Here it is: it's THE NUMBERS.

The numbers are the reason you keep getting emails for vitamins and personal care products in your Inbox. Spammers know about the numbers. They know that if they send out a million email messages, they will get enough responses to more than make it worth their while to send the messages.

Whatever marketing you do, as long as you do it consistently, your marketing (and your business) will be a success. The results will be the same, whether your marketing consists of advertising, or whether it's marketing which costs you nothing except the investment of time.

Tip: Consider bootstrap marketing

The biggest mistake you can make is to borrow money to start your business, or to keep it going if it can't pay for itself. "Bootstrapping" means that the business pays its own bills. In other words, if you don't have someone paying you for your products, you don't have a business. Until you have an income, focus on marketing which costs you nothing except time.

Bootstrap marketing is ideal for Internet marketers. Here's how it works: you decide that you will spend a percentage of your business's income on marketing, say 20 per cent. This means that once your business has earned a thousand dollars, you can spend $200 on advertising.

How the numbers work in Internet marketing:

The numbers work simply. They say if you keep marketing, you will get a response. Many new marketers stop their marketing efforts too early. Good salespeople know that if you approach enough people, you will sell your product, no matter what it is you're selling.

A marketer who's aware of the numbers is not bothered when his marketing plan doesn't bear fruit within a month. He doesn't expect it to. He knows that although he won't see many results in months one and two, the payoff comes in month three, and thereafter.

Create a new marketing plan:

A marketing plan is a road map, a guide to what you plan to do to market your business. It's essential, and it doesn't need to be complicated. Your marketing plan can be written on the back of an index card, but it's vital you create one, preferably before you start your business. If you've been working in your business and don't have a plan, take a few minutes to create one.

Your plan tells you what marketing you'll be doing and when. For example, let's say that you've just started your online business. You've got a Web site, and you're creating a marketing plan for the first twelve months. Your business hasn't yet earned its first thousand dollars, so all your marketing need to be investments of your time.

You decide that:

- For the next month, you'll market via chatrooms, discussion boards, and other online venues. You won't overtly market your business, you'll simply include your URL at the conclusion of your messages;

- In month two, you'll create an ezine for your business. To get people to sign up for the ezine, you'll write a 10-page report. The report will be on a topic you know well, whether it's barbecue recipes, or investing in time shares;

- In month three, you'll add content to your Web site. This content will be focused around the area of your products;

- And so on.

Keep thinking up ways to market for twelve months.

When you've completed the plan, get out your calendar. Block off sufficient time to carry out your first-month marketing plan. Do some marketing daily. If you can't spend more than half an hour, that's fine. If you can spend a couple of hours, that's fine too. What counts, is consistency. Spend half an hour a day, working your marketing plan for the next twelve months.

Can you change your marketing plan? Yes, if you wish. But only if the you're consistent in your new marketing ideas. Remember, it's the numbers. You must be consistent, even dogged. Don't let anything distract you from the simple process of working on the numbers.

Whatever stage your business is in, remember the numbers. If you do, you cannot fail. You will succeed beyond your wildest dreams.