There I’ve said it. “ Internet marketing is not an exact science”. Hardly revolutionary I know, but if you’re new to internet marketing it’s easy to listen to some of the so called 'gurus' think that it is. Well it isn’t and I’d like to debunk just a few of the many myths around .

1. There’s a set formula for internet marketing success

I’m sorry but there isn’t. You can read, you can learn, you can apply what you’ve learned by taking action, and you can review and evaluate what works and what doesn’t. You can then make any changes necessary and start again. And this cycle can be repeated over and over again.

Unfortunately no one can tell you how much time you need to spend reading or tell you the exact number of hours that you need to take action. You need to experiment. A set formula for internet marketing success just doesn’t exist.

2. Internet marketing success can be achieved by automating all your activities

You’ve probably heard this myth. There are certainly enough gurus who insist that with a small investment you can automate all your internet marketing activities and watch the dollars dropping into your bank account every morning. This is just a ruse to try and con you out of money. It won’t happen. Of course some activities can be automated, but you can’t absent yourself from putting in a lot of hard work.

3. Working hard at internet marketing is a guarantee of success

I’d love to say that this is true, but it isn’t. There are plenty of people who work hard at internet marketing but they don’t find success. Why? There are lots of different reasons, but one of the most common is working at the wrong thing and focusing on things that are just not a priority. Acting upon the right priorities will be key to your success.

4. The more you put in the more you’ll get out

Another common myth I’m afraid. When you start off learning internet marketing you can put in a lot of hours and you can get a lot of pleasure from your achievements. However, most people are more interested in the amount of financial rewards they receive against the time they put in rather than just the pleasure. And at the beginning the ratio is not likely to be great. So be realistic. There’s no special formula for putting in x number of hours and getting y number of dollars back. It's something you will have to experiment with.

5. You need multiple websites to succeed at internet marketing

Although many people who start at internet marketing choose to have more than one website, just as many people decide to have just one and make a great success at it. You should make a choice on what works best for you but having more is no guarantee of success.

6. You don’t need any skills to succeed at internet marketing

It’s true that you don’t need high level computer skills to succeed at internet marketing, but you certainly do need some skills to succeed. These include having the ability to manage your own learning, get training that you need, taking action, reviewing and evaluating, and staying motivated and picking yourself up when things go wrong. Without these skills success is much harder to achieve.

Summary

Internet marketing is not an exact science and there is no special formula to guarantee your success. There are no miracle plugins which will allow you to automate all your activities leaving you without any additional work and there will be times when you put in more effort for less rewards. You don’t need multiple websites to succeed and you don’t need high level computer skills. But you do need to manage your own learning and take consistent action.

Ignore the myths. You can find success in internet marketing – just remember it isn’t an exact science and you’ll experience both success and failure.