Make Money Online for Beginners

There are literally tens, if not hundreds, of ways to make money online. You can hire your services out, create content for other marketers, build websites, become an affiliate, write your own information products, or any combination of the above.

Despite what the gurus tell you, making money online is not easy. It requires discipline and hard work. But, then again, it doesn't take a rocket scientist, either. There are literally thousands of people online who are making very nice incomes. Many of these are making six and even seven figure incomes with online marketing.

You're not going to do this your first month. You're probably not going to do this your first year. But you can do this.

The main problem that people who are new to internet marketing have with the whole process is it's so complex. There are so many ways to "skin this cat". Often newbies start along one path, encounter some resistance, quit what they are doing just when they're about to make a breakthrough, and try something else.

Part of this phenomenon is just confusion. Part is lack of belief. You absolutely must understand that there are tons of "normal", everyday people doing well in internet marketing. You can too. You just need to pick a method and stick with it, probably for six months to a year, before you decide to ditch it in favor of something else.

Internet marketing is about selling stuff online. It's about using the power and focus of the Internet to sell products. Sometimes these products are real items, like shoes. Sometimes they're information products, often called "digital products"--ebooks, site memberships, mp3's, videos.

When you're first getting your feet wet with internet marketing, you need something to sell. At first, it's best to sell a product made by another company, as opposed to selling your own product. So, it's best to start by becoming an affiliate of another company, or of a retailer or affiliate network.

One of the best online retailers to affiliate yourself with is Amazon.

Amazon has probably the single best reputation on the Internet with consumers. Although a lot of people buy stuff online now, there are still millions of people who are leery of using their credit or debit cards online. A company like Amazon, which has a great reputation, goes a long way toward making people feel safe about making online purchases.

ClickBank is another very popular company to affiliate with. Unlike Amazon, ClickBank is not an online retailer. ClickBank is what's called an affiliate network, a place where marketers list their products for other affiliates to sell. ClickBank is very easy to use and has a huge number of products. Best of all, these products are all digital. This means your customers can download their purchase and start using it immediately. Instant gratification!

Not only that, but more importantly, with ClickBank, you'll have much bigger commissions per sale than with a retailer like Amazon. Digital products are essentially all profit, whereas there's really not much profit in something like an LCD TV. More profit means more of a percentage of the profit for you the affiliate. At Amazon, you'll probably make 6% average. At ClickBank you can make upwards of 50%! Big difference!

Starting internet marketing by selling someone else's product makes sense. It's just one less thing for you to worry about. After you learn the basics of affiliate marketing, you can branch out from there and start making your own products.