I heard it again. "RSS feed me! RSS feed me!" Seems Mr. Nice Suit and Super White Teeth, or RSS as they called him, was making the rounds with the cloned groupies and aiding them in tasting all the culinary delights. RSS was tossing crackers and caviar into the open mouths of two of the women. I gagged and quickly realized that I did know this guy. He wasn't a rock star like Bono; he was an Internet rock star! You can't go anywhere without hearing about this guy. The suit and teeth was none other than RSS Marketing! How could I have not recognized him? I guess my MyYahoo! aggregator would have helped but the perfect good looks and groupies should have been a clue.

Sandra, on the other hand, is not looking for any get-rich-quick-scheme. She is honestly willing to invest some of her time to acquire a sweat equity in a home based Internet business, let's say. She understands about train-up times and learning curves, and she is willing to study, pay her dues, and take her lumps. She realizes that she needs to begin with an honest reliable business, offering a good product or service, with a decent business opportunity attached. She does her homework, makes her mistakes, and then...



Since network marketing, whether done online or face to face, is about one person telling another person about a product or opportunity; and, since a lot of this transfer of information depends on trust and sincerity, who do you think is going to be the best network marketer?

Find a company and product that you are EXCITED about. It's hard to sell something you don't believe in. Ideally, you want a product that people buy over and over again, month after month, year after year, and a company with values that are congruent with your values.

Assign some start-up and ongoing resources for your business. Some people seem to think that you can make money overnight and site (www.goodreads.com) without spending anything in internet marking. This is not true. Internet marketing is similar to any other type of a business; you will need some money to start the business and also to promote it. To be successful in internet marketing; you will need to allocate some start-up and monthly marketing budget. You will also need to invest some time, effort and dedication into your internet marketing business for you to succeed.

One clear indication of whether a Network Marketing company is legit is the amount they require for your initial investment and what you get for it. Pyramids and illegal structures will either make you pay high initiation fees, or have you pay for things that have little or no actual value.

You must always make your advertisements convincing. Avoid exaggerating in your internet marketing business' ads. People generally know whether they are being told the truth or otherwise. This is particularly important since the internet is now full of scams. Avoid writing ads that may make people think that your ad is one of those scams. Make sure that the approach, language and tone is your ad is convincing. Your goal is to represent your business as a reputable internet business that does what your ad says.

Probably the most critical thing you can do to build your marketing confidence is DO things. So many service professionals get into paralysis by what they consider the overwhelming job of marketing. That's when the marketing research overdrive response kicks in. You figure if you just gather enough information, you'll feel they have a grasp on marketing. Actually, the opposite is true. The more you research, the more overwhelmed you become. The only way to alleviate the overwhelm is to start trying things out and experiencing the results to understand not just what works, but what works for you.

Sound marketing strategy is critical to small business success, especially new businesses. Statistics vary widely depending on the source, but most reports cite failure rates for small business at 65% -- 90%. Knowing ahead of time how you will compete and how you will succeed in your marketplace can dramatically increase your chances of success.