Of course, there are the "rags to riches" stories to catch your eye, but I have found that the average successful online marketer started with a few thousand dollars to "play" with. Comparatively speaking, this is a very low amount to invest in your business, whether it's located online or in a more tangible brick and mortar building.

The average cost to start a brick and mortar business like a small espresso and coffee shop will cost in the upwards of $15,000 for the equipment alone. If you find the right online business you will spend anywhere from $800 to $2000.

Yes, you can make some money working 8 - 12 hours a day with a coffee shop but imagine making huge amounts of money 24 hours a day on autopilot.

You have probably heard the old clich? it takes money to make money. Well I have found in my experience that this statement can be both true and false in online marketing. Now you may be asking, "How can this statement be both true and false?"

Let me show you:

The only ways to invest in your business with Money and Time.

Here are a few ways to invest: Your Money - Here dollars and cents is how you will build your business. Pay Per Click - Buying keywords that people searching the internet type in when they are looking for a solution to something. You can expect to pay anywhere from a few cents to $2 - $3+ a keyword. Depending on how you set up your campaign you can spend anywhere from $200.00 - $1000+/month. Banner Ads - Placing banner ads on web sites that already achieve high rankings in keyword categories that want to target. If a website owner has a good amount of traffic they may charge you anywhere from $150 to $500/mo to place an ad on their site.

Print Ads - Purchase display ads in magazines and newspapers that target readers in your market. Good sales copy is a must. It is hard to say exactly how much this will cost due to a number of variables. Variables such as the size of ads, circulation, color and location to name a few...

Classified Ads Under Your Chosen Business Category- Very effective for targeting people who are actively looking for solutions. You can buy classified advertising in bulk through services like nationwide newspapers - or you can buy individual papers on a city by city basis.

I recommend purchasing in weekly classifieds rather than daily, you will get longer ad placement for your dollars. Most classifieds charge by number of lines in your ad. A decent range is $2.00 - $5.00/ line.

Buy Leads - Buy names, phone numbers, and email addresses of people who want to find know about your product or service. There are all sorts of leads to choose from varying from 'real time' to aged leads.

Results depend on the quality of the lead and your ability to sound like a real person. Depending on the service you can pay anywhere from $100 for 1000 to $30 for 100 leads.

Direct Mail - Works well but can be expensive. You can obtain leads and use direct mail as a follow up. Your production and sales copy is critical. With companies like Adswift you can print and mail postcards for as little as .49/card. To get response from a customer it may take at least 5 - 7 contacts by direct mail.

Billboards - If you have the money and want a person' undivided attention as they drive to their jobs every morning (and then return every afternoon) you might consider a billboard. Typically, some markets can get you a large billboard on a major artery for $1,000 for 30 days. Rates depend on market size and traffic.

Radio Advertising - Buy radio spots and have them professionally voiced. It is cheaper to buy times late at night, but buying a 'day' package that gives you a bit of every listening period can be good too.

Cable TV advertising On Listings Channel - Like the radio spots, but this time with TV. You can expect to pay a little more for the commercial you produce, but the cost per spot is typically quite reasonable if you advertise in something like the TV listings that scroll up and down the page.

Your Time - Trading your dollar to invest for time

Press Releases - You can do unlimited press releases online. Prior to the release of your product or service you can submit a release to several sites getting the buzz out. 2-3 hours

Blogs - Blogs are frequently updated 'web journals' that are maintained by people who specialize in something. Blogs talk about and openly discuss specialized themes like making money online - or stay at home moms online. 1-2 hours

Article Marketing - In its simplest form, this is advertising where you can write short, unique, relevant articles related to whatever you want to talk about: making money online, how to make money online, the 7 dangers of marketing online, etc. 30mins - 1 hour.

Forums - On line forums are basically online discussion groups or chat rooms or bulletin boards that have a following with various people. Forums can be a great way to brand yourself as an expert in a subject, or build credibility with people who frequent a particular forum.. The key to success is making a great contribution and building online relationships with the other people who are part of the forum that you join. Takes some time - but can be well worth it 1 - 2 hours

Video Marketing - Marketing yourself online with video. Have you heard of YouTube? Enough said. 2 - 3 hours

Free Online Classifieds - There are a ton of free online classified areas on the internet. Typically, you get what you pay for. You have to post in a lot of them to get any kind of result. 2-3 hours

Craig's List - Craig's list is a network of online urban communities featuring free online classified advertisement in a endless number of areas including jobs offers and biz ops. There are classifieds from several hundred cities on Craig's List worldwide. It has been said that they get about 9 billion page views each month - and about 25 million Americans use it each month. You can target by area or by city. 2 - 3 hours.

Squidoo - Squidoo is kind of like a wiki, only when you create a page (called a lens) you are the only one who can edit it.Then you split the profits from the money made by that page . You can use it to create almost any kind of page. 1 - 2 hours

Social Networking - Social networking is the grouping of individuals into specific groups, like small rural communities or a neighborhood subdivision. It is very popular online because unlike most high schools, colleges, or workplaces, the internet is filled with millions of individuals who are looking to meet other internet users and develop friendships and business relationships, too. possibly even contacting them. Sites like Face Book and MySpace fit into the social network category. 1 - 2 hours So you can see that there is no such thing as a low or no cost online business. You can either choose to invest money or time.

Pick your poison. It is completely up to you which one you decide.