Let’s say you could become an expert in only ONE marketing discipline. Which of the following would you pick — and why? Which would serve you best either as a business owner, Internet marketer, or marketing professional?

A–Search engine marketing.
B–Online video.
C–Viral marketing.
D–Copywriting.
E–Graphic design.
F–Flash.
G–HTML.
H–Computer programming.
I–Social media.
J–Metrics and analytics.
K–Branding.
L–PR.
M–Direct marketing.
N–Planning and strategy.
O–Other (please specify).

As I see it, there are 6 factors responsible for any individual?s success or lack thereof, especially in business and wealth building.

They are:

>> Aptitude ? some people gravitate towards activities that make money (e.g., they are interested in investing or business) ? while others are naturally attracted to fields that are less lucrative (e.g., poetry, pottery).

>> Hard work ? some people are willing to put in grueling hours to achieve great wealth and material abundance. Others are not willing to sacrifice their hours for dollars, and would rather spend their time in other ways, from playing golf to going camping with their kids.

>> Luck ? no matter how much of a technical genius or savvy businessman Bill Gates is, a lot of his success was largely the result of being in the right place at the right time.

>> Perseverance ? many rich and successful people got that way simply because they persisted vs. the vast majority who give up at the first roadblock or failure.

>> Brains ? being smart ? either in the classic I.Q. smart or street smarts ? is a decided advantage. And despite what our Constitution says, not all of us are born equal in this regard.

>> Talent ? no matter how much I want it or how much I train, there is no chance on Earth of me becoming the next American Idol ? or even runner-up.

All of these factors obviously have a great effect on the course of your life. But of these, I believe aptitude is the most important ? and unfortunately, the one least under our control. I mean: you like what you like.

You read about those guys on Wall Street with their million-dollar bonuses. And maybe you turn green with envy. But in your mind you know — and say to yourself — ?Hey, that ain?t for me.?

The comforting old saying motivational speakers love to spout is that ?if you pursue your passion, the money will come.? Sadly, this often isn?t true.

My friend SB pursued his passion as a poet for over 40 years. He had dozens of his poems published in magazines. But he is neither rich nor famous ? although I believe (but don?t know for certain) that SB is pretty happy.

So, how can you find more success, peace, and happiness in your life? You have to make a decision. The decision is whether to pursue your passion and enjoy it and be at peace with that path in life ? even if you never make much money doing it.

Or, you can decide that your primary goal is money; i.e., You want to be rich, and you are willing to do whatever it takes to make that happen ? reasoning that once you are rich, then you can afford to indulge in your passions.

Which path have you chosen — and why?

Want to get into information marketing, but are intimidated by the idea of having to create a product?

Start small, with a product that does not require you to do any research or writing.

The quickest and easiest product to start with is to produce a 1-hour audio CD.

Depending on the topic, you can sell your single CD for $29 to $49 ? occasionally more.

Here are the steps?.

1–Select a topic.

What topic? More about that in a minute.

2–Make a list of questions your buyer is likely to have about the subject.

3–Find a subject matter expert who is willing to be interviewed by you and answer your questions.

4?Interview your expert for about an hour over a conference line. You ask the questions, and the expert answers.

5–Sell the audio as a CD, downloadable MP3, or transcript.

What will it cost to produce your first information product this way?

About an hour of your time, and none of your money ? since you can set up a conference line for the recording here for free:

www.freeConferenceCall.com

?What topic should I choose for my information product?? I can hear you asking.

That?s a good question.

I assume your goal is to generate thousands of dollars a week in passive income.

And you plan to make this money by selling your information products online.

The trick is NOT to write copy that somehow convinces the prospect to buy a product he doesn?t need.

It?s to create information products that deliver the desirable benefits your online prospects want, need, are starving for, and cannot live without.

The easiest information products to sell online: those that either make or save the buyer money.

Almost as good: information products that save the buyer time or aggravation.

Popular topics include: how to make major consumer purchases (e.g., buy a used car) … solve a problem (e.g., beat a speeding ticket) … or make money with a home business (e.g., become a home inspector).

I received 2 different mailings, promoting 2 different options trading systems, from 2 different companies. The headlines were:

Mailing A–Why Most Trading Systems Don’t Work … and Never Will.

Mailing B–Profit from the Only Market Timing System That Has NEVER Failed — and Never Will.

Which do you think works best, and why?

No one expects bad things ? and by bad, I mean catastrophically bad ? to happen to them.

Yet terrible tragedies happen to people who didn?t expect them every day of the year.

You can?t take a vaccine to immunize yourself against ill fortune.

But you can prepare for disasters before they happen.

That way, when they strike, you ? and your family ? will survive ? with the minimum hardship possible.

In particular, here are 5 things I think you should do now to protect yourself against future problems and headaches:

1. Become financially secure.

Money can protect you against many disasters, and make many others easier to bear.

How much wealth should you strive to accumulate?

I recommend a goal of $2 million in liquid assets.

Reason: $2 million invested at 10% annual return produces an income of $200,000.

If a catastrophic illness or other crisis prevents you from working, you can just live off your investments.

And if your business fails or your career derails, you likewise can live off your investment income.

2. Buy life insurance.

Until you accumulate the $2 million, you need to leave an estate big enough to ensure a comfortable life for your family ? preferably, without forcing your spouse to sell the house and make the kids move.

Although a $2 million estate would be ideal, your spouse can probably get by nicely even with a million dollars in term life insurance on you.

Tip: buy this life insurance while you are young, before you have a serious illness.

Should you get sick, and then decide to get life insurance, the cost will be prohibitive.

3. Buy health insurance.

More than 46 millions Americans do not have health insurance.

They are gambling their family?s entire financial future.

One serious illness can quickly wipe out your life savings.

Get health insurance now. If you can?t afford a private policy, join a group that offers discount coverage to members.

Tip: buy your insurance first. Then select doctors from the HMO?s list of approved physicians.

That way, your doctor visits are covered by your plan, greatly reducing your health care costs.

4. Create sources of passive income.

What happens if you injure your back ? or get a debilitating illness ? and can?t work?

Disability payments are often limited.

A better idea is to start creating sources of passive income now ? sources that make money for you without you working.

One idea: investment real estate ? rental properties.

Another: start an Internet marketing business that generates thousands of dollars in weekly revenues without any activity on your part.

Here?s a Web site where I discuss how you can make a six-figure passive income online with your own Internet marketing business:

www.theinternetmarketingretirementplan.com

5. Live for the moment.

This may seem contrary to the idea of ?prepare for the future.?

But it?s really not.

When I was young, my father did not earn a high income, and constantly worried about money.

Yet my mother ?forced? him to take at least one nice week-long vacation a year.

By some standards, these were far from ?luxury? vacations ? although they were very nice — but the cost certainly made him nervous.

Eventually, my father became ill from a cancer that would cause his death at a too-early age.

But by then, both he and my mother had a lifetime of great memories from their travels all over the globe with family and friends.

Had he waited until retirement, they wouldn?t have shared those memories ? because he died before he was able to quit working.

There are several companies selling programs that teach you how to make a little extra money in your spare time by participating in market research surveys or focus groups. I sell such a product myself: www.marketresearchwealth.com

One of these companies sent me an e-mail promoting their program. The subject line read: “Get Paid to Evaluate Products.”

The “get paid” part sounds good. But “evaluate products”? Is that something you are dying to try? I thought not.

We get good results marketing our program online. The e-mail subject lines we use are “Get Paid to Give Your Opinion” and “Make $125 an Hour Giving Your Opinion.”

I think “give your opinion” is stronger than “evaluate products,” because most of us love to give our opinions — on just about anything. And in my subject line, you now get paid handsomely to do it.

My “Get Paid to Give Your Opinion” is an example of a swipe file in action: I borrowed it from an ad Richard Armstrong wrote to sell a book on how to get comped at casinos. His headline:

“Get Paid to Gamble”

Whenever there is a recession, all the ad magazines run articles extolling to their readers the importance of continuing to advertise in a recession.

Since these articles are usually contributed by ad agency owners and marketing consultants, one could make an argument that they are self-serving.

After all, the marketing consultants and ad agencies make money only when companies buy their marketing and advertising services.

Do they REALLY believe that spending money on marketing in a recession is smart business?

Or are they pushing clients to keep spending so the consultancies and ad agencies won’t starve?

During a recession, when money is tight, should companies ramp up their marketing activities and spending … keep them steady … cut back … or stop altogether?

What say you?

Today I got a fundraising letter from Ocean Conservatory containing — you guessed it — free address labels.

The reason fundraisers enclose these free address labels, of course, is what Robert Cialidini in his book Influence identifies as the principle of reciprocity:

If I give you something (labels), you will feel obliged to give me something in return (a donation).

A free gift enclosed in a direct mail package is called a “freemium.”

It’s not that I object to free address labels as a freemium.

But I already have a whole drawer full of them.

What do you think fundraisers could use instead of address labels as a freemium that would be just as appreciated — and affordable?

I’ve seen a few other freemiums. Catholic charities have sent rosary beads and crosses. An Indian Mission sent a dream catcher and a sacred prayer.

Any other ideas out there that can get me free stuff in my mail other than all these address labels?