Quick Answer: All credit goes to William J. Tobin who is known as the father of affiliate marketing. Contemporary online affiliate marketing is one of the greatest inventions of all time and one many have used to make real passive income online.
1989 was a year full of political stress with a lot happening like the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Despite these turbulent times, a man called William J. Tobin founded a company known as PC Flowers & Gifts.
Tobin himself was a military veteran and had multiple entrepreneurial endeavours. This was his seventh startup of the ten founded since 1968.
The company sold flowers online and was officially the pioneer of the first affiliate marketing program for the web.
That said, to answer it well, you might want to learn more about the life of the pioneer of modern affiliate marketing. This article will give you a walkthrough of his life story.
The Journey
Born and raised in New York City, William J. Tobin started his first venture at an age of only 12 years old. He started a lawn mowing business with a lawn edger, he got through his mother.
In 1959, he went to the State University of New York to earn an associate degree. His landscaping business had grown sufficiently to 12 workers and 2 trucks when he graduated.
Since his father was a policeman, Tobin joined the U.S. Army. Later, he went to Adelphi University for a bachelor’s degree in business.
Career & Companies
Tobin founded, marketed and financed several companies since 1968. The companies under the umbrella of his reign were:
- Cal Industries, Inc.
- Travel Concepts, Inc.
- Concept Industries, Inc.
- Cal Pack Industries, Inc.
- Software Concepts, Inc.
- Concept Communication, Inc.
- PC Flowers, Inc.
- Instruments of Sweden, Inc.
- PC Flowers & Gifts
- Commerce Technology Licensing, LLC
The Success Of Affiliate Marketing
In 1989, he launched his e-commerce site with a program on the Prodigy network.
Prodigy provided a wide range of network services to its subscribers. They followed the first affiliate model and paid Prodigy network a certain commission on every sale conducted.
It made $6 million per annum in 1993.
In 1994, before this successful venture could capture the attention of other players in the market, Tobin launched the prototype of his company, “PC Flowers & Gifts” on the web.
This company originated the ability to provide affiliate marketing, tracking and customized flowers and gifts services to other countless websites.
It was in collaboration with one of the biggest multinational technology corporations in the world called IBM. IBM owned half of the Prodigy program.
Patents Of Affiliate Marketing
In 1995, the website was launched for the public. The company marked its success with 2,700 affiliate marketing partners by 1998.
Belief in this marketing model convinced Tobin to apply for the patent on tracking and affiliate marketing in 1996. The patent almost took 5 years to get approved. He secured 15 patents in his life career.
Achievements
He published a book, “Confessions of a Compulsive Entrepreneur and Inventor: How I Secured Fifteen Patents, Started Ten Companies, and Became a Pioneer on the Internet” in 2011.
William J. Tobin was named, “Top 100, Marketing Executives”, “Man Of The Year” and “Entrepreneur Of The Year” on several international forums and magazines.
William J. Tobin’s Current Life
He is a panellist and speaker for entrepreneurial innovation and business management. He currently lives in Florida, where he founded the Tobin Family Education and Health Foundation.
With time and conclusions drawn from experiments, new tactics and methods are tailored, so the affiliate marketing we see today is contrary to what it was back then, but it is right to say that William J. Tobin ignited the spark to show us the pathway.
Is Affiliate Marketing Still Alive & Well Today?
Now you know how affiliate marketing started, how it started and who invented it.
But I guess the most important question is:
Is affiliate marketing dead or is it still a good way to start a business, work from home and generate a full-time online today?
And the answer is a huge resounding “YES!”
There has never been a better time to get working on your online income goals and make your dream business a reality.
So what are you waiting for?
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