Now, some of that information I have never shared anywhere publicly, but I wanted to take you guys back to the very beginning. You’ll see why as we go through this month. Everything I will be sharing builds upon each other. I had to give you all the back story so you can walk into all of this with the full picture.
It still blows my mind that running my own business is something that I’ve done for more than half my life.
26 of 45 years! 😮
But my favorite thing that has come out of all of this is… #TeamTomey!
#TeamTomey started as a brand hashtag I was using on social media, but it grew into this huge tribe of people (you and me) that have one common goal…
To have an online business that funds the life we WANT!
It doesn’t matter what kind of life you want. It doesn’t matter what kind of online business you have or want to have.
We’re all in this together with this ONE goal and it’s all about creating something that allows us to have an amazing life.
My main online business is creating and selling digital products.
My amazing life is being able to work from where I want, when I want, and without having ANYONE tell me what to do.
It’s allowed me to raise a bunch of kids (some mine and some not, but I had a hand in raising them), travel and see so many cool places in what I’ve found is a massive world full of amazing people and culture, it’s allowed me to help my family time after time, and the list goes on and on.
Now you’re online business and your lifestyle might be something totally different, but #TeamTomey is all about helping you create that online business and use it to live that amazing life you want.
#TeamTomey is the online family you’ve always wanted!
If you’re not a member over there you can join at no-cost!
It’s our big mastermind area that works a lot like Facebook without being Facebook. We have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. 😂
If you want to join everybody over there, be able to interact with others just like you, and get help with any of my workshops, then you need to be over there.
The other day I told you about the business I started when I was 19. That was way back in 1998. I wasn’t even using the Internet for that business when I started it. It was a mailorder business.
Going through all of that made me think of the old Joe Sugarman ad for his Blublocker Sunglasses. EVERYONE and their brother points to this as the most iconic copywriting of all time.
No matter what business you’re in, learning to write words that make people buy from you is the ONE big skill you should continually learn about and put into practice.
It doesn’t matter if you’re just creating written content, videos, ads, etc… You’ve GOT to learn to write sales copy. Words that make people want to take action!
If you can’t make people buy your stuff (or click on a link, or subscribe, etc.), then you’ll never make any-money with any kind of business.
https://swiped.co is a great site to see some of the best copy ever written and have it explained to you. You can learn a lot at no-cost.
I’m not an affiliate for the site nor was I paid to mention them. It’s just that great of a resource.
If you want to get started with the technical side of learning to write copy there are only TWO resources that I recommend…
I named Psycho Profits 3 the official sales copy bible for #TeamTomey a long time ago. It’s AMAZING and now with ChatGPT you can use it to quickly create sales letters!
No matter where you learn from though, writing sales copy… the words that make people BUY (or click, or optin, etc.)… is something you should continually learn and continually practice.
It’s NOT just a one time thing. It’s something that needs to be done in your business almost on a daily basis.
Well… Unless you have a lot of money to spend on a copywriter to write EVERYTHING for you. 😉
Okay, that’s it for today…#TeamTomey Month continues on and I’ll be bringing you more great tips, resources, and a little entertainment all month long!
The other day I sent an email out to all of #TeamTomey about where they wanted me to focus my teachings for the next few months.
The options where…
1. Me teaching you more ways to market/get traffic to what you already have.
OR
2. Ways to make-money online.
80.4% of you picked option #1.
Me teaching you more ways to market/get traffic to what you already have.
So that’s what we’re going to be focusing on for the next few months.
Side Note: I saw your feedback if you left it in the second box. Thank you for that and I’m going to be going over that one by one too.
Now I have covered all of these topics… marketing, traffic generation, ways to make-money online for the last 20 years.
I have a ton of products on all of these topics, but there is still A LOT I have not covered, so I’m spending the day today deciding what’s going to help you the most and in the quickest way.
I’ll email you tomorrow on my decision…
Until then enjoy the last part of your weekend (it’s Sunday evening here) and let’s kick off our Monday with a big bang!
Because we have just entered #TeamTomey Month! I’m officially claiming the month of June as #TeamTomey Month and we’re going to be celebrating 20 years of you and me this month!
Now maybe you haven’t been with me that long… Maybe you’ve been with me longer. After my last email I found a few of you have been with me since my first business I started when I was around 19. I’m 45 now, so you do the math. 😉
Today I want to show you something pretty cool. 😎 An absolute blast from the past. There’s a lesson in here on success too, so pay very close attention, and I’ll give you the insights you need at the end of this.
It was 1998 and I was 19 years old. I had quit high school, I had quit college, and was living in Nemah, Washington on a salmon hatchery. How and why I got there is a story for another day, but man it’s a wild one. My life pre-kids was quite the adventure. Heck my entire life has been quite the adventure, but… 😂
Anyway I was living in the middle of nowhere looking at ways to make-money. Everything was so far from where I lived and I didn’t know what to do.
I had responded to an ad in the local paper to stuff envelopes for $1. I could stuff as many envelopes as I wanted and get $1 for each one! All I had to do was send the person $1 and a LSASE (long self addressed stamped envelope) and then they’d send me “everything I needed to get started”.
I was like… SIGN ME UP! Give me a break… I was 19! 😂
What they didn’t tell me is I would have to place ads just like they did, get people to send me $1 and their LSASE, and then I would have to print off the directions and mail those directions back to the person who would then go on and do the same. That’s how I would get paid $1 to “stuff” envelopes.
This was a pretty popular thing for years…
And here’s the thing though… I actually placed those ads and got a ton of people to send me their $1 and their LSASE. I didn’t get rich by any means, but I made a few thousand dollars doing it.
Most importantly I learned!
I would tweak my ads, redesign them, (my first days of writing copy) experiment with ad sizes, figure out which publications worked the best to advertise in (I was testing and tracking WITHOUT technology), AND because my name and address was in many of these publications I started getting a ton of offers in the mail for all kinds of things.
Money-making-schemes…
Reselling products via the mail…
Dealerships which were like affiliate programs via the mail…
Advertising opportunities…
And the list goes on and on and on! There were so many money-making opportunities via the good ol’ USPS back then.
My main focuses were on…
1. Creating and selling mailing lists. Everyone who replied to me or advertised in front of me got added to a Word document and that was my mailing list. I also bought other mailing lists and added them to mine. I would use these myself and sell them to others. These sold great!
2. Ad design (typesetting as it was called).
3. Adsheet publishing which was just an 8.5 x 11 sheet of ads that I would mail to my mailing list and the mailing lists of others. Like 5,000, 10,000, and up to 50,000 at one point in time.
4. And I also offered dealerships (basically an affiliate program) for all of my offers. Others could sell my offers, collect the payment, and forward the order and my part of the fee to me and I would fulfill the order for their customer. Who was now my customer.
Sounds crazy, right?
This was what we called the “mailorder industry”.
And that’s exactly how I got started in marketing and what I was doing before all of this online business stuff…
Without technology, without YouTube videos telling me how to do this or that, without courses telling me how to do this or that.
I simply watched what others were doing and I did my own versions of that or got whole new ideas. I was making about $35,000 a year at 20 years old in 1999, and made more money every year after that.
Fast forward a few years though and postage was going sky high. I knew I needed to do something different. Postage was really eating into my profits. 😟
I had a computer and had been “online” since I was about 14 when my grandparents bought a computer for their company. I had already taught myself how to build websites (thanks Geocities) and could use message boards and email. I was way ahead of the curve.
The funny thing about my generation (What’s up Gen X?) is that half of us totally get technology and the other half are absolutely clueless. Thank God I was one of the ones that just got technology.
So I started building websites and putting all of my “mailorder stuff” online to help out with the postage costs. You don’t need to mail things if you’re putting it online. 😉 Or you could create small ads with your website in them instead of full page ads or entire mailings.
I had probably 20 different domain names and would scan people’s offers into my computer, and upload them as images to websites. Then I would advertise these websites all over the place. Online and offline.
Want to see a video of all of that old stuff? Check this video out and I’ll show you some stuff from my mailorder days!
So, I was advertising those websites, getting those people traffic to their offers, and turned it into one of the first mailorder/online businesses around.
I was way ahead of the game and made great money doing it all.
As a high school/college drop out living in the middle of nowhere on a salmon hatchery! 😂
I moved around a few times (Indiana, Texas, Tennessee) running this business but as long as I had a computer and a mailbox, I made money.
In 2004 after meeting my now ex-husband with a HUGE family (I had a child and he had four children) I needed even more money. A big family and my growing goals and dreams demanded more.
So I handed the mailorder/online business to him, (which I had built to about $65,000 a year) and I went to work creating a totally online information publishing business.
Which leads me to the next story of how I became Liz Tomey… I call it… “The $37,000 Story”. If you want to continue on with that then you can read it at https://www.LizTomey.com/blog/the-37000-story
And that’s what this dinosaur did before the Internet…
But for now there are a few lessons I want you to take away from the story I just told you…
Lesson 1: Watch And Learn – Always be watching what is going on in your industry/niche. You can always do what someone else is doing with your own twist on it. I’m NOT saying to copy anyone, but using what others are doing for your own inspiration is something that you CAN do and there’s nothing wrong with it. You will always get a ton of ideas too for things you can do to make money or make MORE money by watching and learning too!
Lesson 2: Be Ahead Of The Curve – Look for what’s coming next before it even comes out. You’ve got to know your niche inside out to do this, but keep your eye open for things that might be coming next. I knew the Internet was going to be the next big thing in the mail order industry. It was it’s replacement. And I jumped on board VERY quickly and got a load of people (whom at the time were very anti-Internet) to trust in me and start using it.
Lesson 3: Be Ready To Pivot – Pivot became a hot word during Covid because so many people HAD to pivot with what they were doing to survive. Doing business for most became VERY different with all the new rules. But there are many other things that will make you pivot. Demand, a change in life circumstances, etc. Don’t stay stuck, or watching your business lose money. DO SOMETHING!You’ve always gotta be ready to pivot!
Lesson 4: NEVER Quit – This should go without saying, but you have to have the attitude that quitting and total failure is NOT an option. No matter what, you have to just keep getting up and coming back and fighting for what you want.
Even though I was amazing at school, I hated it. It wasn’t for me. And the thought of working for someone else on a schedule sounded like the worst thing in the world to me. I’d rather live in a box down by the river than work for someone or have to have a schedule. 😂 It was my first “WHY”. My second “WHY” was my son. I couldn’t imagine having someone else take care of him while I slaved away at a job. I give a lot of credit to how all my kids turned out because of me ALWAYS being at home with them.
Find your WHY and you’ll find the “can’t quit won’t quit” in yourself that will fuel you to do anything you want!
Okay, I hope this was a fun story for you to read, and most importantly I hope you got something from it!
What lessons did you learn from this story of an online dinosaur?Leave your lessons and thoughts in the comments below…
Before we get started talking about #TeamTomey Month just a quick reminder about the “Whole Enchilada”deal I’m offering.
You can now get access to ALL current products for ONE price. I’m only opening this up to 20 customers and there are only 12 spots left, so make sure you check this out because once those spots are gone, this offer will be pulled forever!
Okay so June marks the 20th anniversary of me starting an online business and building this thing we call #TeamTomey!
It’s been an amazing journey and so much has happened in the last 20 years. So, we are going to spend the month on YOU! YOU are what makes all of this into #TeamTomey so I want to give back to you in several different ways.
I have a lot of content planned that’s going to take you back to my beginnings so YOU can learn from my 20 years of experience.
I’ve done a little bit of everything when it comes to creating and running online businesses and making money online. I’ve been in a ton of niches and I’ve built tons of different types of online businesses and we’re going to spend the month of June going over it all.
You’re going to learn a ton, get a ton of ideas, learn what to avoid and what not to do, what things have made me the most-money, and so so so much more.
Nothing held back and nothing hidden. We’re going to really deep dive into successes and failures and my main goal with it all is to help you and celebrate #TeamTomey which we have all created together.
I’m beyond excited and we’re going to get started on Monday, so be on the lookout!
Okay, that’s it for today…
I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
For my American brothers and sisters I hope you’ll take a moment to be thankful for the men and women who gave it all for us to live in the most amazing country on this planet. The news paints us as a crazy country with all kinds of issues. Some of that is true, but we’re also a blessed nation with much more to be thankful for than many places around this world. Let’s keep that in mind this weekend no matter our opinions of the current state of things.
Just wanted to give a quick update about this situation…
Several of you sent messages in today to get your accounts created and/or your purchases added to your accounts.
There were only a few issues, so I’m going to call this a success.
Yes a few issues and I’m still calling it a success.
Because the issues were user errors. 😂
The system is working so moving forward anything you buy will be in ONE account for you!
I also had SEVERAL people ask what I would charge for access to EVERYTHING in there.
Whew…
There’s a total of 147 products that I currently have in there. However some of them are duplicates. Like a lot of my workshops come with or without PLR so that would count as two products in there.
Some products are also in bundles.
So I will take a look at everything and in the next few days I will make a limited offer for MAYBE 20 people to get a special deal where you can get access to EVERYTHING for ONE price.
If you forgot your password you can use the password reset button.
If you don’t have an account contact me with the email address(es) you use to purchase and what email you want your account under and I’ll get you taken care of.
The feedback so far is great. Having everything in ONE place PLUS being able to see all products you haven’t purchased is something so many have been asking for and after weeks of work we are go!
It’s been great talking with so many of my customers today. Some of you have been with me since almost the beginning. That just blows my mind because this year marks my 20th year in business! I love the relationships I have with so many of you and look forward to many more years of serving you! ❤️
You DO NOT need it to access your purchases from me though. This is just something I’m using in MY business.
All of the download links for your past purchases will no longer work for you.
Unfortunately there’s no way for me to load all of you into the system and have your purchases restored. 😭
I have to do it manually!
So… If you are trying to access a purchases and can’t, simply send me an email and tell me you need a customer account. I will need the email address you have used to purchase my products to look up all of your purchases.
I will create an account for you if you don’t already have one and add all of your purchases to your account.
You can’t do anything until you have an account though, so if you don’t have an account and you HAVE product purchases from me then shoot me an email with your purchase email and I’ll get you all taken care of.
Lost your password? There’s a lost password function on the login page.
This will be a little bumpy at first. Everything new at first is. But I will get you anything and everything you’ve purchased (up to the last 3 years), so don’t worry. You’re not losing anything.
Okay, that’s it for now… I know I’m going to be hearing from a lot of you so response times may be a little slow, but if you don’t hear from me within 2-3 BUSINESS days then send me another message because we all know the email gremlins are real and they are eating EVERYTHING right now. 😡
I appreciate you all SO much! Working with customers and seeing how many of my products you guys buy really makes me know I’m doing the right thing by continuing to teach and help you reach your dreams and goals. Your support means the world to me and as long as I have that I’ll keep being here for you!
This bundle gives you access to 11 different learning systems that will allow ME to teach YOU the skills you need to be a successful online business owner.
It doesn’t matter what business model you want to create or even if you don’t have one in mind yet.
The first thing you need to do is BUILD YOUR SKILLS and that’s exactly what this bundle will allow you to do.
PLUS you get 6 months of direct access to ME!
So while you’re learning these skills as you have questions or hit road blocks, I’ll be right there to help you get through them all!
PLUS for the next 48 hours you can save 50% off the current price by using the coupon code: 50OFFSKILLZ
If you’re ready to get serious, put the work in to build the skills you need, and get me to help you through it all, make sure you grab this while the discount is around because it expires in just 48 hours from right now!
I’ve recently started creating my first children’s story book. I recently lost a cousin who was like a brother to me and I’m going to create at least one children’s book about he and I growing up.
How cool, right?
This has lead me down the path of using AI to create all kinds of children’s books. This is such a profitable little-business and AI makes it SO SO SO much easier.
You can get 275 prompts that will help you quickly and easily create children’s story books.
And I scored a coupon for you so you can save $10 on your purchase. Just use the coupon code: Liz10
There’s also an option to get private label rights to all 275 prompts too!
And yes…You can use that coupon on the PLR too!
As I said, this is a great little business (use AI to create children’s books, and use a POD company, or KDP to publish and ship them), it’s FUN, and provides kids with some enjoyment. If that sounds like something you’d like to do I HIGHLY recommend you grab these prompts and start trying your hand at this profitable-journey!
