Most of us have seen a movie where a group of people on a trip decide to take a short cut. What usually happens? Something bad, something really bad. Depending on the type of movie there could be a wide range of disasters. It might be a back woods family looking to increase their clan. Or maybe they get lost and someone breaks a leg.

The point is, short cuts only work if you have already been there once before. Internet marketing is no different.

Every day thousands of new people go on-line looking for ways to increase their income. Many times they are lead here by TV info-mercials making outlandish claims.

While you can make money, maybe make a lot of money on-line, it’s not just a matter of paying forty dollars for a web site and then bamm! you’re rich!

First thing new people do is find something to market. That part is pretty easy. There are plenty of good products to sell.

So now you have a product and a web site to market from. How do you get prospects to buy from you instead of one of the thousands of other people selling it?

You start looking for ways to get some traffic to your site. You discover “Black Hat” techniques. Sounds good at first. But what is Black Hat? It’s a way to trick people into buying from you. While you may have some short term success it won’t last long. Once someone finds out that you tricked them they are gone and won’t ever come back.

Not only that you can have your website removed from the Internet. All of your work gone in an instant.

What if you are offered a free info product that you can market and keep all of the profits for yourself? What’s the harm in that? You spend a few hours or days, depending on your skill level, setting it up. And no one will buy it. Why? Because they can get it for free, just like you did. More time wasted.

Along with the lost time on projects that didn’t work there are hidden time wasters. Lots of emails from the people that showed you the “shortcut”. They all sound good but think about it. If the first one didn’t work why would you think the next one will?

Having a successful business involves trust. The “shortcut” marketers have shown that they can be trusted to lead you down the wrong path, while they profit from it.

So just how do you get your Internet Marketing business off the ground and profitable? Find a guide that has a map. Someone who knows the way and will help you stay on course. With the right guide you can realistically cut down on your learning curve and make money sooner rather than later.

Now you know why having a guide is the best way to build your business. You understand how marketing an info product you got for free can slow you down. You have seen how “Black Hat” strategies can hurt  you and destroy all your hard work. Shortcuts can and usually do get you lost. Find yourself a guide and learn how to profit in the Internet Marketing boom.