When talking to the older generation and trying to explain exactly what Internet marketing is, most people just do not understand it or how it works. Some are scared of the Internet, some don’t believe you can actually make money online, and some people just don’t care.

During my time studying and doing Internet marketing, I have learned a handful of things. However, there are 7 lessons that I feel are most important.

7 Internet Marketing Lessons

If you are just getting started trying to build an internet business, I think this list will be very helpful to you. Like I have said before, I really wish I read something like this when I was getting started 3+ years ago.

1. Take Action… Now

When I first learned about making ads for companies to make money, I was definitely intrigued. I did a little work here and there, but most of my time was spent reading and researching. I was scared. Plus, who wants to spend (invest, really) money on something they have no idea will pan out? That will be discussed more later, but the point is, build something. It took me upwards of 6+ months to finally understand exactly what to do, and yes, that was a combination of reading and doing. However, I have learned more when I actually take action than sitting down and reading a guide or some blog posts about a certain topic.

2. Determine Your Strategy

This can be very difficult because there are many different ways to build your business. Depending on your strategy, some people like horizontal diversification while others prefer vertical. Horizontal diversification means expanding your business to hit different markets, offers, traffic sources, etc. Vertical diversification means picking a niche and becoming a true authority in that niche. Recommendation: Do not try to become an authority in a handful of niches. There is just not enough time in the day.

3. Manage Your Investments

The first expenditures are generally a domain and a hosting package (for about $100). That may seem like a lot, and to some people it definitely is. It was a lot of money to me when I was starting too. However, if you plan to build a business, a $100 investment is NOTHING. If you look at it in terms of “how much can this money actually make me” instead of “wow $100 is a lot to spend on some imaginary bytes” you are one step ahead of many beginners.

To add to that, most beginning marketers are cash poor. This means you need to limit your budgets on advertising and outsourcing to make sure you can cover the costs. Remember to believe in statistics, and do NOT get too greedy.

4. Be Greedy

You say irony, I say intelligent. Your network is offering you a $10 payout on the offer, but you have no idea you can get $11-12 on it, right? You can. Hassle your managers for higher payouts, especially if you are running traffic and/or running on slim margins. If I would have been more forward about payout bumps, it would have helped me immensely in the beginning. Prove to your affiliate networks that you can drive good traffic, and you will not see another street payout again.

5. Nobody Owes You Anything

When I started, I kind of felt like people that were already making money online should tell me more about how to do it. The thing is, those people were probably in my exact shoes not too long ago. They worked hard and they are not about to just hand the ‘secrets’ over. Take responsibility for yourself, you are in control.

6. Be Careful Who You Work With/For

Luckily, my largest “scare” was resolved, but when you have maxed out a credit card and making payments on it every single day to cover the advertising costs, it’s nice to know that you will be paid. Talk to your affiliate manager and make sure they like your traffic before you start sending thousands of dollars of leads per day. You will thank me later when you don’t get taken for $XX,XXX because the advertiser wanted to make a buck.

7. Network

This is something that I read over and over and over again when I was starting, and honestly, I said it was stupid. I am working in my house, why would I want to network with other people? Well, my first ‘homerun’ campaign was thanks to a tip from another marketer. He said he was done with the niche/offer and it did alright for him. I thought, why not give it a try, nothing else is working. Sure enough, it worked very well.

Although I still have not been to a show (ASE, ASW, Ad:tech, etc), I am talking with a number of other marketers and will definitely get out to a show in the next year.

There are definitely more lessons to be learned, but those are 7 very important lessons I think every beginner should know, and hopefully seasoned marketers already understand.

“I don’t think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.”
Abraham Lincoln

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