To succeed on the Internet, you have two challenges. First you must drive traffic to your site and secondly, you also must get site visitors to convert themselves into customers. And that is it! But of course, that only is the start of the process.

When boiled down, online marketing is a pretty simple proposition. The complications only arise when you consider the options involved in making it happen. Some things you should be asking yourself about starting an online business are:

* Do I know how to find prospects on the internet?

* Do I know how to convert my prospects into customers?

* How long will it take for me to start making enough money to keep me interested in pursuing this online marketing business?

* What do I do to start this online marketing business making money fast?

The answer to all those questions vary so wildly, there is simply no way to address them in this article. You would have to approach your online marketing from various angles depending on the price, profit and nature of what you are marketing. That is also why buying a particular software program or e-book will really not be the end all solution you had hoped it would be.

Choosing your online marketing business should have more to do with the help or mentoring that is available than the actual product you would be marketing. That sounds kind of backwards doesn't it? Think about it. There are literally thousands of successful money making opportunities out there. Any one of which could be just the thing for you. But how did the people who are getting rich in those opportunities do it?

They were either lucky or had already know what they were doing or they had a mentor to help them.

Making better than average income via online marketing is not hard. However, it's not so easy that anybody who watches "8 full hours of the super duper video" can reasonably expect to have a chance at it.

Before getting involved, the top things to look for in an online marketing business are:

1. Do you have access to a mentor to help you get started faster and effectively?

2. What kind of access do I have to this mentor? Is the access via video tutorials or live, one on one contact and interaction?

3. How motivated is that mentor? To be truly effective mentoring, it has to be a Win-Win relationship. What is motivating your mentor, do you pay them or do they get paid in the process of helping you. (Hint: The second option is best.)

4. How long will that mentor's interest in helping me succeed be? One sale? Two sales? Indefinitely? (Hint: The third option is best.)

Of course there are other important things to look for in starting your home based business. One of the most important considerations is your cost vs profit. For example, weight your expenses per sale against your profit per sale.

In as concise and straightforward manner as I can possibly muster, what I really am trying to get across to you is that without a mentor you would, at best, only be guessing that your business formulas are profitable. If you don't have prior experience, what experience are you going to draw from? It would have to be from a video or an e-book? Would you stake your future on that?

Simply put, a personal, live and accessible mentor is your most valuable asset.