I was one of the thousands (if not millions) of people who wanted my own "internet money machine" and I came from a position where I had little or no computer knowledge - I could send and receive emails and knew how to surf the net - but that was literally it!

Does that sound like you? If so then how do you get from that position to making serious money on the internet? The first thing I did was get incredibly excited. I'd been looking for a home based business and eventually stumbled across the internet as an obvious market place. After all I had a computer at home. So I looked around the web (using one of my existing skills - I knew how to surf!) and soon realised "I want to make money on the internet".

So I spent some more time surfing for ways of making this desire a reality. There seemed so many businesses and no shortage of people offering to make me serious money on the internet. How kind of them! Just type in "online business opportunity" in Google and see what I mean. It was about now I began to think perhaps not all these opportunities were as great as they were cracked up to be!

So I went around doing a bit of market research. How? I visited a few forums. You soon learn that there is a forum on just about any subject online. It is a phenomenon that you can use to weed out some of the good from bad if you use them right. Visit a few (again use Google or whichever search engine you have) and just read the posts relating to your interest. If you like you can join and actually ask some questions. Nearly everyone is helpful and friendly. But beware the person who tries to hard sell his or her opportunity to you.

It helps to get over the get rich quick mentality as soon as possible. Sure you can make serious money on the internet - it is after all a market place - but start out with the intention of making a steady income first. Don't try to run before you can walk. When you have your regular income covered you will be in a good position to move to the next stage (getting rich!)

There are so many business types and niches out there that you will have no problem finding something - in fact you will probably be overwhelmed by the sheer scale of it all. I really had no idea before I started. Just try and hone in on something you have an interest in or that you have some experience in at first. Then research the business and market and the opportunities presented. Visit websites, use the forums and download some ebooks on the subject - invaluable in my experience.

Every bit of help and knowledge you need is to be found online. Just use your search engine as a research tool. The web is like an almost infinite library at your fingertips. I can honestly say that I learned everything I needed without leaving my seat!

Good luck with your "internet money machine", you can do it!

Gaz Hutchinson

I am an internet marketer living in the south of England. I am 43 years old and married and resigned from my job of 27 years to become a full time internet marketer :O)

I have several websites and belong to many affiliate programs.

I remember when I first heard of internet marketing that I thought it sounded exactly what I wanted - but it also sounded too good to be true! I had never heard of this form of business but was looking for something I could do from home - and get me out of the rat race. Sound familiar?

Well I was surfing around the net typing in vague things like "make money at home" and "make money using my computer" and just came across a whole new world.

I became an information junkie and just absorbed as much as I could by reading e books and other people's sites. It wasn't easy but boy - was it worth it!

I now work from home as an internet marketer and can only see my income going up and up.

I would recommend anyone gets involved in affiliate or internet marketing - but make sure you don't try to re-invent the wheel. Spend time and money learning and you will succeed.