There is always a lot going on. Some big events are happening this year. Here are just a few of headliners:

§ In the UK this weekend, there is a long holiday weekend in celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II which marks the 60th anniversary of her accession to the throne.

§ In June, millions of soccer fans will be watching the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, held in Poland and Ukraine.

§ The 2012 Summer Olympic Games will take place in London in July and August.

§ The US presidential elections will be held in November 2012 where incumbent President Barack Obama is running for a second and final term of office.

All of these are huge events that will covered extensively by the media and it is very likely that somewhere in the world somebody is talking about one of these things right now. Of course, there are many more events that happen every day that don’t make the headlines but do affect our daily lives.

The big stories tend to make the news about your online business ventures seem very small. Are people really going to want to know about your new website or a new product that you have for sale with your online business?

Well, yes they are if you make sure that what you have to say is relevant and has a direct benefit to them. Let’s look at those big events mentioned just before. They are headline events, but they will not appeal to everybody. If you have no interest in soccer, you may not of even known about the European Football Championship this year. Let’s say you are a fan of gymnastics, chances are that you’re going to follow what happens at the Olympic gymnastics tournaments – but maybe you won’t really that interested in the rowing. We all have different things that appeal to us.

Here are 10 questions that you need to answer for your online business to succeed:

1. Why have you created an online business?

2. What do you want it to achieve?

3. Who is your target customer?

4. How will you reach or communicate to them?

5. When will you reach or communicate to them?

6. Who are your competitors?

7. What is your marketing budget?

8. How will track the effectiveness of your marketing?

9. How will you get your customers to buy from you again?

10. And, most importantly: What is the core benefit, the single simple message that you are communicating to your potential customer?

I have worked in the advertising and marketing industry for over 26 years and it is surprising how many business owners do not know the answers to these questions – especially the last one. These questions apply whether you are running an offline or online business. The last question, number 10, is known as the ‘Single Minded Proposition’ or SMP. Sometimes, it is also referred to as the Unique Selling Proposition (USP). The simple reason for the SMP is: If you don’t know why customers should buy from you, then how to do expect them to know?

Take the time to carefully consider the answers to these questions. Once you have them, you have the basic foundation for your online business which will help you to get it heard above the noise of everything else that is happening in this busy world.

The online business opportunities is one of the most sought after subjects on the Internet today. Affiliate marketing has become one of the hottest ways to make money on the Internet.

When people first learn about working from home on the Internet and how they can enrich themselves monetarily, it give them hope for the their future. Many will struggle for years just to make ends meet and live on the bare necessities of life. Making more money gives the since of security for many that struggle from day to day.

Many that are struggling today have turned to alternative sources to make money and they have this opportunity presented by the technological advancement in Internet marketing of today. The Internet offers one of the great opportunities of today and that is, the average person can take advantage of having the ability to start an online business and become financially free in the process.

Years ago it was not possible to start a home based business and have the ability to build a worldwide organization but, thanks to the Internet, that is possible today. Many will attempt to take advantage of this opportunity for themselves and in their enthusiasm to start a home based business and work from home, they will fall prey to scams and the hype that is pervasive on the Internet today.

When people make the decision to be debt free and start a new online business opportunity, they begin to look on the Internet for a company to become an affiliate of, this is where caution should come in on the part of the entrepreneur. There’s a boat load of companies out there on the Internet that is just waiting to take your money.

It would be well worth your time to do the necessary home work for each company you are considering joining. Many are enticed by the fact a company is just starting out and if they join now they will be one of the first and be on the ground floor, the catch phrase is, ground floor opportunity, you will hear this often with new start-up programs. Many are taken in by companies that advertise that this is a ground floor opportunity, sometimes the ground floor opportunity works and sometimes they don’t work.

I have been caught up in the “ground floor” fiasco and I made some money in the process. When I joined a start-up company I was # 17 in the matrix, pretty good spot to be in right? Anytime a new start- up company starts, they first have a pre-launch in order to begin to build the matrix before the launch date. So, it makes a big difference if you’re in the pre-launch stage or you get in after the launch date. If you get in after the launch date you could have 6000 affiliates in the business before you.

Here is the reality of the ground floor scenario, when you join a business, it can be an old established business (this is the best to be in by the why) or you can be in on the newest business on the web, the reality of it all is, when you join a business, you are the ground floor of your own business, It makes no difference if there is thousands before you because, it’s all in knowing how to market your business and implementing the newest marketing strategies to build your business.

If you become knowledgeable in marketing, you too can build your business from the ground up, just like thousands are doing today.

What kind of company to join you may ask, my choice was easy, I joined a business that has been around for a while, I was looking for longevity of a company at least five years or more. Second, the payout was a minimum of 70% payout to the members. Thirdly, the company has to have a worldwide distribution network, and more than one product and has a steady growth pattern from the starting of the business, these are just some of the main points I look for in making a choice of a business.