Hey guys,

I've decided that my personal blog over at RyanLucht.com is going to be about differentiating between internet marketing and true entrepreneurship, making that journey myself and teaching others to do the same.

I think there's a pretty big blur in that area and some people who think they are really entrepreneurs aren't. They're just marketers. I think it's super important to make a distinction, partly because of all the scam tactics used to sell different internet marketing products as "business-in-a-box" solutions.

I decided to get a baseline of what "internet marketers" think by heading over to DigitalPoint and WarriorForum, two forums that have varying levels of respectability in the IM world

I should probably head over to BlackHatWorld as well, but I'm thinking the responses there would get kinda scary. There's a lot of "get rich quick easy" type of people there who like to post scammy craigslist ads.



ANYWAYS... Here are some of the bullet points I collected from two threads, and I'm fairrrly sure that some of these ideas on the differentiation between internet marketing and entrepreneurship aren't true. Since this is the Fastlane Forum, I'd trust you guys the most on your opinions, so what's your take on all this?

Important Points/Distinctions from the DigitalPoint Forum:

• Mindset Difference: Internet marketers want to “make money”, whereas Entrepreneurs want to “build businesses”. (I agree with that!)
• Internet Marketers are entrepreneurs when they work for themselves (Not so sure about that one…)
• both IM and entrepreneurship have “business” in common (<- I have no idea what that means, I think whoever posted that was just BSing)
• Entrepreneurs carry more of a burden and have to handle more aspects of a business then IMers do. (I agree with that!)
• Entrepreneurs link together many aspects of a market/business. Internet Marketers just match buyers and products. (I think IMers do more then that, but OK. That’s one opinion).
• Internet Marketing is just the “selling” part (I think that’s true sometimes, in some cases.)
• You aren’t advertising products in IM, you’re retailing them. (I disagree. See below)
• Affiliate sales take place on a merchant’s website. You only market the product. (I think that’s true)

Important Points/Distinctions from the WarriorForum Thread:

• Many Internet Marketers are Infopreneurs
• IMers (the good ones at least) are providing value to different customers. If you create info products/blogs, you have “customers” who are your readers or actual purchasers. Affiliates have customers too, and they are the MERCHANTS you are promoting!
• You should be able to write a business plan, have assets for, and sell an “internet marketing” business, if it really is a business. (These top 3 points have been GREAT!)
• One poster thought that an Internet Marketer became an entrepreneur as soon as they were committed to IM and mentally declared “this is my business”. (I’m not so sure of that…)
• Internet Marketing can be one part of an Entrepreneur’s “job”/duties/tasks
• Anybody who adds value to customers and makes a profit off of it is an entrepreneur. (Sounds nice in theory, but I’m still a bit skeptical)
• Legally (and in one interpretation of dictionary definitions), you (as an Internet Marketer) are operating a business. And that makes you an entrepreneur. (Again, this is another case where I can’t agree/disagree right now.)
• As soon as you do some sort of business that produces a steady income you are an entrepreneur.

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I wrote the blog post about all this here: What is Entrepreneurship vs. Internet Marketing?: Responses from Forums | RyanLucht.com

but, the main point in me starting this thread is to hear your responses to those ideas and also to get new insights on the difference between internet marketing and entrepreneurship.

I just got done posting this in another thread giving a bit of advice. The difference is one is a means to an end. The other is a... personality? Selling online, selling from a fruit stand, selling from the trunk of your car, it's all just means to an end.

I don't think you can really compare the two. Maybe you could compare the mentality of the two types of people...

I didn't intend to provide any answers with this post just pose another question: if what I say is true, what is the definition of an entrepreneur?

Internet marketer/marketing is one of those terms that people sling around a lot, and many of those people have a different perception of the definition. I think most people give more credence to the term than is justified. To me it simply means marketing on the internet. Unless you're selling your services as a marketer, I wouldn't even qualify it as a business or a business model. It's simply an avenue for presenting your offer via the internet medium.

You'll find a lot of folks in the forums you mentioned who think they are in the internet marketing business. Literally. If you ask them what business they are in, they will say internet marketing. Which spawns an entirely new debate of semantics. What's the difference between running an internet based business and making money online?

I think taking into consideration who answered your question will reveal much about the quality of the answers you received. Were they people well-versed in business, were they dabblers, or were they people answering to raise their post counts or get their sigs seen?

John Rogers said:

You'll find a lot of folks in the forums you mentioned who think they are in the internet marketing business. Literally. If you ask them what business they are in, they will say internet marketing.

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I think that's because internet marketing is used to define acts such as:

jazzfreak11 said:

Affiliate sales take place on a merchant’s website. You only market the product. (I think that’s true)

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And everything that goes into supporting it. When you ask the difference between an internet marketer and an entrepreneur, you're automatically implying this definition.

I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing either. It's accurate, so long as you use it that way.


And if that's the definition the difference is clear; IMers focus almost exclusively on marketing, often without creating value of their own, while entrepreneurs create their own value. Entrepreneurs use internet marketing as a tactic, while IMers use it as a vehicle.

Hey guys i have slightly different view about internet/affiliate marketing. Good affiliate marketers have to hone and develop a very valuable sought after skill and that is to market products and services online. Its a specialized skill thats very valuable online because without marketing techniques and strategies its very difficult to sell your goods and services online. Merchants are willing to pay massive commissions because they know the value that an affiliate marketer can bring to their business. I believe affiliate marketing can be an excellent business model if only their is a WIN WIN WIN relationship. The Merchant wins by getting more sales, the affiliate wins by making sales and the buyer of the product wins by getting an excellent product and service thats value for money. Unfortunately most marketers are out there just trying to make money online by selling crappy products online instead of implementing this long term sustainable business model. Like to hear what you guys think.

Internet marketing is a tool (skill), entrepreneurship is state of mind attitude and a much ''wider'' skill.

I think it's important to make the distinction between affiliate marketer and internet marketer here, as the terms are being used to mean the same thing here. Simple version: An affiliate marketer would be pushing other people's products, but an internet marketer doesn't necessarily push other peoples product or their own. They could also work for clients that want their websites marketed. Marketing is basically getting eyeballs to see whatever it is you want them to see. Doesn't always have to be a product.

Anyway, as for the OP, the difference is a mindset and how you approach it. Marketers can and do indeed build a business. It's how you look at the end result that is the difference and it's all in the execution.

I think it would help if you shared your own definitions of these terms.

CMCarlin said:

Anyway, as for the OP, the difference is a mindset and how you approach it. Marketers can and do indeed build a business. It's how you look at the end result that is the difference and it's all in the execution.

I think it would help if you shared your own definitions of these terms.

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Honestly, I'm not sure of my own definitions. That's why I'm asking others around me: to try and start developing some definitions of my own.

Here's one thing my mind has been focusing on lately while reading the Fastlane book: passive income. The problem with a lot of "blackhat internet marketing" or scammy, thin affiliate sites is that they aren't truly passive income. It's always a fight to stay at the top of Google or to keep scamming people (blackhatters) or to do "traffic generation".

On the other hand, being a producer vs. a consumer can develop passive income if you're selling info products online as many marketers are, and blogging is a content seedling like MJ talks about in the Fastlane book.

Both businesses have there own worth and values . You can not compare them equivalently . The person who is best at doing Entrepreneruship should do it , and who is best at doing internet marketing should do internet marketing business . Every one should do what they know the best , there should never be an in between stage .

They say almost all direct response marketers end up broke.

I believe true entrepreneurs are agents of change...

The "is it a business" test:

Can you sell it for more than 2 years revenue?

NO = It's a moneymaker, not a business. If it is a business, the barrier to entry is probably too low.

YES = Probably.

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This is one thing I find kinda humorous. I have dabbled in a lot of different areas and mostly focus on almost a 50/50 mix of building & selling authority affiliate sites, and as a teacher/producer in the affiliate industry.

Over the years, it's grown into a pretty decent little enterprise.

What's ironic is that I'm pretty much the longest-standing tenant in my office building. Almost all the other B&M tenants with a "real" business simply can't hack it. They move in for almost a year, and then they throw in the towel.

I guess I'm doing something right...

The thing is... internet or not - doesn't matter.

That's just a medium. That's ALL it is.

This is like asking if a business in Vancouver is a "real" business.

The question has no context. (ie. There's a big difference between panhandling in Vancouver VS. Opening a Bank, the medium really has no bearing).

They say almost all direct response marketers end up broke.

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That comes down to the actual person and their money-management.

DR marketing can also generate the most substantial revenues given the infrastructure, overhead and leverage advantages compared to other businesses.

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In the end you have to really ask yourself what your strengths are.

One might say the same thing about an author like JK Rowling. Does she have a business?

My response:

Does it matter?

-Chris