Is The Golden Age Of Making Money Online Over?

Summary

The script discusses the evolution of making money online, noting the shift from the 'Golden Age' to a more competitive landscape. It highlights the rise and fall of various online money-making methods, such as affiliate marketing, dropshipping, and NFTs/cryptocurrency investments. The speaker emphasizes the importance of providing value in the current digital age, suggesting four ways to succeed: acquiring high-value skills, being a connector or agency, creating high-value products, and producing high-value content. The video concludes by encouraging viewers to focus on value creation rather than quick money, and acknowledges the need for a balance between online opportunities and traditional education or trade skills.

Takeaways

• 📈 The Golden Age of making money online has seen several boom-and-bust cycles, starting from the mid-2000s to the mid-2020s.
• 🛑 Dropshipping, once a lucrative business model, has declined due to increased consumer skepticism and higher advertising costs.
• 📱 The rise of social media marketing agencies (SMMA) was popularized by online creators but has become saturated, leading to a noisy market.
• 💰 The crypto and NFT markets experienced a surge in 2020 but have since declined significantly, with many projects failing to provide lasting value.
• 📚 Tim Ferriss' book 'The 4-Hour Work Week' and Tai Lopez's online marketing strategies were pivotal in popularizing the idea of making money online.
• 🔍 Early adopters in the online money-making space benefited from low competition and high ad rates, which have since increased dramatically.
• 🚫 Traditional affiliate marketing methods like spam emails and pop-up ads have become less effective due to improved spam filters and consumer awareness.
• 📉 The decline in trust for dropshipping and the saturation of the SMMA market have made it harder for newcomers to succeed without providing genuine value.
• 💡 Success in the current online landscape requires providing high-value skills, products, or services, rather than relying on outdated or deceptive methods.
• 🌐 The internet continues to offer opportunities for those willing to work hard and provide value, despite the increased competition and sophistication of consumers.
• 🎓 While the internet offers alternatives to traditional education for some, it's important to recognize that not everyone can or should pursue online money-making as their sole career path.

Q & A

What was the impact of the 2020 pandemic on the dropshipping business model?

The pandemic spiked the interest in dropshipping as more people were home and looking for ways to earn money online. However, the script suggests that the trust in dropshipping websites has since decreased, making it harder to make a profit.

Why did the author mention Tim Ferriss and his book 'The 4-Hour Work Week'?

Tim Ferriss' book is credited with pushing people to reconsider their traditional in-person jobs and explore opportunities on the Internet, which helped to popularize the idea of making money online.

What role did Tai Lopez play in the 'make money online' movement?

Tai Lopez was one of the pioneers in monetizing online courses and paid ads, which led to a surge in the 'make money online' movement. His success with a single video earning $100 million revolutionized the game and inspired many others to follow suit.

How have online marketing practices evolved over time?

Initially, online marketing was characterized by cheap ad rates and tactics like popup marketing and spam email marketing. However, as the internet matured and corporations cracked down on spam, these methods became less effective. Google improved its spam filters, and consumers became more aware of such tactics, leading to a shift towards more sustainable and value-driven marketing practices.

What is the current state of the affiliate marketing industry according to the script?

Affiliate marketing still exists but has significantly changed from its early days. The script indicates that the industry has become more regulated, with Google's improved spam filters and consumers' increased awareness of spam emails.

What factors contributed to the decline of dropshipping as a profitable venture?

The decline of dropshipping is attributed to increased ad rates, consumers becoming more discerning and less trusting of random websites, and the rise of fast shipping standards set by companies like Amazon.

What are the two sides of the NFT and crypto game mentioned in the script?

The two sides of the game are people purchasing and selling NFTs for profit and those launching their own cryptocurrencies or NFTs, building an audience, and promoting it for a launch that could potentially bring in millions.

Why has the NFT market declined significantly?

The NFT market has declined due to a combination of scams, rug pulls, and a general loss of trust from consumers who have learned from past experiences and are now more cautious about investing in unproven digital assets.

What is the current state of the social media marketing agency (SMMA) industry?

The SMMA industry has become saturated with many people offering their services without necessarily having the skills or experience. This has led to increased competition and a need for those in the field to provide genuine value and results to stand out.

What are the four ways to provide value and succeed in making money online according to the script?

The four ways to provide value and succeed online are by acquiring high-value skills, being a high-value agency or connector, creating high-value products, and producing high-value content.

What is the author's view on the necessity of a college education in today's world?

The author suggests that while there are opportunities to make money online and learn valuable skills without a college education, society still requires many jobs that necessitate a college degree or trade skill. The author emphasizes that not everyone can or should make money online, and there is value in traditional education for certain roles.

Outlines

00:00

📉 The Evolution and Decline of Online Money-Making Trends

This paragraph discusses the rise and fall of various online money-making methods. It starts with the peak of dropshipping in 2015 and its decline due to increased Facebook ad rates and lack of consumer trust. The speaker mentions the temporary success of starting agencies and the current saturation of the market with service providers like copywriters and social media managers. The paragraph then shifts to the brief boom of NFTs and cryptocurrencies in 2020, which has since cooled down significantly. The speaker questions if the golden age of making money online is over, reflecting on the past decade's trends and how they have shaped the current landscape of online opportunities.

05:00

🚀 Adapting to the Changing Online Landscape: Value-Driven Approaches

The second paragraph focuses on the transition from easy money-making schemes to more sustainable and value-driven approaches. It highlights the importance of learning and providing high-value skills, such as social media marketing, to succeed in the competitive online space. The speaker acknowledges the initial success of these methods but points out the current oversaturation and the need for genuine expertise. The paragraph also touches on the broader implications of an overly online-focused economy and the importance of providing real value to consumers. It concludes with four suggested strategies for online success: acquiring high-value skills, being a connector or high-value agency, creating high-value products, and producing high-value content.

10:02

🛠 The Future of Online Earning: Value Over Quick Gains

In the final paragraph, the speaker emphasizes the shift from seeking quick online gains to focusing on providing value as the key to sustainable success. They argue that the era of easy money online is ending, and it's being replaced by a more legitimate and value-oriented approach. The speaker encourages the audience to think about how they can provide value rather than just making money. They also address the debate around the necessity of college education versus online entrepreneurship, suggesting that while the internet offers significant opportunities for those willing to work hard and provide value, traditional education and skills are still vital for societal functioning. The paragraph ends with an invitation to join a community of like-minded individuals focused on hard work and value creation.

Keywords

💡Drop Shipping

Drop Shipping is a retail fulfillment method where a store does not keep the products it sells in stock. Instead, when a store sells a product using drop shipping, it purchases the item from a third party and has it shipped directly to the customer. In the video, drop shipping is mentioned as a once lucrative online money-making method that has become less profitable due to increased competition and consumer distrust.

💡TikTok

TikTok is a social media platform known for its short-form videos. In the context of the video, TikTok is referenced as a platform where young people were showcasing their success in making significant amounts of money through drop shipping, which inspired others to try the same method.

💡Social Media Marketing Agencies (SMMA)

SMMA stands for Social Media Marketing Agencies, which are businesses that offer services in managing and growing a brand's social media presence. The script mentions that starting an SMMA was popularized by online creators and initially was a successful venture, but it has become saturated with many people offering similar services, leading to increased competition.

💡NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens)

NFTs are unique digital assets that represent ownership of a specific item or piece of content on the blockchain. The video discusses how NFTs were a hot trend in 2020, with many people making money through investments or drops. However, the market has since cooled, and the hype has largely dissipated.

💡Cryptocurrencies

Cryptocurrencies are digital or virtual currencies that use cryptography for security and operate independently of a central bank. The script refers to cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and others, which were part of the online money-making landscape. It also mentions the crash of the crypto market and the skepticism that has grown around new crypto offerings.

💡Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based marketing strategy where businesses reward affiliates for each customer brought in by the affiliate's marketing efforts. In the video, it's described as one of the early methods of making money online, where people promoted offers and earned commissions. However, the script notes that this method has evolved due to changes in internet regulations and consumer behavior.

💡SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO refers to the process of improving the visibility and ranking of a website or a web page in search engine results. The video mentions that in the early days of affiliate marketing, SEO was used to rank sites with affiliate links at the top of search results. However, search engines have since improved their algorithms to combat spam and poor SEO practices.

💡Value

Value, in the context of the video, refers to the worth or usefulness that a product, service, or content provides to consumers. The script emphasizes that sustainable online money-making strategies are those that offer genuine value to the end consumer. It contrasts this with previous methods that did not provide value and have since become less effective.

💡High Value Skills

High value skills are specialized abilities or expertise that are in high demand and can command a premium in the marketplace. The video suggests that acquiring such skills, like graphic design, can lead to opportunities for providing value to others and earning money online.

💡Content Producer

A content producer is someone who creates valuable content, such as articles, videos, or other media, for an audience. In the video, the concept of becoming a high-value content producer is presented as a way to provide value and make money online by creating content that people find valuable and engaging.

💡E-commerce

E-commerce refers to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, as well as the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions. The script discusses the shift in consumer trust towards established e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Walmart, making it more challenging for individual drop shipping websites to compete.

Highlights

The Golden Age of making money online may be over, with the rise and fall of various online money-making methods.

Dropshipping was a huge money maker until 2020, but now consumers rarely trust dropshipping websites due to increased ad rates and negative reputation.

The online agency trend was popularized by creators like Iman Gousti, but now the market is saturated with copywriters and social media managers.

The NFT and crypto markets boomed in 2020, but have since declined significantly, with the NFT market near zero and a lack of trust in new crypto launches.

Making money online has evolved from a rarity to a common career path, with Google Trends showing a spike in interest from 2015 onwards.

Tim Ferriss' 'The 4-Hour Work Week' and Tai Lopez's online marketing strategies were pivotal in changing perceptions of online income generation.

Affiliate marketing was an early method for earning money online, but has since declined due to stricter regulations and consumer awareness.

Dropshipping's initial success was due to cheap ad rates and a lack of consumer awareness; these advantages have since diminished.

The rise and fall of online money-making methods are tied to their ability to provide value, with non-value providing methods not lasting.

SMAS (Social Media Marketing Agencies) are a current trend, but the market is becoming saturated with inexperienced service providers.

The tech industry has become increasingly competitive, making it harder for new startups to break through.

Despite the changes, the internet still levels the playing field by connecting people globally and requiring lower capital investment.

Providing value is key to successful online money-making, with four main methods: high-value skills, high-value agencies, high-value products, and high-value content.

The era of easy online money is ending, with a shift towards sustainable businesses and increased value.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of hard work, learning, and providing value rather than focusing solely on making money.

The video concludes by challenging the notion that everyone can make money online, highlighting the need for diverse roles and skills in society.

A community for non-spam based hustlers is being built, inviting those who are willing to work hard and provide value to join.

Transcripts

is the Golden Age of making money online

over in 2015 Drop Shipping sprung onto

the scene with people of all ages

launching stores and it used to be a

huge Money Maker it spiked even more

when everyone was home during 2020 my

Tik Tok feed was littered with kids

making $100,000 a month from their

stores and now it's gone now consumers

will rarely trust a Drop Shipping

website Facebook ad rates shot up where

it was so much harder to make a buck and

talk of it online has almost dropped to

zero M were next they were the next big

thing you can learn a scale and start an

agency and I think Iman gosi and a

couple other creators online popularized

it and many really started to succeed

with it but now my DMs are filled with

hundreds of copywriters social media

managers and Community Builders and I'm

by no means a big figurehead in the

space and with hundreds in my DM saying

the same thing it all just becomes noise

then there were nfts and cryptos in 2020

Millions started earning money with

crypto coins or nft Investments or drops

and now the nft market is at near zero

what it was before and no one dares do

an nft drop and what's jumped up to take

their place this begs the question is

the Golden Age of making money online

over starting in the mid-20s making

money online has been the golden

opportunity if we look at the Google

Trends we can see right here where

interest starts to spike like never

before sure there were people making

money online before but they were few

and far between it wasn't seen as an

actual career path and a real Rarity

when you met someone actually doing that

but a few things really changed that the

first may have been Tim Ferris in the

4-Hour Work Week published in 2007 it

pushed people to re-evaluate their

presence in an inperson offense when

opportunities on the Internet or at

least connecting through the internet

existed it developed a cult following

over the years but 8 years later the

make money online craze really hit it

was 2015 and Tai Lopez was popping up on

every feed corporations were behind

although almost all of them had online

presences they hadn't figured out the

online marketing game like some of these

newcomers did Ty Lopez was one of the

first to discover paying ads to creating

a course while there were people earning

money online before it spawned the

movement that one video earned him $100

million and it revolutionized the game

and spawn hundreds if not thousands of

lookalikes no one had caught on yet so

ad rates were cheap he was getting

impressions for cents on the dollar but

it did not last long many other Hustlers

saw the opportunity and now ad rates in

the make money online Niche are well

above 20 times what they had originally

been and there were soon hundreds of

creators talking about making money

online in your YouTube feed your

Facebook feed your Instagram feed

wherever you turned online a new

generation was starting to get to the

age where they could work and growing up

with the internet and seeing the

potential with it in a different way

from the generations that had grown up

without it one of the first methods that

was popular was affiliate marketing

sites like ClickBank popped up and

Ordinary People could find offers

promote them and get paid for promoting

these offers this was in the days of

popup marketing and spam email marketing

in the wild wild west of the internet

before corporations started to crack

down on spam and unwanted messages this

was in the days where SEO or search

engine optimization could rank your site

with a couple of suspicious backlinks to

take your site to the top of Google with

all your affiliate links on it and start

generating hundreds overnight but as

I've alluded to as the internet turned

less from the Wild Wild West to a place

that's very Cor corporate compared to

what it used to be these methods have

been shut down Google spam filter has

stepped up its game manyfold over the

years and consumers themselves have

caught onto these spam emails as well

Google search has updated its algorithms

to better protect against websites

taking advantage of bad SEO practices

and nearly all browsers have pop-up

protections to prevent these type of ads

from blowing up users desktops you can't

get away with promoting suspicious

offers in the same way you used to

affiliate marketing still exists but in

a very different sense from how it used

to with affiliate marketing on the

decline Drop Shipping was one of the

next to spring up take a product from

China make a website listing it and

targeting an American audience while

selling that product for a premium and

only ordering the product once you got

an order it was a massive Money Maker

Facebook ad rates were cheap customers

were yet to know better on trusting

random websites and two-day shipping on

Amazon was yet to become the golden

standard and apart from these

money-making circles the idea of Drop

Shipping wasn't well known and consumers

had no idea that their product might be

shipped on demand from China but since

then all of those things have changed

Facebook ads and ads across the web

rates have shut up two or one day

shipping is now the standard from Amazon

and other sites and consumers don't

trust random websites to send them

belongings anymore there's a huge

negative connotation around Drop

Shipping and regular customers know

about it now and actively avoid sites

that give off that impression nowadays

everyone knows something about it and

it's got a certain prenot around it and

when I tell people that I do e-commerce

they say oh you drop ship there were a

lot of Bad actors that ruin the name of

Drop Shipping with nfts and crypto there

were two sides of the game there were

people purchasing the drops of nfts and

selling them down the line for massive

profits and on the crypto end too with

the rise of Bitcoin Dogecoin and teruna

and there were tons of people launching

cryptos in NF of their own building an

audience or paying others to promote it

and doing a launch day where they can

bring in millions with one launch across

the past several years though crypto has

crashed as a whole and several cryptos

have come out to be complete scams like

terraluna and the collapse of FDX and so

many nft drops turned out to just be rug

pools with creators not caring about

creating any value just taking a quick

buck and quickly taking their money out

after their big paid it consumers

quickly learn their lesson about

trusting this influencers with these

drops and putting their money into

unproven currencies and commodities like

crypto and this brings us to smas SM ma

came on to the scene hard following all

this from creators like Iman gosti and

Hustler's University promoting these as

great opportunities marketing your

skills to people who need them

specifically in the world of social

media and of all these opportunities

I've got to admit this is probably the

best one a lot of the time there's

actual value being presented although

there are a lot of people beginning

their money-making Journeys targeting

businesses before they actually learn a

single skill in social media marketing

or prove they can do anything themselves

as this position got to be too popular

DMS filled up from thousands and

thousands of people advertising their

service without actually too many of

them knowing too well what they were

doing and with thousands reaching out

there's only a few at the very top that

can see and break through the web feels

so corporate now when's the last time an

upstart tech company or website broke

through feels like Fang as their fangs

around the tech industry isn't letting

anyone up for air is it even still

possible to break through the easy money

is now gone consumers and internet users

have smarted up the rug pools the scams

the terrible deals they're starting to

not work as well anymore the competition

of people wanting to make money online

is alltime high but I think if you put

in the work there is still so much

Potential from 2010 to 2024 this period

was an ERA where early comers could

Dominate and skim off people that didn't

know any better like complete a survey

for free gem Drop Shipping cheap Chinese

products or those left holding the bag

on Dead nft projects consumers although

not all for a large part know a whole

lot better how to recognize a bad deal

when they see one back in the day when

snake oil salesman first started to

exist people at first didn't recognize

these people as scammers but over time

they developed a name for themselves and

the same thing is happening on the web

where people originally didn't know

really what was going on until now they

have that sense and they know over 60%

of e-commerce sales happen on Amazon or

Walmart and the full nft market cap is

less than 10% of its peak there's a

reason for that the internet is a

platform and even though corporations

have adapted to it it still levels the

playing field in so many ways for one it

connects people across the world for two

no one has to know your age and number

three there's a lower capital investment

needed and four there are tools

available at your fingertips when I was

12 looking to make money there was no

way I could have done it without the

internet if I had been a 12-year-old

going to people they would have said hey

you're 12 and they wouldn't have trusted

me the internet gave me the platform to

do so when I was 18 looking to set up my

store selling my products across the us

there was no way I could have done it

without the internet and connected to

people across the US like that but how

to do it now that it's so competitive

and these methods of before are so Out

Of Reach it's not as simple as listing a

product and Bam you have results you

actually have to put in some work when

you look at money is simply an exchange

of value and if you provide value money

comes anything that doesn't provide

value will not last as a method for

making money the truth is these methods

before the reason they didn't work or

stop working is they didn't provide

value there's no value in spamming

people with affiliate link popups no

value provided in overpriced drop ship

products from China no value in nft

drops and crypto drops that are simply

out just to gain a buck and no value in

smma if you don't actually put in the

work and learn the skill first to have

the results to show for it imagine a

world where everyone working is a drop

shipper or nft Creator or SM agency

owner or affiliate marketer that world

would never work there are so many

functions of society that wouldn't be

met so think how can you provide value

now there are four ways that you can

provide value and still succeed with

making money online now the key between

all four of these is all four of them

you are providing value to the end

consumer and we're going to go through

all four of them and explain hopefully

from these four you'll find one that

really connects with you the first one

is high value skills this is the doer by

finding a skill and learning a high

value skill you can learn a skill that

other people need to work on if you

learn a high value skill like graphic

design you're able to take that skill

and Market it towards people that need

that skill and there's tons of other

super high value skills like that now

smma is kind of the start of this but a

lot of people enter it without actually

knowing and taking the time to learn and

build the skill by being a doer and

learning a high value skill it takes

actually putting in that time to learn

the skill so that you can provide the

end person some value the second method

is being a high value agency or a

connector by being a connector you're

connecting businesses with the people

they need in order to be successful in

certain areas even if you don't do the

skill yourself an example I think of in

the music industry is DJ khed right DJ

khed doesn't sing he doesn't rap and he

doesn't even make a lot of his own beats

but what he does do is he connects

singers and rappers and beat beat makers

together to make hit songs right in this

case he is the connector bringing these

pieces together and you can think how

you can create value from something that

businesses aren't realizing that you

know you can capitalize on to take

advantage of this Arbitrage in the

industry the Third Way is by creating a

high value products by being a provider

these are not cheap drop ship products

from China how can you create a unique

product that doesn't exist yet that

actually provides value in sell it and

if you are able to provide a product

that doesn't exist and creates value

isn't there before I know there's a lot

of products out there but people do this

every single day you can capitalize on

and sell that product for that increase

in value as a provider and the fourth

category is producing high value content

as a producer this is not just making

content to Market your course this is

how can you actually put content out

there that people value to become a

Content producer and make a name for

yourself with high value skills if your

skill is good enough and produces enough

value for that business you can charge

that price with a high value agency if

connecting the right people together is

valuable enough you can charge for that

value provided and with high value

products if that product actually

provides enough value you can charge for

the value it provides with being a high

value producer a Content maker you can

charge for the value you provide the key

thing here is to stop asking how I can

make money but start asking how can I

provide value and the money part will

figure itself out we're exiting an era

of making money online where money was

easy to come by but this is because it

wasn't obtained in the legitimate way

we're exiting the era of the rug Poes of

the cheap products the scams and

entering something that's a little bit

better for everyone involved but I think

that's a good thing businesses are

becoming more sustainable value is

increasing and the opportunity is bigger

than ever you just have to put in the

work and one more big thing to note I

see a lot of influencers talking about

how college is not a good idea how you

can make so much more money online and

how you don't need college for those

skills and I think this is a great

lesson for some there's a lot of people

that can benefit through the internet

through learning skill there and there's

still a ton of potential for the

internet for those that are willing to

put in the work and provide something of

value but it is for those few that are

willing to put in the work the world

cannot function with people only earning

money on the internet there are so many

jobs that are Society requires that

require people to get a college

education or a trade skill and to put in

that work not everyone will be able to

make Mone on the internet now you could

be one of those people and if you're

highly motivated you have a strong work

ethic and are willing to work to provide

value that could be you it takes a lot

of hard work there's no rails for you to

follow and there's a whole lot of

learning and experimenting involved it's

not for everyone and everyone could not

do it because Society could not function

if everybody was just trying to make

money online but if you think you're a

part of that few then go right for it

now if you think that's you we're

building a community of non-cam based

Hustlers that are down to put in the

work and there's a link below to sign up

for the wait list for the community I

hope to see you there if not please

subscribe and I'll catch you guys next

video