Is This Where the Real Money Is?

19 replies
I've seen this topic before, but I think sometimes it gets shut down. But hey, I get a kick out of being a conspiracy theorist.

Sometimes it seems to me that the REAL money is made in the MMO/IM or whatever you want to call it, niche. Now, someone is going to come along and say that there are countless people out there running Dropship sites and whatnot, that might not even be fully aware that there is big money to be made online, teaching people how to make money online, so that they can teach people how to make money online to those who would like to learn to teach people how to make money online.

So I agree with that. But if we compare not the two groups, one against the other: People who are in the MMO niche vs. everyone else, but instead if we were able to take this forum and sort the members by annual income from first to last, do you not believe an overwhelming amount of the top 100 would be people where the lion's share of their income comes from teaching people how to make money online?

*Also, I know someone will come along and say, hey I am or I know someone who makes huge money selling physical products. Ok, fine, it is just a generality, but one that I think will hold true. MYOB comes to mind as someone who I believe makes large money from physical products. At the time of this writing 95% of my income, which I make a living from, is from selling physical products.

Lastly, I just want to say that I don't think this is a terrible thing, I'm not berating the fact that it is this way. I just want to point out that I believe the old analogy holds true. You can come and try to pan for gold during this gold rush, but if you just sit back and instead sell the tools to the gung-ho gold panners, you might do much better.
#money #real
  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
    Banned
    If we're limiting your theory to just the type of person who tends to frequent this forum, you might have a point. Really it is just one side of the speculative coin.

    If we open up and pay attention to Internet commerce as a whole (because really, we are playing the same game as literally everyone else selling online), then IM/MMO isn't even a laughable drop in the proverbial bucket.

    It all depends on if you limit your comparison to fit your preconceptions or open up to take everything into account.
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  • Profile picture of the author LegionNate
    I totally agree Joe, and I think I alluded to that in my post. As an example, I have a friend who sells a clothing item from a website. Makes a decent living. When people ask what he does he says he owns an "online retail store". The terms "internet marketer" or "Make money online niche" aren't a part of his vocabulary.

    So I guess I am referring to people who start not by coming up with a product they want to sell and then decide that going through the internet is the best way (like my friend), but those people who first say "I want to make money from the internet", and then go looking for how to do it. I think that second group ends up stumbling upon a website like this one, and many quickly realize that they want to make money online by teaching it.

    Again though, I can see the allure, and honestly don't see a problem. It is just an observation.
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    • Profile picture of the author JEasy
      Make Money Online is definitely a money maker. I'm willing to bet that most people who come looking for this type of information are in desperate situations due to whatever life throws at them. Smart marketers know this and although they'll never admit it publicly, they know they have easy targets.

      The bright side is that those "easy targets" that stick it out will eventually learn the truth and possibly be successful either doing the same thing, or by deciding to go into another niche. It'll cost some good money, but hey that's how the world works.

      .02
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  • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
    Banned
    That second group tends to be the newbies that fall into the "make money with WSO's teaching others to make money selling WSO's" cycle. Hardly the group I would look at to even make emotionless observations about the Internet economy.

    To be honest, I doubt the newbues themselves actually believe that MMO is where the "real money" is. Rather, they just see it as where the easy money is. After all, if they fell for a hyped up sales pitch, then everyone will.
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    • Profile picture of the author JEasy
      Originally Posted by Joe Robinson View Post

      That second group tends to be the newbies that fall into the "make money with WSO's teaching others to make money selling WSO's" cycle. Hardly the group I would look at to even make emotionless observations about the Internet economy.

      To be honest, I doubt the newbues themselves actually believe that MMO is where the "real money" is. Rather, they just see it as where the easy money is. After all, if they fell for a hyped up sales pitch, then everyone will.
      I'd definitely agree. The thing is, however, the MMO niche will sell people on potential earnings but when you get into the program it's about selling MMO advice or products. Very rarely do you find a money making program that teaches you how to make money with say "weight loss products" or something other than MMO products. You'll actually offend some marketers when you start asking about other niches they're into.

      People come looking to make money online, and never realizing that they're going to be customers first before any money is made.
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  • Profile picture of the author KevinDahlberg
    There is a lot of money to be made in the MMO niche. Shiney object syndrome is the culprit. I know I was a victim of it. There was a six month period where I was buying every wso that looked like it might finally have the secret for making easy money online. Then I hit the point where I realized that everything I purchased was telling me to do exactly the same thing.

    There are always going to be people out there trying to get rich as quick and easy as possible. They will keep buying and buying because what it really takes to succeed in any business isn't some secret or magic technique, but hard work.
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    • Profile picture of the author Joe Benjamin
      Interesting observation, Nate.

      I'll break it down the way I've seen it over the years:

      "Sometimes it seems the REAL money is made in the
      MMO/IM niche"

      It would *appear* that way. At one point I thought
      this way, *too*. And yet it's FAR from reality...

      "...someone's going to say there are people running
      Dropship sites and whatnot, that might not even be
      fully aware that there is big money to be made online"

      I'd venture to say there are PLENTY of people in other
      niches who are fully aware of the MMO/IM niche...

      and want nothing to do with it.

      Some gave it a shot and discovered they made much
      more money doing what they were doing BEFORE the
      MMO niche.

      Ironic.

      "You can come and try to pan for gold during this gold
      rush, but if you just sit back and instead sell the tools
      to the gung-ho gold panners, you might do much better."

      You say you're not berating it yet you diminish what
      it is -- a niche. Nothing more. Nothing less.

      If you truly have a passion for making MONEY it's the
      same with having a passion for weight loss, Dentestry,
      Nursing, writing and so on.

      It's just a niche that so happens to be the only niche
      that uses it's own marketing and sales tools to sell it-
      self.

      Nothing wrong with that if, again, YOU are passionate
      about the topic of making and investing money.

      You can, in fact, have a passion for money making and
      have a desire to teach and show others how to do the
      same and apply it to ANY niche they TOO are passionate
      about.
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      • Profile picture of the author dannn1
        It's true that many many people make money online by teaching others how to do it... But the fact is it's kind of rare that you come across people in the IM niche who fully explain the business without trying to constantly sell you one info product after another.

        That was one of the main problems I had when I first started online and it really bothered me - the time I wasted on useless products that didn't actually explain to me how the business worked could have been used to actually start my business had I had access to the information I really need.

        I commend those who approach the IM niche in this way and try to really explain to people how the business works in the first place - before they try to sell products.

        Had I come across such people when I first started it probably would have cut my learning time by 8 months at least.

        Obviously I hadn't discovered the Warrior Forum at that point ... This is a great place for people looking to learn how to get started online.
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        • Profile picture of the author Rbtmarshall
          This forum is a gathering spot for a niche market of internet marketeers. I learned the lesson quick, probably my second day after registering, after being persuaded by clever marketing and spending about $130 on stuff pitched here.

          In my opinion there are many sleazy used car salesmen in this IM world. I'm not saying its necessarily a bad thing, but we all need to see those products for what they are.

          Much like clickbank, this forum is the host of information exchange. It is our job to look past the offers that sell systems to sell systems that sell their systems. There is nothing tangible being exchanges in most of the offers I've browsed in my short time here.

          Weeding through the rubbish is time consuming, because the pitches are interesting. But, I also think there is something that can be learned form all of this.

          It's all dependent on which path we choose to go down on marketing lane. Much of the stuff here definitely seems in the dark grey area to me. Much like channel surfing, where we surf through 200 channels and find maybe one or two shows worth watching. My two shows may be different than yours.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Meaney
    From the people I know (in real life) who are into this web stuff, the biggest earners are outside the MMO niche.

    The ones who are solely in the MMO niche ain't doing as well as they could be - because in the grand scheme of things, MMO is a relatively small niche compared to other improvement-related niches.

    Besides, I can't understand how someone can realistically enter the MMO niche without having at least some success outside it. Then it really is a case of "I make money by telling people how to make money", and that's a piss poor way to run a business or provide value to your market.
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    • Profile picture of the author Joseph Robinson
      Banned
      Originally Posted by Mick Meaney View Post

      The ones who are solely in the MMO niche ain't doing as well as they could be - because in the grand scheme of things, MMO is a relatively small niche compared to other improvement-related niches.
      This. The consensus right now seems to be that IM products and services are experiencing a bit of a downturn. With my writing service in particular there is a drop in contractors that would label themselves as "IMers". Most come from their own websites/niches with no prior knowledge of IM/MMO. The niche has essentially bottomed out as far as prices go; and newbies come in thinking that they are qualified to teach the niche from the word GO>

      Originally Posted by Mick Meaney View Post

      Besides, I can't understand how someone can realistically enter the MMO niche without having at least some success outside it. Then it really is a case of "I make money by telling people how to make money", and that's a piss poor way to run a business or provide value to your market.
      If people would think like this, the world wouldn't have half the problems it already does .
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  • Profile picture of the author WinstonTian
    Originally Posted by LegionNate View Post

    Sometimes it seems to me that the REAL money is made in the MMO/IM or whatever you want to call it, niche. Now, someone is going to come along and say that there are countless people out there running Dropship sites and whatnot, that might not even be fully aware that there is big money to be made online, teaching people how to make money online, so that they can teach people how to make money online to those who would like to learn to teach people how to make money online.
    That's a problem, isn't it?

    There is a lot of faux information being sold out
    there. And the cycle repeats, and tons of newbies
    get stuck in that crack. I was once there, and it
    was hell...just damn frustrating to piece things up.

    But really, there are people who make money off
    a lot of things. One thing to really realize is that
    the Internet is JUST another medium for marketing.

    There is NO internet marketing.

    It's just marketing, using the internet.

    I have tons of buddies who make money off niches,
    Adsense, e-commerce sites, dropship, etc... And
    the common trait with all of these is:

    They're all building "brick-and-mortar", sustainable
    businesses. Not quick fixes.

    A real system. A real business.

    Winston Tian
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hill
    Originally Posted by LegionNate View Post

    I've seen this topic before, but I think sometimes it gets shut down. But hey, I get a kick out of being a conspiracy theorist.

    Sometimes it seems to me that the REAL money is made in the MMO/IM or whatever you want to call it, niche. Now, someone is going to come along and say that there are countless people out there running Dropship sites and whatnot, that might not even be fully aware that there is big money to be made online, teaching people how to make money online, so that they can teach people how to make money online to those who would like to learn to teach people how to make money online.

    So I agree with that. But if we compare not the two groups, one against the other: People who are in the MMO niche vs. everyone else, but instead if we were able to take this forum and sort the members by annual income from first to last, do you not believe an overwhelming amount of the top 100 would be people where the lion's share of their income comes from teaching people how to make money online?

    *Also, I know someone will come along and say, hey I am or I know someone who makes huge money selling physical products. Ok, fine, it is just a generality, but one that I think will hold true. MYOB comes to mind as someone who I believe makes large money from physical products. At the time of this writing 95% of my income, which I make a living from, is from selling physical products.

    Lastly, I just want to say that I don't think this is a terrible thing, I'm not berating the fact that it is this way. I just want to point out that I believe the old analogy holds true. You can come and try to pan for gold during this gold rush, but if you just sit back and instead sell the tools to the gung-ho gold panners, you might do much better.

    I think if people were to spend a good amount of time in a niche they enjoyed they would soon see the veil lifted and notice all of the people in that niche making BIG money.

    The only reason people think the best way or the fastest way to success is in the IM space is because they spend a majority of their time in this space.

    Conduct a little experiment:

    1) Subscribe to another niche you are interested in
    2) Visit only those forums and read only those blogs that are in that niche for an entire week.

    When you do this you will notice a ton of opportunities in that niche that people are missing. It's not that the majority of people on this forum are making money selling to other marketers, it's just what you are exposed to on a more regular basis.
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    • Profile picture of the author WinstonTian
      Originally Posted by Mike Hill View Post

      I think if people were to spend a good amount of time in a niche they enjoyed they would soon see the veil lifted and notice all of the people in that niche making BIG money.

      The only reason people think the best way or the fastest way to success is in the IM space is because they spend a majority of their time in this space.

      Conduct a little experiment:

      1) Subscribe to another niche you are interested in
      2) Visit only those forums and read only those blogs that are in that niche for an entire week.

      When you do this you will notice a ton of opportunities in that niche that people are missing. It's not that the majority of people on this forum are making money selling to other marketers, it's just what you are exposed to on a more regular basis.
      Mike's right.

      You really can make money off anything where
      people are willing to pay money for. If you
      really look closely, you're going to see TONS of
      marketing in other niches as well.

      In fact, most "faux" marketers in the IM space
      have pretty amateurish marketing.

      Look in the other evergreen niches, there are
      pretty awesome things going on there.

      Winston Tian
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      Cheers,
      Winston
      The Beginner's Doctor

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  • Profile picture of the author sanjx01
    Hey Nate,

    You'd hope that the person selling the gold pan actually spent some time successfully panning for gold themselves wouldn't you?

    That's the problem for some people selling products. Some of them haven't spent any time panning for gold and getting any results.

    It's a real shame.

    ~S
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  • Profile picture of the author J50
    I know a guy selling information that's not in the MMO niche and he grossed over $1m last year. People also fail to realise that there isn't just a Make Money Niche, there's a saving money niche, a how to invest money niche etc etc. It's all about your approach and has very little to do with the niche so long as there's money to be made in it and enough people interested.
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  • Profile picture of the author equanto
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  • Profile picture of the author ajay13efw
    I agree it is probably the way most people make money online and it's a shame that so many people fall for the scams that so many others are peddling. Selling the information on how to make money online is the number one way to make money online and it just seems wrong, as soon as people wake up and smell the coffee this will continue to happen.
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  • The "real" money (I don't know where the "unreal" money is, by the way) has always been in:

    A sustainable business. The more sustainable a business is, the more money can be earned. In any industry. In any country. As long as people have problems and needs about things relevant to the industry. As long as you have the best solutions for those needs and problems.

    An investor? You're better off investing in sustainable businesses, of course, than investing in less sustainable ones.

    A company owner? You're better off starting, running and growing a more sustainable business, obviously, than a less sustainable one.

    An executive? You're better off with a more sustainable company, than with a less sustainable one.

    An employee? You're better off in a more sustainable company, than in a less sustainable one, of course.

    An affiliate? You're better off promoting products from more sustainable companies, than from less sustainable ones, of course.

    A freelancer? You're better off with clients who have more sustainable businesses, of course, than with clients who have less sustainable businesses...

    I believe your thread title should be changed to "Is This Where the Quick Money Is?"...
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