The whole idea of internet marketing just seems too good to be true. Work from home (or anywhere for that matter) on your own terms, be your own boss, set your own hours, what’s not to love? Well, aside from the fact that it’s actually quite a bit more difficult than most of the gurus on the web would like to make you think (just buy their $5,000 course and you’ll be on your way to being a millionaire tomorrow!), there actually is a lot to love about the world of internet marketing.

How can you even get started though? This isn’t really something that is being taught in schools yet, at least not at a large scale. Frankly it’s going to take quite a bit of creativity, self motivation, perseverance, patience, and proactivity on your part. You’re going to fail a lot, and you’ll probably be floundering for a while before it really starts to pay off. Don’t just jump in without a plan. Get a solid taste for what you’re getting into before you choose it as a career path.

With all of that in mind here are some of our favorite avenues for earning money by marketing on the internet.

Google Adsense

This is probably one of the most straightforward way to get started with internet marketing. If you have a website that gets a lot of traffic, or if you can make a website that gets a lot of traffic, you can simply start by signing up for Google Adsense and displaying advertisements on your site. Every time a visitor clicks through to an advertisement, you’ll get a commission. You’re going to want to look into how the payment structure works, because it might vary, but it’s certainly one way to get started without too much effort.

YouTube

YouTube is quickly becoming one of the ways that a huge number of people around the world are searching for and consuming information. Did you know that once you pass a certain number of video views, YouTube will start paying you money for advertising fees? The concept is simple – make a video that people love to watch, people watch it, you get paid. You’re going to need an awful lot of visitors though so don’t take this too lightly. Payments start at every 1,000 views and you need tens or hundreds of thousand to make anything worth while.

Facebook Advertisement

Do you have a product or service that you’re already offering to the world, but you just need more customers? Facebook advertisement just might be the right avenue for you. The beauty of Facebook advertisement is that you can run highly customized campaigns to target exactly the audience you’re looking for. Take advantage of Facebooks massive database to advertise to certain geographical regions, genders, ages, and interests. It’s quite amazing and surprisingly affordable as far as advertisement options go.

These are just three of myriad ways you can get your feet wet with internet marketing. It’s great to live in an age where you don’t need a physical store to have customers, but it does come with it’s own set of complexities and complications that will take some getting used to. If you have the time and the will power to stick with it though, it can be incredibly rewarding and it may just change your life.