The revolution we are now experiencing on the internet will be as far reaching as the invention of e-mail. So, if you fail to get on board, it will be like struggling to build a customer list without e-mail, whilst all your competitors are kicking sand in your face with their super-duper, mink lined autoresponders.

The concept of "visual marketing" is a well established principle used by advertisers on TV since the medium was invented. And the reason is simple: it's the most compelling form of marketing known to man, because pictures -- particularly moving ones -- play directly with the prospective customers emotions. And people decide to buy based on their emotions, not on logic. Logic is only used later, to justify the purchase.

But, despite savvy marketers straining at the leash to use video on line, the technology did not exist.

But now, the many pieces that needed to be in place for web site video to work are finally in place. Among them are the incredibly powerful computers we all take for granted. These now cost little more than a child's expensive toy, yet provide vastly more computing power than put Neil Armstrong on the Moon. And, according to Nielson-Netratings, 78% of all USA homes had a high speed broadband by November 2006. And other developed countries, such as Canada and the UK are not far behind. That means that the larger part of the internet world is ready and eager to watch your videos, right now. And, because people have been used to watching TV for half a century watching video comes more natural to most than reading a sales letter.

But what's finally transformed video into the power tool of internet marketing is the universal adoption of a single video standard.

Remember how the free PDF plug-in from Adobe Acrobat revolutionized the simple distribution of e-books by standardizing the format in which they were distributed? Well it's now happened with video, because Adobe has now bought Macromedia and are making their Flash player plug-in available free, just like they did with the Adobe Acrobat Reader. And, like Acrobat reader, it works on both PCs and Macs. As a result, about 98% of people on line can now view videos with ease.

So what's holding you back from being at the front of the line on the finest internet marketing tool since e-mail?

There can be very little, because the cost and simplicity of the equipment you need ranges from free to very little and what you do spend pales into insignificance, compared with the way your sales and profits soar once you add this essential marketing power tool in your armory. For example, if you have Windows XP, you already have the means to edit your videos and add titles and scene transitions for a professional look, totally free of charge.

Recently, the cost of what equipment you do need has dropped like a stone, whilst the quality has shot right up. So, even if you don't have this XP freebie, as little as 45 bucks will now get you the very same software I use, which originally cost me $200 when I started making videos and dvds. Not only that, you'll be able to get a camera for half what I paid -- probably less, if you are an e-bay aficionado.

Add a few cheap lights from Lowes, Home Depot or B&Q and you'll be ready to take on Steven Spielberg

So what can you do with your new found skill. Apart from have a great deal of fun, the simple answer is: make more money, which is where the real magic of video comes to the fore with your opt-ins and sales pages. As we've seen, people buy with their emotions and only use logic later to justify their purchase. Now the emotional part of the brain works in pictures -- not words. So, if you use pictures -- particularly moving pictures -- you are homing in like a laser on the emotional sweet spot of your prospective buyer's brain. So, if you use video properly, your opt-in pages begin to take on a life of their own and your sales page conversions start to climb. And, if you sell tangible products, a short video, actually showing the product in action will be sure to increase sales. Consider how much inventory those TV shopping channels shift -- even when it's as inanimate as jewelery!

But that's only the start.

Put simply, seeing is believing, which is why video has such an electric effect on your sales processes. But you can also use that same effect elsewhere. Just imagine having a list of instructions telling you how to tie shoelaces, would you be able to do it right off? I doubt it. Yet see it done and you get it in a flash. So here's some more areas where you can use video magic.

If you sell a product needing after sales information, you can also provide videos as part of your after sales service, which should cut down dramatically on calls to your help desk.

If you use the internet -- also known as the Information Super Highway -- to teach and deliver information you can use what the military have known for years: sound plus vision hits home in the viewer's mind like nothing else, because it uses several of the senses, at the same time. So people learn faster and retain more with video.

You'll also be delighted to know that creating a video is far easier, faster (no proof-reading required) and a great deal more fun than writing an e-book. In addition, videos -- despite actually being easier to create -- have a higher perceived value than e-books.