Most of the marketing you see still relies on the Mad Men style of advertising: look at what’s great about our product.

But as a solopreneur you know that doesn’t work. Gone are the days of touting your product’s features to the masses, and expecting big sales as a result. Today’s marketing is about connection and communication with your tribe.

Here to talk more about that is the founder of JVZoo, E. Brian Rose. EBR, as his friends call him, shares why he started his company, his origins in affiliate marketing and online marketing, and much more on episode 381 of The Solopreneur Hour.

More About JVZoo

Today JVZoo is THE site for affiliate sales, but EBR’s history in online marketing predates the site. In fact his roots are in TV production and radio. As a kid he dreamed of being on the radio so when he got the chance during his time in the military he took it. But when he heard a recording of his voice he was mortified: his Boston accent was so thick! So he practiced, practiced and practiced til it was gone.

Also while serving he was a TV producer for military television. He enjoyed the production side so much that when he left the armed forces he tried his hand at a video production company. It failed miserably, but being the consummate solopreneur he moved on to the next thing.

In the mid 90s he landed what he thought was his dream job: he was a contractor for NASA. In his role he had three projects to complete within the year, he and his team finished those in the first few weeks. To kill time in his cubicle he began surfing the internet. At that time in the evolution of technology he was one of the few to have high speed internet, and he took full advantage of it.

What he saw online blew him away: the Internet was evolving right before his eyes, and he wanted a piece of the action. He wanted to move to California to get into the mix, but in the mean time he taught himself to build a web site and his next ventures grew from there.

You’ll Also Hear:

* What does the E in E. Brian Rose stand for?

* How did Rich Dad Poor Dad become so popular?

* What defines good marketing online today?

* How much did Super Bowl ads cost this year?

* Why porn shows us the latest in online marketing.

* And so much more!

Soon he was finding ways to send traffic to sites, and this was in a time when you got paid to do so. It didn’t take long for the checks to start coming in and EBR knew there was much more he could create in the online marketing space.

Until then he had been heavily involved in affiliate sales, physical product sales and generating traffic, but he found out about something called online marketing and information products. He found forums like the Warrior Forums, and read about people selling ebooks and other info products.

He soon took his turn and created an ebook called Google Red Carpet. It took off like a rocket! It was so successful that the godfather of webinars, James Jones, approached him about turning it into a video course and doing webinars to promote it. The topic he covered in Google Red Carpet is something EBR is passionate about it and something he loved sharing with others so he agreed. And that is the criteria for anything he has ever done before or since: he must love doing it and be passionate about it.

We also get into how JVZoo was started from an airport conversation with a competitor, what his Marketing Mayhem conference is all about and the latest trends he’s seeing in the online space today. This one is full of entertainment and education – enjoy episode 381 of The Solopreneur Hour!

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Are you working on the thing you love every day? What is it? Let us know in the comments below!

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