1) Build it and they Will Come

Did you ever see the movie 'Field of Dreams' with Kevin Costner?

Well, the catch cry in that movie was... "If you build it... they will come"

Unfortunately, this doesn't relate too well to the Internet.

Every day, business owners from all over the globe spend thousands of dollars on building 'pretty' websites, only to discover that they're missing one vital ingredient - targeted traffic.

It's a simple formula; no traffic = no sales.

2) The Internet is a Great Way to 'Get Rich Quick'

Can you generate a substantial income online? Absolutely. Can you do it quickly? Not likely...

Like any medium, the Internet attracts its fair share of the 'Get Rich Quick' crowd. These are the people who run from one opportunity to the next in an attempt to make a fast buck or capitalize on 'the next big thing'.

We all know there's no substitute for hard work and the Internet is no exception. The good news is that, if you're committed to learning, you'll find that the more you learn, the easier it becomes.

3) Its TOO LATE to Start an Internet Business

In some respects this is true if you're looking at making a fast buck like many of the dotcoms of the late 90's.

The days of raising millions from investors based solely on an idea are over. On the other hand, if you're running (or starting) a legitimate business, there has never been a better time to get online.

It's now easier and more cost effective to build and market your own website.

4) Emailing a Random List of 28 Million People Will Bring You Sales

If you have an email account, you've probably received something similar to the following spam message:

Is it worth it?

Well, it's quite common for people to purchase these offers and not generate a single sale. You might be thinking 'how is it possible to email 28 million and not generate any sales?'

It's simple - the traffic is not targeted.

The people behind such offers are basically scammers and it is best to stay away from them because:

a) The email addresses they provide have been illegally obtained

Usually this is done by email harvesting software that crawls through the Internet looking for the @ symbol that appears in every email address.

This is how the majority of spammers find and collect your email address.

b) You have no relationship with the people on the list

People generally don't buy anything from companies that they have no relationship with.

Participating in such activities will at best generate a lot of 'flames' (the Internet equivalent of hate mail) or, worst, get your website closed down by your hosting provider.

c) The majority of your email will never reach the recipients

Email providers have gotten a lot smarter in the war on spam and the majority of these emails will get caught in spam filters.

Anything that does get through the spam filters will probably get deleted straight away.

Your website traffic needs to be aimed at a targeted group of buyers - not a random collection of visitors. There are legitimate and effective ways to use email marketing, which are covered later in the course.

5) A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

While this is true in glossy magazines, the exact opposite is true on the Internet. Online, people are looking for information.

Nice graphics can complement your message where appropriate, but they are not a substitute for good quality content.

Another element to consider is that the Internet has one unique factor -how long it takes for a page to load on screen.

The bigger the image, the longer it takes to load up. Most users have a very short attention span and online, as we've mentioned before, waiting 7 seconds can feel like waiting 7 years.

6) There's a 'Secret' Formula for Making Money

Spend any amount of time online and you're sure to find an endless list of 'gurus' all of who claim to have developed the 'Secret Formula' or 'Holy Grail' to making hordes of cash online.

Reality check time; the real secret online is that there are no secrets! If there was a foolproof shortcut to online riches, wouldn't everybody be doing it?

The truth is, while you will hit the occasional home run, it's more likely that improvements in your online marketing will be the result of many small improvements combined over time.

Adrian Mullan is the author of 'The Internet Demystified' and founder of WebDummy.com - a popular Internet marketing resource for small business owners.