That statement really deserves at lease one repetition.

Is there any other business besides the internet where people think that they can make money for nothing?

photo credit: motorpsykhos

I don’t think that there is any other business where you are not forced to invest in your business – especially to get it off the ground. Let me tell you something – the internet is no different. If you want to be successful, you have to invest in your internet business. Posting everyday on your blog, obtaining reciprocal links, writing good content, blah, blah, blah, etcetera, etcetera, will rarely be enough. You could have better content than John Chow or Shoemoney or Problogger.net or insert your favorite blog here. It just doesn’t matter if your site languishes in the obscurity of the ever-expanding internet.

How many new websites are started everyday? How many are in your niche? How many have already been established? You have more competition than you can even imagine.

So do yourself a favor and dump the mindset that anything can be had for free on the internet. I know, I know – so you downloaded a bunch of mp3s for free; so you found your girlfriend on some dating site for free; so you found some nude pictures of Giada for free; so you got some stuff from Value America for nearly free – YOU WILL BE EXTREMELY LUCKY TO CREATE A HIGHLY PROFITABLE WEBSITE WITHOUT INVESTING COLD HARD CASH.

Make a choice now because you can continue panning for gold dust in the river or you can invest in the heavy mining equipment. If you want to pan for gold in the river than just be honest with yourself and admit that that is what you are doing.

photo credit: teadrinker

If you want to find the mother lode than put your money where your mouth is and invest in your site. I’m going to take my own challenge and invest in this site and in another (finerepast.com). For the month of March, I’m going to invest $150 in each site. Yeah, I know, $150 isn’t much but it’s $150 more than 99% of you are investing in your websites. I guarantee it. Throughout the month, I’ll put up progress reports comparing my traffic between this month and last month as well as making other comparisons. We’ll see if putting my money where my mouth is actually pays off.

Want to use the internet to make money? I recommend selling e-books. Learn how to create, market, sell and distribute your ebook on the internet today.

Stay tuned for the power of Constant Contact.