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What are people NOT talking about anymore?

lowtek

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per @Maxboost avatar... making money with classified ads ;)

In all seriousness, though some may have mentioned it, I think we've hit peak social media marketing agencies. I used to get spammed on Facebook by ads for training on how to run facebook ads, and I don't anymore.
 
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GuestUser4aMPs1

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web design
digital marketing
This a gag?

Have to agree to an extent.

I don't think Web Design / Digital Marketing was ever get rich quick...

But it certainly feels that way if you learned this stuff in a weekend and don't have a market angle to grow from. Trying to grow into a large, broad agency is a losing strategy in my honest opinion.

Is the dude who learned digital marketing in a weekend going to get rich overnight, or even build a successful agency based on his knowledge of how to build a website alone? Don't think so...

@Fox does well because of his rigorous approach to building sites that sell.
@Lex DeVille does well because of his NLP-style of copywriting.

Scorpion Marketing is a web design firm dedicated specifically to law firms.
They didn't go the path of the generalist...they figured out what challenges law firms face in digital marketing and built a company around solving those problems

Could somebody still make money doing Web Design/PPC/Copywriting? Sure.
But it's becoming much more competitive and less innovative...making it paramount that these guys find a market angle that is not just a slight value-add, but a quantum leap in value that nobody else could deliver.

In conclusion, I would only say the digital marketing space is "get rich quick" if you're just planning on copying what everyone else is doing.

...which come to think of it, could probably be said for a lot of things in this thread. Blaze your own trail. @lowtek, you used to be in PPC. Would you say the same?
 
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Fox

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Web design is a tough one...

It kinda has always been popular so I don't think its particularly overhyped right now compared to any other year. I think its a little bit skewed cause a lot of web designers come on here and post progress threads - so it looks more popular (here) than it is.

If you go to YouTube and search videos for other things like Amazon FBA or Crypto and compare them to web design numbers you will see its way lower. I would say it actually peaked a few years back - some videos from 2010-2014 have massive views.

With any business model you see online, there are going to be winners and people who didn't do so well. The 80/20 split is going to show up with any business model - especially one with very little barrier to entry. Some people don't put in the work or can't make it work.

I cut back on the way I talked about web design cause it does take a lot of work and I don't want people thinking its easy money. At the same time its something you can learn fast, with very little risk or investment, and be profitable in. BUT it takes work.

This year I am purposely making content that shows exactly what it takes to combat all the hype that others use to market courses etc.

So for web design, I would say - it's over saturated for cookie cutter "agencies" but still very doable for someone who can actually bring some value.
 

Fox

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Is the dude who learned digital marketing in a weekend going to get rich overnight, or even build a successful agency based on his knowledge of how to build a website alone? Don't think so...

Exactly.

Compare that to the person who learns web design and then spends 6 months learning photo and video editing, and then 6 months on email systems and automation systems, then 6 months on...

Give this person a few years and they can combine a bunch of skills to make a full system that adds a ton of value.

But most people come in and send 500 exactly-the-same emails to dentists and expect things to kick off.

 
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Timmy C

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Each year, a new get rich quick scheme pops up and everyone starts talking about it like it's the only way to make any real money.

The easy money dries up, the market matures, the conversation dies, and then money-chasers jump onto the next get rich quick scheme.

So, as an exercise to help identify "gold rushes" of the past, in order to help identify similar phenomena of the future, I wanted to make this thread where we can point out what people are NOT talking about anymore. It doesn't necessarily mean that the market is dead, just means that it's not as easy money as people thought.

I'll start with the past:

Cryptocurrency
  • I believe in the merits of the technology, but it's worthy noting that the conversation has been dead ever since the market cap plummeted months ago.
  • If the market cap bounces back, prepare for another wave of money-chasers and countless threads on the front page.

Amazon FBA

  • This used to be "the only way to make money" on many forums including this one
  • I've lost count the number of times people asked me why I wasn't just selling on Amazon and that my business model of selling offline was stupid
  • The market matured and now it's not as easy as before, so people aren't interested anymore; now you're competing against random guys in China happy to make $10,000 a year working full-time
  • Conversation has shifted from "the easiest money you'll ever make" to "Amazon FBA is a scam" -- a 180 degree shift in stupidity

Amazon Publishing

  • Similar to FBA, but conversation died a bit earlier
  • When I joined this forum, this was the most talked about way of making money
  • People that had nothing to do with writing suddenly started writing erotica and getting ecstatic about their newfound get rich quick scheme
  • Market matured, Amazon made changes, the conversation died.

What else can you think of?

Disclaimer: I'm fully expecting a lot of hate for making this thread.


With crypto just wait till the next FOMO cycle happens and the front page is full lol. I have never stopped looking at it or talking about it with friends etc. It's still huge just the forum convo has died.
 

PizzaOnTheRoof

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web design
digital marketing

I've noticed EVERYONE is jumping on this.

80/20 rule. 80% of the business is going to %20 of web designers.

Although the market is large, it is also finite. These business owners are getting hammered daily with cold calls and emails.

If you can't sell, don't bother. A poll was conducted on Fox's group and maybe 5% made decent money, the rest were making $20k-40k. Basically a full time job with no benefits or stability. People were literally starving.

One major digital marketing firm in my city shut its doors down and moved. I opened up my chamber of commerce and a new "digital marketing" agency always opens up once per month.

It's a tough business and CAN WORK but it's not different from any type of shopify or amazon FBA or real estate agent. It's NOT easy money and very tough.

If you don't have a portfolio or a network, it's a hard grind...
And yet most businesses still have crappy websites.

And yet most business still don’t do any digital marketing at all.

The opportunity is still there, it’s just not being talked about.

There’s much tougher and harder ways of making a living than digital marketing lol

Some of them are on this very forum too.

@Andy Black @lowtek @eliquid
 
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Longinus

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And yet most businesses still have crappy websites.

And yet most business still don’t do any digital marketing at all.

The opportunity is still there, it’s just not being talked about.

There’s much tougher and harder ways of making a living than digital marketing lol

Some of them are on this very forum too.

@Andy Black @lowtek @eliquid

I'll even say more: quality of webdesign varies per country. It's 2019 and I still have to see one decent Chinese website. And I won't even go into SEO...
 

PizzaOnTheRoof

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I'll even say more: quality of webdesign varies per country. It's 2019 and I still have to see one decent Chinese website. And I won't even go into SEO...
Yep, and guess what? It’s location independent too!
 

Andy Black

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The Hammock and Laptop blogs?

Are they all still the rage?
 
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jpn

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I'll even say more: quality of webdesign varies per country. It's 2019 and I still have to see one decent Chinese website. And I won't even go into SEO...

I agree with you (from a Western perspective). Having said that, Chinese companies that want to interact with Chinese consumers often don't need a website. They need a WeChat company account, a lot of people don't visit websites.

And if they do need websites, they need to make them attractive for Chinese consumers. Generally this means a lot busier and cluttered than what a Western visitor would like. Also no need to worry about SEO for Google, as Google is blocked.

Interesting thought though, if Google goes ahead with opening their search engine in China (they're working on it), could this create a massive opportunity for SEO specialists?
 

Longinus

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I agree with you (from a Western perspective). Having said that, Chinese companies that want to interact with Chinese consumers often don't need a website. They need a WeChat company account, a lot of people don't visit websites.

And if they do need websites, they need to make them attractive for Chinese consumers. Generally this means a lot busier and cluttered than what a Western visitor would like. Also no need to worry about SEO for Google, as Google is blocked.

Interesting thought though, if Google goes ahead with opening their search engine in China (they're working on it), could this create a massive opportunity for SEO specialists?

I'm talking about Chinese companies aiming at international business. From what I know, they have no idea about how bad they're doing, they don't realize people outside of China seek everything on Google, they have no clue about SEO and believe fundamentally in Alibaba (and other platforms). Chinese "SEO-services" are a total joke, because those "experts" can do what they want because nobody can check the results.

I believe this is an opportunity as we speak.
 
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csalvato

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Yea, amazing how that crypto-buzz that was going on in this forum pretty much died at the same time bitcoin went into a bear market. As soon as "HARD" shows up, the money chasers evaporate looking for the next best easy thing. I'm sure the tech will survive and eventually turn into something, but I'm glad most of the hype has fizzled.

Only 2-3 people i know still watch it, and i’m still a long term investor...that influx set back progress by at least 2-3 years, sadly
 

jesseissorude

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Only 2-3 people i know still watch it, and i’m still a long term investor...that influx set back progress by at least 2-3 years, sadly
Same here.

I bought about $2k of BTC when the price was $3400 back in July of 2017 sold half my position that December when things skyrocketed (It was around $16,000 when I sold) so that I took a healthy profit and recouped my initial cash, and let the rest ride.

I wish I had sold it all and re-bought a little after the collapse, but I also definitely can't complain :clench:. I had no idea the collapse would be so swift.

I got on the other investement meme train--Cannabis stocks--too, and they've been amazing for me as well. I bought before the initial hype/rally/rebound, so no matter how low it goes I almost can't lose.
Same with cannabis stocks, when things skyrocketed, I sold half my position to recoup my initial investment and take a healthy profit. Everything else I'm going to let ride for the long term.
 

vshetty.vs

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Apps. “I’ve got an idea for an app!” “Feck off.”

OUCH!! This reminds me of a conversation I used to have with my parents where I justified not wanting to go to college because I was gonna build the next Billion(Not million) dollar app.
I had no problem to solve.

No clue about the real world.

Just that I wanted to build the next snapchat.

If only I could introduce that munchkin to the fastlaneforum.
 
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Eskil

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Lol yep, affiliate marketing and PPC arbitrage for sure. And re-billed diet pills, lol. Raspberry ketones anyone?

Not to mention product specific trends that came and went on FBA, and basically commodotized products like BBQ gloves, bake mats, phone cases, and other "wow such great margins" ideas. :)
 

Maxboost

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And yet most businesses still have crappy websites.

And yet most business still don’t do any digital marketing at all.

The opportunity is still there, it’s just not being talked about.

There’s much tougher and harder ways of making a living than digital marketing lol

Some of them are on this very forum too.

@Andy Black @lowtek @eliquid

Absolutely agree. I would say 80% of the websites are crappy and business owners don't spend any money on digital marketing......but these same businesses are still in business and growing. A lot of business owners don't see the need for a new website or see the value it can bring.

Web design is very much like being a personal trainer. The majority of people out there are fat and overweight but it is hard to convince them to use a personal trainer to lose weight. They'll use one when they absolutely need to get one.

As I said earlier, web design is all about sales. I've seen web designers in my city making a killing doing sub par work. If you can't sell, don't bother.
 

ZF Lee

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Good ol' email marketing.

Every online business that sells stuff from a page always ask for your email, but I feel that people haven't used this to the fullest extent yet.

It takes even MORE work than social media to plan entire days' worth of email loops and targeting.

I've subscribed to the email lists of a few local companies, but only one regularly keeps me in the loop (education consultant). The content is too rudimentary and lack value. Looks like a $5 small job instead of a professional advice write-up.

I've noticed that some great folks I signed up emails to like Altucher began to lack rather severely in terms of informational content (that convinces me that they are the go-to guy to buy their promos), as well as headlines (sometimes do not reflect benefit of the product). Maybe they are burned out or need a realignment? Or perhaps my expectations have changed in the last few months?

I'm talking about Chinese companies aiming at international business. From what I know, they have no idea about how bad they're doing, they don't realize people outside of China seek everything on Google, they have no clue about SEO and believe fundamentally in Alibaba (and other platforms). Chinese "SEO-services" are a total joke, because those "experts" can do what they want because nobody can check the results.

I believe this is an opportunity as we speak.
At the present, Chinese folks prefer the good ol' wine and dine, which will escalate in the upcoming days to Chinese New Year.

If I told them about SEO, they might think,'Why fight for online scraps when I can just grab six-figures from a good happy hour?' They are more deal-orientated
 
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TreyAllDay

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Social Media Consulting?
Was super hot a few years back - still pretty strong.

I always see these ads on youtube for courses that teach how to "get your first client!" and I don't understand how this could be a sustainable businesss model. When I worked in corporate, I would never hire a one man agency. And if you're just doing small businesses, they're the most work.
 

Roli

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Yea, amazing how that crypto-buzz that was going on in this forum pretty much died at the same time bitcoin went into a bear market. As soon as "HARD" shows up, the money chasers evaporate looking for the next best easy thing. I'm sure the tech will survive and eventually turn into something, but I'm glad most of the hype has fizzled.

I know right? I was even called a troll for trying to warn certain people about a certain crypto...

;)
 

ExaltedLife

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Yea, amazing how that crypto-buzz that was going on in this forum pretty much died at the same time bitcoin went into a bear market. As soon as "HARD" shows up, the money chasers evaporate looking for the next best easy thing. I'm sure the tech will survive and eventually turn into something, but I'm glad most of the hype has fizzled.

I just discovered something incredibly fascinating about that tech. Check this out: IBM-Backed Blockchain Platform to Improve Supply Chain Management in Mining Industry
 
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Olimac21

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I feel things like Virtual and Augmented reality still are in baby phase. The technology is there but it has not been massively implemented.
 

NMdad

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One of the next BIG things will be IOT.

Because of the barriers to entry I don't see it as a mass market gold rush but for those that have the foresight, knowledge and funds available I think there is huge seams of gold in that particular mine.
I see a common theme with flash-in-the-pan stuff: They all tout the promise of easy push-of-a-button wealth.

That's why something like IOT--while filled with potential--hasn't taken off. IOT requires some actual knowledge of electronics & coding--both of which take time & effort to develop--plus how to apply those skills to provide value for specific people. Not exactly push-of-a-button.
 

masterneme

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2018 has also been the year of the retro revival.
 

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