Step 3 - Execute & Adjust

At this time you will want to be closely investigating the data from your web analytics, and weighing that against what was put in to garner that result.

• Did you notice a change in your unique visitor count, what precisely were you doing as far as marketing goes at that time?
• What did your referring traffic indicate as to where your traffic is coming from? 
• What keywords were linking you to a result in a search engine?

Consider the distillation if wine to make brandy, where impurities are left behind in the process ending up with a more perfect product. That is what is happening here; your time is very valuable, and you can't continue doing things which aren't providing you with positive results. At the same time, you need to be spending more effort on the things you are doing that are providing positive results.

Many aspects of your business will have the need for some trial and error, however there could be said to be a set of basic "do's and dont's" for a new internet business.

Do's

• Do take your time, one step at a time. Do understand that building your business is not something than can be done in a matter of days, not even months in most cases. It’s going to take time, lots of time.
• Do practice Patience! I know it’s not one of my virtues either and it’s really hard to put into practice, but to save your sanity, try to be patient!
• Do understand in the beginning you will be suffocated with so much information and resources your head will hurt (that’s where the Information Overload headache comes from) and you will not know which direction to take first. You’ll just be spinning your wheels if you try to go off into 20 different directions at once. Remember, concentrate on one thing at a time, that's why we have put everything into one place here!
• Do make it a goal to accomplish one task each day. Later when you can handle it add one or two more tasks. Progress slowly.
• Do join our community forums. You will find a lot of advice and tips on how to promote your business.  Many people there are also “newbies” and you can bounce ideas off of each other. Many will post what has worked or hasn’t worked for them. Learn from the internet marketing experts, they were in your shoes at one time, benefit from their experiences.
• Do file and organize the information you receive for retrieval later on. Organize your email by creating folders to keep information categorized and easy to find. Keep a log in Microsoft Excel with all of your affiliate ID’s, affiliate URL’s, and memberships.
• Do learn some basic HTML code. This will make it easier for you to change, delete, and make any additions to your website. If you don’t know how to add a link to your website then how will you exchange links with other websites to increase your search engine rankings. Go to http://www.htmlgoodies.com and take their basic HTML tutorial.
• Do realize that it’s going to take a lot of work and time to establish your business. Especially, a business on the internet.  It’s not an auto-pilot business. You will probably spend more hours working at this business than you would a regular 9 to 5 job.
• Chances are you are new to internet marketing, so study and learn as much as you can before you just jump in. Know what to expect and be prepared.
• Do realize that having an internet business is just like having a business in the “real” world. You need to have a plan, you need to advertise, and you must have a budget.
• Do believe in yourself and your abilities. Believe in your success!

Donts

• Don't throw your money away! Unless you have lots to throw away and can afford to buy whatever gets thrown at you. Budget yourself and keep within your budget. Only spend when you need to. You will come across plenty of sites that want you to spend your hard earned money for an internet marketing course, E-book, or piece of software guaranteed to make you money. Don't fall into the trap. First investigate, ask questions from other marketers to see if they are familiar with the product and recommend it. That's where the forums come in handy and are beneficial.
• Don't get frustrated and give up because things don't happen right away. You have to have the mindset that you can do it and succeed. Granted you will have good days and bad days. Every accomplishment is a victory. Every defeat is a learning experience. No business is an overnight success.
• Don't limit yourself and your thinking. Be willing to try different things and when you find the one thing that seems to work, build on it, but keep trying other things as well.
• You've had your business up and running for a couple of months and you've only made one sale. Don't quit because you think it's not working. Think in these terms instead. If you've made one sale, then you can make 2 sales, and if you can make 2 sales, you can make 3 sales and so on. Many of the top marketers on the internet today took years to find the formula that led to their success.
• Don't believe that there is such a thing as an "auto-pilot" business. Like Ron Popeil's rotisserie oven, SET IT AND GO. Just doesn't work that way. I don't care what you have heard or have read. You have to promote your business. You have to get your name out there and become visible so people can find you and what you're offering. Just because you now have a website does not mean the masses will come in droves. There are millions upon millions of websites and probably at least a quarter of a million of them are selling the same service or product as you. The question is how are you going to get people to visit your website instead of someone else's? Once they are there, what's going to get them to buy from you or join your affiliation? So understand you are going to have to learn how to promote and sell your business and that involves work and time.
• Don't upgrade your affiliation accounts until you can afford to do so. Many affiliate programs will try to pressure you into upgrading to a "Pro" account. Wait until you start making some money from your business first, then upgrade.
• Don't rely solely on emailing to promote your business. Due to major Spam filters your message may not get through. Find all of the different ways to advertise on the internet like writing articles, exchanging links, click/surf exchanges, and Pay Per Click search engines. Use offline ways to advertise your business like newspaper ads, mailings, telemarketing, faxes and flyers. Put your website on a t-shirt and wear it!
• Don't give up, persistence will pay off eventually.

Excepted from "Do’s and Don’ts for the Internet Marketing Newbie" Copyright 2004, Debra Hamer

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