It's been said time and again that approximately 95 percent of all online businesses fail. I don't know how accurate that statement is, but if it's anywhere close to the truth, I know the reason why. Besides being woefully unprepared and underfinanced, too many online businesses try to reinvent the wheel.

In other words, instead of applying sound, proven advertising and marketing principles, most online businesses never even bother to learn the basics. Instead of focusing on trends and what people are actually buying, too many online businesses try to force-feed people new products and ideas.

Now, there's absolutely nothing wrong with trying to be a pioneer. And there's certainly nothing wrong with trying to come up with "the next big thing." But before you even attempt to undertake something of such magnitude, you really have to know what you're doing. And unless you have deep pockets and the kind of marketing expertise that is required to "finesse" people into trying something new, I recommend you take the path of least resistance.

Blazing new trails usually requires a great deal of luck, money, creativity and marketing expertise. The kind of resources that, quite frankly, most companies just don't have.

And even if they do have the resources, that's still no guarantee of success. Here's a perfect example of what I'm talking about:

For over a century now, Coca-Cola has been the number one soft drink company in the world. They have vast financial resources and some of the greatest marketing minds available at their disposal. Despite all of that, Coca-Cola failed miserably when it introduced New Coke to the public back in 1985. Why? What happened?

Well, there have been many theories floated over the years, as to why New Coke fizzled out. Like everyone else, I have my own theory. A very simple theory...

People didn't like New Coke.

It's as simple as that.

Despite all the research that was done, and despite the thousands of taste tests conducted; the buying public just didn't like the taste of New Coke. And absolutely nothing Coca-Cola said or did could change that one simple fact.

Unfortunately, that turned out to be a very costly lesson for Coca-Cola. They lost millions of customers to their bitter rival and number two soft drink giant, Pepsi.

They also took a bath financially.

Yes, Coca-Cola is still the number one soft drink. But the gap has been narrowed significantly. Coca-Cola was able to survive a near catastrophic miscalculation, because they had billions of dollars behind them. Other companies who badly miscalculate and who don't have those kind of financial resources, generally end up going out of business.

That's basically why so many dot-com companies are dropping like flies. And will continue to do so. To be sure, there have been many, many great success stories throughout history, regarding new and groundbreaking products. The "love drug," Viagra is a perfect example of one such current product. However, generally speaking, you'll incur fewer risks and make a lot more money if you just sell what's HOT!

So, what's the hottest product in the world? Information, my friend, information. And while it's true sex sells, information has always been king! And probably always will be.

The best thing about information is that it comes in a variety of forms. Be it ebooks, software, ezines, newsletters, reports, whatever. Just select a form of information that interests you, learn everything you can about the product and then sell it!

If you would like to start selling information, the fastest, easiest and least expensive way to get started is with affiliate or associate programs. If you're not familiar with the term, it basically means that you sign on to sell someone else's product or service for a percentage of the profits -- usually around 20 percent.

Most affiliate programs are free to join. What's great about affiliate, or associate programs (as they're sometimes called), is that they're completely hands-off.

You don't have to concern yourself with inventory, shipping, collections, customer complaints, follow-up or anything else. Everything is taken care of for you by the company (or companies) with whom you choose to affiliate yourself. All you have to do is advertise and promote their product or service. You can check out thousands of affiliate programs at the following websites:

http://www.associateprograms.com

http://www.affiliatesdirectory.com

http://www.clickbank.com

You'll find it a great way to make an online income without the financial dangers of being an Internet pioneer.

Dave Turner is a writer and entrepreneur with over twenty years of marketing experience. Questions? Comments? Dave can be reached at dave@internet-marketing-xpert.com Website: http://www.internet-marketing-xpert.com/Internet marketing expert will teach you how to kiss your job goodbye forever!