The internet is awash with pyramid schemes, get rich quick schemes and courses that promise that you can make a living from only two hours of work per day.
You may be tempted to purchase a course or book that promotes a “Killer Technique” for making money online, but do not believe the hype. The majority of people who push these products are inexperienced and their sole source of income is their “Making Money” eBook or course.
Unfortunately, most people who want to make money online look for shortcuts. I would hazard a guess that less than 1% of people who look to make a living from the internet actually do so.
If you want to be successful, work hard, don’t take shortcuts and think long-term about what you are trying to achieve.
Instead of looking for shortcuts to make a quick buck, I recommend spending your time learning new skills. You should learn how to code, read books about launching a business and examine how other businesses actually generate income.
My YouTube Crossroads
Several years ago, I was at a crossroads after selling my WordPress tutorial website WPMods. I explored a number of avenues such as publishing books, podcasting and discussion forums. I made a little money from books and discussion forums, however I quickly discovered that I enjoyed YouTube the most.
The problem is that I was a complete novice. I knew nothing about editing, nothing about recording good video and audio and no idea of the direction I had to take my channel.
If you want to see how bad I was, check out this video:
I told you I knew nothing!!!
What I lacked in knowledge, I made up with enthusiasm. I started looking at why my videos were so bad and hung out in audio and video recording communities to learn more about the technical problems I was facing.
To say I made many mistakes along the way would be an understatement, but I never looked for shortcuts. I was always looking to learn and I spent thousands of hours recording videos.
I’m nowhere near where I want to be, but I am at a point where my YouTube channels make money and I have a good understanding of how to produce videos. I would never have learned these skills if I had taken shortcuts.
People Want Success Without Doing the Work
In the early 2000s, I launched a few webmaster and marketing related discussion forums. A few years later, I launched a forum about blogging and in the early 2010s, I launched Rise Forums. Through these forums, I have had questions from tens of thousands from website owners and would-be entrepreneurs who were looking for advice.
The most frustrating aspect of helping others is that most people who asked for help did not actually want the advice you gave, they just wanted you to do it for them.
For example, someone would ask a technical question about WordPress and I would give a general explanation of the issue they were having and link to a couple of good tutorials that walked them through resolving it. Nine times out of ten, they would come back and say “Can’t you just do it for me”.
When I got a response like that, I just wished them good luck and did not waste any more time helping them. The reality is that you cannot help people who do not want to help themselves.
Final Thoughts
If you are just starting out, you may gravitate towards webmaster and marketing communities which explain how you can make money easily on the internet. Be cautious of any products that are being pushed to you there and have your “Bullshit Radar” ready as they are full of people who are projecting themselves as something they are not.
The reality is that in order to build a successful website, YouTube channel, online store or podcast, you have to put in the time.
Good luck.
Kevin