Once I start talking about this, it's nearly impossible stop me without pulling the plug, so I'd like to get something out of the way first....

If you're just toying with the idea of starting a business on the internet.... or if you've done some homework and you're almost ready to take the plunge.... you might like to read my little "pep-talk/demystifier/what-to-do-if-you-don't-even-have-an-idea" article first. 

It's called, "The Golden Rule of Biz-Ops".

Now I'll tell you how I learned to make money on the internet:

In case you're visiting Friends In Business for the first time, you should know that my mission (or obsession, if you prefer) is teaching you "How To Smell a Rat Before It Bites You In the Hiney" so you won't become a victim of biz-op scams like I did one or two times (okay, $30,000 worth, but let's not nitpick!).  You can click here if you're interested in reading "The Gruesome Details."  (Like most of our links, this one will open a second browser window, so you can look around all you like without getting lost; just close the window when you're ready to come back here.)

After I finally learned to protect the life savings I never had, I found out that choosing the right business was only Step 1 in a long and dismal process.

IF YOU DON'T LEARN HOW TO DO IT RIGHT, YOU *WILL* FAIL.

I'm not going to pretend a lot of the information isn't available to you free for the taking.  It is.... right along with an unbelievable amount of worse-than-useless junk (I say "worse than useless" because it can be an incredible time-waster).

I don't know about you, but I have to earn a living.  Since 1995, I've been a mommy (again) and a grandma, and I have a life off the internet.  I couldn't spare the hundreds of hours it would have taken to learn the ropes on my own (and the truth is, I tried like hell but it just wasn't coming together). 

And that, in a nutshell, is why this course was such a godsend to me.

But I'm getting ahead of myself....

I started FountainCorners first.  It was my "commercial site."  Later, I started FriendsInBusiness, which was going to be my own little scam-busting playground.  I never intended to sell, or even endorse, any products here.

Well.... I changed my mind.

For over a year and a half, Fountain Corners flopped.  The products ran the gamut from "cute" to "wonderful."  The site was nice-looking and easy to navigate, my prices were GREAT (my profit margin wasn't so great, but my prices were), and I dutifully listed my site with all the search engines.  I even emailed a daily special to several hundred subscribers.... and in the next year and a half, I made less than a dozen sales. 

While I was busy working my tail off and earning nothing, I read every book and "course" I could get my hands on and got some decent information.  I started posting on bulletin boards, putting up free classified ads, sending some e-mails, getting flamed, selling nothing, and ripping my hair out in clumps. 

I LOVED the internet.... and I LOVED the concept of selling without having to go nose-to-nose with my prospects.... but by that time, I had pretty much decided "Internet Marketing" was just another elusive Bluebird of Happiness Turd that never seems to land on my head.

Then I found it....

COREY RUDL's "INSIDER SECRETS TO MARKETING YOUR BUSINESS ON THE INTERNET"

and I started making money.

Literally overnight, I learned why FountainCorners wasn't making any money and probably never would, and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I could turn FriendsInBusiness into a moneymaking site and keep right on doing what I was doing (making monkeys out of scammers).

I know, I know.... "Insider Secret" books are a dime a dozen.

Right. 

You'll get no argument from me.

But this one was different. 

If you haven't heard of him, Corey was a highly respected internet marketing expert who has made a FORTUNE on the internet.  He owned four businesses operated EXCLUSIVELY online, he started them from scratch, and at one point they were bringing in over $2.5 million a year.  So the book was from a man who has become successful actually USING the techniques he taught.  Many of the so-called "gurus" don't actually use any of the methods they write about beyond the time it takes them to research their "product."

Success on the net is NOT "pie in the sky".... but it's a fact that over 90% of all web sites are actually LOSING money because their owners haven't the foggiest idea how to EFFECTIVELY promote them.

(By the way, if you're thinking you couldn't possibly afford your own web site, this is probably a good time to tell you that we pay $17.95 a month for each of our domains, with enough space left over for another 150,000-or-so pages.  And I.... a "non-geek" in the truest sense of the word.... do all the work myself, thanks to a great book called "A Complete Idiot's Guide to Creating an HTML Web Page.")

Okay, what was I saying?

Oh yes....

"FountainCorners" was one of my biggest disappointments during three exceedingly rotten years. 

At first all I lost was time (huge chunks of it).  I didn't start losing money until I bought all that advice and balded myself.  True, I was learning how to get more hits, and everybody claimed "the sales would follow".... but they never did.

When I found Corey's site, I was impressed enough with the free marketing tips that I decided to take the plunge and order the complete course.  The guarantee was as good as it gets, without any nasty little red flags.  (No time like the present to check out The Anatomy of A Worthless Guarantee over at our "Scams 101" class.) 

When I read between the lines (remember, that's my specialty) and found absolutely nothing sinister, I decided to go for it.  (I also stayed online 'til the wee hours hunting for whatever dirt I could find on Corey Rudl himself or any of his products, but there wasn't any.)

After the course arrived (in three days), I unpacked Part One, assembled the binder, and headed straight for my Private Reading Room (don't ask).  It took me about ten minutes to decide there was no way I was going to return it, so I pulled out Mr. Highlighter (who lives in the hamper) and went to work.

It progresses to the very (very) advanced, like "Spying On Your Competitors" and "Putting Your Business on Autopilot." 

And it covers every detail of everything in between.... classified ads, newsgroups, press releases, search engine secrets, hottest products, backend and upsell, the power of e-mail, banner advertising, reciprocal links, and tons more. 

"They all cover that stuff. "
"Big deal."

But it IS a big deal.... and I'll tell you why:

EVERYTHING IS EXPLAINED DOWN TO THE MOST MINUTE DETAIL.

Lots of people tell you WHAT you need to do.... but they fall WAY short when it comes to telling you HOW to do it.  Never before has anyone given me step-by-step instructions like this.

Here's an example of "step by step"....

Corey explains how to painstakingly pick-and-choose which sites you want to put your banner on, how to make the initial contact, and how to bug them until they respond.  If they say "thanks but no thanks," he shows you how to make the most out of the contact by at least walking away with a reciprocal link.  You don't even have to write your own letters.... just copy the ones in the book and change a few details.

Another example?  Okay.

Autoresponders.

TOTALLY different information than I've found anywhere else!  You will learn to use autoresponders to completely automate the follow-up process, make back-end sales for you, and generate thousands of highly targeted hits from OTHER people's advertising efforts.... the point being to create a whole new stream of income without lifting a finger once the initial work is done.

And the backbone of the system:

YOU WILL LEARN THE IMPORTANCE OF TARGETING YOUR MARKET.... AND YOU WILL BE SHOWN EXACTLY HOW TO GO ABOUT DOING THAT.

These are the two places where every other internet marketing book I've read goes right down the toilet:....

"Targeting Your Market" and "Step By Step" instructions.

They all emphasize the need to get thousands of hits to your site.... and that's fine, because only a tiny handful of people who visit your site will ever buy, and in cyberspace (just like in the real world), "Sales is a numbers game."

BUT DID ANYONE EVER BOTHER TO TELL YOU THAT GENERATING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF HITS FROM ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY ALL OVER THE NET IS A TOTAL WASTE OF TIME??

Probably not.

And if that's how you intend to go about promoting your web site, then don't bother putting it up.  (The Voice of Experience.)

So why do most internet marketing courses teach you (sort of) how to do just that?

I have no idea.

All I know is they usually give you a gazillion links to free classified sites, banner exchanges, and link exchanges.  And you work your tail off and nothing changes except your counter.... because bringing in these random hits from all over the place will NOT increase your sales.

And of course they'll tell you about all the incredibly wonderful, inexpensive-or-free software you can get to help you promote your site.... programs that will submit your URL to 600 places while you sleep or harvest e-mail addresses from the first 1,000 sites each search engine pulls up and send out requests for reciprocal links to all of them.... but the bottom line is, no matter how many hits these methods generate.... they're still only RANDOM hits.

AND RANDOM HITS WILL NOT TRANSLATE INTO SALES.

Don't misunderstand me.  Some of that software can be your best friend.... but there's a right way and a wrong way to use it, and that's what you need to learn.

Corey will teach you to target your market the way a high-priced professional would (but you'll do it BETTER because it's yours).... and that means you should expect to work like a dog for at least a couple of months. 

But after you "do your time"....

YOU'RE LOOKING AT THOUSANDS OF HITS FROM YOUR CAREFULLY TARGETED MARKET.... THE VERY PEOPLE WHO ARE MOST LIKELY TO BUY WHATEVER IT IS YOU'RE SELLING....

AND YOU WILL HAVE GENERATED THESE HITS IN A WAY THAT WILL CONTINUE TO CREATE TARGETED TRAFFIC (AND SALES) FOR YEARS AND YEARS TO COME!

And you'll learn absolutely EVERYTHING you need to know to put your business on....

AUTOPILOT.

That means it's all done automatically:....

Credit cards are actually processed online, the money is deposited to your bank account, orders are filled online or by a fulfillment center, copies of all the paperwork are delivered straight to you, and your customer receives a personal thank-you letter....

then a follow-up letter....

then an entirely new offer....

all right on schedule without any help from you.

You hear a lot of talk about "working two hours a day," but has anyone ever told you how to go about achieving that? 

The only thing messing up my dream of a highly successful web site was that I thought it meant me and my computer eyeball-to-eyeball seven days a week including Sundays and holidays.

Not so!

"Autopilot" is your key to that magic place where you can finally focus your time on GROWING your business rather than running it.... or, as Corey says, "working ON your business instead of working IN your business."

(I get lots of e-mails asking if my site is on "autopilot."  Hahaha.... no, far from it.  I'm still in the "work-your-buns-off" stage and I expect to be there a while longer.)

Now this is all dandy if you have a product or service that you want to promote online....

And if you don't??

Consider doing JOINT VENTURES.

Remember what I said about over 90% of all online businesses losing money?  That means there are THOUSANDS of fantastic products out here with ROTTEN marketing.  You're going to learn how to find them, and by then you'll already know exactly how to go about creating a highly profitable Online Marketing Plan.  You present your proposal (plenty of tips on this), cut a deal for a percent of the profits, and you're in business....

WITHOUT EVER HAVING A PRODUCT OF YOUR OWN AND WITHOUT SPENDING ONE DIME TO IMPLEMENT THE PLAN.

(In case you're wondering, this has NOTHING to do with selling Corey's products.  We're talking about "joint ventures" in which YOU hunt down the products you're interested in promoting.... you go to them, they don't come to you.  It has nothing to do with signing up for any of the billion-or-so "reseller" programs out here.)

"Isn't that risky?" 
"How do you know you'll get paid?" 

Like everything else, he's got it covered.  There's an eight-page contract near the end of Book Two.  All you have to do is modify it to suit your particular situation.

The need is there.... making this a very REAL and very WORKABLE opportunity for someone who has learned the secrets of SUCCESSFUL internet marketing.

A six-figure income doing nothing but joint ventures is not an unrealistic goal.  I might go that route myself some day, but for now, I have enough ideas of my own (thanks to this course), and I prefer to build my own sites from scratch to prove I can do it before I take on the responsibility of marketing someone else's product.