A few good questions worth asking yourself, in order to determine your profile:

• What are your objectives in trading stocks? (be as specific as you can be)
• How much risk are you willing to tolerate?
• How well do you know the different types of securities (stocks, options, derivatives…)?
• Do you wish to be able to liquidate your assets quickly, if the need arises?
• How much time are you willing to spend in studying and monitoring your portfolio and the market?
• Are you interested in trading on an international level, or solely domestic?
• Do you have a preference for socially-responsible corporations, or does it matter not?
• For how long do you expect to be trading stocks?

By answering these questions, a few other good interrogations will likely go through your mind, helping you determine your preferences and requirements a little bit better. You will then be one step closer to finding the trading strategy that’s right for you!

1) Know the basics!
If you ever practiced sports to a competitive level, you know that mastering the basics is the key to victory. The same goes with trading stocks. Knowing the investor’s language and basic principles are fundamental: the lingo, acronyms, charts, tables, reports, economics etc.

Whether you wish to follow a trusted source’s strategy or come up with your own, the outcome will likely be determined by how well you are able to filter the information that comes your way. Knowing the basics can help a great deal in spotting flags and opportunities – and also help you turn flags into opportunities!

2) Find the online stock broker that’s right for you
There’s a good deal of brokers out there and there is certainly one suited for you needs. A good analysis of their fees and commissions, allowed investments, trading tools and resources can be very helpful in making the good decision. Shop for yours: read reviews, forums and blogs to find the best match.

3) Invest on knowledge first
Information travels fast and transactions are done even faster. Having access to the right information at the right time ultimately has a big impact on your trading strategy.

Staying updated with the latest news and information online, reading the relevant reports, following seminars and webinars, subscribing to the right newsletters and specialized magazines – all are great tools that can offer great r.o.i. in the long run.

4) Practice self-control, patience and discipline
Everybody makes mistakes. Improve your odds by getting into online stock trading gradually. Consider trying out a stock simulator before making the big jump. Practice makes perfect!

Find your investing strategy and stick to it. Hold on to good titles and get rid of the ones that don’t perform as well as you thought they would. When a stock doesn’t perform, find the strength to accept it and cut your losses. On the opposite, when your stock goes on an uptrend, be patient before selling and it will likely pay off.

Also, consider joining communities of online traders like yourself. When in doubt, share your thoughts and explore opportunities.