That is because Beth cleverly morphed what started out as a mere hobby ? hand reading ? into a profitable Internet- based information marketing business.

Beth is featured, along with other successful, self-employed entrepreneurs, in a new book, ?The Official Get Rich Guide to Information Marketing on the Internet? by Robert Skrob and Bob Regnerus. The book, out in September 2008, is the sequel to last year's ?The Official Get Rich Guide to Information Marketing.?

Like many successful info-marketers, Beth was driven by a professional setback. She started out in the corporate world of marketing, but became disillusioned with the lack of long-term prospects for growth. ?One day, my boss told me I'd be lucky to make $40,000 a year in five years,? Beth says. ?That was all the motivation I needed to start my own business.?

Though Beth was at first skeptical about palm reading, a friend convinced her to give it a try. What followed was a revelation. ?This woman read my hands and predicted I would be a successful business owner who inspires the masses,? Beth recalls.

Inspired by the hand reading, Beth began teaching hand analysis by phone in 2002. Money started to roll in, and a number of people Beth coached went on to become professional hand analysts themselves.

But as Beth continued to grow her business, she realized there was one thing missing. That ?thing? was a strong Internet presence. ?I knew I had to take my website from a floating brochure to another revenue stream for my business,? Beth says.

That was the right decision, Skrob notes because ?when businesspeople and consumers want information, they go to the Internet first.?

Beth began sending plain text emails to her list of 600 people. In return, she got registrations for her tele-classes, workshops and a coaching program, which she sold at the end of hand-reading sessions. ?I never advertised it, but within six to eight months, I had a full practice.?

But not so full that there wasn't any room for improvement. In 2005, Beth signed up for the ?Online Success Blueprint Workshop,? by a very successful Internet info-marketer Alexandria Brown. ?I pretty much implemented everything she told me to do,? Beth reports.

One of these ?must-do's? was a killer website, which, Skrob stresses, ?is a basic requirement for an Internet marketer. A well-structured and focused website that attracts, rather than repels, visitors is very important.?

So Beth hired a web designer to build her new website, HandAnalyst.com, targeting women clients. Her first product was a $247 home study program called ?5 Proven Steps to Bring More Health, Love and Money into Your Life,? which teaches people the benefits of analyzing their own hands. ?The title encompasses all of the responses to the survey I had sent out to my list, to see what my customers were interested in most,? she says.

Beth's Internet-based information marketing business is booming because she took an idea and built a great website to promote it, one that inspires the visitors to buy her products. ?When your sales prospects opt in on your landing page, they become your sales leads,? Skrob notes. ?The next step is the sales process. The Internet gives you more options for presenting your sales materials.?

The book outlines five specific tasks that every web-based sales presentation must accomplish ? techniques that Beth has mastered, allowing her to rake in big bucks.

But the answer to a successful info-marketing venture is not just in the palm of your hand. Says Skrob: ?If you're ready to take advantage of the unique opportunities the Internet provides to information marketers, this book tells you everything you need to know.?