategies and techniques available), the student (the Internet surfer) or the intention (looking for a product or a service), without the ‘essential’ ingredient, your marketing – no matter what method you use – will be a flop. Without “gas”, you’re SOL – just like Xork & Xindy!

Well, if the ‘essential’ ingredient for Xork is gas, what’s the ‘essential’ ingredient that will make your Internet marketing take off like a Ferrari on steroids? It’s simply this: knowing precisely what makes people tick. If you don’t know that, you’re up a creek without a paddle.

Some of you might be slightly disappointed that the ‘essential’ ingredient is something so “ordinary”, so… common sense. It IS that, but as you are well aware, common sense is not common practice. What is baffling is that no sane person would think of starting a road trip with a thank full of water, and yet, those same “sane” marketers will start an Internet campaign with messages full of the wrong stuff, stuff no one really cares about – like features for example.

Look, do you want to succeed with your Internet marketing campaigns so you can make tons of sales so you can make lots of money so you can have some time freedom to enjoy your life? Do you?

Good answer! The sure-fire way to do the aforementioned is to be “in-the-know”.

What does “in-the-know” mean? It means knowing precisely what motivates people to act – to click, to subscribe, to sign-up, to join, to buy – to do anything, really. It’s knowing WHAT to say (or write) and WHEN to say it, and it’s knowing what NOT to say (not that you want to hide things, but for example, telling people all the details of HOW you would complete their tax return – aka the features – before you tell them WHY it’s important that it gets done properly – aka the benefits – will be a big waste of everybody’s time).

Now, as an Internet marketer, your chances of success at selling – as in trading goods or services for money, but also as in convincing, persuading, influencing – will improve significantly, perhaps even dramatically, if you are selling what the surfer is wanting to, ready to, and agreeable to buy! And to do that well and consistently, you MUST be in-the-know.

Here, for example, are three irrefutable and undeniable facts of life you become acutely aware of when you’re “in-the-know”:

-The most listened-to radio station on Earth is WIII-FM: What Is In It For Me?

-People buy on emotions… and then justify with facts.

-Everything people do, they do either out of their need to avoid/reduce pain, and/or their desire to gain/increase pleasure.

A successful Internet marketer is one who uses that knowledge – and the many other facts of life one learns when “in-the-know” – to design every element of his marketing campaign, keeping in mind at all times that the best possible selling-buying scenario is the one where, at the end of the deal, EVERYBODY WINS!

So, if Internet marketing success is key for you and your family living the Richer Life you all desire and deserve, do your research and your due diligence and find out all you can so that you are “in-the-know” about what will grab the surfers’ attention, what will make them get off their (key)board long enough to read your material, internalize your message, and follow your command – click, buy, join, subscribe – now!

The information is out there. Find it, and be “in-the-know”: it’s a matter of (Richer) life or (Internet) death!

Daniel G. St-Jean, BB, IMA, AMA

(BizzBooster, Internet Marketing Advisor, Article Marketing Alchemist)

Most people confuse Internet marketing with Internet advertising, courtesy of the Wikipedia, if I do say so myself. Well let us break it down using conventional definitions applied to the real world as against the virtual world of the Internet. Internet marketing is the systematic planning, implementation and control of business activities with the ultimate goal of selling your products and services. Internet advertising, on the other hand, is but a single part of Internet marketing. To put it humorously, Internet marketing is like saying “We are an excellent company” while Internet advertising is saying the same sentence three more times in three different web sites. Regardless how you view these two virtual business tools, Anything Internet can help you achieve maximum results with minimum costs. They will conduct online sales and promotions, mainly through paid advertising using Google Adwords, Yahoo’s Overture and other similar programs. In addition, they will perform support services like keyword research, competitor analysis, and help you with your Internet advertising materials. At Anything Internet, you have a reliable partner that will assist you in all the aspects of the Internet marketing strategy you want to implement.

Anything Internet can help you maximize the advantages of Internet marketing and its adjunct, Internet advertising. When compared to offline marketing, Internet marketing is cheaper simply because you have a wider audience (most homes have personal computers hooked up to the Internet nowadays) while utilizing a small pie out of your marketing budget. You can then reallocate your savings to other uses, like improvements on the products and services. With Internet marketing, you can specifically target your niche by using specific keywords; your Internet advertising modules can be designed in such a way that you reach your target market in the fastest way possible and you get your messages across in the clearest way possible.

Anent thereto, Internet advertising has more chances of reaching its target market by using behavioral targeting methods rather than demographic targeting methods. At Anything Internet, they will help you achieve behavioral targeting with their search engine optimization feature. Furthermore, since Anything Internet provides for monitoring and evaluation mechanisms for your preferred Internet marketing strategies, you can make appropriate changes to your marketing mix; Anything Internet will provide you with advertising results courtesy of the immediate tracking feature inherent in Internet advertising and they will make informed recommendations based on these advertising results, among other factors.

Anything Internet can even help you reach more of your target market through affiliate marketing. This is just like having sales agents working for you but without the hassle of maintaining employment records and paying salaries and benefits even when your employees do not meet their performance targets. In this arrangement, you pay others to sell your products and services, with the advantage that you pay them a commission only on completed sales and at your own commission rates. Anything Internet will assist you in setting up your affiliate marketing system from your banner ads to the commission terms. You can use this system as an integral part of your Internet marketing mix.

The Internet marketing business is a booming industry. Individuals who have started from scratch became among the successful Internet marketers who capitalized on their Internet-connected personal computer unit, basic knowledge on Internet marketing, wildest imagination, creativity, and some self-confidence just to earn the money that they want. They are not afraid of the possible losses they might incur along their Internet marketing career. All they have in mind is just there is always a tomorrow that will give them the chance to fulfill their goals they have missed the previous days.

Fortunately, they did it.

Because of their hard work and determination in earning through Internet marketing business, the industry has flourished rapidly due to the increased offerings of various products and services for lower prices. Aside from the increased volume of online shoppers over the Internet, the industry opened its doors for aspiring Internet marketers to grab a huge slice of the luxurious Internet marketing business. With several noted benefits such as 24/7 availability, international coverage, and low start-up costs, Internet marketing became the key to business growth not just on a consistent but also on an exponential basis. Just imagine generating $40,000 last month and jumping to $50,000 this month.

Despite of the opportunity of earning huge amounts of money from Internet marketing, there are still online entrepreneurs who do not have the capability and sufficient knowledge of making their sites sell to the public, mainly because of the very stiff competition rocking the Internet-based marketing industry. Even the site that is designed carefully with a shopping cart and inventory listing facilities, if it is not generating web traffic, the site can be considered as a total failure so as the effort of the website owner to earn on Internet marketing.

At this point, the services of an Internet marketing agency must be an important factor to consider. In exchange for a corresponding fee, they will help you increase web traffic to your websites, thus increasing your chances of earning more. Such Internet marketing agency can do it in several ways such as affiliate marketing programs, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising schemes, and search engine optimization (SEO). Although you are relatively familiar with these marketing concepts, you still lack time and expertise to perfect the concept. The Internet marketing agency, through their consultants and technical people, will be the one to apply the necessary strategies for your site to build necessary traffic and increase generated sales along the process.

The core of Internet marketing agency business is dependent on your efforts and skills. As a matter of fact, if your online-based business is service-oriented, the start-up costs in setting it up is relatively low since it does not require inventories at all. However, you need to have the necessary knowledge, skills, and expertise on Internet marketing before you can start your business. These factors are commonly provided from self-study, attending actual or webinars (seminars over the Web), or getting a mentor from the Internet marketing agency who will guide you along the course. The start-up costs on acquiring necessary knowledge may vary, depending on the type of education you have obtained. Other costs may revolve on several factors such as server maintenance and support as well as website design and development.

This will also include building a concrete business plan that will indicate the potential growth of your online-based business. Aside from using it is the main guide of your Internet marketing business, you can also use it to obtain necessary funding for your business either from venture capitalists or commercial lenders.

The coss of hiring the services of an Internet marketing agency will also depend on its advertising efforts, the source of the Internet traffic, and the keywords of the site that needs to be optimized. It is because of the fact that website-based keywords require more work from Internet marketing agency people to produce expected results. Areas of concerns such as mode of advertising, present marketing strategies, as well other factors are also some of the expertise provided by an Internet marketing agency.

There are some agencies that charge their clients based on the increase on sales generated by the implementation of their own strategies. It may be in the form of a percentage of increased sales from your site over a certain period of time.

Although it is quite expensive to hire the services of an Internet marketing agency, you will be able to see the results to be better than handling the business all by yourself, especially if you are just a novice on Internet marketing. The hundreds of dollars you may spend from hiring an Internet marketing agency is nothing compared to the thousands of dollars you will generate every monthâ??not counting the increase on sales.

Internet marketing is a lucrative business. There are many individuals who are earning substantial revenues by just selling their products or services over the Internet while at the same time endorsing the products or services of other Internet marketers. Revenues are flowing out of different outlets—through affiliate programs, direct product selling, or offering Internet marketing-related services.

With several features such as round-the-clock operability, opportunity of widening clientele base, and low starting costs, it is not surprising that the Internet marketing industry is now full of mushroom businesses owned and operated by novices who are eager to share the wealth of this lucrative industry. However, in order to grab a slice of wealth offered by Internet marketing, you must bear the stiff competition over the market. In this stiff competition, Internet marketers who possess the knowledge and capability on this type of investment will win the game.

The rule of the Internet marketing game is simple: learn the rules and apply necessary marketing strategies in order to win the game. Though you have several websites that are easy to navigate and contain useful features such as complete inventory listings as well as shopping cart facilities, if it is unable to generate generous amount of traffic, your Internet marketing career will be a total failure.

To avoid reaching possible career failure, it is important that you seek the help of an Internet marketing consultant. One of their business objectives is to provide their clients the necessary strategies or possibly handle the situation by themselves in terms of generating web traffic to their clients’ sites. This can be done through various ways such as affiliate marketing programs, web page optimization, web content development, or pay per click advertising. Even though as an Internet marketer, you are familiar with the aforementioned marketing concepts, you need sufficient time and expertise to apply it to your Internet marketing business. To fill up the gap, an Internet marketing consultant has the capability of applying the necessary strategies to build essential web traffic that will result in increased sales and generated revenues.

In case you have the knowledge and technical expertise about Internet marketing, you may also consider the career of an Internet marketing consultant aside from being an Internet marketer. If you have the marketing background and such is proven to be effective for other Internet marketing business, you may serve as a consultant to other Internet marketers, especially the new ones.

To be a successful Internet marketing consultant, you need to conduct an “inventory” of your Internet marketing skills and knowledge. You start by figuring out your strengths and determine what particular areas of Internet marketing you are weak. From such information, you will be able to construct a plan that will help educate yourself and improve your weak points. Begin by working out in your weaknesses and consistently testing it to determine if you have improved or not. Once you have developed your skills and you feel that you can go on, you are now ready to embark the career of being an Internet marketing consultant.

Once you are now in the field, always prepare because you will deal with numerous clients of varying needs. You will be able to meet complete novices as well as seasoned veterans on the Internet marketing industry. If you have come across clients who knew nothing about the business and ask you to take charge, you will have to take them under your wing. As a consultant, it is your responsibility to provide your clients their needs, whether they are complete novices or marketing gurus.

Start your consultant career on one or two areas of expertise. You may specialize on search engine optimization, newsletter writing, and other Internet marketing strategies. Identify the niche which you are strong with and make sure that you are regularly updated about any developments on those particular areas of expertise. You may also try concentrating on “hot niches” by typing your question on major search engines and see what comes after.

Being an Internet marketing consultant has the responsibility he needs to bear on serving the marketing needs of his clients. However, it takes common sense, solid knowledge, and enjoyment on what you are doing in order to help other Internet marketers in the long run. If you think you have the edge over a certain aspect, you can always go to that consultant direction. All of these are really up to you to think about.

The Internet marketing business is a booming industry. Individuals who have started from scratch became among the successful Internet marketers who capitalized on their Internet-connected personal computer unit, basic knowledge on Internet marketing, wildest imagination, creativity, and some self-confidence just to earn the money that they want. They are not afraid of the possible losses they might incur along their Internet marketing career. All they have in mind is just there is always a tomorrow that will give them the chance to fulfill their goals they have missed the previous days.

Fortunately, they did it.

Because of their hard work and determination in earning through Internet marketing business, the industry has flourished rapidly due to the increased offerings of various products and services for lower prices. Aside from the increased volume of online shoppers over the Internet, the industry opened its doors for aspiring Internet marketers to grab a huge slice of the luxurious Internet marketing business. With several noted benefits such as 24/7 availability, international coverage, and low start-up costs, Internet marketing became the key to business growth not just on a consistent but also on an exponential basis. Just imagine generating $40,000 last month and jumping to $50,000 this month.

Despite of the opportunity of earning huge amounts of money from Internet marketing, there are still online entrepreneurs who do not have the capability and sufficient knowledge of making their sites sell to the public, mainly because of the very stiff competition rocking the Internet-based marketing industry. Even the site that is designed carefully with a shopping cart and inventory listing facilities, if it is not generating web traffic, the site can be considered as a total failure so as the effort of the website owner to earn on Internet marketing.

At this point, the services of an Internet marketing agency must be an important factor to consider. In exchange for a corresponding fee, they will help you increase web traffic to your websites, thus increasing your chances of earning more. Such Internet marketing agency can do it in several ways such as affiliate marketing programs, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising schemes, and search engine optimization (SEO). Although you are relatively familiar with these marketing concepts, you still lack time and expertise to perfect the concept. The Internet marketing agency, through their consultants and technical people, will be the one to apply the necessary strategies for your site to build necessary traffic and increase generated sales along the process.

The core of Internet marketing agency business is dependent on your efforts and skills. As a matter of fact, if your online-based business is service-oriented, the start-up costs in setting it up is relatively low since it does not require inventories at all. However, you need to have the necessary knowledge, skills, and expertise on Internet marketing before you can start your business. These factors are commonly provided from self-study, attending actual or webinars (seminars over the Web), or getting a mentor from the Internet marketing agency who will guide you along the course. The start-up costs on acquiring necessary knowledge may vary, depending on the type of education you have obtained. Other costs may revolve on several factors such as server maintenance and support as well as website design and development.

This will also include building a concrete business plan that will indicate the potential growth of your online-based business. Aside from using it is the main guide of your Internet marketing business, you can also use it to obtain necessary funding for your business either from venture capitalists or commercial lenders.

The coss of hiring the services of an Internet marketing agency will also depend on its advertising efforts, the source of the Internet traffic, and the keywords of the site that needs to be optimized. It is because of the fact that website-based keywords require more work from Internet marketing agency people to produce expected results. Areas of concerns such as mode of advertising, present marketing strategies, as well other factors are also some of the expertise provided by an Internet marketing agency.

There are some agencies that charge their clients based on the increase on sales generated by the implementation of their own strategies. It may be in the form of a percentage of increased sales from your site over a certain period of time.

Although it is quite expensive to hire the services of an Internet marketing agency, you will be able to see the results to be better than handling the business all by yourself, especially if you are just a novice on Internet marketing. The hundreds of dollars you may spend from hiring an Internet marketing agency is nothing compared to the thousands of dollars you will generate every monthâ??not counting the increase on sales.