Editor Jay Beavy of the Second Fortune blog on Internet marketing (IM) talks to John Vinturella, author of Release Your Inner Entrepreneur (RYIE).

Why don't I hear the "e" word that much in the Internet marketing world?

More to the point, most IM practitioners are wondering what an "ivory tower" concept like entrepreneurship has to do with Internet marketing. The answer is ... EVERYTHING! We think RYIE's subtitle says it all:

Because you don't want to just build a list...
You want to build a BUSINESS.

Did you consider doing the book with an IM "biggie?"

The "gurus" that I contacted about joint venturing on this book had various comments, but several indicated to me a feeling that the rank-and-file IMers are not quite up to talking about so complex a topic as business-building. Other comments were that the topic is too abstract, that you mostly want to hear about blogging, clicking, autoresponding, and pinging.

Now, I don't minimize the importance of these topics, but I feel you will be far more effective if these go from center-stage to merely techniques that help us toward our goal of business and financial success.

Still, there is some reason why 98.5% of IMers never make money at it. But they are the source of the fortunes that the other 1.5% make. This failure rate is not based on any scientific evidence, but seems to have become the consensus of industry observers. So, unless you are already TOO successful at making money online, read our book, because we are going to develop some perspectives that will help you to, as they say, "reach the next level."

How will reading the book change the odds of success?

The American Heritage Dictionary defines an entrepreneur as "a person who organizes, operates, and assumes the risk for business ventures." If you are not satisfied with the performance of your business to-date, take a minute to assess how you are doing at the "big three," organizing, operating, and assuming risk.

RYIE leads you through assessing the approach to the marketplace that works best for you, while addressing the "real" opportunities out there. It then helps you to make realistic estimates of the time and resources required to be successful. You then draw up a broad and flexible plan that will lead to a successful implementation.

Most readers go into this process while trying to dodge the "hard stuff," like self-assessment, forecasting, and business planning. But you avoid them at your own peril.

More next time...