Contrary to what most Internet ‘gurus' will tell you, being successful as an internet marketer isn't as easy as putting up a website and waiting for people to flock to it. Just like in a ‘bricks and mortar' business, what product you offer and how you present it will determine your level of success.

Many aspiring Internet marketers start out by getting web space, ie, somewhere to put your website. Many internet service providers offer up to 20Mb of free web space when you sign up to use their service, and many also provide help in building your website. So this is a good place to start, especially when you are just beginning to explore the possibility of becoming an Internet marketer.

If you don't already have a product to sell, this will be your next, and possibly, your most difficult step. Finding a product that people want and then ensuring its safe delivery is crucial to your ongoing success. The product may be in the form of downloadable material – ebooks, software etc; physical material – household items, apparel, real books, hardware etc - or a service like domestic cleaning, resume writing etc; it doesn't matter as long as it can be easily delivered within a reasonable time-frame and relatively cheaply.

‘Quick and easy' is the catchphrase for people who buy off the ‘Net. If your prospective customer finds that your product can be bought elsewhere more quickly and easily, well you can say goodbye then and there. Generally online shoppers are busy and short of time and therefore willing to pay that little extra to save a lot of time and hassle. If your delivery methods satisfy this basic need, you have more of a chance of being the one they buy the product from rather than the multitude of other sellers out there offering exactly the same product at exactly the same price…and there will be heaps of competition.

It's a minefield out there. Competition is rife and the scams are a growing menace. More than ever, you really need to know your stuff to make it online. Too many new Internet users fall prey to unscrupulous operators every minute via the Internet whether they are looking to buy or sell a product.

Scams come in the form of emails pretending to be from large legitimate corporations like your local bank, well known charity organizations and even your best friend. How they get your information and know exactly who to market to are some of the tricks taught by the very people who will probably teach you to be a great internet marketer.

A lot of tips and tricks to Internet marketing are freely available online. A lot are offered as paid courses and it's up to you whether you choose to pay or not. The only difference will be that paid courses will usually have a tried and tested method for success whereas free information has to be collected from varying sources and it can be difficult, though not impossible, to find good quality tidbits and know how and when to put them into practice. All the information, however you obtain it, will contain much the same techniques you too can learn and apply either for good or bad dealings, much like atomic energy really.

It's up to you how you use your new found knowledge, and whether you want to stay in business for the long term or whether you want to be constantly ousted by your internet service providers each time you let people down, not to mention the karmic consequences of gaining from someone else's misery. The latter, in my opinion, is a universal law that should not be messed with.

To recap - once you have found a good service provider who provides free web space; you can build a simple functional website or have signed up with an internet mall such as Ebay; you can offer a product/service that people can't live without; and you can satisfy the customers need for instant gratification; then you have all the ingredients for putting together your internet business. All you need to do now is to let people know it exists.

Advertising is the key to success both on an off the internet. It's just so much easier online due to the fact that it can all be done in a short time right from where you are right now reading this article. Once again you can choose to pay or not to pay but sooner or later, you may have to part with some of your hard-earned cash especially if you earned it initially through using some of the free forms of advertising available. If free advertising is paying off somewhat, then you know you have found the right niche market so making a small investment toward advertising further within that market is going to get you bigger returns guaranteed.

So my advice is to start out using as many free resources as possible, then once you have found some success, whether it be in the products you offer, the delivery methods you choose or your advertising platform, begin investing small amounts into those areas and build up your outlays as your business grows. Good luck in all your future marketing endeavors both on and offline.