I didnt know what making a contribution meant, or what its value was until I finished 7 years of university and college, and was about 3 years into my first real job. I would work day-to-day on a job that gave me incredible work skills and knowledge that I still use today. But it wasnt until someone higher up in the organization empowered me to contribute to the organization as a whole rather than to just to one separate part that I realized the true meaning of contribution. Not only did this make me feel more important, but it gave my job more meaning, and energized me from within. In fact, I was glowing, and very eager to contribute more and more, not because it paid me more it didnt but because it made me feel good to bring value to the organization beyond the responsibilities of my actual job. In our businesses we must do the same if we wish to achieve success. By this I mean making a significant contribution of value, going above and beyond the call of duty, and thinking beyond the monetary rewards at the end.

There are many ways in our online businesses that we can make a significant contribution. For me, it started with participating in discussion forums. While they do provide an opportunity to advertise our links and possibly generate sales, I have actually found even more value in helping others whenever I can. The more I learn about internet marketing, the more knowledge, skills, and experience I have to help others who are newer than me. It is a tremendous feeling to hear someone thank me for my help and to know that I have made their experience on the forum and in their businesses easier or more delightful in some way. When you choose to help others and consider it more important than making money, others will start to value you, trust you, and turn to you.

Making a contribution online can also mean building the relationship you have with your subscribers. While it is handy and even necessary to have an auto-responder that will send pre-written emails off to your list of possibly thousands of subscribers, you must also take the initiative to add your own messages to the pre-written series messages that are more personal, reveal some of your own character and personality, and messages that show your subscribers and potential customers that you really care about them and their needs. At first, I let the auto-responder do the work, which has in fact saved me time and allowed me to learn and do other things. Now, I am really starting to enjoy communicating with my subscribers and prospects and sending off an email that shows them who I really am, whether they buy something from me or not. I enjoy helping them, and want to empower them just as I was empowered at my first job. Sales are not the bottom line in my mind - its the relationship of trust and integrity that you build with your list that will determine your success.

Another great way of making a contribution in your online business is by generating your own unique, creative, and content-rich articles and blogs. Not only is this a free or inexpensive way of advertising your business, but by offering an article packed with information, tips, techniques, inspiration, motivation, encouragement, knowledge, skills, or technical expertise, you are offering something of true value to your readers that will have them coming back for more. I know that my biggest sense of accomplishment comes from generating my own articles. While you can hire someone to write them for you, I just feel proud of creating my own, and knowing that my words are being read all over the internet. Its an added bonus that my contributions are also generating links, traffic, and positive comments for me!

If you want to be successful in your business, you have to do something that matters, and dealing out nothing but a sales pitch is not going to do the trick. You need to make a difference, do something of value that has meaning for your customers like giving them a free gift, offering to pay half their membership, or providing some outstanding service that goes above and beyond what most people would do. The truth is, the more you give, the more you get, so seek out a higher place of achievement and contribution, and this will be your ticket to success!