A lot of people I speak to tell me something along the lines of “I’ve been trying to make money online with internet marketing for 5 years but have not been successful”.

That’s by no means unusual.

There’s a steep learning curve with internet marketing, even though it appears deceptively simple when you first look at it.

And, to an extent, it is simple.

But there are too many shiny pennies in the way – and they have a habit of distracting us.

If you’re in the situation where you’ve been there, done that but instead of getting the T-shirt you had to buy it for yourself – probably from the most expensive shop on the planet – then here are a few suggestions.

Get a piece of paper and a pen.

Make two columns.

• In one column, put the things you’ve tried but that haven’t worked at all for you.
• In the other column, put the things you’ve tried that have showed at least some sign of working.

Anything in the “hasn’t worked” list should be in your list of things to avoid for at least the next 6 to 12 months, maybe forever.

Anything in the “kind of worked” list is a candidate for focusing on.

Look for commonalities in that list.

Maybe it was content marketing. Maybe it was videos. Maybe it was forum marketing.

Whatever links those things is likely your best strategy.

Of course, it could be that there’s nothing in the “kind of worked” list.

In which case you need to go back to the drawing board (or drop me a message!)

But I’m going to assume that there is at least one item there.

The links between the ideas that showed a glimmer of hope are the basis for your internet marketing strategy.

Most things work – some better than others, some quicker or slower – but not for everyone.

We’ve all got different personalities and that applies to how we work online just as much as it does to how we interact with people in real life.

Whatever has worked for you – even if it didn’t get much in the way of traffic or sales – is where your strengths lie.

Not the seemed a good idea at the time list!

Then look at the things that worked best.

Maybe you got a few clicks a day from the articles you put on sites like EzineArticles.

Maybe your videos got a few views from people on YouTube and one in 50 of those clicked through to your website.

Whatever it was, work out how you can do more of the same.

Because that’s almost certainly where your internet marketing should be going.

I’ve just done that exercise and – for one of the affiliate programs I promote – I’m getting 2.7% of clicks turn into sales.

It’s a method I’ve neglected for a while but I need to focus on it again and turn the handful of sales that method is making into a bigger quantity.

Chances are that if you’ve been dabbling in internet marketing for a while, you’ll have something similar that you can turn most of your time to and start earning some cash.

If you need help, don’t be afraid to ask someone.

Find a coach or mentor who you get on with.

And then make a conscious decision to follow what they teach.

Not just reading it and thinking it’s a good idea – actually doing it!

Because there’s no point in paying someone to coach you if you don’t follow through – that’s like buying a gym membership in January, going once or twice and then doing nothing until next year.

Deciding to follow through can make a world of difference.

And it could be the difference that means you start actually earning money from your internet marketing rather than spending more than you get back.