About Us
Welcome to Danko Marketing Online
As we look at the world today, one thing is taking shape and changing the lives of those individuals who believe in opportunities. It’s simply a case of economic conditions that currently exist worldwide and a big part of this change is credited to the internet.
My Story
The internet changed the way we live long before most people noticed. At first, it was a simple way to chat with friends or look up a random fact. Then it grew into this giant world where you can buy groceries, send money, learn a skill, or even run a full-time business from a laptop on your kitchen table.
What most people never see is how much power sits behind all that activity. Every click, every search, every video we watch is part of one huge machine called online marketing.
Big names like Amazon, eBay, Microsoft, Google, Wal-Mart, Apple, Facebook, Linkedin, YouTube, and countless others use it every second of every day. They’re not the only ones. Regular people use it too. People who want a fresh start. People who want more control of their time. People committed to building something authentic and personal.
I didn’t know any of this when I first stumbled into it. I never pictured myself running anything online. I didn’t grow up dreaming about websites or email lists. I was just like a lot of beginners today, curious but unsure, hopeful but confused, staring at a long road I didn’t understand yet.
Maybe that sounds like you.
Maybe you’re tired of trying things that never seem to work.
Maybe you want a way forward but can’t tell which path to take.
I get it. I’ve been there.
Why A System Matters
When I first looked at online marketing, I thought it was just posting links or tossing up a quick website. Most beginners think the same thing. It feels simple on the surface. But once you dig in, you realize there are moving parts everywhere. You need content, traffic, tools, emails, and a plan for what happens next.
That’s where most people stumble.
Their problem isn’t the lack of talent, it’s the absence of structure to channel it.
A system is not some huge business plan that takes months to write. It’s a simple outline that shows what you need to do and when you need to do it. It keeps you from chasing random ideas all day. It stops the late-night search loops where you bounce from one video to the next and end up more confused than when you started.
When I didn’t have a system, I wasted time on everything that looked fresh or exciting. One day I was building a site. The next day I was watching a video about a “new method.” Then I’d stop halfway and jump into something else. Time just slipped by, first days, weeks, then months. I felt busy, but nothing moved forward.
A system changed that.
It helped me stay focused.
It helped me put tasks in order.
It helped me finish what I started.
Most of all, it helped me see online marketing as a real business instead of a casual hobby.
And that shift matters.
When you treat this like a hobby, you get hobby results.
When you treat it like a business, you build a real path you can trust.
This is the part many beginners miss. They think others are “lucky” or “smarter,” when in truth, those people just follow a simple plan each day. Nothing fancy. Nothing complicated. Just steady steps that stack over time.
If you feel scattered right now, it’s not because you’re not meant for this. You just need structure. You need a system that takes your ideas and puts them in order so you can move forward without guessing.
That realization was one of my first big turning points.
Why Treating It Like a Hobby Holds You Back
One thing I noticed early on is how many people step into online marketing with the wrong mindset. They see it as a side project they’ll “get to when they can.” It’s fun, it’s exciting, but it’s not something they take seriously. They treat it like selling a few items on eBay or flipping old books on Amazon. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s not the same as running a real business.
I made that mistake too.
When I first started, I jumped in with interest but not intention. I didn’t set goals. I didn’t track my progress. I didn’t plan my days. I told myself I was “working on it,” but most days I was just browsing, reading, or watching videos. It felt like progress, but it wasn’t.
That’s what happens when you treat this as a hobby.
You stay busy, but you don’t build anything.
Think about it. Hobbies don’t demand discipline. They don’t require consistency. They don’t expect you to push through when you’re tired or frustrated. A hobby lets you quit without consequences. But a business? A business asks more from you. It asks you to keep going even when the process feels slow.
This is where many beginners get stuck.
They want the rewards of a business, but they bring the habits of a hobby.
I learned that if I wanted results, I had to shift the way I approached everything. I had to show up with purpose. I had to follow a plan. I had to stop jumping from one new idea to the next. Once I stopped treating online marketing like entertainment and started treating it like a real business, things began to change.
That mindset shift is one of the biggest keys to moving forward.
It doesn’t matter if you’re brand new or have been trying for years.
The moment you decide to treat this as something real, you give yourself a chance to succeed.
And that decision creates space for growth, clarity, and momentum-things you never get when you treat your goals like a casual hobby.
How I First Stepped Into Online Marketing
People often ask how I got started online, and I always joke that I “stumbled into it.” That’s partly true, but not the whole story. The real start came from someone close to me, my dad.
He worked as a web developer for years and helped clients with different parts of their online presence. Some needed websites. Some needed technical help. Others needed marketing support, and that’s where affiliate marketing came in. He showed me how a simple link could earn money. No warehouse. No office. No heavy equipment. Just a link and a bit of strategy.
That idea grabbed my attention right away.
It felt strange and exciting, like a shortcut into a new world.
I didn’t understand the full picture yet, but I knew I wanted to explore it. My dad walked me through the basics, shared resources, and nudged me toward learning more. That early direction helped me take my first real steps in 2016.
But here’s the part I want beginners to hear:
Even with help, I still felt lost.
The idea of making money online sounds simple until you try it. Then you start seeing the long list of things you don’t know. I wasn’t some tech genius. I wasn’t a marketing expert. I didn’t have a big budget or a perfect plan. I was curious, hopeful, and a little unsure of myself.
And that’s okay.
Most people start that way.
Looking back, those early days were my learning phase. I didn’t know it then, but the confusion, the slow steps, the trial and error, all of it played a part in what came next. It taught me that beginners don’t fail because they “don’t have what it takes.” They fail because they quit before they get enough pieces of the puzzle to see the picture forming.
I kept going because something in me wanted a different kind of life.
A life with more time.
More choice.
More freedom than my offline career allowed.
Those early sparks, even the small ones, became the fuel that pushed me forward.
My Life Before Online Marketing
Long before websites, email lists, or affiliate links were part of my day, I was working full-time in a Krispy Kreme store. I started back in 2011 as a production operator. At first, it was just a job. But I treated it the same way I treat anything I care about, I learned everything I could.
I spent years mastering every part of the process.
The mixers. The fryers. The glaze cooker. The proofer.
Every machine. Every ingredient. Every step that turned dough into something people loved.
I didn’t expect any of that to shape my future, but it did.
My hard work opened the door for something bigger. Only a small group of people from each franchise were invited to the Krispy Kreme headquarters in North Carolina for advanced corporate training. They called it KKU-Krispy Kreme University. The name always made people laugh, but the training was no joke. It mattered. And getting invited meant something.
Completing that training changed everything. It pushed me into a role as a corporate trainer. That job sent me across the country, helping new stores open, fixing struggling locations, and teaching teams how to run their production the right way.
I traveled from North Carolina to Utah.
From Colorado to California.
From Wisconsin down to Arizona.
Every store had a different story. Some were brand new. Some needed help. Some were fighting to stay afloat. But in each place, I learned something about people, pressure, and problem-solving. I had to show up, stay patient, keep teaching, and help people who were as stressed as I used to be on my first day.
I didn’t know it then, but those years were shaping the way I would later approach online marketing.
They taught me how to break big tasks into simple steps.
They taught me how to learn fast.
They taught me how to teach others who feel overwhelmed.
And as strange as it sounds, that part of my life is what helped me later when everything online felt confusing. Because when you’ve spent years keeping things running in a hot, noisy kitchen at 4 a.m., you learn how to push through tough days.
That mindset helped when I finally stepped into the online world.
When things didn’t make sense.
When money wasn’t coming in.
When progress felt slow.
Those offline experiences became part of the reason I kept going.
The Turning Point That Pulled Me Toward Something New
Even though I enjoyed my role at Krispy Kreme, something inside me kept tugging for more. The long hours, the early mornings, the travel, the stress, it all added up. I was proud of my work, but I knew I couldn’t live that pace forever. I wanted flexibility. I wanted room to breathe. I wanted control over my own time instead of trading every hour for a paycheck.
I didn’t realize it then, but that feeling was the first sign that my path was about to change.
Around this time, I had already started reading about online marketing here and there, thanks to my dad’s early nudge. I watched a few videos, skimmed some articles, and tried to picture what it would be like to build something on my own. At first, it felt distant, like a dream someone else might pull off but not me.
But every time my job pushed me to the edge…
Every time I came home late and exhausted…
Every time I watched my time slip away…
That quiet idea of working online grew louder.
I started thinking, “What if I could take what I’m learning and turn it into something real? What if I could build something that didn’t depend on shifts, schedules, or someone else’s approval?”
That question changed the direction of my life.
It wasn’t a bold leap at first. It was more like a slow shift. I learned during breaks. I researched at night. I played with website builders and affiliate tools on weekends. It wasn’t about chasing fast money. It was about seeing a path I didn’t know existed before.
And with every small step, the idea felt less like a fantasy and more like a future I wanted.
I realized I didn’t have to stay stuck in one version of my life forever.
I realized I could grow into something new.
I realized I didn’t need permission to start.
That moment, when curiosity turned into possibility, became my true entry point into online marketing. It wasn’t dramatic. It was steady, quiet, and honest. But it was enough to push me forward.
My Lost Years in the Maze of Information
Once I decided to take online marketing seriously, I thought things would get easier. I figured I’d learn a few steps, follow a plan, and start building something that made sense. But the moment I started digging deeper, I ran straight into the biggest trap most beginners face.
Information overload.
The internet is packed with advice. Some of it’s helpful. A lot of it isn’t. And when you’re new, it all looks the same. I jumped from video to video, course to course, blog to blog, thinking I was learning. But instead of getting clear, I got confused.
One day I was excited about affiliate marketing.
The next day I wanted to build niche sites.
A week later, I was watching videos on email marketing.
Then I’d switch to ecom, funnels, WordPress, social media, or some “secret hack.”
I felt productive, but nothing was moving forward.
Those first couple of years were rough. I spent hundreds of dollars at first, then thousands later, chasing anything that promised results. I wasn’t lazy. I wasn’t unmotivated. I was lost. The internet can pull you in a hundred different directions if you don’t have solid footing.
And here’s the truth many beginners don’t hear:
You can be working hard and still make no progress.
That’s where I was. I wasn’t building a business. I was spinning in circles. I was busy, but not effective. Every new course felt like the one until I realized it was just another thing pulling my attention away.
I reached a point where I felt frustrated, tired, and honestly a bit embarrassed.
I knew I wanted more from my life, but I didn’t know how to escape that cycle.
Looking back, those “lost years” weren’t a waste. They were part of the process. They showed me what many beginners go through, and why so many give up. They taught me the cost of distraction. They taught me that success doesn’t come from chasing every new idea or promise. It comes from sticking with something long enough for it to grow.
At that point, it was as if pressure had wrapped itself around me completely.
Pressure to make it work.
Pressure to justify what I spent.
Pressure to stop failing over and over.
And yet, even with all the setbacks, I never walked away. A voice inside kept suggesting, there must be another path.
That inner voice is the only reason I stuck around long enough to find my footing.
The Moment I Realized This Had to Become a Real Business
After wasting time, money, and energy, I reached a point where I couldn’t keep fooling myself. I wasn’t failing because I lacked potential. I wasn’t failing because this “didn’t work.” I was failing because I wasn’t acting like a business owner. I was treating online marketing like a hobby. A side activity. Something I might work on when I felt inspired.
That mindset kept me stuck.
One day, I looked at everything piled up on my laptop, half-finished courses, abandoned websites, random notes from videos I never used, and I finally said, “Enough.”
If I was going to keep going, something had to change.
I realized real businesses don’t grow by chance. They grow through intention. They grow because someone shows up, even when the progress is slow or the results aren’t there yet. Real businesses require action, not just learning.
That was my shift.
I began mapping out my days instead of just improvising them.
I started following one path instead of chasing ten.
I started building instead of browsing.
And most of all, I stopped waiting for motivation. I worked even when I didn’t feel ready. That one change alone pushed me forward more than anything I bought in those early years.
A lot of beginners never reach this point because they’re stuck in a loop of “getting ready.” They want everything perfect before they start. They want to avoid mistakes. They want to skip the messy part. But the messy part is where the real growth happens.
When I finally took ownership of my business, everything felt different. I wasn’t reacting anymore, I was choosing. I wasn’t drifting, I had direction. And for the first time, the work I put in actually meant something.
That shift didn’t bring instant success. It didn’t magically fix everything. But what it truly gave me was something far more valuable, a sense of control over my own path. For the first time, I felt like I was steering my future instead of watching it drift by.
My Desire for Freedom
When I first started chasing something better, the people close to me didn’t always get it. Some cheered me on, but others questioned every move. They weren’t trying to hurt me. They just spoke from their own fear. They’d say things like, “Why risk it?” or “Are you sure this is stable?” I was expecting, actually hoping, for encouragement.
After a while, I stopped trying to explain every step. I learned that most people only understand what they’ve lived. They couldn’t see the freedom I was aiming for, or the feeling I got when I made progress. So I kept my head down. I kept working. I let my actions speak, even if no one noticed at first.
What pushed me forward was my own need for freedom. I wanted control of my time, the chance to build something on my terms, and a life that didn’t depend on someone else’s schedule. That desire kept me steady on the days when doubt felt loud. Each small win reminded me why this path mattered, and why I wasn’t going back.
Turning Point
There comes a moment when everything clicks. It doesn’t always show up as some big event. Sometimes it’s a quiet shift inside you. For me, it happened when I realized I was tired of asking for permission to live my own life. I was tired of trading time for something that didn’t feel like mine.
I remember sitting there one day, looking at the same routine, the same limits, and thinking, “If I don’t change this now, nothing changes.” That thought hit different. It wasn’t anger. It wasn’t fear. It was clarity. A simple, honest truth that I couldn’t ignore.
From that point on, I moved with intention. I stopped treating my goals like a side hobby and started treating them like the path forward. I showed up even when I was tired. I made space for learning. I pushed through the parts that didn’t feel comfortable. That was the moment when my life stopped drifting and started building.
Helping Others Online
I’ve been in the same spot as so many people starting online, confused, stuck, and unsure which button to click next. That’s why my dad’s mention of Zig Ziglar’s idea always stuck with me:
you get what you want by helping others get what they want.
That line isn’t just a quote to me. It became a guide for how I show up.
Over the years, I’ve helped hundreds of people take their first steps. I’ve walked folks through cPanel, building their first site, constructing HTML pages, setting up landing pages, demonstrating an autoresponder, and tackling the long list of things that feel impossible in the beginning. Looking back, those tasks seem simple now, but at the time they were life-changing for the people learning them. Knowing I played even a small part still means a lot.
I haven’t figured out everything. I still make mistakes. I’m human. But I keep learning, and I keep moving. Helping others isn’t just part of the journey, it’s been one of the best parts. It keeps me grounded, and it reminds me why I keep going.
First Signs It’s Working
There’s a moment when the effort you’ve been putting in starts to show up in small but clear ways. It might be a message from someone who liked your content, a small sale, or a tiny bump in traffic. My first signs were simple, almost easy to miss, but they hit hard because they proved I wasn’t just spinning my wheels.
Those moments feel different. They give you a spark you didn’t know you needed. You start to think, “Okay… this is real.” It doesn’t mean everything is smooth or perfect. It just means the work is paying off, even if it’s slow. And slow progress is still progress.
Each sign builds your belief. You stand a little taller. You show up with more focus. You start trusting yourself more than the doubt around you. And with every small win, the path ahead gets clearer.
Every step of my journey taught me that anyone can build something real online if they stay steady and follow a simple plan. You don’t need perfect skills or a flawless start. You just need clear guidance, honest support, and the drive to keep going when the path feels slow.
If you want help with your next steps, or you just want a place where things finally make sense, you’re welcome to join my newsletter. I’d be glad to have you there.
Danny
Danko Marketing
