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How did you discover IM?

by MJ Sterling
52 replies
It would be great to hear how everyone got involved in the internet marketing business.

My own story starts in the 90's when I learnt how to build websites, then took a 9-5 job working for a design firm where I picked up more skills like SEO and Flash.

Building sites for offline businesses was not only my career choice, it was my hobby. I loved my job and earlier this decade (seems so long ago now) began landing major web contracts for global brands. Never even thought about sharing my knowledge.

Then a couple of years ago I was introduced to "an internet marketer", we had a lot in common and spoke about how we both enjoyed making websites and everything that goes with it.

Over a few pints he told me he was making millions from one of his websites and he was sure I would be able to do the same. His website was just over 1 year old.

At first I didn't believe him, or believe in myself enough to really try it. I did a whois on his site, checked archive.org, alexa etc, and sure enough his site was as he said it was.

He explained how to build a list, the purpose of a squeeze page, the sales page etc - all new concepts to me because I had been dealing with offline businesses my entire career.

Anyway to cut a long story short, everything he told me played on my mind for weeks. We kept in touch and he convinced me to start collecting email addresses from my visitors, which I did.

Without him I would be still working for others, using my skills to benefit their businesses rather than starting and building my own.

Even though I know he is reading this I won't name him here, I don't want to embarrass the guy. But thank you.

Through his encouragement, support and connections I've teamed up with even more marketers, (I'm sat in a Warrior's office now as I type this, it's become our operations HQ).

All of this from a chance meeting that happened years ago. It's amazing how things work out from something that seems so small and insignificant.

How did you guys discover IM?
#discover
  • Profile picture of the author oneplusone
    I made loads of money offline from direct response, then went online and made even more money.
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  • Profile picture of the author KristiDaniels
    Same here. I was selling via magazine ads and direct mail in the 80's and 90's. It was a natural jump to the "web."

    I didn't hear the term "Internet marketer" until long, long after I made my first million. Most of my friends who earn a million a year or more on the Internet have never heard that term. I think it is mostly used here and on a couple of other forums.

    We just talk "business" when we have lunch or get together for a networking session. Most of the topics discussed here on the Warrior forum never even come up. It is like two completely different worlds with a different vocabulary and different clubs.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jeremy Kelsall
      I was cleaning out my Spam Box in my Yahoo! email account...

      Needless to say I was getting spammed to death with all the make money online emails...I started to investigate...It was a life changer
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      • Profile picture of the author Chris Busa
        I actually started off with ebay first just selling stuff I had lying around the house and things for friends and family. I then realized dealing with the shipping and all the emails and headaches entailed it was not really worth the time unless I had something worth while.

        So it was time to look for a alternative, I think I saw the Jeff Paul shortcut to internet millions infomercial and ordered it. I really did not understand any of it, although there is some decent information in the shortcuts to internet millions it is no where close to newbie friendly and in a step by step fashion.

        So that being kind of no help to me I just started googling away "how to make money online" ect.. And the next product I came by and bought was a clickbank product Maverick Money Makers, this product is a membership site and really gave me the step by step video tutorials I was looking for.

        I had learned the grass roots of marketing and most importantly about this forum, that is where it all started for me anyway and if I need to find out how to do something that I do not know how to do I always come here first.

        -Chris
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    • Profile picture of the author Sara Young
      Originally Posted by KristiDaniels View Post

      We just talk "business" when we have lunch or get together for a networking session. Most of the topics discussed here on the Warrior forum never even come up. It is like two completely different worlds with a different vocabulary and different clubs.
      Now I'm curious. What kind of topics do you discuss in your other "world"?
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  • Profile picture of the author Lou Diamond
    Hello,
    I remember it very well,I drove a friend home from work one day and he invited me
    in,I saw that he had a giant stack of mail with cash and checks hanging out of it.

    He tried to hide it from me but it was too late,I made him tell me his methods and
    a few months later I was outselling him.
    Lou
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  • Profile picture of the author Buildingfutures
    Ebay, I think. hah!
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  • Profile picture of the author KristiDaniels
    Sara,

    Some of the same things with different words. A "squeeze page" in IM is called a "capture page" among most people running online businesses.

    Everyone has "lists", but they don't think of them as "lists." They call them by their name. They are prospects, buyers, etc. You don't hear things like "the money is in the list" or "the money is in the relationship with the list." Not that they don't believe those things, but those phrases are part of the IM sub-culture.

    I have only once heard the word "niche" and it was pronounced "neesh." You can't go to an IM seminar without hearing the word "niche" pronounced "nitch" a couple hundred times. They work in niches, but don't call them that. I don't think they have a word. They just say "I'm in investing" or "I'm in body image" or "I do house flipping."

    Here are some things we talk about that I never hear talked about in the IM world:

    1. Cash flow
    2. Angel investors (big, big topic... like "niche" with IMers)
    3. Human resources
    4. Finance/Banking
    5. Investing
    6. Corporate structures
    7. Display ads
    8. Insertion orders
    9. Grabbers
    10. Loss leaders

    Hobbies seem to be different too. I hear about karoake among the IM sub-culture. I hear about sailboats and fine dining among the online business sub-culture.

    It's just a different crowd. Different lingo. Different interests.
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  • Profile picture of the author warrioronfire
    I started getting work at home home stuff for enevolpe stuffing and crap like that. And alot of these things had websites so I would go (never sent money of course!) and one scam site would lead to another until eventually i started landing on the legit stuff.
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    • Profile picture of the author GlynisG
      Originally Posted by warrioronfire View Post

      I started getting work at home home stuff for enevolpe stuffing and crap like that. And alot of these things had websites so I would go (never sent money of course!) and one scam site would lead to another until eventually i started landing on the legit stuff.
      I discovered IM the same way. I kept digging and digging and thought there must be a way.
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      • Profile picture of the author Tobok101
        Originally Posted by GlynisG View Post

        I discovered IM the same way. I kept digging and digging and thought there must be a way.
        Same I was just looking around, and stumbled upon actually legitimate programs.
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  • Profile picture of the author WD Mino
    I had to make a transition as I could not leave my wife alone for very long.
    she actually came across a website offering some sort of google biz I knew adsense worked so I said go ahead and sign up. we got dinged a lot more then 2.00 for administration charges whatever that meant to begin with.

    So I began to search online and came across a busines in a box type thing We were limited in our finances but I bought it anyhow. Turned out to be a sham products they said they tested never converted I used their pages etc that they said converted very high. Long story short I got po'd and since then I have been online working learning creating and helping. I learned an awful lot but still need to learn more and I am .

    Thanks for letting me share
    -WD
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  • Profile picture of the author KristiDaniels
    I have never had a job in my life. My late husband made sure I knew how to earn money without a job.

    He was a direct response marketer who moved onto the Internet before he died. I have taken the reins from there.

    Sorry. I just don't have the experience of "going full time." I have always made my money from either direct response or the Internet.

    I think that might be another difference between the IM group and other online business owners.

    I didn't want to offend when I tried to characterize the two groups, but it seems to me that those who call themselves IMers are self-limiting. Built into the definition of being an IMer is something like "not being great."

    You don't seem to consider online business owners who make millions as part of your group. And you seem to kick people out of your group when they "make it." So "IMer" seems to mean someone in the bracket of "just getting started and not making any money... a 'newbie'" and "just went full-time with my six figure launch."

    Once you start earning a steady seven figures though with a real business, then you aren't really part of the IM herd anymore.

    Of course, 99% of people doing online business who are even in that income bracket have never even heard of "IM" and don't consider themselves part of your group.

    IM is more a "sub-culture" with it's own language, hobbies and customs than it is an actual description of what someone does. 99% of the people who do the same things you do and make a living online don't know what these odd words you use even mean. But they are succeeding with their online business without knowing this little sub-culture.
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  • Profile picture of the author KristiDaniels
    Another sub-culture that is interesting is the site flipper group.

    They have their own vocabulary, groups of friends and common hobbies that are completely different than IMers. It is really weird because you see IMers talk about site flipping. And you hear flippers talk about the IM crowd (almost always in disparaging terms).

    So both crowds even know about each other, but they don't really mix. And they don't even understand the terminology that is prevalent in their respective sub-cultures.
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  • Profile picture of the author SurajSodha
    I discovered it when i was 12 years old and made an angelfire website (hahaha) and monetized it with a Barnes & Noble widget-type box on my page..totally irrelevant to what the website was about (my fave footie team!) and whilst it made no money i learnt all about that IM model of affiliate marketing and driving traffic.

    I even used my dad's colleagues' email addresses to do 'email marketing', although i had no clue that's what i was doing at the time!
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  • Profile picture of the author Riz
    Attended World Internet Summit.
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  • Profile picture of the author Philok
    I had a mentor in fashion business who recommended Rat Race
    Annihilation to me, i thougth it was something related to fashion and bought it.
    Since that day i discover a new way to promote your business and fall in love with it.

    Philok
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  • Profile picture of the author Zack Lim
    I read the book "Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki and I become interested in having my own business after reading it. I am searching for business opportunities everywhere and I saw one advertisement on the newspaper for an internet marketing preview seminar.

    I went for the preview and paid for the ticket to attend the World Internet Summit event. I am exposed to the income potential from the internet after attending this seminar. Since then, I learn more knowledge and started to apply the knowledge that I learned

    Zack
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  • Profile picture of the author Shaleniie Devi
    I came across a local millionaire's blog and there was a post where he talked about a young man around my age who is managing his online businesses and had a link to this young man's blog. I clicked through and came across the word Internet Marketing for the first time and I just got swooped into it....

    Best discovery I've made in my life so far

    Shaleniie Devi
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    • Profile picture of the author PatriciaJ
      I had a direct mail business in the late 90s and published my own guides and magazine. Started selling them on ebay in 2000 and learned html and built some sites for myself and customers - now they would look dreadful. Affiliated to Amazon back then but never earned a penny with them until I tried again this year.
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      • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
        I was digging a hole in the backyard, when suddenly my shovel hit on something.

        As I removed the dirt, a bright blinding golden light appeared and a voice from the heavens said "sell it on ebay"
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  • Profile picture of the author Brian Tayler
    I've been on the internet for years. I remember using Mosaic on a HP-UX to surf the web, and when AOL first got "the web."

    I also have been involved in marketing for 15 years. However IM specific was introduced to me by a guy by the name of Armand Morin and his products. Also around the same time I saw people selling "Free to Sell" on eBay.
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  • Profile picture of the author LetsGoViral
    I was looking for ways to earn money online. I wanted to make my own sites and earn money off them and somehow I stumbled upon affiliate marketing and it seemed to be the right answer to all my problems!
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  • Profile picture of the author 2d0k
    I did not discover the intricacies of IM in one single day. Knowing all about Internet Marketing is a learning process. I started learning about it in February of 2009 with the basics of Adsense as my first "module", then I changed gear in August where I invested about 4-6 hours knowing the IM basics and applying these. It will be one full year come February 2010 and there's still a lot to be learned from it. As of the moment, I am now starting to know better all about affiliate marketing.

    I guess, we just have to enjoy the journey towards IM success so as not to be discouraged by disappointments that will surely come our way. Life is not about reaching our destination, it's all about experiencing the things and appreciating the lessons we've learned along the way to whatever destination we are planning to reach.
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  • Profile picture of the author nturgeon
    Years ago, I read many spam emails about making money online but never took them seriously. Then last year, I stumbled across a website that was explaining how to make money online using polls and CPA. I had no clue what this guy was talking about but it interested me and I was looking to earn extra money without having to get a part-time job. So while researching the terms he was using (ex: CPA, EPA, affiliates, etc), I ended up learning about IM. He talked about the Warrior Forum as well so I spent a lot of time reading threads and learning for about a year before trying my hand at it. I never did try the polls method though.....
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  • Profile picture of the author um1001
    Accidentally discovered a "affiliates" link at the bottom of a sales copy. Clicked it and two years later, here I am.

    As a side note, I've been on the Internet before the WWW existed. Archie, gopher, telnet, WAIS, etc. Like Brian Tayler, I remember when Mosaic hit the scene... (I thought it was a useless toy ... heh) Those were the days.

    When marketing took off on the Internet, I fought hard against it. It was all spam to me. I hated that I was seeing "commercials" on the Internet.

    Nowadays I look at marketing on the web the same way I do in other media. Some of it is scummy, some of it is just getting your product known. Honestly, I try to be more of a businessman than a marketer but marketing is a huge interest of mine.

    Lately though, I absolutely love copy-writing. It's very entertaining to see what converts and what doesn't. I believe it's a skill that will last me a lifetime, too. The psychology of good copy is really fascinating.
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  • Profile picture of the author sdentrepreneur
    I was messing around online with AOL, MySpace and was doing an online radio show. Then in October 2007, I came across Google PPC ad, I joined Carbon Copy Pro same day. I have been a Full Time Internet Marketer since them and enjoy helping others become successful online. I created my own marketing company, JMH Marketing Group and help Retail, Home Based and MLM companies use the Internet to make money.
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  • Profile picture of the author Arun Kumar
    I have entered in to the online business before one year through my friend suggestion as i was facing financial problems. It was a life turning point to me. He has trained me about how to do SEO and i am continuing with it still.
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  • Profile picture of the author Avdo
    18 months ago I lost my very profitable dayjob, and started to work on another dayjob for very low monthly paycheck.. I was pretty depressed, and after a few days I simply typed in google "make money online", and it took me some time to get on the right track where I am now...satisfied
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  • Profile picture of the author TheBrainchildGroup
    I created a dinky website with banner ads back in the mid 90's, which surprisingly did very well, and things have taken off ever since. After working for many corporations in the internet marketing field, I decided to create my own company to specifically focus on such.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dapper Fellow
    I actually started making some money from IM 20 months ago by putting up a raft of BANS sites. They didn't bring in all that much cash, but they did produce some swag. I was amazed! Of course, it doesn't really take much to amaze me. I've since moved on to Adsense. I still don't make a lot of money every month, but I make enough to keep me at the keyboard.
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  • Profile picture of the author KristiDaniels
    Mr. Goof Off,

    I thought Avatar was just a fiction movie. I thought we were all still offline. I know I am.

    All of my advertising for new leads is currently online. I do send postcards to current customers, but I haven't run a magazine ad in years.

    The "online/offline" thing is another part of the IM sub-culture. Other online businesses don't suddenly start thinking of themselves of "offline" when they run an ad in the Wall Street journal (as one of my online business friends just did). Why would that make him "offline?" The ad pushed people to a web-page. He ordered the ad on the Internet. His new prospects will come to an Internet page. He will deal with them with email and forums on his site.

    What about the 800 number on his site? Does that make him "offline?" He ordered the 800 number online. For awhile, the messages came as wav files in his email box. Now they go to a call center that he set up online. The call center enters the orders online. He deals with those customers online as well.

    The distinction doesn't exist outside the world of IM. If you own an "online" business, there is no "100%" or "80%." There are still the brick and mortar guys who have a storefront and get their prospects by pedestrians noticiing them, ads in the paper and billboards. But online businesses don't think of themselves as going "offline" just because they start gathering leads from a non-Internet source. That is a way of saying things that only makes sense in the IM sub-culture.
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  • Profile picture of the author JEL0221
    I started last May or so. Before IM I was doing paid surveys and stuff online to earn a few extra bucks in college, then eventually ran into "the millionaire league" somehow(in a search I believe.

    I never heard of IM and had NOOOO idea what it was. I followed what they said in the millionaire league to a "T". Did not make any money nor got any kind of traffic whatsoever.

    When I went to their facebook forum to find out if anyone who signed up was making any money, I found no one was, and the guy running it wouldn't answer any questions.

    In those forums somebody said millionaire league was a rip off, and you can get everything free in the warrior forum....he provided the link in his post, I clicked through....I haven't left since
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  • Profile picture of the author fitz10
    When I was 12 I started movie review site on Geocities. At some point a few years into the site I put up some links for Amazon and CD Baby which were two of the only affiliates at the time. I think I made about $5 over 3 years. I also began making web sites for local companies at 13. I moved away from making money on the Internet for many years with the exception of selling junk on Ebay.

    Then a few months ago I read an article that piqued my interest in affiliate marketing. I moved forward after Thanksgiving 2009 with one Clickbank related website and a few Amazon websites.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Kohler
    I started out with Ken Evoy's SBI ebook. I read all of his information. Later, I found Kevin Bidwell who helped me write an ebook that sold very well. I then moved into Adsense and making article sites along with ebooks.
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  • Profile picture of the author TiffanyLambert
    It was 1999 and I left my job to stay home with my infant son who had RSV. I was surfing eBay to find NY Jets stuff for my husband's birthday and stumbled on a "service" link - which led me to Elance.

    Signed up as a ghostwriter and got hired by lots of marketers. It was Jimmy Brown who not only hired me but explained what Internet Marketing was, how to write for it (I was too educational in my writing), and what the monetary possibilities were.

    Six years later, I started to believe him about the income (LOL) and I switched from ghostwriter to marketer.

    Tiff
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  • Profile picture of the author GraphicsViking
    I don't remember how I got into IM initially, but I've been reading a lot of information about it for a few years, but I didn't take the full step into IM until december 2008.
    I have 10-15 sites that bring in a little money, but not any big successes yet.
    But that is going to change soon, as I got a lot of things planned.

    These days I'm busy with writing my first ebook, planning with my Mastermind group and getting coaching from my mentor Alex Jeffreys.
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    • Profile picture of the author ant_arias
      I learned about Internet marketing from a friend of a friend. The idea really peaked my interest and in a follow up email he sent me a link to sitepoint and digitalpoint, through all this I finally ended up here. Ive tried many different online business models with some success but I've finally found were I want to focus my attention.

      So basically, a chance meeting with a virtual stranger put me on to IM and been learning the ropes ever since.
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  • Profile picture of the author smartclick
    Long time ago I was selling cars; for some reason I saw the possibility of doing it online! and it really worked! after that I start wonder about the potential of online marketing!
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  • Profile picture of the author 1040
    Very intresting question. I started out cold not knowing anything and just buying everything. Unfortunately I sure spent a lot to learn a little. I have been making money for sometime now, but the best information I got from anyone came in an email and was free.

    I would like to pass this on now to my fellow warriors who may still be struggling.
    I believe it is still free. Just type the below address into your address bar and good luck.

    ChrisFarrellMembership.com
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  • Profile picture of the author cosmolito
    I was doing MLM and a downline of mine introduced me to a system of marketing my business online. Up until that point I was completely in the dark as to IM but as the world opened up before my eyes I got very very excited.

    I am still excited
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  • Profile picture of the author Profit-smart
    I've been "plugged in" since I was about 7 years old.

    I started out with .. what was it called.. Compu something or another.

    56k was a BIG deal to me.

    My point being, that one day I started wondering how the ads I saw all over the place got there.

    Of course it didnt take long after that for me to learn about affiliate marketing. Not to say I got involved right then; but thats when I first discovered it.
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  • Profile picture of the author ToniMaltano
    I discovered IM thorugh Youtube. I think I was watching a video about adsense and I was like wow this stuff really exists? I started investigating and found out about affiliate marketing, blogging, cpa...... From then on I just put myself into it and know I am here making more then a fulltime income from IM.

    What a life changer man.
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  • Profile picture of the author MJ Sterling
    Thanks for sharing your experiences everyone.

    It's great to see so many people of different ages from different walks of life and backgrounds all walking the same path.
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  • Profile picture of the author richjerk321
    I got involved in internet marketing when I looked all around me and saw depressed looks on peoples' faces that were unhappy with their current jobs. I told myself that I'm not going to live like them.
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