The first thing a newbie learns when landing on Internet is that it is full of hype. Hype this. Hype that. But when you cut through hype, there is one simple truth. If you want to make real money on Internet, you have to build an opt-in list.

This is simple truth gurus understand. They are, after all, gurus. They are not wizards, nor magicians. They know that making money on Internet is a very simple mathematical equation. A small opt-in list equals candlelight dinners in basement rec room, savouring macaroni and cheese in front of TV. A big, bulging opt-in list equals candlelight dinners at Chez Ritz, enjoying baked brie and filet mignon while overlooking lake.

That's why gurus earn so much money.

But just what is an opt-in list? Simply put, it is a list of email addresses belonging to people who have given you permission to send them messages. Anything else is spam. Make sure your list is opt-in.

What kind of lists do people opt-in to? All kinds and all topics - from grasshopper recipes to hotwiring space shuttles. But if you really want to make it work, you need to create a newsletter (probably on a topic with wider appeal than hotwiring space shuttles!).

Why? Consider Madam B. (not her real name, by way) She sells beauty and cosmetics, and she was frustrated because so few people were signing up to receive "updates on new products". Would you sign up? Only if you have already purchased from her a few times, making you one of her few extremely loyal customers.

On other hand, suppose you were offered chance to sign up for a "free weekly beauty tip", which is what we advised her to do. Now she has chance to pick up prospects who have never bought from her, who will read her weekly beauty tip, and - this is juicy part - they will buy many of "featured products of week" highlighted with weekly beauty tip.

There is a second reason you want your opt-in list to be a newsletter, not just a product announcement. The newsletter builds trust and is read. If all your subscribers see are sales pitches, their level of trust sink lower than lost city of Atlantis. And we all buy from people we trust, not from underwater snake oil vendors.

In fact, if your emails are just sales pitches, why would anybody bother opening them? You have to build a strong relationship with your subscribers, so put as much of your own personality into it and write your text so that you speak directly to them.

If you want to get rave reviews on any soup you make, first element is to make sure your loved one first has a long, steady diet of military food. Here’s our story:

When my husband and I were first married, he was in military and had lived for months off of military food. We purchased a small trailer, while waiting for it to be delivered and hooked up, we lived with another young military couple for a few weeks.

All 4 of young adults in this household had many responsibilities and lots going on with life, so housekeeping end of things were pretty lax. One evening we all pitched in and started cleaning. There was a pan that had several days old, dried macaroni and cheese stuck all over pan. The husband told wife to put hot soapy water in it and let it soak.