As an internet marketer, your number one goal is to make money, and there is no denying that being able to bring in highly-targeted traffic has a direct impact on your sales.  I, however, received an e-mail over the weekend from a “guru” that caused me to re-think my perspective and the mindset of many internet marketers.

In the e-mail, he more of less noted that bring in traffic and making sales isn’t just about making money.  It’s about building relationships.  The more I thought about it, I was like, “He is so right!”  Let me explain.  Whenever you make a significant amount of sales for a product owner, you will get noticed by the merchant/product owner.  Not only will they want to know who you are, but there are perks as well.

If the product owner or merchant is well-known in your industry, this will automatically boost your credibility and having other people coming to you in order to promote their products (instead of the other way around).  Many times, you will get free access to their products and perhaps even bonuses and larger commission percentages not available to regular affiliates.

The moral of this story is that if you wish there were a way for you to get your foot in the door with your favorite internet marketing mentor (and perhaps free stuff to boot), you can build a relationship with them by bringing in traffic and making sales.  (This is yet another reason to promote high-quality stuff that you would use yourself.)

When you go from working a 9 to 5 and venture into the new and exciting world of internet marketing, it’s important that you come with an open mind. Making money online defies everything our society has taught us about what it takes to be successful.

I could throw around the same statistics that we have all heard before about how few people make it online, but the reality is that the only that distinguishes someone who fails online vs. someone who succeeds is their mindset.  The individual who fails is one who makes excuses and gives up the minute they encounter a road block.

The person who succeeds is one who encounters the road block and either breaks it down or finds a way to get around it.  The person who succeeds holds the mindset that success is the only option.  Therefore, when they encounter a road block, they not only figure out how they got to where they are but learn not to do it again.

For the person who succeeds, there are no mistakes.  There are only incidences from which to learn.   Whenever you start something new, you are going to have a lot of those.  The up side to this is that once you make every possible “incident of learning” there possible is, the only thing left is success.

The problem with the average person, however,  is that they give up and surrender to the fact that they are destined to live out their lives in whatever state their life is currently in, and there is no way out or hope for the future.  I, however, am not average and refuse to settle for less than I deserve!  Are you?

It’s that time, again… to dispel (or re-affirm) some more myths about making money online.  I believe that it’s important that you know what you are getting into before you dive in head first.  By knowing what you are getting into ahead of time, you are more likely to succeed, if you give internet marketing an honest go.  Let’s get started.

1) You have to spend money to make money.

When it comes to making money online, there are both free and paid methods to make money.  However, in order to learn the knowledge and skills you need to implement whatever method you choose will probably cost you so money.  It’s like paying for education.  You invest money in yourself, and the knowledge you acquire enables you to make more money down the road.  Courses that teach you how to make money with free methods, are relatively inexpensive and allow you to earn back your investment in a short time.

2) Paid methods are better than free methods.

This is perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions out there.  Just because you spend money doesn’t mean that you will make more money or make money faster than someone who uses free methods.  In fact, a lot of people say they lose money before they make any.  It’s not about the method you choose.  It’s about taking the time to learn the methods and how effectively you put them to use.

3) Is it really possible to “make money while you sleep”?

In short, the answer is yes.  Here’s why.  Internet marketing is a numbers game.  In order words, the more stuff you have out there, the more money you stand to make.  Since you are promoting things people are already looking for, the income will become “automated” — without you having to do anymore work ( as long as the traffic volume for whatever keywords you get ranked for stays the same).

Now that you know what internet marketers do, I thought I would take the time to break (or re-affirm) some common myths about internet marketing.  Quite frankly, when you tell the average person what you do, they tend to look at you like you are crazy.  Most don’t have the slightest idea what goes on.  Let’s get started.

1) It’s possible to make money online without doing any work.

In short, this is the biggest lie ever told about making money online.  You do have to work.  No matter what methods you choose to make money online or the industry you are in, you not only take time to learn the strategies and techniques, but you have to put them into action!  Learning will only take you so far.  Action = results!  On the upside, it’s fun “work,” unlike a day job.

2) If you make money online, you must be selling porn!

Although it is true that you can make money online by selling porn, it is by no means the only way.  Porn is one industry among many.   Nowadays, you can promote just about anything imaginable.  There is a saying in the IM world: “Where there’s a magazine, there’s a niche.”  Examples include gardening, music, sports, fashion (clothing), dating, health and fitness, wealth building “make money,” computer/technology…

3) If you make money online, you must be a spammer!

As a legitimate internet marketer, your goal is to promote products to those who are looking for what you are selling.  These people, after all, are the ones most likely to buy what you are selling.  These people are known as “targeted.”  Sending stuff to people who aren’t specifically interested in what you are selling, is not going to make you any money and is a waste of time.

…To be continued (Stay tuned for Part 2).

An internet marketer is someone who either sells his or her own product or someone else’s in exchange for a commission for every sale made (affiliate marketing).  Unlike in times past, there is no longer only one way to make money online.  There are a number of ways to accomplish this based on your personal preferences (i.e. search engines, social media) .

Those who don’t have money to invest might choose to use free methods that cost no money while those that do have money do invest might opt for paid methods.  Still, some might choose a happy medium using both free and paid methods.

The only thing that distinguishes internet marketers from the traditional marketer in a “brick and mortar” or offline business is the method by which we promote and sell products (via use of the internet).  All other basic business principles still apply.

We have to be able to conduct proper market research based on the available data to determine what products we should promote, how and where we should promote them, be able to understand and connect with our audience and so on.  With millions of people using the internet on a daily basis, It’s the natural evolution of marketing!  For more, check out affiliate marketing on Wikipedia.