That’s exactly why I drafted this guide: instead of giving you a paint-by-numbers approach, I’ve given you a set of rules that will provide you with a firm, workable framework within which you can build a successful business. At the same time, they will leave you with the flexibility to remain responsive and to come up with dynamic responses to dynamic problems.

And with that, I leave you to build your business. So get to started, put the rules I’ve listed to work, and experience the long-lasting success that comes with building a business on strong principles.

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To understand why this is a problem, just think about one of the things that characterizes the difference between an efficient, scalable corporation and a small business that cannot grow beyond $500,000/year in revenue: ad hoc decision making.

If you’re not familiar with the term “ad hoc,” it refers to anything that is designed for a specific purpose. And this is exactly how we can characterize the decision-making of small businesses: there’s a new decision for each new situation; and no plans for future contingencies.

To the contrary, large corporations plan, work out contingencies, and create systems that can be re-used without spending the time to re-invent the wheel. Take, for instance, the concept of franchising. This makes it possible to create hundreds of retail stores or restaurants without coming up with an “ad hoc” plan for each individual store. Instead, there’s an existing template that can be used and is sufficiently general so that it will ensure the success of the business.

The same thing applies to Internet marketing. Consider how hard it would be to manage an affiliate program if you didn’t do it through Clickbank.com or through some affiliate program software. You would have to talk to each affiliate individually, take her contact information, and record a massive amount of payment information. Instead, you can reduce the amount of time you spend on these tasks to virtually nothing through the use of some systemization and automation.

Now, reducing the amount of ad hoc decision-making you do isn’t just a lofty suggestion. There are many concrete ways in which you can do this to further the systemization of your business; and to improve its efficiency.

I personally suggest that you do the following five things at a minimum to streamline your business processes:

1. Create templates for everything you do. Whether you find yourself frequently sending out the same emails, frequently posting the same information on forums, or frequently explaining the same concepts to joint venture partners, make a template for it using Word; and then use it to send all subsequent emails. This will make your life much easier and cut out a lot of unnecessary re-writing.

2. Download a free password-manager and form filler. Add all of your relevant information to these programs; and then use them in the future whenever you need to fill out a form or fill in a password. This will save you a great deal of time and effort in the long run.

3. Spend a full day re-arranging all pertinent information related to your business. Create a database using Excel or Access to keep track of important client information. Create an elaborate system of folders to keep track of all of your business information, so that you can quickly locate it when needed, rather than searching through endless amounts of disorganized information.

4. Create templates for all of your outsourcing tasks. This might include templates for projects you frequently hire freelances for, templates for joint venture proposals, and templates that you use to pursue new affiliates to sell your product.

5. Spend some time drafting process diagrams that clearly define how tasks should be carried out in your business. Consider things such as how you find leads, how those leads translate into buyers, and how projects flow from you to your workers; and then back to you. This will help you work out a logical outline in your mind for how your business should operate; and how it can build systems that will allow it to become scalable.

In short, putting systems in place is one of the best ways in which you can eliminate hundreds of different ad hoc decisions; and instead replace them with processes that clearly delineate what you should do in each situation.

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So what it is? Learn to be patient. You can start doing this today by lowering your expectations.

Want to become a millionaire by tomorrow? Practice patience by cutting that down to a more reasonable figure. Expect only $500,000 by tomorrow.

When you realize how ridiculous it sounds not be satisfied with $500,000 by tomorrow, cut it down further. Chop it down to $250,000; and then $100,000; and then something reasonable.

The sooner you can accept that you won’t become rich tomorrow, the sooner you can give up on your wild dreams and start making real, intelligent, well-thought out business plans that can truly offer you the hope of one day having a thriving, successful business that could indeed make you a millionaire.

So, as stupid, simple, and trite as it sounds, learn how to practice patience. Don’t become overwhelmed by wild aspirations; and feel the pressure to succeed immediately. Instead, be patient and lay the foundations of a real business that provides true value to customers.

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So keep this in mind. When it comes to Internet marketing, things change, rules change, and business practices change. And if you don’t change with them, you’ll soon find yourself in a very bad position. You’ll be matching your outdated methods against much sleeker, more efficient, better-educated competitors.

Not only will you be missing critical information about how best to optimize your site for search engine traffic, but you won’t even be aware of new ways in which you can find customers.

One clear example of this is the recent social media explosion. Those who have paid attention to it, followed it closely, and harvested its money-making power have seen phenomenal success. They’ve found ways to quickly locate tens of thousands of highly-targeted individuals—and direct them to their respective websites.

On the other hand, many marketers have missed this revolution entirely. They’re still using old methods to generate traffic, which may be useful, but which will slowly become outdated over time.

So, don’t put yourself in this situation. Learn to stay abreast of current developments in Internet marketing. Read forums and blogs to find out what cutting edge techniques are being used. Even if you don’t feel comfortable using them yourself immediately, you should at least know that they exist; and that they can provide you with another alternative for generating traffic should you opt to use them.

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Let me give you an example. Normally, you might create a 15-page report that explains how people can make more money by setting up single-product sites and marketing them through PPC advertising. You’d charge $10 for this report and market it through your list and some forums.

But there’s another alternative. You could create that some product, fill it with relevant affiliate links and links to your site; and you could then give it away for free.

Imagine how much greater the reach would be if you did this. Since your report would be completely free, hundreds more would download it; and many would take your advice and purchase multiple products through your affiliate links. At the end of the day, this can be considerably more profitable than selling a report for $10.

Another alternative to giving your report away for free is giving people the right to sell it. Business owners are frequently looking for high-quality content to sell to their subscribers and visitors; and if you can offer them the rights to it for free, you might be able to get your report in the hands of thousands of people with very little leg work on your part.

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And this is precisely why you should take it into consideration when focusing your marketing efforts. If you’re like many other Internet marketers, you think your relationship ends with the customer once the transaction is finalized. You think that once a person clicks “buy,” enters his credit card information, and downloads the ebook, there’s nothing left to be said or done.

Well, the people who think this couldn’t be any more wrong—at least if their goal is to make money. In fact, the first time you sell to a customer should always be the beginning of a long-term relationship of mutual benefit—at least if you have a good business model.

So how can you shift things around to make sure this is the case? I’d start by taking the following two steps:

1. Add a product pitch on your download page. Most people who haven’t tried this think it sounds crazy. “Who would want to buy something else immediately,” they ask. But, in fact, many people do, which is why you’ll notice this style of pitches on most successful marketers’ product download pages.

The only important thing to keep in mind is that you’ll want the pitch to be relatively low-key. Instead of using a slide-in, a pop-over, or a check-out button at the top of the download page, instead include your pitch below the download button.

Another important thing to keep in mind is the scope and nature of the pitch you make. One good rule of thumb is to match small product sales with large product offers; and large product sales with small product offers. Of course, it is best to test this for yourself and find out what sells best with your particular model.

2. Revitalize your email list. One common problem that Internet marketers have is that they spend the time to build a robust list to which they can market, but they never seize the opportunity to truly use it to earn money. Once the original autoresponder sequence goes out to customers, they send out very few emails after that; and rarely anything of interest.

This is a big mistake. Revitalizing your email list isn’t the easiest thing in the world to do, but it is perhaps one of the most inexpensive ways in which you can get leads, which is why you shouldn’t overlook it. Relative to finding new leads and converting them, it will almost always be much, much cheaper.

Now, there are several ways in which you can revitalize your list. I personally suggest you do it by giving away a spate of free, but highly valuable products. Consider giving away ebooks, free reports, and prizes. You might even consider requiring people to email you back in order to enter a contest. If they’re successful, you’ll give them a cash prize or something equally attractive.

This should do the trick. After a few weeks, people will stop ignoring your emails; and will pay attention to the information you send them.

So there you have it: one of the best and cheapest ways to make sales is to make new products, but sell them to old customers. Use the above two ways to do this; and you’ll open up a whole new source of traffic and sales that you’ve been willingly throwing away for months or even years.

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In short, working hard can work against you. So instead of staying up until 4am, pounding away at meaningless tasks, give yourself time to replenish your energy, think creatively, take a walk, see the people you are most important in your life, and enjoy things other than work.

If you don’t do this, you’ll soon find yourself as many new Internet marketers do: feeling purposeless and without any success—feeling like the amount of work you put in cannot be justified by the results and that the entire enterprise of Internet marketing is not worthwhile.

So save yourself the heartache, lost sleep, stress, and feelings of hopelessness. Put a cap on your work hours, take breaks, and don’t wear yourself out.

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So how can you respond to this important fact? I’d suggest you do so in the following six ways:

1. Hold monthly contests. It doesn’t matter what the contest is; all that matters is that your visitors will find it sufficiently attractive to return each month. In most niches, a contest that offers people the potential to win products, cash, and other prizes will be a powerful mechanism for luring in repeat visitors.

2. Create a list. We covered this earlier in depth, but it’s important to repeat: one of the best ways to get people to keep coming back to your site is to create a list. With a list, you can constantly solicit people who join for sales and for other activities. You can also pitch every new product you create.

3. Create a forum on your site. Initially, there might not be much posting, but if you receive a fair amount of traffic; and you make an attempt to get the conversation rolling, you could have a bustling forum with many members in a matter of months.

4. Occasionally update your layout, your main page, and your product prices. After a person returns to your site twice and finals no changes whatsoever, they’ll have almost no incentive to continue returning.

5. Create a blog. This will allow people who find your site content sufficiently interesting to keep up with you on a regular basis. It will create a sense of continuity and dynamism that they cannot get from most sites; and, as a result, they will frequent yours more often.

6. Create videos occasionally and embed them on your website; and post them on YouTube. This is also a way to create continuity, to provide updates, and to make your website seem more lively and engaging. As a result, you can expect your visitors to return more frequently.

There you have it: six ways in which you can entice visitors to return. Now, get to work implementing them on your site. The longer you wait, the more visitors you will willingly allow to disappear without becoming attached to your site.

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What’s interesting is that there is often a large disparity in the amount of sales a new Internet marketer will offer relative to an established Internet marketer. While the former will almost never hold a sale, the latter will do it frequently.

Now, the reasons for this aren’t completely clear, but, what is true is that holding sales more frequently will make your business stronger and more successful. It will give you the ability to control your flow of sales; and it will generate interest among customers.

So, if you’ve never had a sale, start today. Pick some old products that no longer sell as well as they used to. Bundle them together and offer an excellent price. Market it through your site as a limited-time special offer. Use PPC and list marketing to drive traffic to it.

Finally, use the methods I mentioned earlier to see whether your sale worked. See whether the special page on your site for the sale generated more revenue for you than your original pages for those products over the same time horizon.

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This is precisely why it is important to keep tabs on things you need to do. You can do this with a calendar, with a simple to do list, or however you think is best. The most important thing is that you keep track of all tasks that you need to do.

Why is this a good idea? Because it gives you something to do the minute you get distracted. Instead of wandering off further, you’ll remember that you have something important to do; and you’ll get on top of it, rather than letting things slide.

When it comes to “to do” lists, there are good and bad items to add. I personally suggest that you try to break everything up into very small parts, so that each individual task seems easy. This will reduce your resistance to starting each of these tasks, which will make it easy for you to fill your day with them, rather than becoming bored or wasting time.

So keep yourself on a tight schedule, create goals for your daily accomplishments, and make sure that you always have many small, but important tasks you can do whenever things get slow during the day.

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