Up to $5000 to invest and most of the summer, what would the best way to make money with it?

Contributing $5000 a plate to a politician always yields good returns :p

Read as much information on this forum as possible before investing your money...There is a ton of great free information here on WF...

How much knowledge do you have about selling? I would go into business with me and split the profit 50/50. Aside from me, just invest in banner advertising on high traffic sites and turn that lead flow into profits, earn, reinvest, and repeat. That's my personal goal here in the next 3mo. approx anyway. You just have to drive traffic to an offer. What kind of traffic depends on the market. But banners on targeted sites will never go out of style. No experience with CPA.

For example, let's say you have a low front end offer. You can place an ad that drives them to a squeeze page that says, "Give me you email and I'll give you something that will make you happy!" Then when they opt-in, you immediately present the low ticket front end offer sales presentation to recoup your cost. Maybe create your own product for $7 to self-liquidate your earnings. Then you're building a list and can write emails and promote affiliate offers. Your job would basically be media buys (banners) that you negotiate on blogs or whatever, and writing email. That's my actual recommendation, compared to the two previous posters above me.

Dude Marc me and you gotta link up. I would love for you to PM me a few of those banner sites you are talking about.

so you only plan on working on it for a week or 2? I made $1,000 my first 14 days as an affiliate, but I took the time and effort to turn it up to 35k per month.

I made close to 300 my first week $1,000 my first 14 days and $3,000 my first 30 days, then turned all that into what I have now..

I did that with affiliate marketing and my own products...

that was way back in 2007...

Not sure why you are only interested in investing 2 weeks, that's not really how this business or any business works.. Your either in for the long haul or your not in for the long haul

You have the capital to start a business, but you seem to lack the necessary skills and the time to make it work. Getting profitable in this field is not just about having the capital. There are too many variables that can go wrong, especially for a newbie. Teaming up with an experienced person can work, but the question is, whom do you trust? Without the skills to know your way around, your funds are likely to disappear. Quickly! Either way, I think you need to gain the necessary skills (by reading around, finding a mentor...) and dedicate some time to make it work.

For now, if you're completely new to IM, put your money away.

(And if you're a newbie, ignore any suggestions like "write articles" or "hire me to write articles for you." That's a single marketing TACTIC, VERY premature when you're new and don't even have an idea for a business yet. A rather ridiculous suggestion really.)

IM can be very confusing, but it's not really that hard when you clear away the clutter.

Clarity is a HUGE part of IM success. It's so simple when you know it -- and darn difficult when you don't! I owe my mentors a world of thanks for bringing this clarity.

IM is actually pretty simple: you can sell only one of two things:

1. Products
2. Services

That's it!

And selling products or services online happens in the same basic way for everyone, no matter what they're selling:

Traffic > Opt-in page > Autoresponder series (or e-zine) > Sales page

It's just that simple. (We IMers tend to overcomplicate things.)

So first, you need to pick a niche, pick a target market (who will buy what you're selling?), and then pick a business model.

What is your business model? Meaning, will you sell products or services? Will you sell your own products or services or will you be an affiliate for someone else's products or services? Do you want a membership-based business?

All of this requires research, but no money.

To get started, I always recommend buying at least one comprehensive IM course. Getting a mentor is a fantastic idea, as others have mentioned here. But if you're a complete newbie, you're better off starting with a course to learn the basics. You'll get a lot more bang for your buck if you have an understanding of the basics before investing money with a mentor.

You'll also get a lot more out of coaching if you already know what niche and target market you want to pursue first. Don't waste precious dollars paying a coach (by the hour or month) when you're still trying to figure out your niche and target market (unless you need specific help with that).

I paid my mentor $12.5K and it was some of the best money I ever spent. But I had a working knowledge of IM basics before I did that.

Two comprehensive A-Z IM courses that I love and recommend are Jeff Walker's Product Launch Formula (https://www.productlaunchformula.com/) and Ali Brown's Elevate training (Elevate 2013).

I've learned from both and they are at the top of their game. Well worth the investment!

I DO recommend investing in either one (or both) even if you don't know your niche and target market yet. You'll get valuable marketing how-to which can help you determine your niche and target market.

When you're starting out though, paying a flat fee for a comprehensive course is very different from paying someone for their time, which can easily run out while you're still trying to figure out the basics.

Your tasks:

1. Invest in one, comprehensive IM course. (Cost: approximately $2K-$3K).

2. Research and decide on what kind of business you actually want -- that is, what niche and target market will you pursue? What will you sell? (Hint: article marketing is NOT a business!) (Cost: free).

3. Invest in a good website. (Cost for web design: approximately $1500-$3K. I paid $2.5K for mine.)

4. Then put the rest of your money into actually marketing, which will vary according to what you're doing.

Your biggest "spend" in the beginning is your time. And the money you invest in a basic, comprehensive IM course will shave big $$$ and a lot of time off of your learning curve. You can opt for mentoring if you feel you need it.

And if you do, you'll get a lot more out of it if you've already have a basic foundation under your belt.

I hope that makes sense!

Michelle