Make money online. It's a popular theme, and it's what we all want.

And the gurus are right there to help us. They constantly assail us with offers and programs to help us make money online. Each new offering is guaranteed to make us rich in no time flat. Sometimes in days!

But there is a four letter word that is never mentioned by the gurus when they are hawking their wares that are guaranteed to make money online in just a matter of days. Work. That's the four letter word that is never mentioned.

Anyone who has been marketing online for a while knows that work is an important element in success online. It takes a great deal of effort to make money online and to run a successful online business.

Granted, we are not doing heavy manual labor, but in order to get your site indexed and get a good position in the search engines, it takes a diligent and ongoing amount of effort.

To make money online, long term, you first have to make sure you have something that there is a market for. You also have to make sure that the market you are targeting has the discretionary income to purchase what you offer.

These are only the beginning steps. Next you have to get your site indexed by the search engines, and that takes some time. Once your site is indexed you need to turn your efforts to getting some positioning in the search engines, or pay for advertising so that you can get traffic and begin making money online.

The internet is a great opportunity. It is the one place where you can build a business and use sweat equity as your biggest investment. It is true, that a moneymaking business online can be built for little outlay of cash if you are willing to invest a lot of time and be patient.

It is unfortunate, however, that many would be marketers have gotten discouraged before their efforts were realized online and just given up.

So how do you make money online?

1. To make money online you have to select the right market and a product to fulfill the needs and desires of that market.

2. You must determine if the market you choose has the discretionary income to purchase what you are marketing.

3. You will need to build a good website from which to market your product, and if needed provide a payment processing system.

4. You will need to market your site to the search engines, or pay to get traffic to your site if you want to make money online.

5. You will need to maintain and update your site, and see to the needs of your visitors.

This is just an overview, and by no means all-inclusive, of what is necessary to make money online.

Yes, many of the programs, software, and marketing info the gurus tout are helpful in marketing online, but there is work involved. And it takes time. If you are just getting started online be advised that you will have to put in some work and it will take time. There are no miracles.

Don't believe in miracles. This is business and there is work to be done. Stay focused, be diligent in your efforts, have the patience to give your business the time it takes to get rolling and you will be rewarded for your effort when you begin to make money online.