Virtually every 'Make Money Online' course, ebook, website, blog, etc. will explain the goal of internet marketing is to have a system that will make you money on autopilot.

find a product or offer you would like to promote.
create articles promoting that product or offer.
get traffic to those articles.

Laid out like that it really looks simple doesn't it? You can even do it with or without your own website. Just 3 steps to make money online!

The better ebooks, courses and seminars add two extra steps to take advantage of an old marketing adage called the 'Rule of 7'. So, if you've been looking for the answer to "How to make money online?" then here is the formula to follow:

find a product to sell.
set up a website targeted for people who want to buy that product.
entice visitors to submit email address for newsletter.
use an email autoresponder to send series of newsletters promoting the paid product.
set up a traffic campaign to get visitors to your website who want to buy that product.

Those 5 basic steps give you a powerful (yet still simple) formula to make money online.

At the basic level, it really is that simple. That's why online marketing appeals so much to the 'Get Rich Quick' seeker. The problem is that 'simple' does not necessarily mean 'easy'. Where it gets more complicated is in making sure each of those steps are done effectively.

This is where the 'Get Rich Quick' seekers jump off the bandwagon and start yelling SCAM. As I said above, 'simple' isn't the same thing as 'easy'. While the 'Get Rich Quick' books do overhype how easy it is to get results, it's still a fact that this is a proven system.

If you really want to learn how to make money online, you need to ignore the hype. There is no way that anyone can guarantee that you can make XX amount of money in XX amount of time. There are too many variables that have to be taken into consideration. Everything from how good you are at niche research all the way through how good you are at understanding the material and following instructions.

The most important things you have to ask yourself are "What are your actual expectations?", and "How well do you understand what your actually doing for each step?".

Your expectations will determine how long you'll follow through with the plan. If you expect to make $10,000 in two weeks, and after 3 weeks you still haven't made a sale then you'll probably give up and call it a scam, (That's usually caused by salespages and info marketers making unrealistic promises). Even more importantly is how well you understand what needs to be done for each step. Even if it is possible to make $10,000 in two weeks, it isn't likely to happen unless you do everything exactly right.

Your expectation shouldn't be to make $10,000 in two weeks. Instead, your goal should be to learn exactly how to do each step necessary for a successful marketing campaign.

So, if you've been searching google, forums, blogs, ebooks, etc. for the answer to "How to make money online?", or even worse looking for "How to Get Rich Quick?", then you're asking the wrong questions. You've probably already found that answer over and over again, but keep ignoring it because that 3 step or 5 step formula I outlined above isn't complete enough for you to understand how to make it work.

Instead you should be asking questions about how to do each of those steps; "How do I find a good product to sell?", "How do I find the best niche to market in?", "How do I set up a website that effectively promotes a product?" "How do I write articles that will lead a prospect to buy?", "How do I entice visitors to submit their emails?", "How do I get visitors to my website that are looking to buy?"

If you search the Google you'll find those questions and many more are answered for free in many threads on this forum.

"How do I make money online?" is the wrong question. You just have to learn to ask the right questions. Finding answers to all those more specific questions are how you'll learn to make money online.