Almost everyone dreams of setting up a website and generating sales “while you sleep.” Think about it. People all over the world visit your website, are impressed by the description and the price, decide this is just what they need, and they order it. Depending on your product, either it is delivered straight to their email inbox, or an order is emailed to a warehouse, to ship their product to them. The payment is electronically transferred into your account, and you wake up to that happiest of emails: “Notification of payment received.” Talk about money for nothing!

But of course, it isn’t that easy. In fact, getting that first sale is so hard, that many people quit their business before they ever get that first sale. So how do the mega-guru-internet-marketing moguls do it, time after time after time? Why do they tell you that YOU can do, and that it’s so easy?

Getting that first sale takes focus, dedication, and faith. Focus on what you are selling. Don’t try to get the first sale for a dozen projects, because all you’ll get is a dozen disappointments, and no dozen first sales. Dedication means that you must survive the adrenaline rush of seeing your website in a search engine results, then the unbelievable disappointment when you realize that no one else is seeing it, but sticking with your business. You finally must have faith in YOUR decision to sell THIS product or service. If you haven’t had your first sale yet, it’s only because you haven’t found the right market, not because you’ve picked the wrong product.

So what are the 4 steps? Here they are, briefly explained:

1. Put up an interesting website, on an interesting domain name. There are dozens of free web hosting options, and almost all of them have terrifically powerful HTML editors. Take advantage of these free tools, to experiment with the format, look, and flow of your website. Make sure you have your own domain name. They are so unbelievably inexpensive these days that you can actually have a dozen or two, all pointing to your website.

2. Work the FORUMS! You, as novice to internet marketing, will get every “How To Generate THOUSANDS Of Visitors To Your Website” report, almost of which have ONE purpose: to generate traffic to the WRITER’s website. And someday, when you have some experience, and some profit, under your belt, you can use these methods. But for starting out, find forums, groups, chat rooms, and lists that are focused on your market (your “niche”) and start SHOWING OFF! Answer questions with expertise and confidence, and use your website in your signature block. And don’t be afraid to ask questions. The more you learn, the more you can establish yourself as an expert. And people want to buy from experts.

3. Build a list. On your website, there should be a place to collect your visitor’s name and email address. Usually, this is a “Subscribe to our free newsletter” or “Here is our free report.” Either way, you need to this information, so that you can talk to your visitors AFTER they have left. And you’ll be talking to them as an expert in your niche. You can even send them a newsletter in question and answer form, from the questions you are answering in the forums (see, this stuff DOES sometimes tie together).

4. Give away free samples. Give away a chapter of your book, or a portion of your product. People who can touch and feel what you are selling, and who can see that you are either an expert in your niche or that you can recognize quality product, are more likely to come back and make that first purchase.

What’s good about the above 4 steps is that you can reproduce them to get your first 100, or your first 1000 sales. You can also reproduce them for your next 2 or 5 or 10 businesses. You should also be communicating with your list and your visitors (especially the ones who DIDN’T make a purchase or sign up), to find out how you can improve your business. Because ultimately, even after you get the FIRST sale, it’s the NEXT sale that keeps you in business.

ERIK CARTER is the author of “Don’t Just Build A List - Build A COMMUNITY,” “Aggressive Pleadings For The Non-Custodial Father,” and “Six Temptations Of Jesus Christ” all offered EXCLUSIVELY at START YOUR LIFE NOW! (http://www.startyourlifenow.com), a website focused on helping you achieve EXCELLENCE in ALL areas of your life by helping you to achieve excellence in Business - Family - Fitness - Spirituality - Personal.