Starting up online is a fantastic way to make a living. Patience and determination are key to success but having the right attitude about your online venture is very important. It is a business and should be thought of in that way. It’s not about getting a few websites up and pestering your friends and family to join your downline. It’s a real business and you should have a vision for where it is going, you should have a business plan and if you really want it to take off then a marketing budget is a must!

Yes, all the top online mentors will help and show you the best free methods of marketing, how to use social networks and other similar methods to get leads for your business but do you think they rely on the free methods alone? No they don’t. They will have newspaper adverts in the press, Google Adwords Pay Per Click ads running, they will purchase leads, rent lists and many other paid resources that are available.

I fell for all of the usual mistakes when I started online. I went directly to the newspaper to place my ads, this was before I knew about the brokers that exist that can place ads in these newspapers on your behalf for cheaper than going direct to the newspaper. The brokers buy advertising space from the newspapers in bulk so can offer it you for cheaper. The broker I use in the UK even has a late deal mailing list so I get emails when they are trying to fill a space in one of the papers and you can get it even cheaper than normal.

The money is in the list right? Did you know you can rent a list of about 20,000 people for one email broadcast for about £400-£500.

Structured correctly with a profitable product for sale and you could double your money easily and remember when someone has purchased off you they are your customer and you can contact them again with more offers in the future. People buy again from people they’ve purchased from before and trust.

Pay Per Click! This has grown my business like no other means! However be warned!! The likes of Google make it very easy for you to set-up a campaign and get your advert online in a few minutes but unless you know what you are doing then all this will do is empty your bank account into Google’s and you’ll have nothing to show for it. It’s worth taking the time to master this. I wasted so much money in the early days by trial and error with Pay Per Click. I fronted up $500 for a PPC Mastery Course and that was one of the best $500 I’ve ever spent! The techniques when you know them are very simple but make so much difference. I’ve spent £30-£50 before this and only got 1-2 opt ins to my list. They weren’t very targeted either. These days I’m paying around the £2 mark for a lead and they are highly targeted that often convert.

It is your business, take it seriously and if there are things you don’t know or understand take the time to find someone that has the knowledge and will teach you. Even if it costs you it is an investment in your business that should be well worth the time and money.