If you are an aspiring internet marketer, or have already begun your online career but are simply not making the kind of money that you should be, then chances are it is because you are doing something wrong. Making money online is not difficult but it does take the right knowledge and a fair degree of hard work.

I began my online career about a year and a half ago. With absolutely no guidance whatsoever, it took a good amount of trial and error before I was able to figure out what worked and what did not. Bad information and over hyped promises from the internet marketing "gurus" out there, cost me thousands of dollars and countless weeks of time ill spent.

It took a while but finally, and nearly by accident, I stumbled upon a few solid principles that actually worked.

Want to know what they are?

Nearly all of my online successes boiled down to some very basic and very proven principles of business...

1. Creating Value

2. Traffic

3. Customer Service

4. Management

How does that apply in the world of internet marketing?

Very simply put, one of the simplest and most profitable approaches to making money online is "List Building".

What is List Building?

List building works as follows:

1. Become an authority on any given niche.

2. Offer something for free that is related to your niche.

3. Drive traffic to a website that promotes your offer.

4. Give your item away in exchange for your visitors email address.

5. Build a relationship with your subscribers by sending out regular emails filled with valuable free content.

6. Once trust has been established, promote products to your list that will offer them REAL value.

It's that simple. Internet Marketing is an enormous field and there are of course other ways to make money online, however in my opinion, List Building is the simplest, most effective and most profitable, approach to generating a serious and sustainable income via the internet.

I am by no means a marketing "guru". I'm just a regular guy that has spent a ton of time learning this stuff and can remember how hard it was in the beginning trying to figure out which techniques actually worked, who to listen to, and wishing someone would just spell everything out for me. While it is going to take a bit of hard work and an investment of time, making money online is very possible and in many cases, is changing peoples lives.