1. Stay Positive & Don’t Give Up
One advantage of creating and building an online income is that your business is "open all hours" so you work when and for as long as you want. Some regular tasks can be run on auto-pilot, offering a less stressful working environment and giving you more time to spend with family and doing the good things in life. However, when first starting you business, it may take many months or more to get to that stage. The earlier days of the learing curve can be quite long and tiring. In order to be successful, try to maintain a positive attitude and be persistent and committed. Beware of ‘Get-Rich-Quick’ schemes which will eat into your wallet and often show little results.

2. Keep a Journal
Keep a journal and list things to do, ticking them off as they are completed. Update your journal regularly, so you remember what you’ve done, how effective (or not) it was and how you can improve. Remember that failures are not the end. They simply give you lessons to learn. Just try different methods and strategies.

3. Keep Learning
In the early stages of your Internet career, try out a few programs in your spare time. Do some searches on YouTube and Google about "how to…" There is a lot of free help out there in cyberspace. Get a feel for what others are doing in the Internet marketing arena by visiting blogs and forums, reading stories and comments, even asking questions and leaving your own comments on other blogs. (Make sure you put a link to your own blog or website in your signature. This will help get you some traffic).

Take some time to learn a little about HTML, Scripts, creating images and even building websites and blogs. Attend Internet Marketing Seminars as often as possible. (I’m going to the 4 day World Internet Summit tomorrow. It is very affordable, highly regarded and held regularly in many parts of the world. To find out more click here . You’ll even get a free course just for visiting the site .) You’ll learn heaps and get the opportunity to meet gurus and like-minded people. It’s a great place to network, get ideas and find joint ventures.

Don’t give up your day job until you can confidently earn regular income. There may be a lot to learn but if you’re focused, your efforts will be rewarded in the long run.

4. Scams
‘Get paid to read email’ sites are usually scams, won’t earn you any money and if you complain you won’t receive a reply. Similarly, any sales pitch telling you that you’ll double or triple your "investment" in a few days, or that you’ll get rich overnight, are usually scams. Steer clear. MLM (multi-level marketing) programs can work if you get in VERY early but usually only make big money for the people at the top and then peter out, leaving people in the lower ranks losing their money. Not a good investment for the inexperienced newbie.

One simple way to check that traders are bona fide is to check that there is an offline contact point like an address or telephone number. Another is to ask questions in an email before you sign up to see how quickly and effectively they respond. Avoid the ‘Get-Rich-Quick’ schemes. They rarely, if ever, work!

Always read the small print in the Terms & Conditions that tells you that if you request a refund you will only get back a small percentage of your investment (to cover costs). A good program will offer a 100% money back guarantee - no questions asked.

5. Secrets?
You will inevitably come across those who will try to convince you they have discovered a loophole or secret that will make you a lot of money, if you buy in to it. Look at it this way: if you discovered a method of earning big money on the Internet, would YOU reveal your ’secret formula’? You wouldn’t need to sell it if it was constantly bringing in big bucks. Try to avoid the hype when you see the word ‘Secrets’. You will probably find that it’s a waste of your money and time.

Similarly, would a guy who says he’s earning several million dollars a year, bother to write and market an eBook describing how he did it? Think about it!  They don’t need the extra few bucks.

6. Testimonials and Proof of Earnings
Don’t always believe images of earnings, cheques or bank statements showing how much the sales person has earned. It is easy to create these in Photoshop with a little creativity. Letters of recommendation or testimonials can also be rigged. Anyone can write them or get their collegues to do so! Don’t always take then at face value. I have seen videos where people actually log in to their accounts on screen and show you their earnings. These are more believable.

7. Dedication & Persistence
If you were to research how all the successful Internet marketers become wealthy, you would find that the common denominators are dedication and persistence. They are prepared to put in the "hard yards" to achieve their goals. If, at first, they didn’t succeed, they noted their failures and kept on trying. They are rarely influenced by the ‘quick buck’. This is so important. Fail forward!

8. Be Organised
Keep all your business activities and results in a journal - what worked and what didn’t. Keep a tidy computer with documents filed in recognizable folders. Check your email accounts at least daily and reply promptly. File the important ones. If you can quickly access any file, folder, software or email you will save so much valuable time.

9. Etiquette & Spamming
Stick to the basic etiquette of Internet Marketing. Don’t be tempted to send out high volume unsolicited email (spam). Always take the time to read the Terms and Conditions section before you decide to join a program. If you do sign up be sure adhere to those terms.

10. Withdraw Funds Regularly
Avoid leaving large amounts of money in any online marketing/promotion website or payment system. Most sites have strict rules and spamming policies and if you are ever accused (rightly or wrongly) of sending unsolicited emails or breaking any rule, you are likely to have your account closed, which could result in you losing all your funds too!

If you apply the above simple guidelines, your Internet Marketing experience will be a safer and more enjoyable experience.

So, now I’m really looking forward to the World Internet Summit - four days of intensive learning. I’ll be reporting back to tell you all about it next week.

PS. Just for visiting the World Internet Summit website, you’ll receive a FREE 12-part course featuring excellent advice from some of the best internet marketers in the world. This course alone could help you set up your own internet business! Click here to go to the site .

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

After 2 days of complaints and pleading, I was offered a temporary dial-up connection to keep me going in the mean time. Great! That’s a start. At least I’d be able to update my blog and keep abreast of my emails. The lady at the help desk started issuing instructions to guide me in setting up the dial-up modem.

Some hours later, after trying everything, including telling me to delete my previous System Preferences, she said that she’d exhausted all her knowledge and suggested I call a Mac technician. Then I was left with a "busy" tone on the phone. The operator was gone. I was left stranded with no connection, and no email account.

To add insult to injury, my last TWO years of emails (28,000 plus) have gone, floating somewhere in cyberspace, or perhaps they no longer exist at all, anywhere. That’s bad.

Now, being the type of person that never gives up, I called two Mac businesses for support. Nope, no luck. They couldn’t help. So, having been a support consultant from way back (before the internet days!), I decided to have a go at this myself. After an hour or so, my eyes lit up and my heart skipped a beat. I had somehow got the dial-up tone and it was dialling my new provider. Yes! …. Oh no, "authentication failed" and the line disconnected.

I persisted with fiddling and tweaking for some time until, at last, I was up and running. So, now I had the task of trying to find all my contacts for the formidable task of advising them of my new email address. As luck would have it, I had a PC hooked up to a router from my Mac, and when I used the PC I would check emails from there.

I gingerly opened up Outlook Express and… voila!… I was able to read old emails. There are only 2 months of emails in there and not for every day, but it’s a great start. I guess that my most important contacts would have sent emails during that time. So now I have a bit of a task ahead, changing my email address in all my memberships and subscription.

I reckon I handled the whole situation rather well really. I took a few deep breaths and persisted. I can do the essential stuff, and now I have some enforced free time.

There were many lessons in this scenario.

• If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
• Trying to save money may end up costing more than it’s worth.
• Always do a backup before updating or deleting info/data.
• Have a "Plan B" in place.
• Always ask questions before making a decision.
• Take plenty of breaks.
• Seek the positives if anything goes wrong.

I’m looking upon this as a liberating experience. After all I’ve cleaned out my old emails and I’m looking at what I really need or want. I’ll only re-subscribe to lists and memberships I can benefit from. I now have some free time to rethink, replan and restrategize my business, plus study and learn about stuff I need to polish up on.

Let’s continue to FAIL FORWARD.

It’s all good!

The experience has been life-changing to say the least. Alex is such an inspiration! He encouraged us all to push outside our comfort zone and to also understand that there will be times when we fail. He calls it "failing forward". Like learning to ride a bike, when you fall off you don’t just give up. You just pick yourself up, dust yourself off,  get back on and try again. It’s the only way to learn. The time will come when you can ride like it’s second nature (Look Mum, no hands!)

In the real world, success doesn’t happen overnight. Alex Jeffreys was once a newbie with absolutely no experience in internet marketing. He admits to failing many times. He went to seminars, asked questions, aligned himself with experts, took risks and never gave up. In his first year online he made $100,000 and in the second year he reached $600,000. His target for this year is one million and he’ll probably exceed that.

Alex’s advice to his students: "Before you move forward, you must review where you’ve been and what you’ve done. Make notes in a journal: what worked, what didn’t, what needs to be worked on, where you got stuck,  where you were good and what you enjoyed."

I’ll be doing just that in the coming days. I’ll be revising my notes and videos and noting the areas where I need to improve. I’ll be mapping out my strategies and formulating my plans. I’ll be refining, improving, learning and, most importantly, I’ll be getting back on that bike to continue my journey on the road to success.

If you are planning to start an online business, I highly recommend you read Alex Jeffreys’ free ebook, which you can download from right here on my blog. He really relates to beginners and "puppy marketers" alike. And if you really want to get serious about doing it the right way, at the lowest cost possible, invest ten minutes of your time to watch his video on the download page. It may very well change your life. The next internet success may very well be you!

http://www.sharpmarketingmethod.com

If you are an absolute newbie seriously considering starting an online business, it can be a very steep learning curve. While some will learn quite quickly, others will struggle with overwhelming confusion and some will simply give up.

On the internet there are a million and one irresistable distractions that will take you off on tangents and a shipload of ebooks and "clever" programs you will be tempted to buy. There will be a host of hyped-up emails flooding your inbox, telling you to buy this and try that or make money while you sleep. You may find that you are spending your money on stuff that either you’ll never use or doesn’t live up to its promises.

It’s so easy to get caught up in all this stuff. We’ve all done it. I’ve spent thousands of dollars myself and had nothing to show for it.

The best way to start is to follow a plan and take it at your own pace. There are ways to establish an online business with very little investment, if you know how. Alex Jeffreys’ coaching has taught me more in a few weeks than I learned in the previous 18 months.

He taught us that the secret to a successful online business is to have a goal and work out a plan to achieve it.  Too many newbies find themselves aimlessly wandering without really knowing what they are doing and where they are going, ending up exhausted, broke, alone and in despair.

This needn’t be the case if you align yourself with someone who can guide you. It also helps to join online forums and groups with members on a similar path. Seek help from these people and respond to them when they need help.

There are a lot of sharks out there on the internet, trying to strip you of your cash. Try not to get sucked in by the hype and don’t buy on impulse. Doing ten minutes of online research & comparing deals might save you a lot of money. While some people are charging $20 or more, others are giving it away for free.

For the serious newbies who are prepared to follow a plan with patience and diligence, the rewards can be enormous. If you stick to a plan, learn as you go and build your online business with care, you can earn a handsome income for LIFE.

I am currently working on a project designed specifically to help "Newbies" to plan and establish an online business. I’ve named it the "newBclub" and it will be totally free. There will be free downloads & how-to’s, as well as news, views and reviews. All will be revealed soon but for now, I’ll leave you to think about where you’d like to be, one year from now. Remember, from little things, big things grow. Get excited!

http://sharpmarketingmethod.com

I have been reading articles at ezinearticles.com, joining forums, reading & adding comments to other high-ranking blogs. I’ve been posting my video on video sites and commenting on high-ranking YouTube videos. I’ve joined Twitter and several social media sites. Generally, I’ve spent a lot of my week trying to encourage people to visit my blog. I even submitted an article that was published in an e-zine.

I looked into a number of traffic exchanges, but concluded that for all the time and effort involved, it would only bring reluctant visitors, who are only in it to advertise their own message, for free. One really needs to stand out in the crowd, to grab anyone’s attention. They may not be the kind of people I should be targeting.

So I had to stand back and take a look at what I have to offer to my visitors. As I re-read my blog, and watched my video (for the Alex Jeffreys Video Competition) the message of "wanting to help people" came through loud and clear. (I’m pleased, because that was my initial intention.) So I’ll continue to encourage and help newbies if I can.

Of course, you really must download the free ebook (at the right of this page), written by my mentor Alex Jeffreys. In it you’ll learn how and why a successful online business should evolve organically - start small and think big. You’ll also discover the way to build your own "Profit Pulling Platform" without spending on advertising. (Alex has never used pay-per-click marketing.)

The book focuses on the importance of building a list of subscribers and nurturing them. I highly recommend it whether you are a "newbie", or someone already trying but not achieving to grow a successful online business. It has the Aha! factor.

(After you download "List Building With Alex" you’ll be in line for a nice surprise! I’ll be releasing all the details in my next post. Stay tuned.)

I’ve also been keeping an eye on my Google Analytics to find out what my visitors are hoping to find in my blog and how they found their way to my site - through referrals or search engines. There’s a lot of information available to help improve and refine my content and where to concentrate my efforts to entice visitors.

I’ve lost a lot of sleep lately. My mind has been racing with ideas. My passions have been reawakened and I’m excited.

I’m about to embark on writing a guide for absolute newbies. Keep an eye out as it will be packed with info about building your first online business.

I also intend to become proficient in video production in its various forms. My daughter "foreverstrange" (as she is known on various social sites), who interviewed me on my video entry for the Alex Jeffreys Video Competition, is also keen to get into making videos. She has agreed to work with me on a series of "Strange Encounters". (Girls just wanna have fun!) She is currently studying drama, as did both her parents, so we thought we’d try to entertain our viewers.

But she is 2,000 kilometres away until the end of March, so until then I’ll get back to business, write my book and continue to report my steps and progress. Next post will be about some of the teachings from our fearless leader, Alex Jeffreys.  Plus I’ll let you in on the surprise. Stay tuned.

http://sharpmarketingmethod.com

If you’re serious about self-development, expanding your knowledge, maintaining inspiration and drive, and enhancing your career or business, it’s very beneficial to attend seminars whenever possible.

Not only will you pick up new ideas and priceless information, but you’ll meet amazing like-minded people who are on a similar mission. You also get the opportunity to network, make new friends, broaden your contacts and even promote your own business and products.

I attended a fantastic seminar late last year, which gave me the inspiration I needed to start my online business. It was called "Breakthrough to Success Wealth and Power Weekend " hosted by Christopher Howard, an internationally acclaimed expert in accelerated change technologies and leadership. It was a powerful and exciting weekend of personal growth and transformation.

At the seminar Chris led us through some amazing empowerment exercises and simple tasks, to assist in creating our lives the way we want, by expanding our self-concept - to reach our highest potential - not only in business, but in our personal lives.

I was blown away by the ongoing impact it has made in my life. As a result I have become more highly motivated, and determined to be a success. Gosh, I’m even developing an online business and have made my first video! Without Christopher Howard’s inspiration I may not have signed up for the Alex Jeffreys Coaching Course .

FREE TICKETS

As a result of attending the Breakthrough to Success weekend, I have been allocated a limited number of tickets to give away to friends and colleagues for FREE . Others will pay $895 a seat to attend these seminars. The seminars are held in various cities throughout the world including USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand.

I highly recommend this course and if you visit Christopher Howard’s website, ONLY through the link below, you can grab your 2 FREE tickets valued at $895 each .

>> BREAKTHROUGH to SUCCESS <<

Go check it out without delay, before they are all gone!

It may be just the thing you need to kick-start your success.

REMEMBER - IT’S FREE!

To your success!
Gaielle

http://tinyurl.com/btsuccess
http://sharpmarketingmethod.com

Our beloved Alex Jeffreys is going to love it. He’ll have a hard time picking a winner, but he will surely see how much he’s loved and respected by his devoted students. The rest of the world will also recognize his "rock star" status and his reputation will sky-rocket!

With 12 days to go before the competition closes, there is still plenty of time for new entries, particularly in the "Most Creative/Most Content" category, so let’s hear from the other 400+ students. Go for it guys!

The "Alex Jeffreys Video Competition" has proven to be a wonderful catalyst for so many. If you don’t own a video camera, you’re bound to know a friend who’d loan you one for this exercise. Alternatively, you can use Power Point or even download Camtasia for free from many sites. Perhaps some of the students could tell their stories about the making of their videos and methods used and post it on their blogs. There is still plenty of "blog-hopping" going on.

I’m off to review my weekly plan now. I’ve got much catching up to do. Traffic generation is on the top of my list. Good luck everyone and keep checking out everyone else’s videos. Just click on the tabs at the top of my blog - they are all there in one place. Have fun!

Gaielle Sharp http://www.SharpMarketingMethod.com

I have included all the videos on my blog on dedicated pages. Click on the tabs at the top. (I only included those uploaded after the date of module 5 coaching session.) This should make it easier for everyone to view them.

I did notice that some students omitted to enter their blog address in "more info". It’s not too late to edit/update your info on YouTube. It may help to get more traffic to your blog.

If I have missed yours please comment at the end of this post & I’ll add it. (You may also want to review your keywords/tags to include "Alex Jeffreys".) Thanks for Garry Parkes ‘ blessings. Although he is doing something similar, I’ve added the video titles and blog names. That way , you can visit one another’s blogs to get your links.

Good luck in the "Alex Jeffreys Video Competition" everybody! You’ve all done a fantastic job!

I’ve never made or edited a video before. I haven’t even used a video camera, but after plunging in the deep end, I eventually worked out the basics and put together this 5 minute piece which includes me doing some pole-dancing! (Please don’t be too brutal with your critique - after all, I’m no spring chicken.)

However, after my video had been on YouTube for just over 12 hours it had already had 79 views, which is great advertising for my blog. Not bad for a novice. I’m very pleased.

So if you have a video camera, it’s well worth the effort and a lot of fun in the process and you can be as imaginative as you like. There are a number of other sites that you can send your video, such as Google Videos, Yahoo Video, Viddler and heaps of others. Do try marketing with video. I’m getting excellent results!

Brought to you by www.SharpMarketingMethod.com

There will be many things to learn along the way and many hurdles to jump, but a whole new world will start to unfold. If we all take a leaf from Alex Jeffreys’ book, we’ll have fun with it and enjoy the journey. Challenge yourself. Enjoy the research. Think outside the box. As Alex Jeffreys says, "start small… think big."

Make sure you have a plan, take action and tick the "DID" tasks off your list as you go. (Alex Jeffreys has a "Did" List.) To help with planning there is a great free software called FreeMind that you can have a bit of fun with.

A new age of marketing has begun and thanks to mentors like Alex Jeffreys and Rich Schefren, we are privileged to be amongst the first to ride this new wave. The timing has never been more perfect.

The Sharp Marketing Method is doing online business the Alex Jeffreys’ way. Stay tuned and and follow his teachings right here.

Start making entries on your blog about the things you have learned, how you have implemented them and what results you are getting. Report on how you build and tweak, you successes and even failures. Write in your blog as if you were writing to a friend. Be yourself and enjoy your business like it’s a hobby. Be generous and honest and GIVE VALUE to your people. This is the Alex Jeffreys’ way.

Be excited! It’s time to shine in 2009. Next post we discuss ways to get visitors to your blog.

Brought to you by www.SharpMarketingMethod.com