If you have been following me for any length of time. You know my message is more than you navigating through all of the noise that is out there online. Last week I posted Why good people fail at internet marketing.

If you have been in the internet marketing space for any length of time, you have already realized that the internet marketing scene is filled with scammers, there are pitfalls, shoddy products, overpriced courses, and clueless people pretending to know what they’re doing. Each of them makes bold claims and quick riches.

If you’re hoping to succeed in internet marketing and you’re a beginner, just be aware that the odds of you succeeding are low. Most who try their hand at it fail and quit.

What can I do?

I’m not saying this to discourage you but to ‘enlighten’ you. I want you to know it’s going to be difficult. I don’t want you to have unrealistic expectations and I don’t want you to be disappointed or dejected when you realize that this business isn’t a printing press for money. If you are looking for quick riches play the lottery.

Here’s the good news. Ethically and legally, you can make thousands or even millions of dollars online. If you take the right approach and have the right mindset. Which is the point of this post. But it requires a lot of work and you’ll be putting in many hours.

So, forget the laptop lifestyle with your feet by the beach and sipping mojitos while the coconut trees sway in the distance. The dream that is often promoted.

The closest you’ll come to this type of lifestyle will be a postcard pasted above your desk while you bang away on your keyboard in the middle of the night as you work on your business – at home.

The good life comes later… much later, and only if you’re successful.

How do you tip the scales in your favor?

approach with caution

Approach all claims and hyperbole with caution. From my experience, most products are not worth buying and don’t work. Before investing money into a program do a little research. Too many beginners think it’s the program that is going to make it happen. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. A program can give you a great start, but it’s not going to do the work for you. You must be a bit of a skeptic for you to make intelligent decisions.

The people who fail online are usually gullible and believe everything they read. Usually, they’re honest people and cannot even imagine others lying to them to make a quick buck.

And yet, this is the norm in the ‘make money online’ (MMO) scene. Countless vendors have no scruples about taking your money and selling you rubbish.

You must be cautious so that you don’t lose money to the scammers in this business.

Follow the right people

When it comes to internet marketing, there’s no shortage of authority figures, ‘gurus’, experts, consultants, etc. They can call themselves whatever they want – but only one thing separates the posers from those who walk the talk…

Results. Only results matter.

When you find a mentor or choose to follow someone, you MUST do your research to see that they walk the talk. They must be making money with what they claim to be an expert in.

Many people act like experts and can’t generate a cent with their teaching. The Internet business is constantly evolving and methods and hacks that once worked no longer do so. Or the latest trends being promoted are no longer useful. Information moves so quickly that by the time you receive the knowledge necessary to take advantage of the hack. The gap is no longer available to you. Avoid the latest trends and fads at all costs. Stick to what works. Though boring, focus on evergreen strategies.

Teaching people to teach people, to teach people to make money is NOT a business model. Though you may find this ridiculous, you’d be amazed by the number of ‘coaches’ or ‘mentors’ who make money teaching others to do what they can’t do themselves.

Take everything with a bucket of salt!

Don’t believe everything you see or hear. Everything can be manipulated to paint the perfect scenario. Anything from income stats, and statistics, to followers and engagement, can be screenshoted or copied and pasted.

All of this is done to paint a picture of people being more successful than they are. To succeed online, you must master a few principles and work on your business.

Don’t idolize other marketers. Everyone started at ground zero. You can learn from anyone, but look for common trends. Generally, these are the topics you want to add to your business, and don’t get swept away by the latest trends. Keep your blinders on and focus on your business. Remember, you will never know everything, so make it your mission to grow and improve your skills as an Internet Marketer.

Make Measurable Progress over time!

Finally, building a successful business will take time. You can’t get around this. A lack of patience has made many potentially successful marketers quit too soon.

The MMO scene tries to make it appear that fast riches are possible. With three clicks of a mouse, you can have money coming in. If you believe them and you aren’t getting those results, you’ll feel like you’re doing something wrong. Some advice, run your own race.

You’re building a solid foundation for a successful business while the guys making quick riches are just scamming and will fail over time.

Aim to make measurable progress over time. Slow and steady wins the race.

What’s next?

You can and will build a successful Internet business if you exercise common sense in everything you do. Be willing to learn and develop a new set of skills and stay away from the shiny object syndrome. Don’t let yourself get distracted by the noise.

Focus and consistency will help you surf the Internet marketing learning curve and get you to your destination without losing much money or making poor decisions. It is possible.

Lastly, work on the 4 Core Areas. This is the book that changed it for me, “The Iceberg Effect.”