is the IM Work at home bubble about to burst?

56 replies
I know the gurus will not agree but I sense the "work at home I.M." thing maybe be about to burst. It's simply getting too crowded for most.

Since 2000 I see more and more people quitting their jobs to work form home doing Aff. marketing/products sellnig/servies etc..

i am not saying the industry is going to bust...I am saying for the masses (90%+) with no "edge" in this game I sense the bubble (if not already burst) is well on its way to bursting.

Reminds me of the stock market. When everyone you know is in it..making money, quitting their jobs, talknig like seasoned pro's...you know it's time to get out. (99)

Oh well I knoe many will disagree with this *usually the ones selling the spades..) but that's the way I see it.
#bubble #burst #home #work
  • Profile picture of the author cashcow
    I think that would only happen if people stopped looking for stuff to buy online. And I believe more and more people are looking for stuff to buy online, therefore the bubble will only get bigger. But I could be wrong.

    Lee
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    • Profile picture of the author tpw
      You are absolutely right!

      The sky is falling, and your best defense is to get out now...
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      Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
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    • Profile picture of the author 4455z
      Perhaps in some other coubtries this might happen but not in my part of the world...IM is just beginning! Coming from the dark ages? Maybe.
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      • Profile picture of the author jan roos
        Originally Posted by 4455z View Post

        Perhaps in some other coubtries this might happen but not in my part of the world...IM is just beginning! Coming from the dark ages? Maybe.
        Welcome to the Warrior Forum. This is a great place to learn how to make money online.

        Yeah I believe Internet Marketing in SA will be Booming in the next few years because of that new cable they are laying plus Telkom wont have the monopoly anymore. Millions of people will have access to the net and if we can position ourselves right we can kill it there.

        Cheers

        Jan
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  • Profile picture of the author onlinemoney00
    People turn 18 everyday, 95% of businesses are failing so there would always be customers to sell to. The only way I believe internet marketing is gonna go away is if the world wide web stop connecting everyone together
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  • Profile picture of the author Zeus66
    If anything, I see far more opportunities for those just starting out than I did in 2000. My take is that things are completely the opposite of what the OP worries about.

    John
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    • Profile picture of the author davidjames42973
      I think the problem is people don't realize that creating an online business can take some time. Sure there are those people who start an online business and within a year make a six digit figure, but the chances of getting to that level in a year are rare.

      Another thing with online businesses that people sometimes don't comprehend is there is a lot of failure that happens before one succeeds. I can't tell you how many times I've fallen on my ass. You dust yourself off and start over and you do it again and again until you succeed.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mangozoom
    Nah dont think so at all ... there are plenty of new people coming online, the market is growing
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  • Profile picture of the author RanD
    Worrying about what may or may not happen in the future is non-productive and self-destructive. Cashcow is right, people will be buying more and more online. The US is already behind many countries in this area, so it really has to go up. There are always new ways to break into the market, and to be honest, many of the people doing it now are lazy, and can easily be overcome by you working harder/better than they do.
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    • Profile picture of the author Dellco
      One thing is sure though, nowadays you definitely need to pump in money to make money. No money, forget it. Increasing competition makes this ever more a necessity. And it will only get worse.

      For people with no money, it is actually impossible to get anywhere. Even if the person is working 20 hours a day.....

      Or put it this way, the amount of money needed to get any satisfactory results is higher today than it was 10 years ago.
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      • Profile picture of the author Zeus66
        Originally Posted by Dellco View Post

        One thing is sure though, nowadays you definitely need to pump in money to make money. No money, forget it. Increasing competition makes this ever more a necessity. And it will only get worse.

        For people with no money, it is actually impossible to get anywhere. Even if the person is working 20 hours a day.....
        I could not disagree more. There are many more free ways to get off the ground and profitable today than there were 10 years ago. It's not even close, matter of fact.
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        • Profile picture of the author Dellco
          Originally Posted by Zeus66 View Post

          I could not disagree more. There are many more free ways to get off the ground and profitable today than there were 10 years ago. It's not even close, matter of fact.
          Oh really? What about link buying, hosting in multiple hosts, buying sites, domains, blog posts...etc...etc..etc.

          I'm referring specifically to the very fierce SEM sector. And when there is more competition, there will be more and more people fighting to get the first spot in competitive niches, which were not so competitive 5 years ago.

          In more and more niches, it is getting tougher and tougher, more and more cutthroat.

          Let's say FOREX niche, that most spammed of niches. You can start with a plain free blogspot blog, and no budget, and see where you will stand in one year.
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          • Profile picture of the author Rob Howard
            Originally Posted by Dellco View Post

            Oh really? What about link buying, hosting in multiple hosts, buying sites, domains, blog posts...etc...etc..etc.

            I'm referring specifically to the very fierce SEM sector. And when there is more competition, there will be more and more people fighting to get the first spot in competitive niches, which were not so competitive 5 years ago.

            In more and more niches, it is getting tougher and tougher, more and more cutthroat.
            You want to defeat 90% of your SEM competition?

            This is REAL simple:

            Give better content.

            I'm dead serious. A majority of your competition is too damn lazy to give something worth while to your visitors.

            They are so obsessed with outbacklinking, proxy servers, and bluefart techniques that they overlook 1 small detail - giving away awesome content that really DOES help your visitors.

            If you do that - and syndicate your content - forget the competition. Your word of mouth alone can destroy them.

            And if the content is amazing, then Google will love you MORE than ever.

            Once again, it's all in the mindset - you believe the competition is fierce, fine. Go struggle to make money.

            I'll keep doing what I"m doing and making money easily.

            Rob
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          • Profile picture of the author Michael Nguyen
            Originally Posted by Dellco View Post

            Oh really? What about link buying, hosting in multiple hosts, buying sites, domains, blog posts...etc...etc..etc.

            I'm referring specifically to the very fierce SEM sector. And when there is more competition, there will be more and more people fighting to get the first spot in competitive niches, which were not so competitive 5 years ago.

            In more and more niches, it is getting tougher and tougher, more and more cutthroat.

            Let's say FOREX niche, that most spammed of niches. You can start with a plain free blogspot blog, and no budget, and see where you will stand in one year.
            You're generalizing too much here. You talk as if everyone wants to promote **** berrys? That is a competitive niche especially the top 10 and the $ per click. So what if it's tough, no one is asking you to go into those niches? Why do you go for the easy pickings such as silly obscure amazon products?

            Money buys speed, we get that but you play your hand your dealt here. If you got money, by all means set up your ppc **** , weightloss campaigns but if you don't then you might want to try the article marketing route or youtube.

            You see where I'm getting at? There will always be competition for any market, HECK I've even got competition from my customers for the same keyword (pushchair niche) and they are listed at #2 (I'm #1) but thats life and business, you deal with it or get out.

            If you want an advantage over anyone then either you have got alot of money to throw at it or you can start small to build the cash up and they go into the hard markets.

            You talk as if you've given up on marketing because you think it's hard, think positive and look for ways to attack that niche. Here's a thought, if it tough online, why not take the niche offline and get your traffic from there?
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            • Profile picture of the author Dellco
              Originally Posted by Michael Nguyen View Post

              You're generalizing too much here. You talk as if everyone wants to promote **** berrys? That is a competitive niche especially the top 10 and the $ per click. So what if it's tough, no one is asking you to go into those niches? Why do you go for the easy pickings such as silly obscure amazon products?

              Money buys speed, we get that but you play your hand your dealt here. If you got money, by all means set up your ppc **** , weightloss campaigns but if you don't then you might want to try the article marketing route or youtube.

              You see where I'm getting at? There will always be competition for any market, HECK I've even got competition from my customers for the same keyword (pushchair niche) and they are listed at #2 (I'm #1) but thats life and business, you deal with it or get out.

              If you want an advantage over anyone then either you have got alot of money to throw at it or you can start small to build the cash up and they go into the hard markets.

              You talk as if you've given up on marketing because you think it's hard, think positive and look for ways to attack that niche. Here's a thought, if it tough online, why not take the niche offline and get your traffic from there?
              I know what you are trying to say, but it definitely takes time. And I'm not talking about people who make pennies (not at all), but I think we need to define "success" here.

              It is possible to make a living, but getting harder to make a "good" living. How many make 5 figures a month? I'm guessing not many.

              But many are sold on this idea. They think IMers make 5 or 6 or 7 figures.
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              • Profile picture of the author Michael Nguyen
                Originally Posted by Dellco View Post

                I know what you are trying to say, but it definitely takes time. And I'm not talking about people who make pennies (not at all), but I think we need to define "success" here.

                It is possible to make a living, but getting harder to make a "good" living. How many make 5 figures a month? I'm guessing not many.

                But many are sold on this idea. They think IMers make 5 or 6 or 7 figures.
                Hi

                Everything takes time and thats fine. If you want it bad enough then time is not an issue, correct? "Success" can only be defined by the persons goals, saying that, out of interest, how much do you want to earn to consider yourself a success?

                I can't speak for the the rest of the warriors but if you're talking about 5 figures per month then at some point you will have to work longer and harder on your business to get to that level. But thats a given now that the market place has changed. I use to read about how you can just have the "make money online" in your title page and you'll rank #1 but times have changed and everyone (thats not too deluded) will agree that it will take time to achieve financial goals.

                I think those that are sold on the idea are just new to the game. I know I was but the longer you're in it, the more you understand about yourself and that there is no magic bullet. It really is like an offline business, many hours unpaid for many months and they it explodes to the point where you sleep and make money

                I wouldn't be surprised that IM can make 5,6,7 figures. I'm having a guess here but when you get REALLY successful, you start hiring people and networking more. eg Mike Filsaime was a one man guy but today he employs alot of heads. How about a CPA company, im very sure they started off small and probably at a loss (lots of hours networking etc). Everything start of with one idea and usually 1 person (if we're talking about IM) but only the best will make the most $$$

                Sorry for big rant but be positive mate, you can do it if you want it enough.

                Best regards
                Michael
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                • Profile picture of the author Dellco
                  Originally Posted by Michael Nguyen View Post

                  Hi

                  Everything takes time and thats fine. If you want it bad enough then time is not an issue, correct? "Success" can only be defined by the persons goals, saying that, out of interest, how much do you want to earn to consider yourself a success?

                  I can't speak for the the rest of the warriors but if you're talking about 5 figures per month then at some point you will have to work longer and harder on your business to get to that level. But thats a given now that the market place has changed. I use to read about how you can just have the "make money online" in your title page and you'll rank #1 but times have changed and everyone (thats not too deluded) will agree that it will take time to achieve financial goals.

                  I think those that are sold on the idea are just new to the game. I know I was but the longer you're in it, the more you understand about yourself and that there is no magic bullet. It really is like an offline business, many hours unpaid for many months and they it explodes to the point where you sleep and make money

                  I wouldn't be surprised that IM can make 5,6,7 figures. I'm having a guess here but when you get REALLY successful, you start hiring people and networking more. eg Mike Filsaime was a one man guy but today he employs alot of heads. How about a CPA company, im very sure they started off small and probably at a loss (lots of hours networking etc). Everything start of with one idea and usually 1 person (if we're talking about IM) but only the best will make the most $$$

                  Sorry for big rant but be positive mate, you can do it if you want it enough.

                  Best regards
                  Michael
                  Maybe after 4 years, and still very far from achieving ones personal goals, and countless hours and sacrifice, I guess sometimes you can get a little jaded...
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              • Profile picture of the author paulie888
                Originally Posted by Dellco View Post

                I know what you are trying to say, but it definitely takes time. And I'm not talking about people who make pennies (not at all), but I think we need to define "success" here.

                It is possible to make a living, but getting harder to make a "good" living. How many make 5 figures a month? I'm guessing not many.

                But many are sold on this idea. They think IMers make 5 or 6 or 7 figures.
                It's perfectly possible, even today, for an internet marketer to start out with next to nothing and reach 5 or even 6 figures within a year. If anything, the possibilities have multiplied with the increasingly widespread usage of the internet, and now, mobile internet as well.

                There are SO many physical and information products that you can market on the internet. The opportunities are vast, however that doesn't mean everyone who dips their toe in the water is going to make it.

                You have to do more than just dip your toe in the market, and you will inevitably encounter failures along the way. I find that the majority of people entering the IM market still have a "job" mentality, where they expect to get paid X amount of dollars per hour of work put in. This is ANYTHING but the case when you're first starting out in IM, as initially you'll be putting in lots and lots of hours without having much monetary gain to show for it. The real rewards come later, and you have to be patient in waiting for things to click with your internet marketing. In my opinion, this is the reason why the majority of newbies fail, because they're not entrepreneurs and are just looking for a stable, hourly wage aka JOB!

                Paul
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      • Profile picture of the author Rob Howard
        Originally Posted by Dellco View Post

        One thing is sure though, nowadays you definitely need to pump in money to make money. No money, forget it. Increasing competition makes this ever more a necessity. And it will only get worse.
        Nope - this is also false. You can still start from nothing.

        You don't need to dig very far to hear stories of this NOT being true:

        http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ttle-work.html

        Rob
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Munch
    No it has barely started (in my opinion). I'm actually preparing a post on this on my blog backed up with some strong evidence.

    I won't give away how I can tell the bubble is getting better before I write the post (it does require a certain trend to continue), but the takeaway point is that...

    1. Make Money Online IM Gurus will having a growing audience to sell too.

    2. Scammers will have a bigger audience and will push out more scams, but ultimately the backlash against them will become very fierce.

    3. The space will grow more competitive, and revenues will also drop in many niches making it tougher for those who are not prepared.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Nguyen
    It takes a special person to want to control their life, not everyone is cut to be a business person. Here is a Brian Tracey quote:

    "1% of the population create 90% of the jobs"

    "we" are that 1%.

    So unless everyone wakes up and gets out of their bed and says "I want to make money online" then it MAY burst.

    Other than that, society conditions us that the 9-5 rat race is the normal thing to do. These guys believe in "working" for money. They believe in trading time for money while most of us here believe in trading time for a system that will make money. See the difference?

    Michael
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  • Profile picture of the author Rob Howard
    Originally Posted by sloanjim View Post


    Oh well I knoe many will disagree with this *usually the ones selling the spades..) but that's the way I see it.
    What?

    I make money selling spades and NOT selling spades. My biggest money maker ISN'T in the IM niche.

    And it keeps going up.

    Sorry, but you are WAY off base. More people are buying online every year.

    And guess what? All those people now coming to make money online just won't make it. Why? Most people are so dead set in this scarcity mindset - they have COME to rely on a job and are now booted out.

    10+ Years of working for someone else and getting comfortable is hard to get out of. And then you have a lot of people with your scarcity mindset:

    It's too hard to build a business and make money because those inside have it "all wrapped up".

    This is simply FALSE.

    But, hey, if YOU believe it, then it is indeed true for you.

    I'm going to be honest, if you truly believe your OP, then please delete your WF account, close up your websites, and leave.

    Stop wasting your time trying, because if your attitude remains the same, you WILL fail.

    Rob
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  • Profile picture of the author jedediahd
    A sucker..I mean an IM newbie is born every day! But seriously, the internet is only growing, probably faster than there are actually people wanting to take action and not talk about taking action. New niches are born weekly, and I can think of dozens upon dozens of buzzword type campaigns that have made tons of money in the past year. It may be cyclical and a tad slow right now, but it is by no means going away.
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  • Profile picture of the author KevinFranz
    I think the answer is more niche-based. If you're trying to sell "how-to-get-rich-in-the-IM-business" products, the field is crowded, competition is fierce, and prices are dropping (sometimes to the point of giving away the farm). Many of the part-time, C-List players will naturally fade away over time.

    However, there are still HUGE areas of untapped potential. Niches that are craving more information, and are willing to pay for it.

    In the end, as with all business, the serious, persistent and innovative folks will rise to the top. The lazy, sloppy, me-too folks will fade away.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alfred Shelver
    Firstly I do not see the crowds; warriorforum gives a very warped perspective look at you non IM acquaintances how many of them have even heard of IM.

    As you said a large percentage come into this with no edge they also leave soon afterwards, they burst their own bubbles.

    This group is not competition they are spade buyers sell them one.

    Have you thought you see only what you are interested in have you looked at the internet as a whole.....

    Yes I agree with others opportunity abounds not dooms day


    Originally Posted by sloanjim View Post

    It's simply getting too crowded for most.

    I see more and more people

    (90%+) with no "edge" in this game
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  • Profile picture of the author ASUService
    Come on Sloanjim ... if you have been doing this (or just monitoring) since 2000 you should have seen the rise and fall so many times it would make your head spin.

    Of course it's not going anywhere ... check the back of any of the tabloid rags at the checkout of your favorite Wally World. Those ads have been in newspapers for much longer than you or I have been around ... IM is just an offshoot of those and will be around long after our butts are sproutin' daisies.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rob Howard
    On top of what Michael says, you don't need your whole markets attention to make money.

    You just need a good offer and some targeted traffic. Just 50 extremely targeted and decently presold visitors a day can make you a 5 to 7 figure income, depending on the details.

    Rob
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    • Profile picture of the author jan roos
      Originally Posted by ccmusicman View Post

      On top of what Michael says, you don't need your whole markets attention to make money.

      You just need a good offer and some targeted traffic. Just 50 extremely targeted and decently presold visitors a day can make you a 5 to 7 figure income, depending on the details.

      Rob
      Rob that is very true and powerful right there. On one of my sites this month I've only managed to send 18 people to the site and made $1093 already in aff commissions from that site.

      It just goes to prove what you just posted.

      Cheers,

      Jan
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  • Profile picture of the author Pointer
    There's always opportunity if you're not just doing the same old thing everyone else is doing. If you're truly providing value in the marketplace and giving people what they want, then you will always be successful. If you fail to provide value, then you'll fail.
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  • Profile picture of the author eAvenue
    Universities are starting to target students looking to be entrepreneurs.

    The bubble isnt about to burst but the information will have to keep up and for the most case it does. Old irrelevant info needs to get the boot!
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  • Profile picture of the author paul wolfe
    You want to defeat 90% of your SEM competition?

    This is REAL simple:

    Give better content.

    I'm dead serious. A majority of your competition is too damn lazy to give something worth while to your visitors.
    +10 to what Rob said.

    Except I think his 'lazy' figure should be more like 95%.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sardent
    I think there is a great untapped market for those who want to cater to the complete newbie with plain language and step by step programs that will help them, not just leave them bewildered and feeling lost.
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  • Profile picture of the author LeeLee
    I think IM was harder 10 years ago because to do just about anything online, you had to be able to handle the technical aspects. I remember many struggles and tears over Ebay. There was no hoard of outsourcers ready to work for relatively small amounts of money. In fact, most outsourcers were only dreaming of having an internet connection let alone a computer.

    Then it seems there was a golden age around 2006/2007 when adsense money was ripe for the picking. One needed only to show up. Plenty of outsourcers were available to scale businesses. Those years were the real gold rush.

    Today many are left panning for small nuggets. While technology has made it easier to become a player, it has also brought in more players. Still there is a living to be made online and it sure beats having a job and a boss.

    I wish I had stuck it out in the late '90s, early '00s. We were building custom computers but we couldn't compete with the big players on price. Then we were selling on ebay but I got an offer I didn't feel I could refuse at the time and went back to trading dollars for hours.

    Fast forward to 2008. I was dreaming about the 4 Hour Work week and dabbling in IM which had become infinitely easier from my perspective. Not long after I got laid off and decided to tackle this full time. I had a long learning curve about what was making money now. Plus I had to get past the depression of being laid off. But I am here and I am staying.

    As long as the economy is down, a lot of people are going to try IM. Once the jobs come back, most of them will go back to trading hours for dollars. It is a lot easier collecting that paycheck than it is to build a business. And most people are looking for easy. I know I was. But not anymore. Had I stayed in IM I would be in a much better position than I am currently.
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    • Profile picture of the author Enfusia
      Sure it's getting more and more competitive online, but attempt making it in the NFL now verses 20 years ago.

      Sure that was 20 years ago which for us was yesterday on the internet
      Patrick
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  • Profile picture of the author NickP
    As long as people spend money online, it won't be going away. The market for online spending continues to increase, therefore the opportunity increases. Like any other business, those with a solid business plan will succeed.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jonathan 2.0
    Banned
    As I learned from Perry Marshall, "More competition means more money for the winners." (Or something to that effect.)
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    "Each problem has hidden in it an opportunity so powerful that it literally dwarfs the problem. The greatest success stories were created by people who recognized a problem and turned it into an opportunity."―Joseph Sugarman
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  • Profile picture of the author homeworkin
    Ok, answer me this, before you started internet marketing, how many years did you make 6 or 7 figures in your job? If you stayed in that job, how quickly would you reach 6 figures?

    Before asking how many IMers make 6,7 figures, I think it is instructive to see how many regular jobs pay that much. Your success in any field is based on how hard you work, your skill level, how much you are willing to learn, your innate abilities, the timing of your entry into that exact job, where you live, and a certain amount of luck.

    If the average person is making $30,000 at a regular job and they ONLY make $60,000 a year internet marketing, then they are money ahead. Right? Some people will never be able to make more than $30,000 a year offline due to their circumstances. So, when the factory in their town goes belly up - or an oil spill kills their local economy in the middle of a recession - the opportunities online may be the only way to continue to make money without having to move away from the communities they love.

    I have sites in retail as well as info products and other business models, and spread over dozens of niches. I am not hearing the final bugle call on any of them.

    So, before announcing the death of IM due to the sad fact that most people will only make a decent income online instead of a Ferraris-and-supermodels income, it pays to look around at what other opportunities most people have.

    I had a nice job in public relations. The pay was great, the benefits were good, I loved most of my coworkers. I made good money, traveled on an expense account, managed other employees, oversaw huge projects, got lots of holiday gifts from suppliers, it was not a bad deal. Except that I was working 60 hours a week or more, commuting over 2 hours round trip and having to spend hours in meetings with idiots. Then I got laid off.

    At the time, the economy was still good and my former boss was willing to help me find another job in the same city. Instead I chose to move to be closer to my family. I figured that finding a job in a smallish city would be a piece of cake since I had tons of experience in a big city.

    Instead I found company after company that was only willing to pay $12 an hour for jobs that required HTML, writing, public relations, graphic design, and management skills (this was a staff of 8 people in my old job, not one $12 an hour employee!). Several of them told me they hired people with master's degrees over my measly 4 year degree and 5 years of experience. Really, a master's degree for less than $30K?!

    I ended up answering phones at eBay (now that was a fun job - nothing more fun than explaining to a former PowerSeller that Trust and Safety shut him down forever and there is nothing you can do!). So, I decided to go full time online.

    I won't clear 7 figures this year - but I am able to work when I want to and I make a more than decent living. I take time off everyday to play with my daughter and I can take time off when other family members need me. I choose when I work. My income increases weekly. I see continual opportunities for growth. I am happy with online marketing and I don't intend to ever go back to a day job.

    Oh, I also can't get laid off. Since I have multiple streams of income, no one can bankrupt me by taking away any one source.
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    • Profile picture of the author inter123
      IM, no matter how saturated it becomes, will live as long as the Government and regulations do not brings it to an end.

      I think when someone has involved in IM or anything else for a long time, it is natural to think the end is near and that is not true at all. In my offline job (which is face to face sales), I think the end is near and it is too saturated but new and talented people come along all the time and set new records.

      The difference with those people is that that do they have pre-conceived ideas or notions and are not filled with negativities. Perhaps things were easier in the past with less competetion for example, an old timer might view this in a pessimestic way while someone new does not have these reference points and all is well from their end.

      p.s. what percentage of IM folks reach those dizzy heights of supermodels and Ferraris?

      Originally Posted by homeworkin View Post

      ...most people will only make a decent income online instead of a Ferraris-and-supermodels income...
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  • Profile picture of the author systematicniche
    In reference to the concept of a "IM Bubble", the psychology does not necessarily apply to this industry.

    One of the most popular social psychology explanations for an economic bubble (sorry, I'm a psychologist, not an economist...) is survivor investing, which is when somebody purchases an asset purely for the sake of selling it to somebody else for a higher price (this is also known by some as the "greater fool theory".

    While this certainly does happen in IM (i.e., people with no intent on providing value and selling a product for way more than it is worth) - the ease of entry into the IM market prevents a price-increasing cycle to occur. Once the cost of IM products goes up too much, somebody will repackage the information for cheaper and then drive all the prices back down. This will force people to discover and create better content, in order to maintain value-to-cost.

    As long as you are providing content worthy of your cost, a bubble cannot occur, and those that don't sell products worthy of their cost will get destroyed by smarter, harder working people.

    There is no bubble (though there is a lot of competition).

    - By the way, I second the comment that great content is the key to success.
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  • Profile picture of the author Amy Carczak
    IM is not the only game in town anyhow.

    There are plenty of successful businesses
    that sell other items and do quite well.

    But information is a HUGE market and not
    likely to go away any time soon . Amazon
    is the owrlds largest "IM'er" and they did
    not seem to destroy the market.
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  • Profile picture of the author skoh
    If bill gates forecast is any indication on how powerful the internet and the information market is, then the bubble just got good my friends.


    source:Slashdot News Story | Forget University &mdash; Use the Web For Education, Says Gates

    An anonymous reader writes "Bill Gates attended the Techonomy conference earlier this week, and had quite a bold statement to make about the future of education. He believes the Web is where people will be learning within a few years, not colleges and university. During his chat, he said, 'Five years from now on the web for free you'll be able to find the best lectures in the world. It will be better than any single university.'" Of course, the efficacy of online learning is still in question; some studies have shown a measurable benefit to being physically present in a classroom. Still, online education can clearly reach a much wider range of students. Reader nbauman sent in a related story about MIT's OpenCourseWare, which is finding success in unexpected ways: "50% of visitors self-identified as independent learners unaffiliated with a university." The article also mentions a situation in which a pair of Haitian natives used OCW to get the electrical engineering knowledge they needed to build solar-powered lights that have been deployed in many remote towns and villages.
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  • Profile picture of the author wkathome
    It does seem that every way that you turn, you're running into someone's ad wanting you to opt in, so I can see where you would thing it's getting a little crowded.
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    • Profile picture of the author ThunderingHerd
      The market for online commerce continues to expand. Amazon's top line grew by 27.8% in 2009 alone. If you do nothing but be an Amazon affiliate with niche review sites that send the traffic to Amazon you can work at home with no problem.
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      • Profile picture of the author DrewClement
        you are absolutely correct, as is everyone in this thread stating that the internet marketing world is becoming too competitive.

        There is NOT enough money to go around..so everyone get out, turn off your hosting, shut down your sites, and leave the online world.

        Its for your own good....



        seriously. I swear.

        Nothing to see here folks.
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        • Profile picture of the author DannyUK
          In my experience it's several magnitudes easier to succeed online than in the bricks and mortar world. The latter is where the competition is not only fierce but also restricted in many cases, whether by government sanctioned monopolies or cartels, the old school tie network or budgetary requirements that set the bar way beyond reach.

          The Internet remains an amazing leveller so I'm surprised when people suggest opportunity is drying up. On the contrary, for a fraction of the budget I am able to out-rank major corporations online whereas I have no chance of competing with them in traditional marketplaces such as press and TV advertising. The corporations still have many advantages, of course, but I can still grab a little piece of the pie which is perfectly sufficient for a one man operation.

          That said, these corporations still pose a real threat in terms of their lobbying efforts to split the Internet into a two tier system, with themselves enjoying the upper tier of course. Issues such as net neutrality are hot topics for the greedy telecoms companies. If they have their way this will certainly pose a threat to our community. In the near term it will all come down to how many politicians they can buy compared to the fair minded corporations that aren't afraid of competition and are defending the current configuration of the Internet.

          In the meantime I expect to go from strength to strength. I have the ability to set my own pay, issue my own pay-rises and set my own working conditions based on the level of effort I'm prepared to put in and a willingness to educate myself. As has been rightly pointed out, content was, is and will be king and only the minority of marketers out there are prepared to apply the necessary effort to provide real value. The search engines will only get better over time and this will be to the benefit of those who build thoughtful and useful businesses today.

          Expect to see a great deal of the "competition" (spammers, bot masters, content recyclers) disappear in the coming months and years. It's inevitable if the search engines are to remain faithful to their stated mission.
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          • Profile picture of the author Bill Farnham
            Originally Posted by sloanjim View Post

            I know the gurus will not agree but I sense the "work at home I.M." thing maybe be about to burst. It's simply getting too crowded for most.
            The "work at home I.M. thing" is filled with too many people who romanticize that hanging around on different IM forums makes them an internet marketer. They talk about gurus and how the field is getting crowded and how they see the end is in sight hoping that will give them some 'street cred'.

            Phfffft!

            In the meantime there are plenty of folks who have internet businesses that don't sit around mentally masterbating. Unlike the pretenders they're too busy doing things to move their businesses forward.

            The reason the niche looks crowded is because it's too easy to count all the spectators wearing jerseys and lump them in with the real players. When you're sitting way up in the bleachers the field looks a lot smaller than when you're actually in the game.

            Pardon my bluntness, but the money being exchanged online is growing by leaps and bounds. Unfortunately too many folks spend their time on forums believing the only way to make money on the internet is to become a guru groupy and then hold their teats out so other newbies can suckle on them once they start producing MMO milk.

            For those people the niche was too crowded when Corey Rudl was alive.

            ~Bill
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  • Profile picture of the author skoh
    Not to mention that Internet Marketing changes everyday, it's so dynamic and reachable to so many different crowds.

    I'm such a newbie and even I know that, really, I haven't made a single penny online yet because i'm absorbing as much as I can and yet I still feel super rewarded personally just for taking action on learning IM.
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  • Profile picture of the author petelta
    I jumped into selling IM products, mentoring packages, and the like only about 6 months ago. I have generated over $60k of profit in this time in the very market that you're claiming is about to be gone.

    The reason for this is because of all the competition out there. I didn't have to go searching blindly for where the money is. Follow the competition and they will show you what pond to fish out of.

    Let me tell you something real quick, when you actually learn how to create a BUSINESS, you will never have to think about how much or how good the competition is. These two factors are going to be apparent in every single easy, medium, or hard market you enter into. To actually make a system (business) that works for you and lasts, you have to create something that is better/different than the competition. I don't care if it's got 5 competitors or 5,000,000,000.

    The IM niche has been my easiest to profit from thus far. Yes, it helps that I have a solid business plan for internet businesses that works and I know how and where to look for the right traffic and I know a lot about internet marketing. But, the reason markets like the internet marketing and health niches are so great is because of the very thing you are saying hurts the market....the competition.

    What does mega competition mean? It means lots of buyers! It means lots of successful marketers with thousands of hungry buyers in a database you can tap! It means plenty of advertising spots to grab for even more hungry buyers!

    As long as you do the most important aspect of creating a lasting business and provide your customers with the quality they are looking for, you don't have to worry about how much competition there is.

    Like many have said, your competition is lazy! The more lazy competition out there the better I say...just makes the quality you make look better.

    Travis
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  • Profile picture of the author Matt MacPherson
    There is no bubble. None of my friends know anything about marketing online. Are there too many people marketing "how to get rich on the internet" courses? Yeah, maybe. But the opportunity for people outside marketing to marketers is massive. No bubble there at all.

    Cheers,
    Matt
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    • Profile picture of the author ThunderingHerd
      Originally Posted by Matt MacPherson View Post

      There is no bubble. None of my friends know anything about marketing online. Are there too many people marketing "how to get rich on the internet" courses? Yeah, maybe. But the opportunity for people outside marketing to marketers is massive. No bubble there at all.

      Cheers,
      Matt
      Exactly - A lot of the make money online courses are about how to sell make money online courses. - While some of the big Guru's do quite well with this, you can make a great living online and people on this forum would have no idea that you even exist.
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  • Profile picture of the author ecommerce-man
    I've often wondered if the bubble is about to burst when i have purchased the "next big thing" .As many have suggested here we all need to refine our businesses so that they provide value for the customer.I have been a student of IM since 1998 and all the guru's have changed their game since then! But lets study the "real" world for a minute. Big companies are not advertising their businesses the same way they did ten years ago...and thats because the world has changed.Some companies don't even stay in the same industry anymore , but branch out into other area's where competition is weak.
    That for me is the biggest thing to learn about IM: study the competition, emulate their business models , but don't copy them as they are probably already on the move to their next idea!
    For me thats what attracts me to IM , it is constantly evolving which means more opportunites to those that want to evolve (themselves and their business)!

    Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author evanlambda
    I wouldn't call IM "a bubble"
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  • Profile picture of the author yankforlife41
    The bigger the market, the more buyers! So much easier to take off a little scoop of a billion dollar market instead of trying to get all of a $10,000 market. Go where the money is!
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  • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
    You find what people want, you put it in front of them at a fair price, and you'll make sales.

    That's marketing in a nutshell.

    That's not going to change.
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    Just when you think you've got it all figured out, someone changes the rules.

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  • Profile picture of the author Dean Jackson
    I'd go so far to say that competing in the most competitive niches is by far the most profitable way to make money online.

    Why?

    ...It challenges you to push harder and squeeze out results

    ...You go up against "big guns" until you come out a winner

    ...You learn, improve, and become a better businessperson simultanously

    How in the heck do you think all the little guys with fish and chip shops make money? (My parents had a restaurant, I know what I'm talking about).

    First you establish yourself.
    Then you find out what people are missing.
    Then you give it to them!

    It's really that simple folks. Do some homework, and stop whining about not being able to make money because frankly, I'm overloaded with options.

    - Dean
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