I am going to share a real secret with you this week. A secret that can be summarized in two words. A secret that ALL successful Internet marketers know and apply. A secret that really is the difference between the success and failure of your online business. Sounds pretty important huh?
 

Well, it is and because of the fact that this is so important, I am going to share this secret with you for nothing - that's right - you can have this secret completely free of charge!!
 

Ok, here goes.....
 

The secret is: HARD WORK.
 

Yup, that's it - hard work. Surprised? I am sure that many of you are. I am also sure that many of you are thinking 'Oh yeah, heard it all before'. Well, maybe you have heard it before but have you actually DONE IT?
 

You see, this is often the only difference between those that are successful and those that want to be. More and more I see people looking for the easy option or the 'get rich quick' scheme. Let me tell you now, they don't exist and whilst the Internet can eventually provide you with a very comfortable lifestyle with very little work, it comes at a price and that price is usually two or three years of hard work. That means working long hours for little or even no reward.
 

Let me give you some examples of the sort of thing I am talking about and see which category you fit into:
 

Several of my websites are based around helping people find wholesalers for a range of products that can be resold on the Internet or anywhere else for that matter. Dealing with wholesalers and finding that elusive product takes a degree of skill and commitment and often time it will be necessary to phone or visit several suppliers before you find what you are looking for. At the end of the day, you should expect to have to put some effort in - after all, if it was as easy as just clicking on a website order button then everyone would be doing it right? Common sense you might think but I still get people emailing me after spending 15 minutes surfing through a couple of wholesale sites stating that they can't find what they are looking for and can I do the research for them?
 

Talk about the lazy option. What is wrong with these people? They haven't even bothered to pick up the telephone, let alone drive to a wholesalers to see what stock is available that isn't listed online. It is as though they expect someone else to build their entire business for them and I am sorry but this is not going to happen.
 

Let's talk about eBooks. Over the years I have promoted numerous different eBooks and other info-products and I am very careful to review every single product before making any mention of it in my newsletter or on my websites. I want to be sure that if I put my name to a product, I know that it contains quality content that will help the reader improve their online business or generate an income.
 

Because of this, it is extremely rare for me to get refund requests on products I have recommended but of course, from time to time, it does happen. This is fair enough and there can be many reasons why someone may not be happy with their purchase but you know the reason that really irritates me? It is when someone requests a refund a couple of hours (or even minutes) after making their purchase and states that they have read the eBook and the ideas contained within won't work.
 

In 99.9% of cases, this translates as 'It all looks like too much hard work and I can't be bothered....'
 

The fact is that the majority of methods of earning a living online will be hard work - of course they will - do people really think that they are going to buy an eBook that will provide them with the knowledge to earn $100,000 a year for doing NOTHING? I wonder sometimes and this kind of attitude often leaves me staring at my computer screen with my jaw hanging down because I can't believe that anyone can really believe that they are going to get the rewards without the effort.
 

When I started my online businesses, I would work 15 hour days, 7 days a week for several months at a time. I was rarely away from my PC and this went on for two or three years. Nowadays I work considerably less but if I am developing a new product or site I can easily put in a 60 - 70 hour week. Ask any successful online marketer and they will tell you the same.
 

So which category do you fit into? Are you committed to working your butt off for a few years to establish your online business or do you expect to sit back and hope that it all happens around you while you get on with your real-world life? If you are in the second category I am afraid you are going to be very disappointed. If you are in the first category then I have every respect for you and you are exactly the type of person that can make a superb life for themselves based around an Internet business.
 

One person that is most definitely in the first category is my friend, Andre Chaperon. Andre turned his back on the 9 to 5 rat race in October 2003 (just over a year ago) and has been building his online business ever since. I met Andre earlier this year and he is a 'doer' and knows the value of hard work. To celebrate the fact that he has managed to support himself for a year via his online efforts, Andre has released a report on affiliate marketing for his customers and subscribers. The report runs to 29 pages and will help you to understand how to successfully promote affiliate products. Andre has agreed that my readers can have a copy of the report for free too, so please feel free to grab your copy from this link:
 

http://www.theaffiliatemarketingpocketguide.com/richard/
 

Copyright 2004 Richard Grady