Sure, you can advertise online for free, but except for isolated instances, there is a catch. Forget FFA (Free For All) sites where you can post a free ad for your business. They get thousands of submissions hourly, and most only keep latest hundred or so current, so your ad has a life measured in seconds.

How about free ads you find in newsletters? If newsletter has content and a decent subscriber base, they are a great deal. However, many times only subscribers who receive it are those placing free ads, and once they check to see if their ad is there, they "click away" and don't even see anything else.

While you might not immediately learn how to advertise your business, you quickly learn how not to. Email spamvertising is simply a waste of time and money. If it is annoying to you, and ads are summarily deleted without being read, why waste your money on a similar campaign.

Those who want to do business on web, and are succeeding, are evolving into a whole new breed of entrepreneurs. They learned from mistakes that are being made, and have developed a business plan that is working.

So, what is secret. It really isn't a secret, and it is as obvious as nose on your face. People are not stupid, inexperienced maybe.- but not stupid. Treat them with same courtesy and respect you would like to receive, and you will be amazed at results.

Unfortunately, many would be entrepreneurs don't take their business seriously, and will fail. This is not something you can do when bored, and there is nothing good on TV that night. If your bottom line is to succeed, you must take your online business seriously, and returns you receive will be in proportion to effort you exert.

Things to look for and avoid: • What is product? If there is not a product immediately visible: Click off • If they aks you for money up front before they even tell you what product is: Click Off. • Even if it looks like there is some kind of usefull product but there is no way to get in contact with promoter, such as E-mail, telephone or snail mail, I would be very suspicious.

Go to this URL and you will find out exactly and in more details than I could ever explain it in this short article, fallacy of pyramid schemes. The numbers dont lie!

Some of businesses that lend themselves quite well to promotion on internet are:

• Those that sell information, like E-Books, E-Zines and newsletters and even there you have to be carefull. You still have to follow above rules.

• Communication services, Like Website design, Web hosting, ISP’s etc... There again follow rules. The interesting thing about these is that on top of commission for initial purchase, you usually get a residual income from your customers monthly fees.

• Software. It should be reasonably priced and you should have possibility for customer to download a demo to be certain that this is what they really want and need. It should also be guaranteed. Dont forget rules!

Some of things you should look for in product that you are going to sell:

• Is it a usefull product and is there a need for it?

• Is it a consumable or will you get repeat business?

• Is there possibility of residuals as there is in such things as communications services, Web hosting, autoresponders etc... where customer has to pay a monthly fee and you get a monthly commission for each one of your clients?

• Is it a good reliable product? An inferior product can quickly ruin your credibility.

• Look at competition. Is your product superior or different than everything else that is being offered everywhere else? Preferably it should be unique or offer attractive features that are not available anywhere else.

• You should get a guarantee from company, that once you have made a sale, that client remains your client as long as you remain affiliated with company.

• And finally it should be a product that is personally attractive to you. This will make it much easier for you to maintain your enthusiasism for product.