On a Denver talk radio show this morning the topic was about being positive about the economy. They were looking for call-ins from people with stories about business being GOOD for a change. No negative talk was tolerated. No politics comments were allowed. If you didn’t have a positive story to share, you were not allowed period.

I tried to get in but the show was almost over when I did and they were not taking additional calls by that time. What prompted me to call-in? My disgust that not one caller brought up the Internet or starting an online business as a means of making an income.

There was a guy that sells cars that offers good customer service. There’s an employer that vowed to not receive an income so she didn’t have to layoff her staff. C’mon America! We’re better than this.

A techno-phobe friend of mine started promoting affiliate products only a year ago and he’s making $30K a month now.

A client of mine hired out EVERYTHING to promote her business on the web two years ago and now manages almost everything herself saving thousands of dollars a month.

Even my own business at HereNextYear.com had a record January sales month thanks to a blog package deal we launched.

I can assure you that the “failing economy” is much different online than off-line. People on the web are definitely making money.

You know who’s doing really well I’ll bet? That commercial I see at 3am where they’re trying to get you to buy into their Internet mall and then tell your friends and family to buy the same products through the same stores…just through your affiliate link.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for selling affiliate products and have over 30 that I promote myself! But, buying into an Internet mall will not be the way to go for most. The host and creator of the Internet mall are the ones making the money from your initial payment and ongoing monthly fee.

If you’ve found yourself in this same trench, don’t beat yourself up too badly. It’s not your fault. Maybe you just got laid off and you’re gasping at straws, can’t find a job and now in a last minute attempt, you turn to the web.

So, what’s the solution?

How you can you get started on the Internet from the very beginning even if you don’t have a website and have not a clue of where or how to even register a domain name?

How can you as someone who HAS been involved online for a while consult someone who has just lost their job and instruct them how to get involved with the Internet?

The answer is to NOT try to make money as your first step.

That might not be what you want to hear exactly, but it’s true. Before you attempt to start making any money on the Internet, you need to find a way to LIKE working on the Internet.

The best way to do that is to simply learn some of the Internet’s hot tools right now.

1) Get used to talking with people and looking forward to their response
Twitter (Twitter.com) is a good starting point. Twitter is a way to meet people online and converse with them much like your teenager instant messages (IM) with his or her friends or sends text messages by phone.

Twitter is like going to a 24-hour worldwide networking event and striking up conversations with people to get to know them and for them to be introduced to you. The idea is to find interesting people you want to “follow” and also to add interesting content to the system yourself to gain “followers.” Twitter takes some time to get used to and understand its power. Sometimes you will think you’re just wasting time as “this will never make me any money.” But, that’s the point. You need to be able to look beyond the task and see how something like Twitter can benefit you later when you DO start to promote products or services.

2) Find and join a forum or two and start participating
Forums are another free opportunity for you to get started online. Go to Google and search for “bicycle forums” if you enjoy riding bikes or “furnace forums” if you just got laid off as a furnace repairman or “public relations forums” if you worked in the pr dept at a large company and just got the axe.

Whatever your area of professional expertise or hobby knowledge, find two or three popular forums to participate in. Get in the habit of answering peoples’ questions. Pay close attention to the questions people are asking right now versus the ones people seem to ask over and over again. Get good at answering peoples’ questions about your expert area. You’re going to need that for the next step I give you.

3) Type an answer to a heated question with a little more detail this time
I use this verbiage because people get all bent outa whack when I suggest they write an article. Okay, I really don’t want you to write an article okay? Just a more elaborate answer to someone’s question that you saw in Twitter or one of your forums. And, your answer needs to be about 400-500 words or so. And, here’s how I want you to give this written answer:

First, write two or three sentences stating the question and why it’s important for people to know the answer.

Example continuing with the furnace repairman: “Before you call a furnace repairman to fix your furnace that won’t turn on anymore when it gets cold, there are three things you should do. In the past 7 years of fixing furnaces for home owners, I’ve discovered that had the homeowner performed these following steps first, they would’ve saved themselves in many cases more $1000 in repair fees. These include….”

Second, offer three steps. I’m not an expert in furnace repair so I wouldn’t even know the first thing to suggest here. That’s the opportunity!

Third, summarize your points and give yourself a signature line. Like this:

In today’s economy you can’t afford to be ‘taken’ by starving furnace repairmen wanting to replace major parts of your furnace that don’t need replacing. Use these steps to protect yourself from the scammers.

John the Handyman has more than 7 years experience providing home furnace repair and is certified for 15 of the top furnace brands and is bonded to service Colorado residents. Call 303-000-0000 for a free quote and inspection.

[There is another piece to the process that involves making a headline. I’ll have to cover that one in an additional post, but let that be an invitation to join my free Level 1 member program where one of the features is a tool we’ve created that will help you make more than 200 headlines instantly! I use it almost every day myself. Join the free member area at HereNextYear.com/members.php

4) Search Google for “free article directories” and get your article added to some of them.

5) Repeat the process.

Again, this process isn’t designed to make you a million dollars overnight. It IS a way for you to get to know how people really do make money and increase business on the Internet and how you can get started without spending a time.

If you “don’t like” talking with people or “don’t want to give away your secrets” or “can’t type” or “are not technical” or “whatever other reason/excuse” you can come up with, it really is just that…an excuse.

And, I can say that every more advanced method of Internet marketing and generating online business stems from this one simple concept; providing people with value so that they want to eventually do business with you.

So, next time you find yourself listening to the news and hear the horrific stories of families being ripped apart by this economy, or if it has happened to you, or you fear your job is at stake, let that be inspiration to YOU to get started the real way to make money from the Internet. And, that is by finding others to share with and simply sharing the information you have with them.

And, that’s the truth about how to get started on the Internet…without spending a Penny.

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