If you are a problem solver, then the Internet is a great place to hang out. Forums in particular will allow you to shine as an expert and your knowledge will be applauded and acknowledged by the number of visitors to your site and responses to your comments. Topics get discussed 24-7 so there is always an active thread going that you can jump right in and get involved. Here you will find loads of questions being asked and various comments from other users.

Image: Danilo Rizzuti / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

If you can add value either through your comment of through your solution you are on to a winner and other forum users will take notice of you for all the right reasons.

One smart way to use forums it to just hang out and see where some problems appear to be unsolved or the solutions presented are not very satisfactory.

If you know of a particular solution to the problem then

• firstly put that solution on your site and direct other forum users to your site where they will get access to this info. or a product you can recommend to them.
• Alternatively put together a list of key questions concerning a particular topic and compile a list of the best answers in your own words. Anything not properly resolved, go and find the answer yourself.
• Then create a squeeze page and have people opt in where they will get access to your free report. If your report is good, people will recommend it to other forum users.
• If you develop your own solution and it becomes a paid product or whether you direct others to a product through your affiliate link, it is a win win situation.

By branding yourself as an expert in your field and providing good advice and solving problems people will naturally listen to what you say and when you pose a solution they will be happy to go along with it. Always remember though to collect the names and emails of the forum users you help out so you can build further relationships with them.

By continuing to help out at forums, not only are your historical comments there which will generate long term traffic but your current comments and solutions will keep you fresh in the minds of other forum users. This will ultimately bring more traffic and resulting increased income to your site.

Personally my experience of forums has been very rewarding and I have received a number of personal emails. I am always glad to help.

Got a question-just reply below and I shoot an answer straight back to you!

Image: Marcus74id / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When someone first told me internet marketing was simple I nearly laughed, but then they qualified that statement saying that it was also so easy to get wrong!

I couldn’t agree more

I was living proof and had tried everything. Sometimes some things I was trying I didn’t even know what I was supposed to do with them! Ever been in that situation?

I went into network marketing almost by accident (even though I am a natually shy person) so that didn’t go down too well as you can imagine!

I tried working contacting people in different time zones as part of an online campaign I was involved in and that was awful. I was like a walking zombie and had so many clocks operating on my pc I didn’t even know what zone I was living in!

At oh my goodness, if you got the time wrong and phoned some poor person at an ungodly hour even if they requested a call (well lets not even go there!)

Anyway, so many systems and products are sold to us now-my email box is bombarded with them and how many really work?

The bottom line is that no matter what program you have, unless you know how to make the sale, it is useless.

This is the thing, there are so many sites out there where they say  you just have to direct people to that site, to make money. In reality, it works a bit differently. Nobody really tells you what exactly you need to do and hence I was always stuck on the starting blocks.

There are  ethical marketers out there like myself who won’t

• try to fob you off with crappy products just to make a sale-because I have been sold a pile of junk
• try to get you to part with wads of cash to line their pockets-because I know how hard I had to work to get money (I still work hard!)
• try to sell you a system I have no idea whether it works or not-because I was left in the dark many times after buying something and gave up with no support to help me

Yes internet marketing is simple (when you are shown EXACTLY what to do and WHY you are doing it) and yes I agree it is so easy to get wrong.

Get off the blocks today and jump those hurdles, you are getting closer to success with every step you take forward.

You can’t always control what happens to you but you can control how you respond to it-Wouldn’t you agree?

Every year I watch the eurovision song contest. Call me old fashioned!

Firstly I’d like to say that diversity is to be celebrated and we can learn alot form each other-you will see what I mean below.

Watching the Eurovision was always something we did in our house growing up and now I find myself continuing the tradition many moons later.

Having watched the semi finals on both nights where so many countries competed for a place in the final, my mind started to drift to internet marketing and how the eurovision song contest gave me some ideas!

Firstly the eurovision song contest showed me the diversity of our culture, taste in music, dress and our idea of entertainment. There was such a variety of music and performance on both nights yet a performer I would have thought brilliant may not have qualified and others I thought were far from remarkable got through. This really highlighed, just how much like internet marketing it really is!

Heres how…..

• different things appeal to different people-and how they are marketed to will vary also to grab the attention of a wide cross section of the population
• some people are impacted more by visuals while others prefer words to help them make decision-this is why some people buy things that are visually more appealing while other people need more sales copy, free giveaway etc to help them make a decision
• also how the words are sung, the feeling and emotions involved, the apparent sincerity of the performer go along way in appealing to the emotional side of a person thus influencing their decision-again using emotions and feelings work very directly on a personal level and if you can appeal to a person on a deep level you have a really good chance of building long term sustainable relationships with that person

Anyway best of luck to all countries and ahem I give 12 points for Ireland!!

Hi there, I thought I would put together something simple explaining what internet marketing is all about.

The most important thing to remember is that it is a 4 step process from converting a suspect to a prospect , then to a customer and finally a client.

 Let me explain in more detail.

When we all start looking for something on the internet we are initially suspicious of something or someone we are not familiar with. We have heard so many scam stories, buying products or services which do not live up to our expectations or the promises that were made to us along the way and which were never delivered!  Hence we start off as suspects.

 Then we perhaps downloaded a report or product or subscribed to a newsletter etc by entering our name and/or email on an autoresponder form and thus formed part of a mailing list where we receive information to our email inbox. As we read these emails or even scan over them we may become a bit more interested and as such become prospects.

Then if we like something that is offered to us and decide to purchase we become customers.

Finally if the goods or service adds value to us and meets our expectations, we buy something else from the same person and may even become repeat buyers as the person or service establishes credibility and trust in our eyes. Thus becoming clients-the ultimate goal!

The fastest way to get people to follow you and willing to pay money to you, is to provide high quality free content. I can’t emphasise enough, it must be of value to them.  You can then build up a relationship with them and turn them from prospects to customers and ultimately clients of yours.

To do this you must establish credibility and trust along the way.

We all buy on an emotional level first which is backed up by logic. Nobody likes to be sold to but we all sure like to buy! Keep these thoughts with you on your journey into internet marketing. Wishing you health wealth and happiness always-Orla

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Firstly being an internet marketing newbie doesn’t last very long-that is the good news. You will learn very fast just try to do it where all it will cost you is time and perhaps a little money.

What I see a lot of in the forums are questions from newbies saying they are new to internet marketing, want to get into it and have a few hundred dollars to spend. Sound familiar?

You see when I started, I got totally conned and lost a lot of money. What I am about to tell you should help you avoid what happened to me.

Don’t be in a rush to jump in, be a window shopper for a while. Get a feel for the different types of internet marketing out there and YES there are different types so suss them all out first-make a spreadsheet of pros and cons of each. See what you are naturally drawn to.

Ask specific questions in forums, discussion groups or blogs if you want an opinion on a specific program or internet business-the key is be specific and you will get a specific answer!

Do your own Google search by typing in a name of whoever is running the business or the name of the business itself and add in terms in the query such as +scam, + review +feedback etc. Note-Don’t always accept reviews as they may only be affiliate sales pages-a good review should have the pros and cons and not be just a subtle sales page.

This way you will see the reputation of the person or program before you commit to anything.

If I did this one step alone, I wouldn’t have gotten conned.

Take notes where ever you do searches and save sites or blogs that contain useful information so you will know where to come back to.

Take advantage of free training, free ebooks etc and take what is useful from all as part of your learning curve.

When you feel overwhelmed by information overload, take a step back-you don’t have to read every email that hits your in box!

Some other posts you may be interested in are:-

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• Internet Business Ideas: The Top 10 You Can Start and Run in Your … – SOHO Tools News “>A Free Step-by Step Guide To Starting an Online Business that Lets You Work From Home From Your Friends At Sparkplugging. The biggest myth about making money from home online, is that it is hard to get started. A online home based business that can take just a weekend to set-up can make you an income for years.
• 25 internet startups that bombed miserably – if the internet could speak with one voice, it would probably groan “oh, not again!” that’s because every raving success story about internet startups is tempered by dozens more that crashed and burned in a sea of wasted money, …

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As I have so little free time to work at my internet business start up, I really try to keep the head down and filter out all the background noise in my head and outside this room I call my office. Well to call it an office is a bit of a stretch! It is also a bedroom, laundry room, room for kids to jump on the bed and dive off, storage room and room for storing bags of supplies to go to charity!

A little crowded don’t you think but if I converted my attic what would I do with all the stuff up there!

Anyway I am getting up to speed with my training on internet marketing and starting to implement some action items for my internet business start up. It is time for action, not re-action any more. I must now step up to the mark and remember the following

1. D’ont get it right-just get it going!
2. Learn as you apply
3. You don’t work forward from the start-you start by planning from the end and working backwards!

Afterall even if I could work 24 hours a day I would still not get everything done….

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Sometimes when everything else seems to fail, there is only one solution and that is to start from scratch. That does not mean, forget all the messes of the past. Instead it is best to remember the good parts and learn from the bad and swiftly move on!

In the past when I studied web site promotion-internet marketing with the aim for an internet business start up, I was an eager beaver, launching myself into everything, reading alot and doing little. I got stuck in information paralysis and got so tired trying to analyze everything that I got exhausted and got distracted by the next best thing.

I was like a busy bee trapped inside a window  beating my wings against the cold hard glass and finally someone has opened the window and set me free to breath nice fresh life giving air! I feel restored and with the rush of oxygen to my brain I am begininng to think and function again.

I am starting from scratch learning internet marketing the right way. Instead of being paralyzed by inaction I am inspired to act. I do little but sometimes its the little steps that end up doing alot!

A little bit of me can be found in a quick video I shot-I don’t think Hollywood will be breaking down my door but who knows maybe someone will think my Irish accent is cute!

When I get my courage back, I hope to post more videos explaining key areas of learning which I found useful. To your success and mine-Orla

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To run an effective online business, the first thing to understand is that you don’t need to know the basics of internet marketing but you do need to know the basics of business.  This really is the most important internet marketing tip you need to know. Marketing is just one aspect of a business, all be it a very important aspect. Trying to run a business with no business knowledge is a recipe for disaster.

For effective business management,

1. It should be structured to run according to a schedule of planned events or activities;
2. It should meet its deadlines 
3. It should be as close as possible to operating on autopilot when fully up and running.

Knowing your strengths and how you can apply them to a business is very important, however it is even more important to spend time really looking at areas of weakness as these areas will slow you down and may even prove detrimental to your business. Know when to get help and go do it!
Effective business management  requires planning with 3 focus areas-these are:-

• Your business plan;
• Your entrepreneur plan; and
• Your personal plan.

Don’t dilute your chance of success by focussing on too many goals. If you have one business goal you have a 95% chance of succeeding, if you have two, the likelihood of success drops to around 70%.

To be successful requires organization. This requires keeping an eye firmly on the long term, intermediate and short term objectives and goals. Make out

• A 1-year plan;
• Quarterly plans;
• Monthly plans;
• Weekly plans; and
• Daily plans.

Again apply this for business, entrepreneurial and personal objectives. Plan from the end and work back.

1. Always plan for tomorrow today.
2. Any items not finished at the end of a day become the priority and first items to be done the next day.
3. Daily tasks should be entered into a “to do list” and prioritised according to a, b or c wih a being the most critical.
4. At the end of the day a “did” sheet should be filled out. This should be checked against the “to do” list to ensure you stay focussed and remain on track to meet your targets.
5. Allocate timeframes to complete each daily task and use a countdown timer to get productive tasks done.
6. Work in blocks to get more productivity going.
7. Do not go over the time allocation so that you become faster and more focussed on getting things done.
8. Allocate certain times of the day where you are non contactable except for emergencies and use this time to do the most complicated tasks or tasks which will bring you more revenue.
9. Allocate certain times of the day for correspondence such as emails etc and stick to this. Otherwise you will find gaps to fall through and get sidetracked reading superfluous emails etc.