Have a brick and mortar biz doing 300K but want to venture into online!

What the hell is this, then, and who are these people showing up to it?:

http://affiliatesummit.com/

Annual, global conventions with nuttin' but a bunch 'o people doing what you say is impossible and a cruel lie.

It is NOT a lie, DRP, for some people have achieved exactly what you say is impossible. There are affiliates (and other business models) making into the millions per year that are doing it all with a laptop and a cell phone, being able to work wherever they have an internet connection. Ya know, one of those online businesses you say doesn't exist. There are freelancers making a modest to 6 figure income doing the same thing, working from home, with all of their business being conducted on the phone or computer.

And you know this, DRP, that some people have, and will continue to make it, even though you obviously cannot pull it off yourself, and are stuck at a job, beholden to your employer to clothe and feed you. And since you know people have, do, and will continue to make it, calling it a lie, is, well, a lie, for you are saying something you know to be untrue.

The 'idea' is quite tangible and exists, and some people are living the lifestyle you claim doesn't exist. It is just not achievable by the vast majority. That is the lie - that anyone can do it, with no money, no experience, and no real knowledge and skill sets. And even with those prerequisites, many still fail.

This stuff is not something achievable by the majority who try it. This is no different than anything else - few will make it to that upper echelon (long term, full time income, even if only $50,000-$60,000/year). There are also a bunch of windows, where people could scoop up some easy money with little actual business skills, that are now closed - but were open at one time. So, at one point, there was some truth involved in some of these 'systems & methods' of making money.

It is not a lie, DRP. It is just something that most won't achieve, and you and I are FAR from alone in understanding that most of this stuff is bullshit - all of the 'easy, methods, systems, anyone can do it with no money', etc.

Here's what I can guarantee you - you, or anyone else, will NEVER make it if you think it is all a lie, and if you don't try. Good thing Jeff Bezos didn't ask for your advice, eh? Stupid internet, nobody can start a business from home with a laptop and internet connection and make it big, it is all a lie. According to you, that is.

In 2014, just in the US and just in retail sales (not services), 305 billion dollars traded hands over the internet. $75,000 is 0.00000025% of that. If you are telling me it is impossible for someone to take a laptop and internet connection and tap into that tiniest of tiniest of fractions of that money, well, you flat out do not know what the hell you are talking about. Period. Yer just a Negative Nancy.

That right there is awesome advice. But, he needs to not use the word 'instead'. Replace that with 'in addition to'. There is nothing wrong with trying to achieve both - generating more leads for his current business while also trying to establish another income stream. But, a website with AdSense probably isn't the way.

EDIT: Out of curiosity, DRP, what, exactly, are you a bona fide expert in? What aspect of Internet Marketing do you specialize in?

Following up with the OP:

Check the web presence of your competition. It is another damn 'buzzword', but you need to look into the concept of content marketing. With the proper strategy and a little patience, you could increase your sales, perhaps up your price a bit, do some cross and upselling, etc. And while doing that, you will be educating yourself on this whole Internet Marketing thing, and you may come up with the right pieces and ideas to branch out and achieve what you want.

Alot of great nuggets here.

I think you have to start off by asking yourself are you looking to completely get out of your current business? or just restructure it? so your managing the business instead of it running you.

Another big question is how are you currently getting clients? Do you already have digital marketing campaigns generating leads and sales for your services?

Before you jump into creating a digital product you may want to learn the basics of marketing with the internet by developing profitable campaigns for your own business.

Once you get that down, you'll have some experience getting results from marketing and advertising online, then you can easily test different business models, i.e. affiliate marketing, info-products, etc.

Just a random thought, maybe you should try incorporating some affiliate offers and services with your offline business, which will through you extra income, and boost margins if you figure out how to incorporate it.