Making money online is simple but not easy

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unicorn2000

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Hi everyone! I finally decided to create an account and post after lurking for a few months.
I'm 25F based in the US and here are some ways I've made money online.

1. Freelance on Upwork
I started out doing virtual assistant jobs. Specifically searching for data entry roles (would take me 1-2 hours) that pay $300-$400 per project. I don't do this anymore.

2. UGC
I found an agency to work with back in 2021 when UGC was still relatively new and each video I made for them brought in $250. I'd make extra videos and share it with them in case the brand would like to purchase them on top of the videos I was assigned to make (they did). I also don't do this anymore.

3. Content Creation
Took me about 3 months to build my account to 3k followers and now I have around 25k. Brand deals/UGC deals bring in $2k+ per month. Currently all my deals are inbound.

4. Ecommerce (NEED ADVICE)
This is my latest endeavor alongside my content creation. Definitely the hardest of them all. Paid someone $400 to build my website on Shopify. Sourced products from manufacturers in China. I promote my products myself on TikTok and by going live on TikTok. I sync my products from Shopify to TikTok Shop. Better for conversions by selling directly through TikTok but their policies have made it a pain in the ass. Had my shop deactivated and funds frozen (got it back though). Total initial investment of $6k to get this up and running and in a little over a month I've made a little over $2k. Definitely promising but now my biggest struggle is figuring out the best way to scale my brand without having to be the face of it.

Things I'm doing now to scale:
- working with manufacturers on more SKUs and custom packaging (I literally have 0 custom packaging I've just been repackaging everything to look uniform. I did this initially to cut costs but this makes fulfilling a pain in the ass)
- Pretty established on TikTok but now I need to grow brand awareness on Instagram to direct sales to my Shopify
- Need to look into Google Ads

Appreciate any advice from anyone who has successfully scaled a brand.

5. (EXPLORING & SEEKING ADVICE) Affiliate Marketing
The thing I hate most about ecommerce is having to invest in inventory and ad spend. Since affiliate marketing is mostly just paid ads, that would at least cut the cost of inventory. From what I've gathered, I need to create a landing page and direct traffic with paid ads. Mostly google ads and maybe tiktok ads since they're cheaper but again, the policies kill. Going to look for affiliate links on Maxbounty. If any experienced SUCCESSFUL affiliate marketers making $5k/month have any advice or can direct me down the right path that would be appreciated.

Also thinking of creating some meme page on instagram and having affiliate links there for some course or brand collabs. I'd have to grow from scratch but I'm sure with consistency it shouldn't take long.

Which option is better here?

6. (THINGS I CONSIDERED TRYING BUT DID NOT) Dropshipping
Thought about dropshipping what I've been selling on TikTok since it's seen success and would at least help me avoid dealing with inventory myself but the long shipping times for my specific niche would PROBABLY not do well so I ended up scrapping that idea. With paid ads, margins would be slim too.


Thanks for reading!
 
Last edited:
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It's surprising that you go on a rampage making money in everything you do while most others are struggling to sustain in their IM careers.

You don't need any advice. You should become a guru and make courses for others :anyway:
 
eCom & Affiliate are both great business models and can scale insanely high, but I wouldn't say one is easier than the other. Both are difficult. Affiliate Mktg may "appear" easier with small ops, no inventory etc, but you then need to ask yourself what is your edge? It's never as simple as it appears on the surface :D

The only real answer here, is to earnestly pick *one*, whichever you enjoy the most & keep iterating/improving
 
Starblazer said:
It's surprising that you go on a rampage making money in everything you do while most others are struggling to sustain in their IM careers.

You don't need any advice. You should become a guru and make courses for others :anyway:
Click to expand...
I'm interested in why you took this post this way? I don't mean that in a snarky way either. My intention was to transparently share how I've found my opportunities, how much someone else can potentially make from them too, and my current thought processes/strategies in hopes it would help others. I am by no means an expert which is why I'm sharing my thought process so someone who is more knowledgeable than I can guide my thinking process in the right direction.
 
unicorn2000 said:
Hi everyone! I finally decided to create an account and post after lurking for a few months.
I'm 25F based in the US and here are some ways I've made money online.

1. Freelance on Upwork
I started out doing virtual assistant jobs. Specifically searching for data entry roles (would take me 1-2 hours) that pay $300-$400 per project. I don't do this anymore.

2. UGC
I found an agency to work with back in 2021 when UGC was still relatively new and each video I made for them brought in $250. I'd make extra videos and share it with them in case the brand would like to purchase them on top of the videos I was assigned to make (they did). I also don't do this anymore.

3. Content Creation
Took me about 3 months to build my account to 3k followers and now I have around 25k. Brand deals/UGC deals bring in $2k+ per month. Currently all my deals are inbound.

4. Ecommerce (NEED ADVICE)
This is my latest endeavor alongside my content creation. Definitely the hardest of them all. Paid someone $400 to build my website on Shopify. Sourced products from manufacturers in China. I promote my products myself on TikTok and by going live on TikTok. I sync my products from Shopify to TikTok Shop. Better for conversions by selling directly through TikTok but their policies have made it a pain in the ass. Had my shop deactivated and funds frozen (got it back though). Total initial investment of $6k to get this up and running and in a little over a month I've made a little over $2k. Definitely promising but now my biggest struggle is figuring out the best way to scale my brand without having to be the face of it.

Things I'm doing now to scale:
- working with manufacturers on more SKUs and custom packaging (I literally have 0 custom packaging I've just been repackaging everything to look uniform. I did this initially to cut costs but this makes fulfilling a pain in the ass)
- Pretty established on TikTok but now I need to grow brand awareness on Instagram to direct sales to my Shopify
- Need to look into Google Ads

Appreciate any advice from anyone who has successfully scaled a brand.

5. (EXPLORING & SEEKING ADVICE) Affiliate Marketing
The thing I hate most about ecommerce is having to invest in inventory and ad spend. Since affiliate marketing is mostly just paid ads, that would at least cut the cost of inventory. From what I've gathered, I need to create a landing page and direct traffic with paid ads. Mostly google ads and maybe tiktok ads since they're cheaper but again, the policies kill. Going to look for affiliate links on Maxbounty. If any experienced SUCCESSFUL affiliate marketers making $5k/month have any advice or can direct me down the right path that would be appreciated.

Also thinking of creating some meme page on instagram and having affiliate links there for some course or brand collabs. I'd have to grow from scratch but I'm sure with consistency it shouldn't take long.

Which option is better here?

6. (THINGS I CONSIDERED TRYING BUT DID NOT) Dropshipping
Thought about dropshipping what I've been selling on TikTok since it's seen success and would at least help me avoid dealing with inventory myself but the long shipping times for my specific niche would PROBABLY not do well so I ended up scrapping that idea. With paid ads, margins would be slim too.


Thanks for reading!
Click to expand...
Welcome to the community! That's a solid journey so far.

Regarding your struggle with scaling the brand without being the face of it: Have you considered an affiliate program for your own shop? Since you’re already on TikTok Shop, getting other creators to do the content for you (commission-based) is the fastest way to scale without being on camera 24/7.

For the Instagram meme page idea—it's a grind, but great for long-term traffic. Just make sure the niche is super tight so the affiliate offers actually convert. Looking forward to seeing your progress!
 
RE ticktock said:
eCom & Affiliate are both great business models and can scale insanely high, but I wouldn't say one is easier than the other. Both are difficult. Affiliate Mktg may "appear" easier with small ops, no inventory etc, but you then need to ask yourself what is your edge? It's never as simple as it appears on the surface :D

The only real answer here, is to earnestly pick *one*, whichever you enjoy the most & keep iterating/improving
Click to expand...
:weep: agh thank you for the genuine response and I appreciate the advice! I had a feeling I'd get "pick one" as advice haha. When you say edge, what are some examples of edges other people have if you have any? I think my current thought process right now is: I'm still early on in my eCom journey and it will definitely be a long road ahead. If I can avoid dealing with inventory and find success in affiliate marketing I'd much rather go down that route. It's a bit more foreign for me though.
 
torus666 said:
Welcome to the community! That's a solid journey so far.

Regarding your struggle with scaling the brand without being the face of it: Have you considered an affiliate program for your own shop? Since you’re already on TikTok Shop, getting other creators to do the content for you (commission-based) is the fastest way to scale without being on camera 24/7.

For the Instagram meme page idea—it's a grind, but great for long-term traffic. Just make sure the niche is super tight so the affiliate offers actually convert. Looking forward to seeing your progress!
Click to expand...
Thanks for the warm welcome!

Yes I have, but TikTok rates your shop and if it's below a certain rating it doesn't let you list your products in the affiliate program (sorry if I mansplained). Someone ended up scamming me and requesting a refund (it was my own fault I didn't see the notification in time to dispute it) and that ended up dropping my score. So until I get that back up it will just have to be me unfortunately.

As for the meme page! Thanks for the input about niching down that's super helpful! I'll definitely try that it seems like the route that would be most familiar for me.
 
unicorn2000 said:
I'm interested in why you took this post this way? I don't mean that in a snarky way either. My intention was to transparently share how I've found my opportunities, how much someone else can potentially make from them too, and my current thought processes/strategies in hopes it would help others. I am by no means an expert which is why I'm sharing my thought process so someone who is more knowledgeable than I can guide my thinking process in the right direction.
Click to expand...
I don't mean to offend you. It was actually impressive journey and you're better than most people here. After pandemic, internet marketing has been too difficult that many people switched careers or moved to AI tools and automation from side hustles.

You have 2 of the biggest achievements in IM - success that could replace a 9 to 5 job & experience in multiple fields. I agree that there are many people who are more successful than you but with such a track record, you're already in the creamy layer. You can take calculated risks & beat the odds with your strategies and experience.
 
Starblazer said:
It's surprising that you go on a rampage making money in everything you do while most others are struggling to sustain in their IM careers.

You don't need any advice. You should become a guru and make courses for others :anyway:
Click to expand...
i think that's the goal of his post lol. Assuming anything he said is true
 
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Starblazer said:
I don't mean to offend you. It was actually impressive journey and you're better than most people here. After pandemic, internet marketing has been too difficult that many people switched careers or moved to AI tools and automation from side hustles.

You have 2 of the biggest achievements in IM - success that could replace a 9 to 5 job & experience in multiple fields. I agree that there are many people who are more successful than you but with such a track record, you're already in the creamy layer. You can take calculated risks & beat the odds with your strategies and experience.
Click to expand...
No worries, not offended and thank you for the clarification. I'll share more of what I learn along the way to hopefully help others too. This forum has been really helpful for me and has opened my eyes and seen what other opportunities there are that I've never even thought of.
 
boomer69 said:
i think that's the goal of his post lol. Assuming anything he said is true
Click to expand...
Maybe I should have clarified in my post, but I actually found it extremely difficult and frustrating to learn things without being led to a course in my journey. Because I found this forum to be a great resource, I wanted to share what I've learned and continue learning from others here! I don't know about others but at least for me it's been extremely exhausting, scary, and lonely trying to learn IM. Hopefully I can help others who may feel that way too.
 
Sounds like you’re already doing a lot right, scaling usually comes down to tightening one lane instead of adding new ones too fast.
 
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