If you're a successful business owner or even a successful internet marketer whose been annoyed a time or two by other marketers who spam and practice unscrupulous marketing tactics, you'll probably relate to what I'm about to say.

Internet marketing or any marketing for that matter is not about flashing your stuff in front of people in hopes that they will buy it.

Marketing 101 — that never works.

Does that person who sent me an email with "You Just Got Paid!" in the title really think I'm going to pay any attention to what they are trying to sell me in their email?  I think we can all safely agree that I'm not.

How about the people who spam my blog, don't they know that I use Akismet?   It's unfortunate because they have seriously wasted their time and efforts.

And what about the Tweeters whose only goal is to advertise their stuff.  I'm not bashing marketers who use these tactics, I tend to think they are more inexperienced and not fully understanding how the process really works, or perhaps they are just plain lazy and don't want to take the time to do what it really takes.  Ok, maybe the latter is more likely but I remember not fully grasping concepts in my earlier years so I can't be too critical.

But here's what I've learned in my years of business.

Build relationships 

That may seem like work, and it is, but it's so worth the effort.  Think about this for a minute, you are a virtual being in a virtual world.  People seeing your ads, your emails, your website or your tweets don't know a thing about you at first. People buy from people they know and trust; if you do something to aggravate them right out of the shoot who can blame them for snubbing you?

I had a gentleman opt-out of my newsletter several weeks ago and his comment was 'Worthless'.   Like anyone, I felt a little hurt by that, but after checking out his website, I saw only pages and pages of advertising, nothing there was useful or helpful to anyone as a consumer. 

It started to make sense to me why he opted out; things like developing your email list, improving customer care, writing quality web content and all the other elements of a good marketer, was indeed 'worthless' to him.  I truly felt sad because this person could possibly have the potential for success, he either didn’t understand my methods or, as some might say, he was just lazy.

I think this is a hard concept for people starting out. The idea that you must put your customers and visitors before yourself doesn't always present an obvious benefit. But if you can think like your visitors and ask yourself "What's in it for them?" you can begin to see the light.   If you only focus on what's in it for you, you'll miss the boat.  Give and you shall receive. It can be a tough concept, well maybe for those that don't completely 'get it'. 

So what does all this mean for you? What am I really trying to say? 

Start by reaching out and connecting with others. We are all familiar with the social networking phenomenon. There's a reason it's so successful.  It's a means to connect and be responsive to others.  We recommend sites we like, we tweet and re-tweet about friends and their posts, we comment on blogs and other social networking sites and the list goes on.  But it won’t work for you if your goal is self serving.

Social networking is about building connections and relationships.  And when it comes to customers it’s about putting their best interests ahead of yours. 

Part of being success driven means going back to the old adage, "do unto others…"  Don't expect someone to buy something from you or do something for you if you can't offer them something as well.  Whether it be money, useful information, a gift, a helpful hand or a simple gesture of friendship.  Help others and they will trust and help you as well.

Show Gratitude

Never stop showing appreciation. Things like sending a simple thank you to a customer or a thank you note to a friend for a kind gesture works wonders for your outlook.  

Being grateful and showing gratitude helps us become more positive and it generates a positive attitude.  If you've ever complained to someone about something it's easy to notice the reaction, people not only dislike it, it becomes very clear that your attitude could use some adjustment.  It's a law of nature.  Show gratitude and it will change your attitude and that can turn your life around. 

These are not only the philosophies that I've adopted in my life, they also comes to us from great names like Wayne Dyer, Maya Angelou, Joe Vitale, Buddha, Ralph Waldo Emerson and one of my personal favorites, Wallace D. Waddles in his book "The Science of Getting Rich". A great read by the way – and it's free.

If you've ever given someone something of yourself, be it money, time or talent, it will always come back to you in a positive way.  But giving nothing and expecting something will prove disappointing every time. Be success inspired and give freely of yourself and then be grateful that you had the opportunity. 

One of the things most people don't understand when starting an online business is that they don't truly know how to effectively start a business.  They consistently fall prey to unscrupulous marketers, they often lack focus and many lose large sums of money simply because they don't know how to market online.

An internet business, just as with any business, requires a realistic approach, trusted training, networking and understanding what actually works and what might lead to failure.

That's the topic of my guest article written by a colleague of mine, Megan Vaillancourt of Myinternetbusiness.com. 

Megan has created a successful internet mentoring site built on a few solid strategies that everyone should take a long hard look at.  They are what have brought Megan and her business from failure to success.    

Discover How I Built "My Internet Business" -  From Failure To Success
By Megan Megan Vaillancourt

The Internet is revolving and allowing people to create wealth using the power of our big .dot com world. When I started "My Internet Business" I didn't understand how to properly build an online business, and I failed. I remember the moment of defeat when I understood that I wasn't going obtain success with this online business.

What did I do wrong? Why were other people making money online and I was unable to?

I am not suggesting that a revolution came to me and I restarted an Internet Business. Rather it was a nagging question that I couldn't get rid of. Through months of education, testing, and research I discovered the truth that distinguished the successful entrepreneurs from the ones who failed.

Are you ready to start an Internet Business from home? Or maybe you already have a home business that you are trying to grow, either way entrepreneurs need to understand how to build their Internet Business in order for it to be successful. The hype on ads and emails suggest that all you need to do is plug into the system and you will make money online. I am here to tell you that is not the truth. It's time that you understood that you can earn money online, but it comes with work and consistency. My Internet Business grew after I understood how online marketing played a direct role in my success. Bottom line is if you don't know how to market you will not be successful.

So if you are serious about building an Internet Business There are some things that you must do the first time in order to achieve the level of income that you desire

1.) Be realistic – When people set out to earn money with an Internet Business they don't understand the fundamentals to making that work. Yet they will say they want to earn five figures in the first month. Remember this is a business and while there are entrepreneurs who achieve that level, don't set yourself up to be disappointed when you don't meet that level.

2.) Get Rid of Automation – Automated Business, 100% turnkey systems dominate the searches on home based business opportunities. Enticing someone to believe it's a vacation day every day and the money continues to roll in. In every business, no matter the level of automation there is work. While home based business offer a solution to allow people to work from home in reality there is always work involved. If you can't devote at least 2 hours per day to your Internet Business, then this industry is not for you. No need to spend your hard earned money; if you can't devote this time then you won't be able to build your business. It's not fair for you to put your dreams on automation because reality is there is no opportunity that offers this solution.

3.) Mentoring – Starting your business off right at the beginning is going to give you the foundation to build a long term business in the long run. Growing My Internet Business stemmed from Mentoring and education. If you miss this at the beginning you will miss and spend a lot of time trying to learn the techniques to build your business. Partnering with a Mentor or Mentoring team that offers training and online marketing solutions is going to save you a lot of time and money. Interview the mentors or Mentoring team to insure you are partnering with the right type of people for your business. They should be showing you how to build a business, how to market, and how to utilize free online marketing techniques. If they are not continue your investigation, as a lot of solid educational Mentoring teams are available to be interviewed.

4.) Online Marketing – Understand when you build your business you will have marketing that needs to be done in order to achieve success. Creating that long term revenue is all about how much you know about marketing and how to implement that into your business

5.) Continue your education – Learning to market, and building a business is not simply about learning, implementing and forgetting. If you have a quality Mentoring team then you should be learning new techniques to implement weekly. Expanded your knowledge to search engine optimization, Pay per Click Advertising, media advertising, and free online marketing techniques. The wider your knowledge and the more quality marketing you have will have you on a road to success

6.) Don't fall prey to leads – Whatever you do, do not become victims, from buying leads. I have experienced how the effects of leads have been the down fall of My Internet Business as well as others. To increase sales with My Internet Business took the idea of creating my own leads through marketing.

Entrepreneurs online are falling prey to the over hyped ads and empty promises of wealth. Creating wealth with My Internet Business required work, education and marketing skills. Going into a business with your eyes wide opening and understanding your expectations will assist you in earning money online.

Although online marketing is not difficult to decode, the main thing you must do is find mentors that will assist you on your road to wealth. Finding the right resources and tools at the beginning will create you the long term income you maybe desiring.