Go for the knockout.

Perhaps one of the complaints I have with most internet marketing sites is that they all have a typical look. They say the same things with a similar font, highlighter and crazy claims. It's almost like there is some mediocre web designer somewhere who is making a killing! At the height of the first internet craze while business fundamentals where tossed to the wind, companies where certainly innovative. Ideas were the currency, and a great idea - long before execution, could make you millions. It wasn't ok to simply have a site, you had to stand out. Sure they had more sizzle than substance but now we have some stuff under the hood but little "Wow!" factor. I challenge you to step away from the computer, quite trying to duplicate someone's success story. It's great to know that such success is possible and the methods and best practices of those who did it, but chart your own path! I bet a few readers would rather lead the pack than simply join it. With so many sites and tons of content, simply being another site hoping to share a part of the money pot is - boring. If you are going to put in the effort - why not do something outstanding. Let me take a few steps back. It's important to take baby steps when you are starting, and those steps may not be innovative or ground breaking, but let your vision be out of this world. Walt Disney was very non-traditional in his thinking. Many business geniuses are ridiculed early in their carets. The press doubted the potential of Disneyland - they called it "Disney's Folly". If you have a crazy idea that you dare to share - expect some ridicule. Imagine telling family and friends that you are going to start an internet business where you give everything away free. That's right, free. That's what a small company called Hotmail set out to do with their email platform. They were first, they were free and these isn't anyone reading this article who doesn't know someone with a Hotmail account or at least heard of it. Hotmail understood what would be outstanding in the late nineties. Take a service that people pay for, improve upon it and give it away free. They sell ads on the site, so many that Microsoft decided to get in the action and rather than compete, simply bought them out and repackaged it as we now know it. The "find what people are paying for on the Internet and give it away free" concept is still good, but to be wildly successful you may need something more. What would that be? That's the million dollar question, rather if you come up with the answer you may stand a chance of turning that idea into a few zeros! Having said all this, you have to start somewhere - even better, start with someone who has show some success, so find a mentor who has shown some success, so find a mentor and learn the ropes. Then jump in the ring with the intention of scoring a knockout!