By Terry Dean

How do you normally operate?

Do you put up an ad and then get excited when an order comes in?

If orders don't come in, do you just sit around pulling out your hair?

I know a lot of people who do that. This week they receive a lot of sales. Great. Next week they don't. The world must be ending!

You'll always experience some variation in your sales, because world events and people's vacations can hurt your business. You don't exist in a vacuum without outside influences.

While you can't change the world, you can change the roller coaster ride many businesses experience. The best way to do this is to write down a serious marketing plan.

Too often marketers just put up a product and hope the world comes to them.

They place one ad. They write one article. They send out one press release. They contact one possible affiliate. That's all they do.

If it doesn't work, they give up.

They don't have a daily, weekly, or monthly marketing schedule.

You need to be placing ads constantly. Write more articles. Keep trying until you "fail your way to success." Rewrite your ad.

Keep working...and don't give up just because it doesn't work the first time you try.

That's the difference between those who succeed and those who fail in an online business.

One person learns when they fail.

The other one simply quits.

You have to put yourself on a marketing schedule. Don't just try to think about it in your head either. Write it down and follow your daily marketing plans.

You may do something like the below as a part-time beginner. Please note that most people could actually market more than this.

This is a "starter" plan.

Week One - Create 100 keywords for web site and put on http://www.overture.com

Week Two - Write one ezine article, edit it, and submit it to databases and ezine publishers.

Week Three - Write up and run 2 solo ezine ads.

Week Four - Use the 100 PPC keywords to add to Google Adwords Select.

Week Five - Contact 25 potential JV partners and affiliates.

Week Six - Write 2nd ezine article, edit it, and submit it to databases and ezine publishers.

Week Seven - Prepare and send out press release. Field incoming calls from media.

That is just an example. The point is that you need to actually build a marketing plan for yourself. Then stick to it.

If you have more time, you can actually even schedule out a specific marketing activity for each day of the week.

No matter what business you're in, you're in the marketing business. As the business owner, that's your primary responsibility.

A lot of people don't like to hear this kind of statement, but it's true anyway.

Products are easy. There are thousands of high quality products out there not being sold effectively. It's the marketing which drives your business. That's your primary responsibility if you want to succeed online.

Don't get me wrong. You need a good high quality product. If you don't have one, then get one. But great products have died unknown without strong marketing campaigns backing them up.

So study Internet marketing. Set goals. Then write down exactly what you're going to do each day to reach those goals.

If you don't write it down, you'll forget it and life will get in the way. You have to plan it and then do it.

The person who studies and then applies everything they learn in an organized plan will beat the random marketer who jumps from opportunity to opportunity every time.

I know quite a few people who started online the same time as me. I learned, applied, and tested. They're still looking for the big opportunity to come along someday.

Who are you going to be like?