Someone says success on the web and immediately the hairs on the backs of a lot of necks go up. Half for the excitement and the HOPE that this could be the one!!! And the other half in disgust...seeing another lame flash in the pan.

It's sickening.

Brace yourself folks, because here it is, the thing I DO know...the thing "they" do not want you to hear...success on the internet takes hard work.

Very hard work.

Sorry. Very, very hard work!

The problem is that we're bombarded with "Make $67,127 By Next Thursday" ads and we think: hell, if that person can, and he tells me that he doesn't know anything about computers and...

Like I said, sickening.

I have to admit, seeing those ads and those banners and those "Only 90 Minutes Left To Join This Program" emails is like a horrible drug. And it's very tough to look away from the sunset and the green drinks with the red umbrella the really tan couple is sipping during their ridiculously early retirement (courtesy of the new gizmo...)

Please.

Here's what else I know: the internet is DRIVEN BY CONTENT. Always has...always will be. And good content does not appear out of no where.

Keyword research that uncovers your most profitable keywords DO NOT happen by magic fairies.

Great blogs with real value DO NOT write themselves.

Great video marketing pieces DO NOT materialize as if by magic.

Great articles DO NOT appear out of nowhere.

These are the things that you need to do to best market yourself on the web. These are your best best for success on the web.

Sorry, but that's the end of that story.

While you're out there running your business, who's running the online part of it??? Who's training the Google bots to come visit your site 6 or 8 times a day because great content is CONTINUALLY being found during those blog entries?

Who's out there submitting your videos (launched of course by your most profitable keywords) to the 200 plus video sites that will get you onto the first page of Google in just days?

Who's writing your articles and using software that gets them submitted to 400 or 500 article sites DAILY?

Guys and dolls, this stuff NEEDS TO HAPPEN. Go to any reputable FORUM (like DigitalPoint and ask around)

And to do it, to find true success on the web, you need someone who knows exactly what you need, based on your greatest keywords! You need someone who cares about your business the way you do.

I for one am tired of watching small web owners purchase just one part of this process and see little if any results. Just bogus article writing software or a "Million Blogs in 10 Minutes" software is not only useless (because it's not real, it's only one part of your big puzzle!)

Now, after all that bashing, here's the great news! The time is at hand for everyone reading this VERY ARTICLE to do things the right way. All of them.

In the old days, hiring a MARKETING PARTNER who will do all these things for your business would have broken you financially. No more. These days, it would surprise, if not shock you, how affordable an online advertising and marketing agency can be...just by knowing where to look. ; )

Partnering up with efficient, low cost experts WILL bring you success on the web. Heck, it may even be why you maybe get to sip a green drink at sunset some day.

Ew.

Kevin Browne is a former Creative Director and Senior Copywriter at agencies including J Walter Thompson, McCann Erickson and Young and Rubicam. Kevin now runs TABinteractive where he shows web owners how to FINALLY make ridiculous, and consistent online sales at http://www.tabinteractive.net