"Earn It – The Old Fashioned Way" discusses the need to treat your online business endeavors, like a real business.
It seems we are obsessed with the concept of "Bigger, Better, Faster", however in the world of technology, it might very well be "Smaller, Better, Faster". A few short years ago, the Pentium 1 was the hot machine, and yes I still have one. It is now relegated to running our bookkeeping system, and yes, my first cell phone was an absolute clunker.

However, it seems that making things smaller is pretty much restricted to the hardware. Because the capability is so much greater, it seems programmers have gotten sloppy, and could care less if the program runs efficiently. Gone are the days when a program had to run in a minimum amount of memory. Disks store more data than ever, but in a smaller package.

But wait - we are discussing "Apples and Oranges" here. Yes, the physical size has gotten smaller, but the capacity has lived up to the original concept of "Bigger, Better, Faster". We are still near the very beginning of computers and who knows what the future will hold.

There is one thing however that will not change - enter the human equation. The new and inexperienced are joining the masses, and are ripe for the "plucking". Like magic, their email addresses become known to the world, and the offers start rolling in. The con artists have simply had a change of venue, and are pursuing them relentlessly.

Some people really believe that they have been selected to be in the Internet Version of "Who's Who". That con goes back many years, and now there is a new audience to rope in. The old version of someone who found money, and will share it with you if you give them a good will deposit has changed a bit. Today, someone has stolen money from a backward country, and want you to help get it out. Of course, you will need to show your good faith.

Almost every con you encounter actually predates the computer, and has simply been brought up to date. We receive hundreds of emails, and they all promise immense wealth in a short period of time. And here is the best part - you don't have to work. Well, if that were the case, we would all be sitting in our "skivvies" and telling our boss to "forget about it".

Folks - that is just not

Find yourself a "niche" that you can promote. Many people have done this and are making a respectable living on the net. Get yourself a domain name, build a website and market it. The world however, will not beat a path to your door. If you don't advertise, like any business you will not succeed. There are plenty of places to place your ads. Some are free and others are not.

Ezines are a good bet. They are being distributed to people who have asked to receive the information. If they are a match for the market you want to target, they should be high on your list. Ezines that have a very large subscriber base, that are not a match for your market are normally not a good deal. Advertise in smaller ones that are.

Forget about automatic submission software that sends your ad to FFA sites - it is a waste of money. The ad you submit, will in all probability never be seen by a human. The only people making any money from this submission software are the people selling the software.

People running the FFA sites get thousands of submissions a day this way. They automatically drop old ads in a matter of seconds to make room for the new. What do you think the odds are, that someone will stumble on their site and see your ad. If you are going to place free ads on a website, make sure they have a life of at least a week or so.

While "Smaller, Better, Faster" might be appropriate in describing available hardware, it does not replace known and proven marketing techniques. The fact that you can send your ad free to large numbers of people, doesn't mean it will be read. To make a living on the web, you still have to "earn it - the old fashioned way".

About the Author

Did you know that subscribers to Bob Osgoodby's Free Ezine the "Tip of the Day" get a Free Ad for their Business at his Web Site? Great Business and Computer Tips - Monday thru Friday. Instructions on how to place your ad are in the Newsletter. Subscribe at: http://adv-marketing.com/business/subscribe2.htm