Thousands of people have quit their JOBS and started making money exclusively online. There are many ways to do it on the Internet … such as creating your own products, offering a service, licensing products, etc.

Many people have done it without having ANY product of their own. This is done through affiliate income or by selling other people’s products for a commission.

This is how it can be done.

1. Do not sell anything that you do not own.

This rule comes first for good reason. You should never sell anything that you do not own. If you don’t have enough faith in its results to buy it yourself, then you have no reason to sell it to others.

Think about this for a moment – if you don’t own it and are unwilling to buy it, how can you support the product? How can you honestly answer questions about the product? The answer is that you can’t.

Too often, people are willing to jump on the bandwagon and promote whatever advertised product of the week is … without stopping to think about the value of the product itself. No matter how many people recommend it, you shouldn’t do it if you haven’t bought it yourself.

2. Offer only complementary products and services.

If your website is about sporting goods, you should definitely not offer cigarettes on another show. It doesn’t make any sense at all, and these products, defiantly, don’t complement each other. It is unlikely that you will sell both products to the same customer.

A good example of selling ancillary products would be, if you sell golf products, then you could sell golf vacations, golf clubs, golf subscriptions, golf training products, and so on. All of these products would appeal to the same consumer. Which means that once the person interested in golf lands on your site, you increase their chances of selling you more than one item. This would not be the case if you were selling golf clubs and gardening books.

Make sure everything you offer goes together. You must earn multiple sources of income, but they must all be related to the same topic.

3. Create an optional email list.

I cannot stress enough how vital this is to your online success.

Ask any major business owner what their most valuable asset is. They are not your products. It is not your location. They are not even your employees.

The most valuable asset for any business is its customer list. The most valuable asset for any Internet business is the optional email list. Your email list IS your Internet business.

If you don’t have an email list, you don’t have an Internet business.

Offer an affiliate product … and you will earn money once. Offer a subscription to your optional email list and you will earn money forever (from hundreds of offers you can make to that list).

4. Focus on your brand.

Use your optional email list to build a relationship with your subscribers. When they first subscribe, they may not know you from Peter. So tell them about yourself. Express your opinions.

In your first 2-3 contacts, don’t sell them anything. Tell them about yourself, your experiences, stick your neck out and tell them what you think. Let your clients know you. You have to give people a reason to know you, like you, and trust you.

You don’t have to be the best writer on the planet. You don’t have to be like your favorite guru. Just write a few things that are uniquely yours in your emails.

Sure, some of them will get mad. Some will ask to be removed. Some will curse you. Deal with it. The way I see these people is that by removing them from my list I don’t have to waste time trying to sell them. I just pass on to people who are interested and I have a better chance of making money.

If you are like everyone else, why should anyone choose to buy from you?

5. Write your own recommendations and reviews.

Each affiliate program has individual ads, endorsement ads, and classified ads available. You can use them sometimes, but they should never become your only marketing pieces.

But in addition to each ad, you must have your OWN opinion of the product. You must tell your customers in your own words why they should buy this or that. Then use the ad copy they gave you UNDER your own statements.

The same goes for online newsletters. You can use other people’s content and articles, but every email you send should have something written about you … in your own words … at the top if not elsewhere. It could be just a short “what’s going on” section or an editorial.

You don’t need to be a professional writer. You just have to have opinions and be willing to risk giving them.

6. Offer additional specials.

You don’t have to do this every time, but you should make special offers for your list. Why should they buy a product from you instead of one of the other 1,000 affiliates offering it?

Give them something extra they can’t get from other affiliates!

You can tell them that if they buy Affiliate A product from you … you’ll give them this special report.

All they have to do is buy the product and then email you the receipt. You will send them your additional bonus report immediately.

It could also be an e-book, an email inquiry, a phone inquiry, an announcement in your newsletter, a link on your special links page, etc. Give them something extra special with some of your offers and watch your checks skyrocket. Make sure the items you give away are related to your product.

7. Ask about the sale.

You have to ask for the sale. If you don’t ask, you will never get. The worst thing they can say is “no” and all that means is that you are no worse than you are now. But if you ask and they say yes, you are in a much better place.

You cannot be cowardly or shy. You can’t just give away a large amount of content in the hopes that someone will click your little link somewhere and magically decide to buy your product. You have to tell your prospects and customers why they want and need your product. You have to tell them what they get when they buy.

If some subscribers get upset when you send them an offer, help them remove themselves from your list. It’s funny, but the most profitable promotions have also received the most complaints and removals.

I’ve had people email me saying, “If you’re just trying to sell something online, then I don’t even want your newsletter.” Guess what? Remove them. That is the ultimate purpose of your newsletter, whatever content you provide, or whatever you do online.

Remember why you started online business – to make money and not to give away gifts and content.