Tarang Bhargava

The old adage went - - "What are the 3 most important things you need to know for successful retailing?" And the wise experts would quip, "Location, location, location!" Sure, everyone laughed. That was the mantra for brick and mortar retailing - - and it still is. But what about Internet marketing? What is the new mantra? What is the key to Internet marketing success for products and services?

When I first heard the "location" idea expressed - - and that was before people were taking Internet marketing seriously - - I figured that I would need to first find good locations for my merchandise business. I assumed a good location was defined as easily accessible and where were lots of people came by. In other words, high traffic.

With a reasonable cost for the location and salable products - how could anyone lose?

* As it turned out, my first venture into retailing went well, except for one small detail. That was the landlord, and I had not factored that into the equation. He upped the rent to the point that I was working for him. Unfortunately, no one had warned me about this. That was my own knowledge malfunction.

Along came the Internet and I saw that this is where the new opportunities were being created. But what about the need for a good location and a good level of traffic? The great thing about the Internet is that everyone has a good location. In fact, my 14 year old niece, who sells painted pine cones for Christmas decorations on her website, has the same location as Coca-Cola. Of course, Coke out-sells my niece by a factor of all the pine trees in the world to one.

But, they both have the same location. It is the search box on top of every Internet page. That is the great level playing field. That is why the Internet is where anyone with the desire to succeed in Internet marketing can do so - - with the right keys.

* My first lesson in Internet marketing was the most important. It came from a friend who spent over $10,000 for a web designer to create a site for his imported leather goods business.

The site did not work well. His sales were slow and he lamented the fact that he had made this large investment. But he told me that he had learned a powerful lesson about Internet marketing which he summed up with the question, "What are the 3 most important things you need for successful Internet marketing? His answer, "Knowledge, knowledge, knowledge!"

* The next question that I needed to have answered is where do I get this knowledge? I did not wish to repeat mistakes of the past or learn from costly trial and error. Why reinvent the wheel?

I saw that there were large numbers of Internet marketing companies and consultants appearing in search results. Who should I work with?

Peter Milazzo has been involved with sales and marketing for over 25 years. He was the top sales person for a major U.S. corporation for many years and is now a successful entrepreneur.If you would like to discover hundreds of proven money making strategies for your Internet business go to LearnFromAnInternetMillionaire.com