By Marty Dickinson
There are two types of business owners, the E-Millionaire who will make $1,000,000 or more in
business this year originating from the Internet and those who make virtually nothing from their web sites again, just like last year. There’s not a lot in between. You either “get it” or you don’t when it comes to the Internet marketing process.

At least once or twice every day I’ll find myself in a conversation with someone who’s struggling with his or her Internet marketing future. As an 11-year provider of web site design and online promotion services, you can imagine I’ve heard many stories of business owners struggling to acquire just a small
piece of the Internet pie. Sometimes the person will be just starting the process of having their first web site created and feeling overwhelmed by so many options. More frequently the caller will be a business
owner who’s had a web site for 2-4 years and just hasn’t received anything substantial as far as new business from the Internet.

Somehow the conversation always comes around to the same question: “Why can’t I just write an ebook like (insert popular Internet marketer name here) and make a million bucks in 24 hours like I’m always hearing about?” There is a growing stereotype that E-Millionaires today somehow stumbled onto some secret potion that miraculously fills their shopping carts with orders. Or, maybe they possess some inborn ability to create the magic product that everyone wants to buy, whether they need it or not.

Well, you might be surprised to find that both of those statements are partially true. There is a secret of sorts to doing business online, but to help you understand I’ll need to be more specific. First, we need to dispel some myths about E-Millionaires. There are seven as follows:

Myth #1 - E-Millionaires are made overnight.

If you attend most Internet marketing seminars, there will usually be a featured speaker or two who will share his how-he-got-rich-quick, seemingly overnight success story. But, what they don’t tell you is the “real” road to their riches that would almost always involve fear, loss, resolve and persistence. Most E-Millionaires I’ve met would tell you that it took them between two and six years before they truly cleared their first million from sales originating online.

Myth #2 - E-Millionaires are lazy.

We picture the typical E-Millionaires as sitting on a beach somewhere in the Caribbean sipping margaritas without a care in the world. Maybe they’ll connect to the Internet a few times per week to check their orders coming in. E-Millionaires are some of the hardest working, sleep-deprived human
beings I’ve ever met. Many of them (if you know their phone number) can be called at 3am any day of the week and they’re still working strong.

Myth #3 - E-Millionaires perform all Internet tasks on their own.

The reverse of this myth is also believed, whereas E-Millionaires might do none of the work on their own and hire others to do everything for them. Neither is correct. E-Millionaires are masters at implementing the Internet “process.” They know there is a very specific sequence to doing business online and they stick to it. They always get other people to sell their products and services for them. E-Millionaires are also very firm about knowing what they’re really good at and what they need other people for.

So, they hire the right people to perform very specific tasks. Not all E-Millionaires have web site design skills just as not all are able to setup their own online shopping cart. But, every E-Millionaire I’ve known has a very strong involvement and control in “the process” and they all have control over what happens and in what sequence.

Myth #4 - E-Millionaires turn everything they touch into gold.

If E-Millionaires are guaranteed to be successful more than others, it’s because of patience more than a magic touch. E-Millionaires test everything. They’re constantly changing content on their web sites, tweaking headlines, monitoring visitation statistics, building traffic, watching results, and making more changes. Testing takes time though, and most of us are too impatient to wait for results.

Myth #5 - E-Millionaires love to write.

I hear this one a lot. “I’ll never be an E-Millionaire because I hate writing and I’ll never get a book written.” Being able to communicate with your potential buying audience is an important element of using the Internet. And, sure, I could say that there are many ways to communicate that don’t involve
writing, such as use of audio, video, and having someone else write for you. My point is that half of all E-Millionaires I’ve met either hate writing (still to this day) or are just not good at it. What is important to remember is that writing is still one of the simplest, least expensive ways to attract new business through your web site. If you dislike writing, then simply learn the process so that it’s not as much of a burden to you. Who knows, if you learn to write in a way that pays off, you might start liking it better!

Myth #6 - E-Millionaires offer just one product or one service.

I cannot think of even one E-Millionaire that offers just one product or service for sale. And, practically all of them promote 15-25 or more products or services offered by other people. If you are an author and try to only sell your book, or a speaker only trying to get keynote gigs, or a coach that sells only “your time,” or a bowling ball manufacturer who only sells bowling balls, prepare for a long road to millionaire status.

Myth #7 – E-Millionaires don’t need to learn anything since they already know everything.

This may be the most misunderstood myth that I’ve mentioned so far. E-Millionaires spend more time and money each year on furthering their Internet strategy education than probably 20 unsuccessful business owners combined. Even I spend more than $20,000 a year attending Internet seminars, conferences, tele-classes, boot camps and mastermind groups, and several thousands more on educational products. What you might find interesting is that I see the same E-Millionaires at those events year after year. Why? Because they know the key to continuous improvement is continuous learning.

Using the Internet to bring leads and sales to your business is a lot like playing golf. You can practice your whole life and there’s always room for improvement—and the course changes every day!

The Secret to You Becoming an E-Millionaire

Did you catch it? I’ve mentioned the secret to becoming an E-Millionaire five times so far. It’s all in “the process.” Many people come to my Winning the Internet Dogfight workshops to learn something specific about promoting their business online. Getting their web site to the top of Google is a popular reason for attending. Inspiring more web site visitors to convert to paying customers is another. Driving traffic to a web site through multiple streams is a pretty popular topic too. But, what they walk out the door with is something much more valuable—an understanding of “the process.”

To increase your leads and sales using the Internet, you are going to have to find out where your business is within that process and plug it into the system. Once you do that, your return is virtually endless. It really is as simple as that.

What to Do Next

My wish for you is that you begin to approach your business more like an E-Millionaire would by incorporating these practices into your daily thoughts and actions:

1. Know it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen.
2. Be focused and passionate about your business, never lazy.
3. Master the process and get others to perform specific tasks.
4. Don’t expect everything to turn into gold and the nuggets will appear.
5. You don’t have to love writing, but you will hate it less by doing it more.
6. Find other peoples’ products to sell while you expand your product line.
7. Commit yourself to continuous learning.

So, if you aspire to ascend to E-Millionaire status, I invite you to change your mindset today from letting myths slow you down to focusing on mastering the process. Buy books and attend seminars, listen-in on tele-classes. Find someone that you can learn the Internet marketing “process” from and watch your results begin to reach new plateaus.

About the author:
Marty Dickinson started his first web site in 1995 which has grown to become one of the largest in its field. He has planned, implemented, managed or contributed to more than 200
online promotion projects since 1996 through his online promotion company called HereNextYear.com. To outline his methods for others, he offers live training workshops and has published four books including Winning the Internet Dogfight, Getting Brutal with Google, Convert Me Now!, and Surprise Cash.

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