Hey, what’s going on? Welcome to the Doug Show. My name is Doug Huntington and today I’m going to cover a handful of topics. The main thing is around calling out uh sort of the scammers and the make money online area. And if you’re not on my email newsletter, you should sign up. I honestly I need to update some of the like materials that are going out. uh the autoresponder, specifically the lead magnets. I mean, everything’s old, right? So, it’s all it’s all a little old. I did take a lot of this stuff out of the autoresponder in the last few years, but if you’re not on the email list, sign up. There’ll be a link in the description. And in the last week or two, I chatted with some of my friends from the niche site industry. And we we’ve all kind of moved on and do a little bit of different stuff nowadays. But essentially, it was interesting having the conversations cuz I was like, “Hey, I’m like out of the loop a little bit. I unsubscribed to a bunch of these uh newsletters that I was on because I was seeing like just the same kind of [ __ ] promos. People are selling stuff that I don’t believe is viable anymore.” And I mean there were just a lot of people that are full of [ __ ] So anyway, in this conversation with two different individuals, they were like, “Oh, are you talking about this person?” And I was like, “Nope.” I didn’t even have anyone specific in mind. It was more just like a general thing, but each of them had examples of people where they thought, “Hey, these folks are promoting not great products. They’re developing products that aren’t that good. they’re promoting products by their friends that aren’t that good and it’s a little bit unclear about like what what’s going on. So anyway, as I’ve worked in the online make money online industry for I suppose about 12 years total now, I have a pretty good sense of like that business model doesn’t seem to add up to me. This doesn’t make sense. Not that I know everything, but I’m like, h sounds a little too good to be true. So, I sent an email out and I was like, hey, do you would would you uh email subscriber, would you want to hear some of the BS that I’ve seen out there? Hit reply. Let me know. If you have an example, let me know. So, a couple people sent examples and they sounded, you know, if I just saw the name of it, I would just think, well, that sounds like [ __ ] to me. So, I got a huge number of responses, way more than I expected. Everyone was like, “Yeah, call these people out.” And I need to do a little re a little research, but the email that I sent out um today, I’m recording this on Friday. The this episode will come out on Monday. And basically it took some time cuz I’m thinking about it and it’s not a slam dunk for me because there’s some fallout and I’m not going to recap the whole email but essentially I’m going to have to think very hard about doing this because number one I’m not like a news organization where I’m going to do like an expose or whatever. I’m not a journalist where I know how to do all the research and dig and find and and do all this work necessary to like bring all the details out. But I can give some observations and hell all this stuff’s just for entertainment anyway, but if I call someone out, I want to definitely make sure I understand like some of the details. So that said, I’m not sure if it’s worth the effort. The other thing is a lot of the observations that I’ve had, they are they’re basically from people that have a lot of skills being an influencer and they have pretty big audiences. And the thing is there’s a there’s an interesting little network out there where people promote each other’s products and it’s a tangled little web. And you know, if I go after one or two, then they’re all going to be [ __ ] pissed at me. and they have skills to work online and ba basically they’re going to be able to um you know make my life a headache and I don’t know I need to think very long and hard about it and on the topic I got an email back from Kareem that I’m going to go into in a second but he was coming at it from a little bit of a different perspective than me. And I have to remember that. I mean, everybody’s in a different spot and a lot of people have been along for the ride for a while, you know, with the podcast or watching on YouTube or the blog or whatever. But we all have a little bit of a different perspective on the matter. But I thought Kareem brought up some good points. Before I get to that, you’ll notice in this episode I didn’t play the normal intro music. And you know what? But I got a little annoyed and I don’t want to use the I don’t want to use the show to complain about stuff. But last week on episode uh 574, I got an email that said the video cannot be monetized, which is fine because I don’t run ads on these. I don’t enjoy ads and I don’t want to advertise um the dumb products that I was making fun of earlier. But the thing is I got a copyright um detected um and it doesn’t impact the the the video being uh available public and visible. But it says I can’t I can’t monetize it. It says the copyright owner is either monetizing it or receiving analytics about it. And they say it’s not a copyright strike and it doesn’t affect the channel but I can’t monetize. I think this means they might be able to run ads on it which I need to do something about. The reason why I’m bringing this up and I’m going to call out this company uh Shuttertock Music. So I I got this music I paid for the rights um years ago. I’ve been using it on the [ __ ] podcast since 2019, right? So for some reason, I don’t know if something reset or what happened. Um but I think I might be able to put in information to actually have this dispute removed, but this is dumb. This happened on my other show, too. they they put um some sort of copyright um again, it’s not a copyright strike, but they put um uh they dispute it or something like that. I’m not 100% sure like what they do, but uh yeah, [ __ ] Shutter Stock Music. Like I said, I don’t know why they’re trying to do this. And the thing is, like if they do this to like a ton of my videos, which I don’t know if they’ve gone back and they’re like, “Oh yeah, we’re just going to create a dispute.” And I I watch some other music related channels. And I mean, this is a thing with um I guess music publishing and it’s more the channels that I watch, they’re talking more about like um popular music and someone is analyzing a song or teaching about a song or something like that. and then the publisher of that music, the owner, they will put a copyright notice on that and you end up um with kind of a a copyright uh issue situation. So, that is where I’m like, like I said, I don’t like the way this company is doing it. I paid for this in the past. I’m gonna have to go in if they did this to every single one of my videos. You know, we’re talking about I don’t know close to 2,000 videos. I don’t I don’t use the music in all of them, but at least there’s 574. And again, I’m just like this is a wasting my time. So, I’m calling out Shuttertock Music. And I would say don’t use Shutter Stop Music or any of those brands. They have flagged my video even though I paid for it and I don’t appreciate it. and I’ve gone through this song and dance before. So, so that’s my little call out for today. Now, let’s get over to Kareem’s email. And I’m not going to read the whole thing, but I’ll give you the gist of it. So, Kareem wrote this email in response to my, you know, is make money online still viable in 2025 moving forward? And I basically said, uh, you know, with niche sites, I’m telling people don’t build a site. Someone actually asked me directly in the last few weeks and I was said no I would find another hobby. I would find something else to work on and if you want to make money online like you can work online for sure but the content website model not really viable. So, when I replied back to Kareem, um, and I’ll tell you about the email in a second, but I replied back and I said, “Hey, that’s an interesting take and I think someone can, you know, work online and make this work, but I believe Kareem’s assumptions are different than mine. I don’t think he’s wrong. I don’t think I’m right. I just have a different perspective at this point in my life.” and like what I’m interested in. And I mentioned that I I’ve been technically working online for 15 years now. 15. Did I say 15? 12. 12. So I’ve been working online for 12 years. So I get not bored, but when something’s new, it’s interesting and novel, and then you get um obsessed, maybe you get better at it, and then over time it’s not as novel and not as interesting. For me, it’s about a fiveyear time span, give or take, and I’ll start tapering down with whatever it is I’m working on and start doing something a little different. And that I mean, that’s a pretty decent amount of time, and I I can focus and I get obsessed, and I get interested in a topic, and I’ll go deep into it. So, Kareem’s main thesis was around the the E-Myth, um, which is a pretty popular book. I actually never read it. Um, but I heard people talk about it all the time. But the main idea from Kareem is that most affiliates approach affiliate marketing from the angle of tricks and hacks and that’s okay as like he mentions it as a booster, but it’s not reliable to build a robust business. And he further states small and medium sites are failing to transition into big sites with clear systems, strategies, and structures. And essentially, he’s like people need to treat their websites or their online business as a real business with business plans, not just hacks and tricks. And I mean, I 100% agree with that portion of it. I think a like almost any business model can work pretty well even the ones that are I don’t know based on the stuff that I don’t think works right so I mean you can probably still create a content website get traffic in some capacity and have affiliate promotions and the same sort of business model that I’m telling you you know I don’t think I want to spend time on it and that’s the thing for me personally I’m like ah it’s not something interested in. It’s not something I want to spend time on at this point in my life. And the make money online area is huge. I mean, it could be drop shipping. You could do short form video on social media. You could have a YouTube channel. You could, you know, work online in air quotes where which it shouldn’t even be in air quotes. It’s just legit. But like you could create a tool that helps say YouTubers come up with scripts and ideas and you know just a tool for them to create their content. It could be very specific and you’re not actually you’re not selling directly to consumers. You’re selling to creators who technically potentially would be running a business. So you’re serving like business owners, not specifically individual um like consumers. So it’s a little bit different and again like a software tool could would be very viable especially for a big industry like um YouTube where there there are you know many tens of thousands of creators that could potentially use that tool. So, all that said, I mean, sure, like people could treat it as a business, but um and and be serious and have a business plan and like have try to have a robust like business and have a a website that grew from affiliate marketing and people treating it real. And I know I mean there are like I’m out of the scene currently um and have like little desire to go back but I mean I was in a few um great communities uh Dynamite Circle and it’s location independent entrepreneurs. Great. And I mean I went to a in-person meetup during intros people were like oh I want to grow my business like here are my goals for the year and so on and so forth. My goals were to do less work. And that was like in 2022. And I did less work, but you could imagine like I didn’t quite fit in. Like I I knew I knew what was going on, but like some people had ambition and I wasn’t ambitious. I was like, I’m turning this down because it’s not interesting to me. And no judgment. And I don’t think they judged me, but I was just like, okay, we’re talking about different stuff here. like I’m thinking more about lifestyle and enjoying my life and being happy and they’re thinking more about growing. Not to say there’s not an overlap. There’s certainly an overlap. And when I chatted with a couple people, I mean at the event cuz I was just like, “Hey, I feel a little out of place cuz uh you know, I’m telling you I’m trying to do as little as possible and other people are trying to do more.” depending on where people were in their life and business um life, they they they were like, “Yes, I’m trying to spend more time with my family, too.” But um they weren’t talking about it as as actively. So, and I think there were pockets. I’m not there’s a lot there was a lot of um a lot of the community was in like a forum and I’m like I’m not [ __ ] doing a forum and like writing the I mean they would have like great long messages. I’m like I’m not [ __ ] doing all that. I don’t know. there was probably another format. But anyway, the the point is you can treat um whatever it is you’re working on as a real business and grow it up and have um you know a road map and have a business plan and have a mature business model. And the the big thing is when I started in 2013 and I think it was probably still valid until uh I don’t know COVID time frame 2021 2022 all the way up through there. So almost like pretty much a close to a decade. I think you could get started with a website or something similar, right? and shifted a little bit as a hobby, as a side hustle, and think just like me when I started, hey, I would love to earn, I don’t know, $200 or $300 on the side. And I think it’s important for people to have that first step because I I’ve had conversations with um some people that are doing, you know, they’re making lots of money still right now, not specifically with websites, but often, you know, skills around marketing and online business. and they’re able to, you know, take their SEO skills and, you know, make a brickandmortar type business more profitable and that, you know, they’re able to do that kind of stuff because of the skills that they have. But the the thing is like it’s hard, even though it might be the same amount of work, but if you’re starting out brand new and you haven’t done anything online, it’s hard to think, okay, I can make $20,000 a month online. it like it it doesn’t seem possible because in your professional job you’re making less than half of that for example and you’re thinking I mean just like me getting started I if you told me that I’d be like I don’t think I could do that like I don’t really understand all the steps to get there and I know people are saying it’s the same amount of work but what does that really mean? I needed to take those small steps where I made 13 cents in a month and I was like, it it’s working. Oh, wow. Like someone clicked on the ads. That’s absolutely amazing. And then when you, you know, you fast forward a few months later making more. Then I see, oh, I needed to publish a little bit more. I’ve learned a few things. you it’s really hard for someone to jump straight into like I’m making you know the 20 20k a month or whatever even though it could be possible it’s hard to imagine it and I mean the other part is if you’re able to do that let’s say there was some there was some business model where you can get started and then let’s say within four months you’re making 20k a month. The problem with that is if it’s if it’s that fast, usually you can lose that just as quickly. And if you were able to do it with no skills and just show up and all of a sudden you’re like, “All right, I’m making 20k a month.” that means other people can do it as well and it’s probably not very defensible and that means you could be replaced very easily. So there is there’s that too. So if it’s super easy and and like you don’t need skill, you don’t need money, it doesn’t take time, then there’s going to be, you know, thousands of people ready to step on your back and step over you and just crush you. So there’s no easy way. So all all that to say, you know, Kareem had an interesting take. I think it’s totally valid. My assumptions are not his assumptions, but it doesn’t mean he’s incorrect or it doesn’t mean I’m I’m incorrect because I mean I mean I’m not giving anyone any specific solutions. The only thing I’m playing around with right now is the print on demand stuff that I mentioned a couple times and I think it’s viable as I mentioned like and I did the interview with um Emily, you know, she generally didn’t have any specific skills in keyword research working online. She wasn’t a graphic designer. she was able to go in, she’s put in, you know, probably thousands of hours and she’s learned a lot and she does do research and she’s analytical, but at the same time, it it also means it’s not a super defensible thing. I mean, she has um experience now and she has she’s developed some intuition about like what’s going to work and what’s not going to work. And she also has a head start. So, that’s the other thing where like people have a decent head start. She has thousands of products out there in two different stores. But, and if you don’t know what I’m talking about, you could check back in the last couple months. I did an interview with Emily Odo Sutton, and she does um print on demand for Etsy. They’re mostly gifts. They’re not clothing. Uh that sometimes leads to more returns, but if it’s a gift, like a coffee mug with a little saying on it, that is pretty straightforward. and she’ll focus on specific industries or niches um like teachers or something like she worked in the education industry so she was like oh yeah it could be like gifts for teachers for example. So all that to say it’s still possible to make some money online. It’s just not as clear as it was before and whatever people are working on. To Kareem’s point, you can treat it like a business. But I contend that if you’re starting it off as a side hustle, like I did and so many other people did, you kind of need to you got to crawl before you could walk, before you could run, and really have an understanding about what’s going on. And he didn’t state it in here. you know, perhaps it’s implied, but it’s not as simple. So, I think that’s it for today. I’m trying to do shorter episodes and less editing. And I didn’t even do the intro music cuz those jerks over at Shutter, whatever it is, put a copyright thing on me. So, I need to go chase that down. And I think what I’m gonna do I think I’m gonna do it for my other show too because I got the email for um this Doug show 574 and I was like you know what I have a couple guitars and microphones. I’m going to record my own music and I’m going to do it for my other show too. That way there’s no copyright issues. No one’s going to flag it. Although it’s a horrible system on YouTube. I mean, I think anyone can flag anything for any any reason, and if they don’t um you know, I could appeal it, but the other person has to approve it. I mean, as I was watching some of the videos on this stuff,
it was frustrating. It was frustrating. And and I mean, like, it’s just it’s just the intro music for me. So, I’m like, I don’t I don’t even care. I’ll make my own music. So, it won’t be as good or polished, but it’ll be my own. So, everybody have a good weekend or a good week. I’m recording this on a Friday, like I said. So, this is coming out soon. We’re doing it lean these days. If you’re not on the email list, be sure to sign up because I I am asking people about calling out the BS stuff and Yeah. Yeah. So many people are interested, but it it certainly made me nervous. All right, that’s it. We’ll catch you on the next one. And that’s it. Talk to you later. Bye.