There are very few authors, speakers, or businesses that can be successful without using the Internet as part of their marketing plan.  However, while most folks use the Internet for their personal needs, many have little idea how they can become more profitable using it for their products or services. 

You may share the confusion of others as to how Internet marketing strategies can work for you and where to begin. 

Whether you are an author, speaker, or small business owner, the steps you will take to be successful on the Internet are the same, and have changed little over the past 15 years!  The challenge is that there are so many resources out there for the various steps in the process, with little education as to where each item fits in with other steps. 

Don’t get hung up on the bits and pieces before you have established your P.T.A., the foundational steps needed to be successful in Internet Marketing:

P:  Plug-In

Discover and “plug-in” to where you currently fit into the Internet marketing process.  Are you a complete beginner?  Or maybe you have some experience, but haven’t pulled it all together yet?  Pinpoint where you fit into the process, then plug in to the resources and tools that you need for your specific situation. 

T: Team-Up

The next step is key to success for speakers, authors, and small business owners to succeed, and that is to find a team that will help you implement the process.  Unless you are making a living as a full blown Internet marketer, your principal business belongs out in the field doing your thing, not in front of the computer trying to figure it all out.  And finding an inexpensive designer to throw together a website won’t go far in getting you ready to be successful on the Internet. 

Your goal is to find outsourced help that is multi-dimensional in their knowledge and understanding of the Internet, as well as sensitive to your unique needs and concerns.  Your goal should be to form a dedicated team that will work with you as your business grows that can help you will all aspects of Internet marketing planning and strategies. 

A:  Accelerate

Just having a website without a full knowledge of the Internet marketing process will result in never being able to fully realize the last step by accelerating your strategies to success.  Learning a few strategies or techniques will only cause to confuse you until you have plugged into where you are in the overall process, and found resources and team members able to lead you to success.  Once you have done that, your business success from the Internet will start to fly. 

Marty Dickinson is an entrepreneur and the founder of HereNextYear, Inc., a full service Internet marketing company in business for 15 years.  He specializes in Internet marketing solutions for the small business owner, speakers and authors.  Visit to see what HereNextYear has to offer and to learn more about their innovative new website packages fully integrated for ease with social networking and other Internet marketing strategies.