As someone who has been involved in Internet marketing for 20 years, I’ve observed a few trends.
One trend is the cycle of hype and disillusionment among participants in the industry, especially newcomers. It is a very frustrating and disheartening experience for many newbies. They start with such hope and excitement about a business opportunity, but that elation degrades into disappointment and then often anger. This cycle has created a lot of jaded Internet marketers.
In turn, many blanket statements are made about the industry and business opportunities in general, like “they’re all scammers,” “it’s rigged,” and “the gurus don’t want you to win.”
As I was reflecting on some of the responses to my recent State of the IM Industry article, it occurred to me that relative newcomers probably aren’t aware of the cyclical nature of the IM industry that I take for granted. I then realized that I’ve never really explained this cycle in one cohesive article, nor have I seen any articles or graphic representations that capture its nuances.
So here’s my attempt to do that, and I’m calling it the “Internet Marketing Opportunity Cycle.”
I believe by understanding this cycle, and being able to determine where any given opportunity is currently positioned, you can set more realistic expectations, avoid the pitfalls that come with certain stages of the cycle, and be more intentional with your business planning.
STAGE 1: The Spark (New Technology/Platform)
The beginning of the cycle is sparked by some sort of new technology or perhaps more often an innovation of existing technology. Frequently it could be classified as what I consider to be a “platform”. It could be very broad based, such as the invention of the Internet, or mobile phones. More frequent are the smaller innovations such as a new social media platform, or a new advertising platform within an existing social media site (such as Facebook Ads). The one commonality that virtually all of these innovations share is an aspect of communication, which can be used for marketing purposes.
The “opportunity” is to use the platform to generate traffic, leads, sales, or otherwise profit in some way. Not all Internet marketing-related products are “opportunities”. Some products are tools and materials designed for certain business models, and are not opportunities on their own. In those cases, you may want to determine and evaluate the underlying opportunity if it’s not self evident. If a particular tool (such as a software program) is designed specifically to generate traffic/leads/sales, then it would probably fit within this opportunity cycle. If a product involves training to get traffic/leads/sales, then I would consider that product to be opportunity based.
STAGE 2: Early Adoption
Innovative marketers jump in as early adopters, and begin to use the new platform. At first they might just be participants, learning the platform along with everyone else. Those who are constantly looking for new ways to generate traffic, leads, and sales will push the cycle into Stage 3. Some good examples could be the early days of Twitter, or Instagram. Marketers joined and basically started doing what everyone else was doing. Tweeting about random stuff. Posting pictures. Following others and gaining a following. No one had a focused marketing plan yet, and no one was getting paid to tweet. But that all changed very quickly.
STAGE 3: Exploitation
The savvy early-adopting marketers will exploit the new opportunity to generate as much benefit for themselves as fast as possible. If you have a negative connotation of the word “exploit”, then capitalize might be a better word to understand this phase. The marketers doing the exploiting are generally not doing anything wrong or unethical (although there are always exceptions). They are chiefly opportunists. A lot of money may be made quickly, and this is where some marketers literally do “get rich quick.” Because of that, it can be great to be an early adopter as a marketer. However, it also comes with risks, and may result in a short-lived business. The length of this stage is highly variable, but my observation is that in general it keeps getting SHORTER with each new spark. I believe the reason for that is the proliferation of information marketing, wherein Stage 5 is brought about sooner by marketers who are focused on making money by teaching these exploitation methods. For example, when Google AdWords first came out, the early adopting affiliate marketers quietly exploited it for a couple years before spilling the beans. When Facebook Ads came out, it was a matter of months.
STAGE 3B: Early Scammers
Whenever successful (profitable) exploitation of a new technology occurs, you can be sure there are a few scammers close behind. While some scammers are truly innovative, the vast majority are not. Instead they watch the smart marketers and mimic them. This stage may be be practically unobservable because only a few scammers are involved at this point, but in rare cases the scammers can be so detrimental that it causes the cycle to skip directly to Stage 6. I called this Stage 3B, because it happens concurrently with Stage 3, and is not so much a stage unto itself but is a typical occurrence within the cycle.
STAGE 4: Teach the World
Sometimes this happens naturally because there are good people in the business who simply want to help others by sharing the opportunity. Other times some of the early adopters sense that the prime window of opportunity is closing, so they move on to the next phase of exploiting the opportunity which for them is making money by teaching it to others. Again, even if profit is the objective, teaching is usually not an unethical business model. This is in fact one of the areas in which I have focused and profited over the years. The problems often come in when marginally successful (or even unsuccessful) marketers begin teaching things they’re not qualified to teach, and when the unscrupulous marketers (borderline scammers) begin making unreasonable or flat-out false claims in their advertising. For example, suppose someone made $200 on the Teespring platform (a legit opportunity which became an IM fad a few years back, and well illustrates this entire cycle), and immediately decides to start coaching it. That kind of stuff happens all the time in the IM industry.
STAGE 5: Widespread Adoption
The opportunity reaches a tipping point, and the masses jump into it. Competition fills the opportunity, and success becomes more difficult due to the competition. For example, it may become more expensive to advertise, or simply more difficult to get prospects’ attention. It is important to realize that this is the point at which most “internet marketers” jump into the game! This marketer influx may be the result of big infoproduct launch or other efforts made by “gurus” to teach the opportunity. Along with that comes a lot of HYPE. The disillusion then comes quickly, as the opportunity isn’t as easy as it was proclaimed to be, and in fact that’s usually because the effectiveness of the methods being taught are devolving in real time. At the same time that Internet marketers are jumping into it, mainstream businesses are also jumping in. Everything from offline mom-and-pop shops doing advertising, to Fortune 500 companies launching branding campaigns. Once the world realizes that the money is here, everyone wants a piece of it, which accelerates the growth of competition.
STAGE 5B: 2nd Wave Scammers
As the world adopts the new platform and it becomes well known as a source of profit, another wave of scammers will come in. These are not the “smart” ones who are closely following the early adopters. These ones are basically lazy and nefarious marketers who don’t have much creativity and follow the pack of sheep into what seems to be working, and they make a mess of it.
STAGE 6: New Rules
In this stage, new rules, restrictions, and obstacles are introduced as a result of Stage 5 and 5B. Often this is a reactionary movement from the owner of the platform as a result of degradation of the “user experience”. In other words, the proliferation of marketers, marketing, and scammers have combined to make it not such a nice platform anymore. In some cases, these changes result in the proverbial baby being thrown out with the bath water. Internet marketers are often the first to get kicked out, because they’re lumped in with the scammers (because again, the scammers are basically imitating legit marketers). These changes typically make the opportunity more difficult, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing in the long run. Platforms that successfully implement effective changes are then able to sustain long term businesses. I could cite many examples of this stage, but one that I see starting to happen right now is with the use of chatbots. Chatbots have been one of the hottest marketing tools for the past couple years, and have created big results for many marketers. Now as the world has jumped on the trend, Facebook is poised to start controlling and limiting their use for marketing, and I think we’ll see changes in the near future that impact marketers.
STAGE 7: Maturity
After going through some evolution, the opportunity reaches a level of maturity wherein things become more stable and predictable. The length of this stage can be extremely variable. In some platforms, it’s over almost as soon as it started. An example of that would be Periscope, which just a few years ago was touted as the hot new marketing platform. While there are probably some niche marketers out there with a following, I personally don’t know anyone who is benefiting from Periscope these days. It blasted through this entire opportunity cycle in about a year. Other platforms can last a long time, by Internet marketing standards. Some may outlast our businesses, and some may outlast our lifetimes. Ebay is a platform that I started selling on in 1999, and I still sell on it today. I expect it will still be around in another 10 or 20 years. The Internet itself is an example of a platform that will probably outlive us, meaning that the Internet is not an unwise place to build a business.
While there are certainly benefits of getting into any opportunity at the earliest possible stage, this Maturity Stage is generally the “safe” time to get into an opportunity as a long term business. It’s more stable, which means you can plan for the long term. It’s more predictable, which means you have less risk of your business being wiped off the map by a new rule or update. There is no get-rich-quick in this stage. Yet even within this stage of maturity, change is inevitable, and the ability to adapt is vital.
STAGE 8: Stagnation
At some point, the opportunity stagnates and gradually becomes less effective. Again this stage can vary greatly in length. In the technology world, this will inevitably lead us back to the start. A new spark, with new opportunities, will arise. That’s why I view this as a cycle and not merely a linear timeline. I would argue that a current example of stagnation is Twitter, with its reportedly lackluster numbers, and dwindling efficacy.
So there you have it. I think I just coined the term, because I did a Google search for “Internet marketing opportunity cycle” in quotes, and there were ZERO results 🙂
What to take away from this article:
– As you evaluate any opportunity, be aware of its current stage in this cycle.
– If you’re looking to get rich quick (which is a higher risk business strategy that I don’t necessarily recommend), you need to focus on identifying Stage 1 opportunities at the moment of the spark.
– Be especially aware of Stage 4-5 opportunities, because those are the ones that are getting the most hype and attention. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t jump into it, as it’s still often better sooner than later, but set your expectations accordingly, and realize you will not inherently achieve the same results as the person teaching it.
– Realize that changes and new rules especially on new and developing platforms are the norm. If you’re averse to change and risk, then you might not want to be an early adopter.
– If you like to play it “safer” and plan your business for the long term, look at Stage 7 mature platforms that have the potential to outlive your objectives.
– We can also infer from this cycle that one of the biggest opportunities, while not easily accomplished, is to BE the spark. Build the next platform. Innovate the next opportunity. Most fail at this, but those who succeed profit immensely.
Let me know what you think. In the comments below, tell us about your experience with this cycle, and opportunities that you’ve observed or participated in. I approve comments periodically, so your comment won’t appear instantly.
Thanks for reading, and have a great day!
great stuff as usual Eric!
Thanks Jay! Hey everyone, Jay Boyer reads Eric’s Tips 🙂
Thank you, Eric another great article as always from you
You are the person I lookup to and follow your advice as a honest to be trusted
Thanks Brian!
Will you BE the one to make the next Spark that we need to latch onto?
I am so far behind with IM. My goal is moving more eBay/Etsy items (one of a kind/collectibles). This for me is a struggle. I’m also learning blogging. You stated eBay has 10 to 20 more years in the maturity stage. I assume that product selection defines what stage?
I probably will not be the one to create the next spark. But I will teach you about it if I’m lucky enough to find out about it early enough. I’ll also continue to help teach tried and true “mature” business models that I believe will last a long time.
Of course its speculation on my part about Ebay, but there are a number of factors that I would point to. It’s been around a long time, so it’s clearly not in the early stages. As a platform it was used and abused, and they fixed and improved, and stabilized it for the long term so it’s past stage 6.
I think your article is spot on. That’s why it’s important to have an evergreen, “core business” in place.
If you have that, you can take advantage of the “sparks” without any stress.
If you don’t have a “core business” in place (most newbies don’t) then you’ll be chasing those “sparks” all the time, it’s stressful and it’s impossible to have an income you can rely on.
Good points! Having an evergreen core business is a great path to stability.
Very nice and well-written article, Eric! Thanks for sharing the concept and the visual imagery.
For the past couple of weeks I have been wondering how I could identify new opportunities in order to capitalize as an early adopter, build my skills, and teach others via digital products. As you mentioned in this article, there is opportunity and risk involved when you are an early adopter but you can jump into it at various points in the cycle and possibly do well financially.
Being the one to spark a new technology or platform would be an ideal position for anyone. However, building an online business in the maturity stage where you’re dealing with a platform with some longevity would definitely be the safest place to start.
Would investing in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency qualify as a good example of new technology/platform that resulted in great returns for early adopters (investors) and is probably in Stage 5 now? It is being deployed and adopted worldwide now but no one can say with certainty if it will stick, in my opinion.
Well, I love the way you have presented this “internet marketing opportunity cycle”. It is definitely worthy of more in-depth study. What websites or forums would you recommend one visit in order to learn about these new opportunities in IM?
To answer your question about BTC and crypto, that’s a good question. It’s out of my realm of expertise, but I think your analysis putting it in Stage 5 is a very good educated guess. That’s what I would say too. I think it’s pretty obvious that governments/institutions will attempt to impose more rules and restrictions at some point, so I don’t think it’s reached Stage 6. And I would agree that no one knows if it will succeed long term. Remnants of the technology will of course exist and evolve, but whether any particular crypto will become a global currency is speculative. I own a small amount of crypto.
Good question about other resources too. I wish I had a good reliable source to give you. The infamous Warrior Forum is certainly a place where people are always discussing IM opportunities, but I have a hard time recommending it as an info source because there’s also a lot of misinformation. One problem is that once you “hear about” a new opportunity, it’s usually in Stage 4-5. It’s easy to find Stage 4-5 opportunities, just check the best seller list on JVZoo. To find Stage 1-2 opportunities, you basically have to transcend the IM world, and look at the bigger picture of technology. Hang out with inventors and innovators, and those who are on the bleeding edge. Perhaps on a more practical level, stay on top of Internet tech news. If a company like Google or Facebook or Amazon launches something new (whatever it is), there’s a good chance it can be exploited for profit.
Thanks Eric – as usual, a very insightful analysis. My experience tells me that Google virtually controls Stage 6, and a seemingly simple algorithm change can ruin a solid business. Therein lies a lesson …
I fully agree, especially in terms of fraudsters … Thanks for the correct analysis.
Thanks Eric, you have delivered a very good article. I came into my home office to refine my “spark” opportunity to present to some of the Internet Marketers I have followed over the years. Before we retired we lived in Las Vegas, at that time Eric you and Joel Comm held a Christian Business Conference in California that I wanted to attend, but we couldn’t attend at that time. I always promised myself some day.
I’m the past president of Merit Advertising Network, and loved advertising even pounding the pavement at going from business to business, because I know the importance for great advertising for any business, and even more so with such a diverse audience and business ideas that Internet Marketers have. Since we retired, I returned to writing my Bible Study books and have two in the series published. Our focus will always remain on spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, especially with the overwhelming spiritual warfare exploding around the world. We have so many people needing help especially to get out of their addictions and following Satanism.
The “spark” I have for marketing is to bring in the money to release us from all our bills and to fulfill our vow to God. We don’t use God’s money at all! We have a stewardship account for all of God’s money to go to God’s work.
The “spark” relates to advertising to a group that contains two million list builders who need to be trained in all the aspects Internet Marketing. It has the potential of having people who have doubled or tripled their list. I joined over twenty years ago, then dropped out thinking how can they grow with such a limited perspective.
We’ve been praying for the Lord’s direction, correction and connections. I lost contact with your information for a long time and you appeared in my email with these last two articles. I really enjoyed reading them and I saw how well they were thought through. I need some good feedback on my “spark” from Internet Marketers I respect. Please email me if you would like to help me talk through what I have as my “spark” for hopefully the next big thing. But not the most important focus because Jesus Christ and his work will always remain first for me and my husband.
Your Friend in Service to Jesus Christ,
Joan Jessalyn Cox
Blog: https://www.joanjessalyncoxsays.blog
Hi Joan, Thanks for sharing and blessings to you too. It sounds like you’ve got great potential with the opportunity to tap into a large list of prospects. I’m not doing any one-on-one’s right now, but I am launching a new paid coaching program at the end of May. In the mean time, here is my advice. With a list of 2 million to tap into, I think you should refine your plan into EXACTLY what service you can provide to those people. With so many prospects, you DON’T have to have a high success rate to make it a viable business. I would recommend an ongoing continuity program, like coaching. Depending on what you’re providing, the price could range significantly… Anywhere from say $10/mo to over $1000/mo. This is a totally arbitrary number, but for lack of a baseline I’d recommend looking at a price point of $197-$397/mo. At that price you don’t need a lot of customers to make a living. (ie. $297 x 20 customers = $5940 a month). Pulling 20 customers out of a targeted list of 2 million would be a very reasonable goal.
A very truthful analysis of internet marketing cycle. Thanks for the information and guidance.
Eric,
Fantastic article, and extremely insightful! I’d like to share with you a unique platform that is without a doubt, one of those “spark” concepts with unlimited potential. I know that you have probable heard that line a thousand times. Nevertheless, I implore you to bear with me and take a look at this. As a saavy marketer, it will take you less than five minutes to assess whether I am just blowing smoke, or am truly on to something.
Feel free to send it to me at my helpdesk, thanks!
hi eric after having experienced all the cycles you mentioned above I fully agree with every thing you have said every brilliant article the problem is how do people like me actually succeed in making money online
Thanx for this great article, because i learned something new.
I can connect this article with influencer marketing on IG. In the early days it was very effective strategy to pay influencer for promotion, but now people are scroling through their feed and stories 100 miles an hour, so it’s very hard to get any return, except if you have some revolutionary product and amazing ad copy.
Too bad that I realized this too late and lost some cash for nothing.
Anyway, this post made me think real hard about the next opportunity.
Cheers ?
Hi Eric,
Really interesting article. I also read the email you sent out the other day about scammers. Hi Eric,
I’m so sorry that this happened to you. Also, Thank you for warning us for these scammers. Would you mind if I shared this story with my list as well. I could frame it as a friends experience without using your name or with your permission use your name. Thanks for your consideration?
God Bless You and I’m glad HE protected you from any further damage.
By His Grace,
Michael
PS…Please don’t hesitate to say no, I’ll understand.
Sorry for the delay on my reply, yes that would be fine thanks.
I think you have described the cycle of the IM industry astutely! If there is one place where you can see the cycle operating in ‘real time’ this would be ‘The Warrior Forum’, although this has diminished in significance since it was sold to a new consortium. Places such as JVZoo abound with the ‘Spark’ and early adopter communities, Clickbank also. What tends to happen is the vast potential for automation inspires the belief that we can just ‘set and forget’ our efforts, and the process will simply accumulate automatic payments for our business!
What isn’t understood by newbies is that it requires a consistent, considerable effort, you have to be always learning, and adjusting your entire project/s.
There is no escaping the fact that we have to be digitally literate to be able to form clear pictures and perspectives on what is possible, and what is necessary to implement.
Sincerity, genuine intentions, and good values always eclipse the ‘fast buck’ approach, you are in this for the long haul so stop looking for the easy path, the deceptive path, the clever trickery path!
The big obstacle is choosing your specific audience, your ‘niche’ (as it is so often labelled) this is an absolute part of the ‘selection criteria’ for successful outcomes.
How can you best help your people, what are the major pain points, what can you do for them?
Then, once you have chosen, how can you reach these people and actually make them understand what you can offer, and do for them?
Communication, clarity, good values, genuine benefits which are powerfully presented, this is absolutely essential!
I like your article very much Eric, let me know if I can help you with anything, I am a writer, and technical person, I would be delighted to work with you one day!
Cheers to all, and don’t get discouraged, persist and endure just like good men & women have to each day to keep their family in good shape; I wish for you the same successful outcomes I also want.
Hi Eric
I sent an email to you but your list manager asked me to send comment here.
If u dont mind i ask.
All The images posted on buzzious, example : nkracademy.buzzious.com ,
1. are they free royalty free images? Can we auto grab the image from the same source we grab the articles?
2. Another question, about the article, only short 1-2 lines (about 20-30words) ? Can we grab more words like 250 words?
3. Can we use our own custom domain instead of subdomain?
4. Is it Wordpess theme or plugin? We need to have our own hosting?
About TTSuite:
Do we need VPN or proxy to change ip to get safe?
How many accounts can be run to follow unfollow, (in parallel) ?
Can we login different tiktok accounts on the desktop app interchangebly to follow/unfollow ?
Thnks
En
1. are they free royalty free images? Can we auto grab the image from the same source we grab the articles?
Not necessarily, they may be part of the original article which you are syndicating.
2. Another question, about the article, only short 1-2 lines (about 20-30words) ? Can we grab more words like 250 words?
I think so, please contact buzzious support for more info.
3. Can we use our own custom domain instead of subdomain?
With the upgrade I believe you can, again contact buzzious support.
4. Is it Wordpess theme or plugin? We need to have our own hosting?
No, it is a privately hosted platform.
Do we need VPN or proxy to change ip to get safe?
No, as long as you’re not posting anything spammy you should be fine.
How many accounts can be run to follow unfollow, (in parallel) ?
Unlimited, but only one at a time.