Internet Marketing - Online

One of our readers, Mike, recently wrote us to ask, "As a total IM newbie, would it be better for me to start with a regular website or on Ebay?"

Excellent question, Mike.

There are pros and cons with both eBay businesses and regular Internet marketing businesses. Both can lead to successful online careers. But which one is best depends on YOU -- your skill set, your personality, what you want from your online business and so on.

Here are some tips to help you figure out if you're better suited for a "regular" Internet business -- or have the entrepreneurial mindset of a successful eBay seller...

You should consider starting with eBay if you:

Have ZERO computer skills -- With eBay, you don't have to know the first thing about website design or HTML to get started. eBay provides you with all the easy-to-use tools you need to list your items for auction and start selling right away.

Can't spend a huge amount of time up-front on your business -- A regular Internet business takes a lot of time to set up -- as much as 40 hours a week if you want to get it off the ground in a month or two.

But with eBay, you can skip a lot of the set-up process and get started almost overnight!

CAN spend a few hours on your business, several days a week -- To be a successful eBay seller, you have to make it part of your weekly routine.

You need to set aside some time to source your products, create your listings, and prepare your items for shipment (assuming you're not using a drop shipper). None of these chores takes a huge amount of time -- but they MUST be done consistently if you want your eBay business to thrive.

Don't have much money to spend up front -- With eBay, you don't have to pay for things like hosting, web design (assuming you're not going to do it yourself), product development, or advertising.

It only costs a dollar or two to set up a regular eBay auction listing -- how's that for a low start-up cost?

Are looking for a steady, reliable source of income -- eBay businesses -- unlike "regular" ones -- aren't affected by external factors such as algorithm changes by the search engines.

With a regular business, you can be sitting pretty in the #1 spot for your best keywords -- then find yourself dropped to the 40th page of results overnight! (If you're a smart search marketer, you can drastically reduce the chances of this happening to you. But it does take a lot of time and effort to stay on top of what's happening in the search engine world.)

Want to start making money RIGHT AWAY! You can get your items listed on eBay and start making money TODAY, if you want. You won't make a million dollars overnight, but you can achieve a dependable stream of income in a very short time.

Does that sound like you? Compare it to the alternative...

You should consider starting with a "regular" Internet business if you:

Know your way around a computer -- You certainly don't HAVE to have any computer skills to start your own Internet marketing business, but it helps. At the very least, it shortens the amount of time you have to spend learning how to set up and market your business.

Are eager to learn a LOT of new stuff in a very short time -- This goes hand in hand with our first point. Unless you're already a marketing savvy computer genius, you will have a fairly steep learning curve ahead of you.

(But then, most successful online business owners think that's all part of the fun.)

Are prepared to spend a LOT of time on your business in the initial development stages -- Yes, some people are able to have an online business up and running in a matter of days. But these tend to be people who are computer savvy and already know the basics of Internet marketing, or take part in an accelerated success clinic like our 5-Day Extreme Business Launching Clinic.

.... Or they're just lucky. That certainly happens, too.

But if you don't know the first thing about keyword research, HTML, web design, copywriting, or marketing strategies like pay-per-click and search engine optimizing, launching your business will probably take several months of round-the-clock work.

Love the idea of setting a business up... and then just walking away -- This is where all that hard work proves worth it!

Unlike an eBay business, which requires regular work on a weekly basis, once your "regular" Internet business is fully set up, you can automate it almost completely and it'll keep churning out the profits whether you've got your hands on the wheel or not.

... As you can see, both options have their pros and cons. (We'd say the pros outweigh the cons in both cases, though!)