Hyperboles abound in Internet Marketing. Myth has its own area code. Hype has its own country. And BS, its own universe.

Anyone desiring to enter this perilous terrain should proceed with caution. Wearing a full body hype-resistant armor is strongly recommended. If that's not available, growing a second layer of thick skin is advisable.

For the beginning marketer, novice webmaster or the Internet hobbyist who just wants to earn a little extra income, all the hype can be a little overwhelming. All the rhetoric may prove totally mind boggling. Deadly even.

Who to believe? What to believe?

It's a virtual mine field and you only have your cursor for a guide. It can be down right scary if you're not prudent with your checkbook or your morals you can be misled, swindled, and beguiled before you even turn on your computer.

Separating fact from fiction requires a considerable skill, usually reserved for the judgments of Solomon.

Where to begin? Where to start?

This is where most would-be Internet Marketers go wrong from the 'get-go'. They start out with the wrong mind-set. They want a 'product/software/guru/guardian angel' to come and show them what to do. They want everything to magically come to them. As if success in Internet Marketing, because it has to do with computers, can be magically produced or brought about with the right software program or the latest gizmo.

They want everything done for them.

Well, it doesn't work that way. Sure you can buy the latest 'info- product' or the latest 'software program' and some of these will even work for awhile or produce income but you're still not getting off on the right track. You're not setting the right foundation.

First, you have to 'Learn how to Learn'!

Learn how to teach yourself. Learn how you can use the vast resources of the Net to teach yourself all you need to know about Internet Marketing. Acquire the necessary skills to become self-taught.

The journey may take a little longer, but you will learn more along the way and you will develop a greater self-reliance. In the end, it's you who will have to build that web site, provide the content, do the SEO work, do the marketing...so get your Internet Business grounded with the right foundation. Place yourself as the cornerstone of anything you wish to build.

The Internet gladly gives up its secrets. Search them out. Find them. Study them. It's the best training ground ever created. The wealth of information is truly astounding. The collective intelligence of a whole world...

Ok, so the hyperbole meter is rising again, but you get the picture.

Next time you're tempted, don't drool over the latest Guru's 'How To's'...'Kindergarten Dropout Makes a Bundle Working Only 40 Seconds on the Internet Each Day', 'How I Turned Google Into My Own Personal Cash Slave', 'My Secrets Are Worth 20 Million a Month to Me, I Just Can't Wait to Tell You Everything'!

Don't be fooled by the slick copy writing, don't be tempted to reach for that plastic wand.

Take a smarter approach. Use your brain. Use your God Given Intelligence. Don't buy the latest offerings from the next big hot 'marketing guru'.

Instead, do this.

If a marketing expert is making $15,000 a month with Google Adsense, don't automatically go out and buy his/her book of secrets. Use your head, if you have the time, seek out their sites and pick them apart. Study the lay-out, study the design, study the keywords. Learn everything you can, and apply it to your own web site or marketing. The Internet gives up its secrets, nature of the beast!

Next.

Don't cultivate a need for the latest marketing 'tell-all' info-product, but rather cultivate a relationship with the source. Seek out the experts. Find one or two in the areas of Internet Marketing you need help with: SEO, Mini Sites, Affiliate Marketing, List Building, Google Adsense/Adwords, Copy Writing, etc.

Get to know the marketer who's selling the product, join his/her affiliate program, sign up to their opt-in newsletter, ask them questions in the online forums. Be nice, be curious, be helpful to them -- whether it's selling their products, bringing in more affiliates or just being of assistance if asked for. Always remember it's a two way street and must be beneficial to both parties, so give as well as receive.

Build relationships and you will build a foundation of knowledge that you can draw from again and again. Develop these relationships with a diverse group of marketing experts in the areas of interest that's vital to your Internet Marketing and you will be at the right starting point.

Nurture these relationships, grow them, watch them bloom and your own marketing results will harvest the rewards.

All you really have to do is Learn How To Learn. Teach yourself and you will never have to go back to Kindergarten again.

Or buy another marketing info-product!

The author runs a modest website selling the latest Internet Marketing
Tools/Software and yes, Marketing Info-Products!
Copyright ? 2005 Titus Hoskins of Marketing Tools & Guides
This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.