If you are new to internet marketing, you may worry that the gurus, the ones who came before you, control internet marketing and have already made the lion’s share of the profits. Think again. If anything, they have made it easier for those who come later to tap into that money pot.

My first experience with the Internet was in 1987. I was working with a Commodore Amiga computer that was the envy of my friends, because it had 25K of memory. don’t laugh. It was a great computer.

In 1994, using IBM, I launched my first Internet project, helping new musicians publish their work, find decent management, and network with each other. I was dealing with hundreds of subscribers using a slow modem and dial-up connection. My internet service provider did one thing: it allowed me to connect. I’ve never heard of an automated response. There were no subscription forms. Everything was done by email. I got shut down twice for spamming, because my ISP couldn’t believe anyone actually corresponded with that many people.

So why am I boring you with war stories about the old days? The pioneers of instant messaging not only earned their status as gurus, they also provided you with all the toys and tools you take for granted today. Thanks to them, you can work faster, easier and more profitably than you ever dreamed of doing. Envy them, but thank them too. They were the first searchers in the Internet gold rush. They are the ones who showed you where the gold is.

Well, bear with me as I take the quantum leap from the 21st century, back to the 1849 gold rush in California. Most of those early prospectors arrived in California with nothing but the T-shirts on their backs. They had a dream and absolutely no experience. Some of them found gold. Some of them died. Most of them went home broke. Sounds familiar? Remember that we are really talking about internet marketing, here.

Those same 49ers gave today’s prospectors the tools that are still in use today. Pickaxes and pans have given way to sluices and gutters that can soak up the gold lost by early prospectors. In fact, I have panned for gold in those very streams and walked away delighted with my few gold flakes. Metal detectors, scuba gear, four-wheel drive vehicles, and ATVs allow us to go where those early prospectors could never find gold they could never reach. At the current price of gold, I know that if I ever have to, I can get $100 a day out of those worked streams and there’s still a chance I can find the mother lode.

What I am trying to say is that there is still gold in “them thar” Internet hills. It’s not lying there on the ground. You have to dig deeper to find it (think niche marketing) and use more sophisticated tools to extract it, but it’s still there and those early seekers who are the gurus of today are the ones who showed you where the gold is. is and how to mine it. Go for it!