The average person is bombarded with over 3,000 marketing messages a day. That's up from 300 in 1993. And on the web it's even worse.  You're dealing with super short attention spans, a whole lot of noise, and competition is just a click away. So how do you cut through all the clutter and become an internet marketing powerhouse? Follow these steps and don't be shocked to see your internet sales double.

1. Have a need for speed.

Studies show the average person will wait just 7 seconds for your website to load before they move on or click the dreaded back button. It doesn't matter how great the content is on your website if it never gets seen. You may feel the urge to load up your pages with stunning high resolutions photos and other graphics but be warned -- that's only going to make your page load more slowly. To make your pages load fast you'll need to keep it lightweight. That means you'll want to limit graphics to a few, well optimized images.

2. A concise headline.

Congratulations, you've gotten your pages to load in under 7 seconds and now people are actually seeing your content but wait... Research also shows even after a web page loads the average person will only give you 4 seconds to determine whether they're on the right page. This is where you need to have a clear and concise headline front and center of your landing page. The headline better mention what the content of your page is about or once again that person is going to move on.

3. Call to action. 

You've engaged your audience, and now they know they're in the right place. However studies show the average person will only skim the page and look for what to do next. Don't make this a guessing game or a mystery. You need a strong call to action and you need this to be the most obvious thing to do on the page. It can be a big button that says "Buy", a link that says "Continue", or in some cases it could simply be a phone number you want the prospect to call. Whatever the goal of your webpage is -- that's your call to action.

4. A reason to give you more information.

Nobody wants to read a boring newsletter that comes via email. To gather email addresses and other contact information you must provide your audience with a compelling reason to give it to you. For example_ You can ask people to provide their email address to receive a coupon for 25% off or to get a free sample of your product. The less information you ask for and the higher perceived value of the reward for giving that contact information the more people are going to give it to you.

5. A way to follow up. 

When it comes to marketing you must follow up or be mediocre. Follow up is the difference between barely making it and being a sales superstar. Studies show the average person won't buy a product until after the seventh time they hear about it. When it comes to online marketing you need to follow up diligently. The best way to do this is give away something of high perceived value on your website in exchange for contact information. You can give away a free trial, a free sample, a discount coupon. The higher the perceived value of the thing you're giving away the more people will be likely to hand over their contact data.

Once you have that contact data it's essential you use it by sending regular auto-response emails and broadcasts. Auto-responses are scheduled emails that are sent to your leads at regular intervals reminding them of your existence and why they need you. The more compelling and valuable the content in these follow ups the more likely people will view your company favorably and ultimately do business with you.

So that's it - the 5 musts of internet marketing. If you're not sure where to start go to WebStarts.com and sign up to create a free website. Everything starts with having a place of your own online and WebStarts takes the technical headache out of getting your website online.