I happen to live in Orlando, Florida, probably one of largest "billboard capitals" of nation. Our major Interstate, I-4, is littered with them. There are so many you can't help but look at them. And they're expensive. Plan on about $6,000 a month for one billboard on I-4, and that's without lights or any special production elements.

The big guys here, Disney World, Universal Studios and Sea World has most of billboards on I-4. Well, they are ones with money. And they are quite elaborate. Three-dimensional, specialty lights, moving pieces, top-outs. The first time they put ET (you know "phone home") billboard up on I-4, I almost drove off road, it looked so real.

Unfortunately, not all creative teams who come up with designs for billboards have same knowledge or skill level that folks at Universal have. Too bad, because if you have a poor billboard design, you might have well stuffed your money into that perennial black hole (this goes for poorly designed newspaper and magazine ads too).

I hate to pick on one company's billboards, but they are so bad, it makes them an easy target. We'll call this company's billboards Easy Target Mall (the billboards happen to be promoting a mall). Because there was a new mall opening in our town, right on I-4, Easy Target Mall wanted to put lots of billboards on Interstate-4. So they proceeded to buy several billboards right at ramp entrances and exits to new mall. OK. Not a bad strategy so far. While new mall was under construction, Easy Target Mall already had their billboards up. (Just to say, "Hey don't look at them, look at me!).

The first problem arose with first billboard series for Easy Target Mall. One had a very colorful background with a wrapped present on it. The copy read "It's somebody's birthday somewhere." My first reaction was "So? How does this pertain to me?" I thought about it as I continued down road (that's a bad sign if someone has to try to figure out your advertising message). Half way home it hit me "Oh," I said. "They are trying to imply that because someone is having a birthday somewhere, you might also happen to know someone having a birthday and that means you should go to Easy Target Mall to buy a gift. Right?"

Hands on buzzers. True of False. Do you think it's a good idea that consumer has to try to figure out what your ad means? Reading a billboard while going 55 miles an hour? If you even see it your lucky. How many of you think that consumers would even bother to try to figure out what it meant?? Oh, maybe one in 10,000? I started laughing and wished I had a piece of action in selling that billboard space to Easy Target Mall.

If you want your online business to succeed, you have to give it your own twist, not follow someone else like a blind sheep. Despite what Internet marketing gurus tell you, you will not likely be lying on beach any time soon just by following their methods.

As with anything, there are those few (very few) who will leap into forefront with a new idea or a new angle on an old idea. Then along come rest of us, and like blind sheep, we follow these gurus, expecting to reap exactly same rewards. It doesn't work that way.

First, we are no longer unique in marketplace. The particular guru we're following got there first.

Second, we aren't selling same product or service as our guru. Even if we're selling Internet marketing ideas, and so is our guru, we still have our own unique perspective on it. I hope we do, anyway. Otherwise, we're not going to have anything worthwhile to offer. If we're just carbon copies, people might just as well buy from our guru.

Third, we are never going to follow our guru's advice word-for- word or step-by-step. You and I will do it differently even if we've bought same "Business in a Box." If you apply yourself more than I do, you'll do better. If you buy advertising all over 'Net and I try to get along on a shoestring, you'll do better. You'll claim method works; I'll say it's bunk.

Or maybe I put my own twist on our "Business in a Box" and I make a killing while you're left with modest results. Now I claim it works, but you claim it's over-rated.

Are you getting picture?

Making money on Internet is not an exact science. It's more of an art. There are some basic principles that you must apply, but following every Internet guru around like a blind sheep will likely bankrupt you before you figure out your own secrets to Internet marketing. (Then you'll be next guru!)

Here are seven basic principles to follow. If you accomplish these, your success is guaranteed.

1. Find your niche market. We have lots of resources for finding your niche market on our web site: http://www.ablewebs.com/internet_marketing.htm#niche.

2. Make sure your niche market spends money on products or services like yours. This is a very important piece of research. If your target market doesn't have money to spend or doesn't spend money on that kind of product, pick a different product to market!

3. Build a mailing list. How? Capture email addresses on your web site, write an ezine, purchase opt-in subscribers.

4. Advertise. Where? Online classifieds, ezines, list services, print media. Put your URL on everything you send out whether it's in paper or digital format. Here are some ideas: http://www.ablewebs.com/newsletter1.htm#tips

5. Track ad results carefully so you know what's working. Use a spreadsheet, or purchase software designed for this purpose.