Every step you take is a step nearer to achieving your goal. You need to be clear from the start about the direction your about to take. It is very important to remain focused, and not to get side tracked. If you have clear and concise objectives from the beginning, believe you me, it will make things allot easier in the long run. It is very important you have an interest in the product/service you intend to market. Enjoy what your doing, be passionate about it!

Do not be in a hurry to get started. Do your research. Make sure you can visualise your path from beginning to end. Know what is expected of you? Outline your plan of action and them make the commitment to start the ball rolling.

As with all new business ventures, the early stages will involve allot of time and commitment. Make sure you are in a position to commit and apply the time required. There is no point going any further if you cannot meet these basic elements. Time management is very important. You will need to set up a time schedule and stick with it.

One of the first things you need to acquire is a new email account. There are many free email service providers out there. Gmail, AIM Mail, Yahoo! Mail, Windows Live Hotmail to name but a few. Personally, I would recommend Gmail a service provided by Google. It has so much more to offer than any of the other free email services.
Once you set up your email account your main focus will be, how to attract prospects/leads (customers) to your business? Customers are the backbone of any business, be it on line or off line. If you do not attract customers, you have no business. Your future is in your list!

With this in mind, once you begin to create your list you will require an effective and efficient means of communication. At this point I would like to introduce the auto-responder. You may be asking yourself what is an auto-responder? An auto-responder is a feature that sends an automated reply to incoming email. For example, when customers send email to your email address, a standard message would be sent back to them. This is a very basic description of an auto-responder. Do not mistake the power of the auto-responder, your business cannot function without one. It introduces consistency into your business and frees up valuable time.

To summarise

• Choose the product/service you feel comfortable marketing.
• Do your research.
• Your plan of action.
• Commitment and time management.
• Set up a new email account.
• Attracting customers (Marketing)
• Effective and efficient communication (Auto responder)