Internet Marketing is a hot topic these days, and no wonder. Everyone is trying to scramble on to the Internet Marketing bandwagon and it's not really surprising, with the potential for huge wealth and the playboy lifestyle.

But how many people truly go on to achieve that Holy Grail? How many, in all honesty manage to build that automated, autopilot structure that actually earns 24 hours a day? How many so-called "gurus" in actual fact exist? And, more to the point, how many can honestly show that they do live the lifestyle that all the sales boast promises?

Nasty questions, eh?

It is definitely true that the entire planet is your marketplace on the World Wide Web...and, if you can get it right, there is no doubt that the lifestyle we're all striving for so hard is there to be had. However, if this is the case, why is it so many people get it so badly wrong? Why do so many people with amazing ideas and top notch products end up on the Internet scrap heap?

It might be something to do with some pitfalls that can certainly ensnare you if you're not vigilant. They're traps that every person has, to some lesser or greater degree, fallen in to at some stage. And they're traps you need to steer clear of (or fight your way through) to succeed in the online jungle!

I believe it was the Mad Hatter who asked Alice when she was in Wonderland and as she waited at the crossroads: 

"Where do you want to go today?"

She replied, "Oh, I don't much care".

The Mad Hatter's rather astute quip was as follows: "In that case it matters not which road you take!"

Does that sound familiar to you?

All and sundry knows that there are abundant riches to be earned by marketing online, but not many people have a workable plan to make sure they get their slice of the action. It's true, we've all been prepared (sold) to think that you put a product (any product)"up" on the Internet and then sit back and wait to for the cash to come rolling in. You sit there scanning your email, second by second as one order after another comes gushing in.

Oh, if only it really happened like that!

Perhaps the copywriters have become too good? It does seem that every product promises "all you have to do is plug in, sit back and win the lotto".

Do you know what the likelihood of winning the lottery jackpot is?

In the UK it's a amazing 14 million to 1.

This is about the same as the odds of you becoming wealthy using this method. I know this may seem harsh but it's the truth. One thing I never do is pull the wool over anyone's eyes. I always tell it like it is.

You see, you have to have a strategy.

Setting up an Internet business is the same as setting up a bricks and mortar concern. If you don't do it as it should be done, tactically plan every step and know exactly what all the steps are (in detail) you are doomed to fail.

Too many people just expect it to come to pass with no any hard work on their part.

An Internet business is not a get rich scheme. It needs in-depth planning. It has to be a coherent plan with rational steps and a workable implementation (that means taking action, between you and me). It takes control and the proper intelligence.

Yes, there are numerous steps you need to plan and take...

• Find (or build) a product
• Build your web presence
• Get your copywriting done
• Set upset up your PPC campaign
• Optimize the AdWords
• Complete your SEO
• Set up your affiliate programs
• Build your list
• Configure an autoresponder
• Keep in regular contact with your list
• Plug in a steady stream of products
• Develop your back-end

...and so it goes

Miss any of these key steps out and you will fail. It's like trying to put up a building without any foundations - the building would simply fall down at the merest hint of a breeze.

And, therein lies the subsequent problem!

Information Overload

I mentioned previously that there are so many Internet Marketing products that all promise the earth. It's tough not to be seduced by some of the powerful copy that is used. But how many of these products really deliver? Well, in actual fact, many do (although, agreed, some don't). So, what's the issue?

This is the predicament and I'm sure many of you will relate to this.

You buy Product 1 and it offers significant riches from, say, ClickBank using perhaps classified ads. You open up the product, have a look and start to employ the practices. Great, you place some classifieds and then sit back and wait for the ClickBank counter to start ticking over. You check after an hour, nothing. You go and have a coffee and come back, still nothing - ummm?

You place a few more ads - nothing.

"Oh, well, the commissions will start to roll soon."

When tomorrow comes - nada. Three days time - nothing. You make a symbolic effort at a a small number of more ads - nothing. You look at automated ad submission, but it costs. Still nothing. You lose heart.

In the interim, the latest fad product on AdWords has arrived and you start to build some PPC campaigns for your affiliate products. But you never get a decent click through rate and your CPC is rinsing.. All of a suddenget the feared $10 minimum bid messages all over them! So, that clearly doesn't work either.

Next! What's next?

The Predicament

Oh, look, a web business in a box package with 73 eBooks to re-sell. Cool, errr, but I need to work out some HTML and I don't know how to do that - it's too difficult. Oh well, I'll do that next week.

And, so it goes, and Information Overload takes hold. And, yes, I do know all about it. My "Biz Opps" and "How To" cabinet is creaking under the weight. I used to be a impulsive buyer of all the up-to-the-minute fads and systems.

So, you finish up with paralysis of analysis and what happens? You do NOTHING!

You wait for the next magic bullet solution to land and get stuck into that for two days, a week, a month or whatever, until that doesn't work either.

I know you are nodding in agreement!

Help with Information Overload - click this link

So, if you add these traps together, what happens? I'll tell you.

Without a strategic plan you can't possibly have any idea where you are taking your business.

So, each time one of the plethora of new products is launched, you get seduced by the copy and purchase. And, make no mistake, there are a vast number product launches each month in this broad niche of "Internet Marketing".

How many do you see them in your inbox day after day? And, with most "gurus" cross marketing each other's launches, you see the same product many times! So, is it any surprise that you get suckered?

However you don't have the time to fully integrate the know-how (assuming it is a helpful product) and you end up not "following through". The product then sits disused on the shelf along with the many other products and schemes you have bought over the years. Eventually it is outdated and ultimately useless.

It's time to wake up and smell the coffee (as they say). It takes time, effort and education to start and build an Internet business. It doesn't materialize overnight and it does take effort and learning on your behalf.

I taught a proper technique in the Instant Social Traffic Formula. But...it took a little bit of time and effort to learn and implement. Despite guaranteeing a page one Google listing, I got refunds saying it took too much time! What do people want...or expect?

We have all become far too opportunistic in our buying of these "how to" products and all that they suggest. It's the ultimate manifestation of the "instant gratification" society!

We have to modify our thinking. I'll get off my soap box now!

There are many facets that you need to employ in building an online business. The process goes something like this.

• Decide on the Niche you are preparing to sell in to.
• Complete your Market Research.
• Set a Strategic Plan in place that includes all of the significant steps and actions.
• Locate a Mentor who has completed what you want to do.
• Understand what Tools you need to use
• Become skilled at how to use those tools properly.
• Take Massive Actionand Implement.
• Be Persistent! Persistence is the only thing failure can't live with! O.K, yes, it is tacky, but you get the drift!

So, this is how you decide which "how to" product is right for you?

If it doesn't fit in with your immediate strategy, don't buy it - easy!

If you want to launch an AdWords campaign and the product teaches everything you need to know about opening, running and optimising an AdWords campaign - brilliant, buy it. But if it is a product to do with Search Engine Optimisation - don't! Simple, eh?

Yes, the SEO product may well be good for you in the future, so remember it, make a note of it for future reference, but...if it doesn't fit in with your immediate strategy - you simply have to be tough (with yourself) and pass.

Using this example, if you buy a product now and you know you won't use it for 6-9 months, why bother? The rules for SEO will more than likely have moved on in that time!

So, once you have your strategy defined, it becomes much easier to stay focussed and learn all you need to know. It also becomes much easier to remain on your defined path.

It's like buying a map that shows you how to find you way to New York. Mid way across the Atlantic, you're sold by an alternative product that tells you all about the excitement of Sydney and how to get there.

Wow, that sounds really amazing...so you alter course. However, just as you go past Hong Kong you read about the amazing weather and the turquoise waters in the Caribbean. You hit upon a product that shows you how to get there, so...you change your route once more.

Are you getting the point?

Where do you finish up? You got it - nowhere (apart from lost in the middle of the ocean).

Sadly, this is what most budding Internet Marketers do!

Is this you?

I hope this has made you understand that you have to do a little in depth learning, thinking and planning before you get started on your Internet business.

One final thing, it does have to be enjoyable for you.

Whatever you decide to sell or promote must really "get your juices flowing". If the market or product you pick doesn't actually get you excited, it is very doubtful you'll generate the success you desire. It has to be fun for you!

The very last thing you need to do is trade one job for another - who wants to do that? Yuk!