As the US economy faces a sour point, many people are faced with the prospect of diminishing work opportunities. Wages may be decreasing, fewer promotions become available, while food and gas prices continue to soar.

More and more people are learning how to make make money online, or more importantly to make a career change. What is the secret of those who make six or seven figures year?

How do they make so much money online? How do I go about making money online?

There are a number of key ingredients that you must have to be successful when learning how to make money online.

1.) Find a mentor
You must have someone to model who already has the results you are looking for. They must be able to show you step by step how they got their results, and they must be willing to share that information with you. It is most helpful if they have a financial interest in your success, such as making a profit from your sales as well.

2.) Marketing system
There should be a marketing system already in place that is as turnkey as possible. It should automate all the boring, repetitive tasks that cause most people to fail, such as email follow up/autoresponders, and there needs to be an efficient sales funnel.

3.) Referrals/Testimonials
There needs to be others who you can speak to who have achieved similar results as a result of using your mentor's system. Ask to speak with them and get their feedback.

4.) Profitable business model
Obviously you want to make money online to actually make a profit, right? Making money online means nothing if 110% of that money goes into your business. If you make $100 for a sale, but it cost you $110 on marketing, this is obviously not a very profitable business model.

This is precisely why I recommend:

5.) A Top Tier Direct sales model
The reason this is so important is that you make your profit today. Not waiting for a commission check to come in next month, not waiting for an MLM to develop over a couple of years, fighting off the attrition rate to receive the fabled "residual income check." The beauty of direct sales is getting money in your pocket today to reinvest in your business and make a bigger profit tomorrow.

I highly recommend a top tier direct sales model, which can net a profit of $1000-$10,000 per sale. And any successful sales consultant can tell you that it takes no more effort to generate a $1000 sale than it does to generate a $10,000 sale thanks to automated follow up and back end sales.

Conclusion

Making money online requires research to satisfy the above requirements. You must research who you want as a mentor, a proven profitable market, others who are experiencing similar results, and a model to make you money ASAP. Then use applied discipline to sell to that market over a long period of time.