Ever thought you'd like to get your very own Web site set up and running to pitch your product or services? Got something to say that you feel the whole world needs to hear? Do you have a favorite pet whose pictures you want to share and share? Think you'd like to try your hand at some heavy duty internet marketing? Well, it won't happen unless you get busy and do it! You'd think the hardest part is over once you get started, right? Sadly, this is only true if you start out correctly.

Before you do anything - you need to decide exactly what your goals & expectations for this new venture are and you need to evaluate your own capabilities. By capabilities I don't mean to imply that if you have no particular internet related skills then you are lost from the get-go. To be frank, your internet skill level is the least of your worries. The two main factors that (in my opinion) are most often overlooked are whether or not you have the time and the money to create and publish a web site that lives up to your original expectations. One minor factor that can also affect your success is the amount of patience you have to carry you through the project. Let's look at a couple of examples.

Jenny has been surfing the web and reading all the "come-on" sites that tell her she can make millions quickly by marketing products on the internet. She isn't the greedy type - millions aren't her goal but she wants to start a web site that will earn her a dependable second income. Jenny decides to pursue a site about her favorite hobby, power lifting. She knows of several internet companies that sell "natural" supplements for body builders. A few of these sites also offer an opportunity for others to market these products and receive a commission on the sales that result from their efforts. (This is what's known as an Affiliate relationship.) She has a friend help her get the site set up on a "free" hosting site in no time at all. She signs up as an affiliate with www.powerliftingtoday.com (I hope this isn't a real web site!) and slaps a few banners and buttons on her home page. Jenny doesn't want to spend any of her own money to on advertising for her site (after all - she gave her friend $20 to set it up) so she uses a "free" Search Engine Submission site as her sole marketing effort. Over time Jenny makes only one or two sales, becomes disillusioned, and, finally, quits even looking at her site.

Jake works out at the same gym that Jenny does. Must be something in the air at that gym because Jake also has a desire to make some money on the internet. He takes his time to find a web hosting company that can provide him with the services he needs at a reasonable price. He then sets about to build an attractive web site with a lot of interesting articles and tips on effective work out techniques. He writes articles and adds them to the site every weekend. Occasionally he acquires additional articles from a free article submission site. He, like Jenny, also submits his site to a "free" Search Engine Submission site but, unlike Jenny, he spends a lot of extra time on the internet finding other sites of interest to the body building community - sites he exchanges links with. After several months on the web, Jake signs up to be an affiliate marketer for www.powerliftingtoday.com. Now Jake begins to include banner ads on his article pages. He picks out some of the offered products that he uses himself. He features these prominently on his site - often accompanied with articles he has written about the product and its proper use. For a final boost to his traffic, Jake establishes an AdWords account with Google. After a lot of research on the proper key words to associate with his ad, and setting up a modest advertising budget, he launches his campaign. His commissions are small at first but over several months he can see them trending upwards.

I hope these two examples have driven my point home. Both Jenny and Jake had good ideas and were representing the same products. The problem was that Jenny didn't want to risk any money and, even worse, wouldn't even invest any of her time in her endeavor. She got excited and rushed in only to lose momentum and fail. On the other hand, Jake recognized the need to start slowly and grow the site into a valuable resource for his viewers. They returned time and time again for the latest news and they talked about the site to their friends. Jake's viewership steadily increased as did his sales.

The key to a successful site isn't just having a good idea. You must also have the discipline to put in the time required to develop an appealing well crafted site. Consider the project as an investment and put some money into it. And, finally, be patient. Nobody gets rich overnight ? but many people profit over time.