A Few Newbie Questions If you Dont mind Answering

1a. Internet Marketing is "Advertising on the Internet"
1b. Affiliate Marketing is "Selling Affiliate Products/Services"

2. This is like asking "How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?" Obviously, the world may never know...
Seriously, don't focus on the success and failures of others.

3. Those people that do the Hit and Run business types are the ones that aren't following their dreams. Instead, they are chasing other peoples dreams and falling short on enthusiasm, so they sell off their business or quit it altogether once their money has been made. It can be successful, as CPA offers have shown.

4. It's not about the Money and Time you put in. It's about (Yes, I did that to add focus because it's important.)

5. A single source of revenue suggests you are only using one product. Do you walk into a local shop expecting to see only one thing throughout the entire store? It's not about selling a specific product or service, it's about selling the products and services that people in that market require.

Hi Dean!

1: I think Internet Marketing is a really broad term for anybody selling anything on the internet. I haven't been here long enough to completely understand the full spectrum of what everybody does here, but I see a lot of people selling specific products and services to specific niches.

Affliate marketing is when merchants "outsource" their selling to others. Usually on these forums (I think), the users are the ones selling on behalf of the merchants. Affliate marketing can be done offline (and it is), but for the purpose of our discussion you could say that affliate marketing is a subset of internet marketing, which could include a whole bunch of other stuff (such as simply selling a product, as I do.)

2: This is a hard question to answer. People who've spent a long time on the internet with a discerning, engaged mind will be able to pick it up a lot faster than people starting from absolute scratch. My estimate is- if you're a thoughtful, critical person, it takes about maybe 2-3 years to start to see your work really pay off. Others may have different estimates.

3: That's a really good question. I think there are some niches that are relatively "evergreen", but to dominate those you need to be really, really, REALLY good. Those are probably dominated by large conglomerates and MNCs. Say, protein supplements. I wouldn't be surprised if somebody selling protein supplements in 2002 is still selling protein supplements today. But that's not ultra-niche.

The cheesy-but-true answer is... the method/niche that doesn't saturate is quality. It's never crowded along the extra mile.

4: The harder worker wins, yes. HOWEVER, it's important to make a distinction between real, deliberate practice and time merely spent in front of your work. It's easy for a lot of us to fall into the trap of thinking "more hours = more work". That work might not necessarily be good or useful. We have to work smarter, more intensely- run tests, trial and error, observe and reflect judiciously.

5: I personally use just one source. Your mileage may vary, though. If you're not sure what you want to do or what you're good at, it may be worth trying a few different things. I'd focus on building one thing, then leave it running while building another, so on and so forth. See what works best for you, and maybe focus on that.

Good luck!