A lot of times, I get asked how I got my start online. Now there is a difference in how I got my start and how I built my business. I’ve gone over how I built my business (you can see that at tomeymarketing.com/im-truth-newsletter/viral-marketing-how-i-became-liz-tomey/ and tomeymarketing.com/im-truth-newsletter/viral-marketing-how-i-became-liz-tomey-part-2), but I’ve never told the story of how I start online.

So, grab a cup of coffee and listen up because what I’m about to lay out for you is actually a plan to create and sell your own product online…

Now before I came online (and many of you know this) I ran a direct mail advertising business. I had over 300 dealers (known as affiliates in the online world) who sold my services for me. Just like online affiliates, they promoted my services and was paid a commission.

A lot of these services I had, I joint ventured with mailing list suppliers, print and mailers, ad brokers and more. They gave me special deals for using them, and I turned them into services that my dealers could promote. I was basically like a middle man. I found good reliable services and provided them to the customers of my dealers.

For the last 3 years I had my direct mail business, I didn’t personally spend one single penny on advertising, and that’s absolutely unheard of in the offline world.

So in 2004 I decided to take my offline business model and bring it online.

So, truth be known I was one step ahead of the game because I already had a profitable business model.

When I decided to bring my business online, I didn’t want back into advertising services. I quickly found there weren’t many reliable ways to advertise online, so I decided I would create products that would teach people to build their businesses, and recruit affiliates to sell those products for me.

Remember that formula…

Create Products + Recruit Affiliates To Sell Those Products = $$$$$

So the first thing I did is find out where all these Internet marketers were hanging out, and I found a ton of them in forums. I lurked in these forums for a few months, and took notes on what was being discussed the most. At that time, it was the topic of joint ventures. After lurking, I started asking my own questions. When I got good replies back I’d contact the person and ask if I could use what they wrote, in a project I was thinking about creating.

Everyone said yes. Not one person told me I couldn’t use their content. So I began compiling this content, and doing all the research I could on joint ventures. All of this turned into my very first product called the “Joint Venture Success Package” that I sold from www.JointVentureSeeker.com

(Note: This product is no longer available, but will be replaced with an even better product in the Spring of 2008)

This was basically a product that I put together via joint ventures with several marketers. They basically created the product for me with the content they allowed me to use. Many people have successfully done this, and you can very easily. Even if you don’t know a bunch of big name people. I was an absolute nobody with my first product.

So, let’s take a look at our formula now…

Have Others Create Your Products For You + Recruit Affiliates To Sell Those Products = $$$$

Now that my product was created, I needed to find people to help me promote it. I already had joint venture partners to help me create the product. I even named them in the product as contributors, so I thought why not ask them. They had to like the product because they created it.

That’s exactly what I did. Everyone except for I think 1 or 2 people that were actually in the product created it, and I made about $15,000 in 30 days from the time I launched the product. Now these people weren’t affiliates, they were joint venture partners. Yes, there is a difference.

So is what I did is on the download page just put a little ad that said something a long the lines of become an affiliate and make $XX per sale. Click here to join the affiliate program.

Is what this did was take the customers my jv partners were sending me and turning them into affiliates. Customers make the best affiliates in the world.

Now let’s take a look at our formula…

Have Others Create Your Products For You + Find JV Parnters +Recruit Affiliates From Customers Your JV Partners Send You Who Will Sell Those Products = $$$$

You need to read the above over and over again, and burn it into your memory because it is incredibly powerful.

Yes, it does take a lot of work, and there are many variables inside of it, but that formula is the big secret to making it online.

Actually it’s not…

This one is….

Have Others Create Your Products For You + Find JV Parnters +Recruit Affiliates From Customers Your JV Partners Send You Who Will Sell Those Products + Rinse and Repeat = $$$$

There! Rinse and repeat was the big missing ingredient!

There you go… Now you know how I got my start online AND how I built my business!

It all comes down to JV partners and affiliates! They are my secret weapons…

Posted on July 7th, 2007 by Liz Tomey
Filed under: Easy Marketing How To's