Every internet marketing guru was a newbie at some point. When you are starting out, deciding on the best way to learn internet marketing can be difficult, especially when you find yourself wading through uncharted territory.
You don’t want to put the cart before the horse and you don’t want to miss out on opportunities either. Where should you start? Learn… Learn before you start, learn as you go, and continue to absorb as much information as you can.
Every industry guru, no matter the industry, has a passion for staying knowledgeable. Internet marketing is a fast-paced world and those who want to succeed in it need to be on the edge of their seat at all times.
The answer to how to approach learning is going to vary depending on who you talk to. Asking the question in an open forum will often start a debate because every successful entrepreneur’s journey will have varied from others who’ve taken a similar path.
Some Basic Ideas To Learn Internet Marketing
• Learn internet marketing in general. The only way to decide if this is something you should pursue is to sop up all the info you can find on it. Learn how it works, understand the pros and cons of the internet marketer lifestyle, be prepared to invest time, or money (preferably a little of the latter and a lot of the former). Take the time to find blogs and sites to read up on. You’ll find a lot of comprehensive resources. Don’t just stick to one. Get a second, third, and fourth opinion.
• Figure out what you’d like to sell, do you have your own product, or maybe you are interested in affiliate marketing. There are thousands of potential ideas for what you could sell on the internet and there’s no standard answer for what’s the best product for beginners to start with.
• Learn about search engines. Find out how search engines work so you can start to think about ways to appeal to them.
• Learn about search engine optimisation. Knowing how to build a website that search engines will index will help you get traffic that could buy from you. This will be a never-ending proposition, though, as SEO is not evergreen and you’ll want and need to keep up to date on the latest strategies, rules, and suggestions from gurus.
• Learn about paid search engine marketing options such as pay per click. You may or may not be ready to invest in this yet but learn about it.
• Listen to the experts. Find out what they do. Read about what they say you should do and read about what they say you shouldn’t do. Then get a second opinion, a third, and a fourth. Experts may have solid advice and the first expert you listen to might give you everything you need but learning all you can will help you to develop your own signature methods that could come from a fusion of several experts success methods.
• Read free reports, white papers, blogs, and internet marketing forums. You’ll get good advice, bad advice, and come up with a lot of good ideas.
If you really want to learn internet marketing, it won’t take long to learn enough to get started. The world of internet marketing is enticing and exciting and there are many opportunities to make money online, but those who are most successful tend to be those who are willing to dedicate the time to learn how others have succeeded.
Sean Rasmussen
Aussie Internet Marketer
Learn Affiliate Marketing with Year Of The Affiliate © 2012
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Year Of The Affiliate is a great resource to begin your journey to learning internet marketing. I highly recommend it to anyone (every chance that I get).
Think of it this way – if you have a strong foundation, your house will be much more stable, last longer and be more valuable. Well think of YOTA as the starting foundation for Internet Marketing.
.-= Cemil´s last blog ..What Is The Google Sandbox =-.
Thanks Cemil, your comment is very much appreciated. I love your take on building foundations, as it is something a lot of people forget about in their quest to build a profitable and sustainable online business.
I definately agree with you there Cemil. The year of the affiliate is a fantastic resource which sets things out in an easy to understand manner for any beginner in Internet Marketing.
.-= Jackie Stenhouse´s last blog ..Types of Child Anxiety Disorder =-.
A friend once said to me that if you want to learn how to do something well you go to the best teachers, experts and mentors you can find. When it comes to Internet Marketing, there’s no one better than Sean Rasmussen that I know of.
.-= Wal Heinrich´s last blog ..Genetically Modified Foods – Are They Worth the Risk? =-.
Thanks a lot Wal, now you have got me blushing mate
. But seriously, many of the most successful people in the world have mentors and it is something I highly recommend. Modeling the success of others is a fantastic way to keep you on track and help you achieve your goals.
Hi Sean
A few years ago i thought Internet Marketing was only for intellectuals, but with your easy to understand learing techniques, i have learn’t so much in such a short period and every day i learn something new, which is very exciting.
Regards
BelindaO
.-= BelindaO´s last blog ..The Power of Website Competition Analysis =-.
Learning is the key Belinda and you can choose to learn anything you wish – if you have the desire and determination to take action.
Hi Sean,
Cemil, Wal and Belinda are all right. You are the best mentor that anyone could ask for if they want to learn internet marketing. Or, anything to do with being successful for that matter.
You make everything easy to learn and make us believe that we can achieve our dreams. I am really grateful to be part of your forum and have the opportunity to learn from you. It really is a life changing experience.
.-= Jazz Salinger´s last blog ..Learn and Earn – It’s a Marathon Not a Sprint =-.
Thanks a lot for your kind words Jazz, I love teaching people that want to learn and succeed
Hi Sean,
I’ll agree with the majority as well. Even if you are colour blind and can’t tell the difference between pink and blue you do have good qualities.
All jokes aside though. I’m another one who appreciates the time you put in teaching people about Affiliate Marketing. Also I appreciate the kindness and generosity you show towards people in general.
.-= Jill Brown´s last blog ..Couples Marry at Common Law =-.
Learning Internet Marketing can be great fun – if you have a great person showing you the ropes.
Without the YOTA forum I wouldn’t know 10% of what I have learned over the last 12 month. And as Cemil said – building a strong foundation is crucial if I want to use this skill seriously. So I am still learning
.-= Renee´s last blog ..Overcoming Procrastination =-.
Hi Renee,
I completely agree with you. I wouldn’t have learned as much either if I hadn’t been in the forum. The guys in the YOTA forum have taken me from someone who had very little computer skills to someone who can set up her own self-hosted blog.
It’s been an amazing journey and I’m very grateful for all their help.
.-= Jazz Salinger´s last blog ..Finding Your Passion =-.
And I have learned heaps from you and the others members as well – which has been great fun
.-= Renee´s last blog ..What Is Self Esteem What Is Self Confidence =-.
This is a great post. I’ve bookmarked this one.
It is true that every internet marketing guru was a newbie at some point and therefore know what it’s like to start totally from scratch wading through uncharted territory and be bewildered by information overload.
I don’t think you have to learn before you start. All you require is a starting point and learn as you go. Yes, you’ll make mistakes but that’s how you learn. If you don’t make a mistake you won’t figure out a better way.
Some great tips to use as a starting point.
I think thats why a lot of people fail at internet marketing because they think it is a get rich quick device. Whereas in truth, it takes a lot of time, patience, sometimes money and heaps of education to learn internet marketing the right way.
People not prepared to put the hard yards in and expect instant results, give up.
.-= Jackie Stenhouse´s last blog ..Types of Child Anxiety Disorder =-.
Hi Sean
Great post, a lot of handy hints especially for me. Sometimes I feel like its going at a snails pace, but then I keep on, knowing that in my mind I have decided to learn IM and ofcourse the team at YOTA are wonderful and very helpful. So Thank you Sean and team
The best pace is the pace that suits you Mario
. The main thing is to digest each concept before you move on to the next… one step at a time is the only way to make it to the top 
This IM gig isn’t for the faint-hearted that’s for sure, but it’s worth the sacrifices when you finally start to see some results happening …ie somebody actually buying something I’ve recommended! wow!
There were times when I wanted to give up because it can be a lonely occupation, especially in the early days when its all money going out & none coming in! But whenever I started feeling it was all too much I would re-inspire myself by reading stories from ‘real’ experts who had gone through what I was going through & were now successful internet marketers. They didn’t give up…so I wasn’t going to either!
The techniques of internet marketing can be learnt reasonably easily, what can’t be learnt so easily is having the self-belief & committment to keep going. There are a number of successful Internet Marketers who are generous in helping and inspiring others to succeed in this crazy, wonderful business. Thanks for being one of those inspiring people Sean.