Seems reasonable, right?

Then why after people read the 5 reasons people fail on the Internet below, they call me and say they are still doing some of these things because of this excuse or that excuse? Sounds like insanity to me. But you be different today. Here are the reasons most entrepreneurs and businesses don't make money on the net.

Some people put up a website, join a bunch of affiliate programs, submit their website to the top 800 search engines, and then just sit there. Their website has all sorts of products and services. They are selling flowers, kitchen appliances, pet supplies, books, travel services, etc. What does all these products have in common? NOTHING!

When you get on the Internet to sell, you must target your market. Either you are selling to pet lovers or gardeners. You can't do both from the same website. Visitors to your site want to spend money. But they will only spend money at a website that seems focused on a particular subject. Don't be an online flea market.

It amazes me how people think that people on the Internet will just find their website on their own without them taking some serious action. Tell me if the following situation makes sense to you: You open a store in your local area selling picture frames. You have a street address. How many customers do you think will find you if you don't advertise your new business? No one.

Without traffic your business is dead. Traffic is like oxygen, without it you die. Traffic brings you potential customers. Some potential customers turn into money spending customers. That is the sequence for making money in any business. The Internet is no different. If you don't do everything possible to attract visitors to your website to purchase your goods, you won't have any sales.

I know of a website owner who gets only 5 or 6 visitors a day. No kidding. And he's shocked that his business isn't making him any money. If a traditional business gets only 5 or 6 people coming through its door a day, gets what that business does? It goes out of business! You must make traffic generation a priority.

Some people treat there Internet business like a side hobby: sometimes they work it, most of the time they don't. If nothing good is playing on TV, they work their business. If a hot movie is showing, they don't. Is this you?

A very easy way to tell that someone doesn't take their web business seriously is by looking at the tools they use to operate their web business.

Tools like:

• free websites 
• free email accounts 
• free autoresponders 
• not responding to their email for a week 
• not listing their phone number on their website

These are clear indications that the business owner is just playing around.

The purpose of a website is to first educate and then to sell. Most websites do neither. If your website has very little useful content, don't expect people to stay and explore your site. Remember, people are on the Internet to find solutions to their problems. They use search engines, directories, and read ezines to find websites that can solve their problems.

If your website doesn't solve a problem, a specific problem, your website won't make much money. Your contact information, address and phone number should be clearly visible. It should be easy to navigate your site. Your site should be easy to read and fast to download. It should not be graphics intensive, it should be content intensive. And, then, after you've educated your visitor, you should move them to your sales letter and sell your product.

Products that sell the best on the Internet are products you can't easily run down to your local mall and purchase. If you are selling flowers, pens, pet supplies, etc - it will be hard to make a profit online because you aren't really selling a product that solves a problem.

However, if you sell a type of flower or a line of pet supplies that can't be easily found in a store, now you have a good start. The Internet is the best place to sell unconventional items. When you brainstorm a product to sell online, think to yourself, can this item be easily purchased in the outside world? If so, you may want to consider another product.

These are just 5 of the biggest problems I see that cause failure on the Internet. They can all be solved. Are you doing any of the above in your current web business? If so, stop it.