There are myths, suppositions, and facts involved - and it can become a bit confusing.

This article is just going to cover a few basic facts as well as some straightforward opinions on the subject, from someone who does earn some money online and knows others who work online full-time for a living.

- The "get rich quick and get poor quick later" days of the Internet may be drawing to a close. Some years ago, there were people who practically became millionaires overnight. The methods they used were not always honest or even stable so they lost it all shortly afterwards.

Some others began making money online at that time and they continues to earn money online to this day. They might have even made it very quickly. Some were working online for only some weeks or months before they started to generate a considerable revenue.

It's true that there was much less competition back then. It was also more possible to take "shortcuts" which generated short-term spurts of income but didn't necessarily work out in the long run. As time went on and the Internet developed, many of these shortcuts were no longer possible.

Google, for example, has been continuously changing its algorithms. The product that Google wants to deliver when a web surfer types a search term into the Search Bar is: relevant results.

If a visitor types in "dog collars" the visitor wants to see relevant, high-quality, and informative websites about dog collars.

In the past, it was possible for various shortcuts and tricks to be used to get one's website to the top of the search results for "dog collars" - even if the website was not high-quality. The owner of that website could sell advertising. Or he could sell dog collars themselves. Thus he could generate a lot of revenue, as a result of the high traffic on his site.

Google wants to have high-quality and relevant sites at the top. So it constantly adjusts its algorithms in such a way that only the best can really make it there.

It's no longer a walk in the park to get high rankings for a competitive search term. You have to build your website over time. It takes honest work, consistent building, and standard search engine optimization to get it to the top.

This is one example of the statement that "shortcuts no longer do the trick like they used to."

Some people crashed and burned when their shortcuts no longer worked.

Others learned from mistakes or were just building and promoting their sites honestly from the beginning. These people were headed for long-term success - whether they knew it at the time or not.

Now - can I say that you can start working online and instantly earn enough to live off of?

Unfortunately I can not say that. It may or may not happen to some. It hasn't happened to me or anyone I know in the field of Internet Marketing.

So why should one bother to learn how to earn money online, or work at home in Internet Marketing?

Well, it may take long to get there, but when you do, it is really worth it.

If you start off with honest marketing strategies, good research, and a sensible tactics, and if you work on your projects regularly and consistently, you can absolutely reach the point of earning a full-time income online while working from home.

It is even realistic that you could become like some Internet Marketers and bloggers, who earn $10,000 or more per month. Some even become millionaires but I won't get into that now. Different people have different amounts of success.

An advantage of working online is that you are not tied to a fixed income or an hourly wage. Another advantage is that your income is virtually unlimited. You do not have to deal with overhead costs, large start-up fees, a payroll full of employees, and the like.

But your potential is huge. What if you had a website which one day received tens or hundreds of thousands of visitors per month? Just in ad revenue that website could earn many thousands of dollars per month. What if it grew exponentially and began to get millions of visitors per month? You get the idea.

If you want to get started at earning money online and you truly wish to succeed, I suggest:

1. Learn how to earn money online from an honest and inexpensive source. Don't pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for memberships or training, particularly when you are just starting out. It isn't necessary and it's a waste of time.

2. Avoid get-rich-quick messages, confusing people, promises of "getting paid lots of money without having to work."

3. Do good keyword research before you start. Better two weeks spent on keyword research than two years spent on the wrong keywords. Learn how to do keyword research.

4. Work systematically. Apply tried and true methods. Don't disperse off into many directions at once, but finish what you start.

5. Make friends with other honest Internet Marketers. Share ideas and advice with them.

6. Provide good service. Give something in exchange for the revenue you intend to generate. This is far more effective than trying to trick or cheat the money into your bank account. A website, or any service offered online (if it is any good) provides some kind of service - even if it that service is only to provide information to those who need it.

7. Persist, plan, and strategize.

The funny thing is, it isn't even complicated or difficult. It's made to look that way because there are so many diversions, distractions, and dishonest methods being used or promoted. Earning money online is actually easy - but you have to learn how to do it. And that doesn't always happen overnight. Is it hard to learn? No. It's not nuclear physics. It's probably one of the most user-friendly subjects I've ever encountered.

The more you learn, and the more you implement what you learn, the better your income potential will become. The sooner you start, the better your chances of success.