---
title: '5 Things You Should Never Do If You Want to Earn Money Online (Based On Years of Experience)'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=GTZRCQOUw-w'
video_id: 'GTZRCQOUw-w'
date: 2026-08-17
duration_sec: 475
channel: 'PaidFromSurveys'
---

# 5 Things You Should Never Do If You Want to Earn Money Online (Based On Years of Experience)

> Source: [5 Things You Should Never Do If You Want to Earn Money Online (Based On Years of Experience)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=GTZRCQOUw-w)

## Summary

The video presents five common mistakes that prevent people from earning money through online side hustles, based on the creator's experience since 2016. It emphasizes realistic expectations, critical thinking, and self-reliance over quick fixes or blind trust in influencers.

### Key Points

- **Don't Expect Overnight Success** [00:00] — Many people expect to earn money online without effort, but realistic expectations and time are needed. Survey and get-paid-to sites can yield earnings from day one, but learning the best sites and maximizing returns takes longer. It's not a salary and depends on your country.
- **Don't Blindly Trust Influencers** [01:42] — Some creators promote sites they haven't tested, just for affiliate commissions, or promise unrealistic earnings (e.g., $500/day from surveys). Look for creators who show proof, are honest about downsides, and have a track record.
- **Don't Think AI Can Do Everything** [02:41] — AI is a useful tool but not a magic money-maker. Successful people use AI to save time but still think critically and put in effort. Copy-pasting AI output without checking or adjusting leads to failure. Avoid jumping between AI tools blindly.
- **Don't Ask Creators for Money** [04:07] — Creators who teach earning methods don't have unlimited money to give away. Asking for money doesn't help long-term; learning to earn yourself is sustainable. Free content exists to teach you how to do it independently.
- **Don't Expect Free Private Coaching** [05:11] — Creators offer free content and reply to comments, but they can't provide one-on-one private coaching or personal contact numbers. It's unreasonable to expect free, unlimited personal help. Use the free resources available instead.

### Conclusion

Avoiding these five mistakes—unrealistic expectations, blind trust, over-reliance on AI, asking for handouts, and expecting free coaching—puts you ahead of most beginners. Focus on learning and applying proven methods to succeed in online side hustles.

## Transcript

I have been helping people find ways to earn  extra money online since 2016 and I have talked   to hundreds of thousands of people about it over  the years and there are some patterns I keep   seeing over and over again that hold people back.  So today I want to go over five things you should  
never do if you actually want to make money with  online side hustles and these are based on what I   have seen happen in real life not theory. So the  first point I want to talk about is don't expect  
it to happen overnight because this is the most  common one I see. So in my experience, let's start   with that and then we'll move on to some more and  more unusual things you need to keep in mind. But   I get comments about the first one here every  single day because of all the hype  
online. People seem to think that you can earn a  lot of money without putting in real effort. In   the offline world, nobody would expect to get paid  without working for it. But somehow online people   have been led to believe it should just happen.  And here's the thing with for example survey and  
get-paid-to sites you can actually start earning  from day one. So that part is actually true. But   learning which sites works best for your profile  and how to actually get the most out of them   that takes a bit longer. And some people will  just sign up for one site. They will spend maybe  
20 minutes maximum money and then they'll earn  a small amount or maybe nothing and then they'll   just decide the whole thing does not work. It's  almost like just going to one job interview and   then deciding jobs do not exist. I always say  that these methods, the free online earning  
methods where you can start earning right away,  they are great for extra earnings on the side, but   it's not a salary and what you can earn depends a  lot on your country. So keep that in mind. But if   you go in with realistic expectations and give it  some time, you get a lot more out of it. So that's  
definitely the first thing you need to think about  if you want to earn online with side hustles. The   second thing is don't blindly trust influencers.  There are a lot of creators making content about  
earning money online. And unfortunately, some  of them promote sites and apps they have never   actually tested themselves. They just sign up for  an affiliate program and make a video about it.   Others, they just promise completely unrealistic  earnings. You probably seen thumbnails saying you  
can earn 500 a day from surveys, and that's just  not realistic. And when you then try it and the   reality is very different, it's easy to feel like  the whole thing is a scam. So what I suggest to do   is to look for creators who actually show proof  and who are honest about what does not work too.  
So make sure to check their track record. For  example, how long have they also been around? Do   they ever mention downsides of the platforms  and the methods they are talking about? If   someone only talks in the videos about how amazing  something is, it's usually a sign to be careful.  
So point three is don't think AI can do everything  for you. And this one is very relevant right now   because everywhere you look, someone is selling  an AI side hustle that promises passive income  
with no effort. Just let AI do the work and  collect the money. I actually believe everyone   should learn to use AI. It's definitely genuinely  a useful tool and it's not going to go away. But   the people who will do well in the next few  years in my opinion are those who learn to  
use it properly. But here's the difference I keep  seeing. Some people, they know that AI is a tool,   but they still think for themselves. They use it  to save time and to help with tasks and they can  
save hours that way. But some people fail because  they think AI will just magically make them rich.   They expect it will do everything for them without  them having to think critically at all. And I have   seen it many times now. They just simply basically  copy and paste something from an AI tool. They do  
not check it. They do not adjust it. and then  they wonder why something doesn't work or they   just blindly follow an influencer that sells a new  AI tool every single day and then they jump from   one AI tool to the next and don't understand why  nothing is working. AI is definitely powerful but  
it still needs a human behind it who's willing to  think and put in effort and that has not changed.   So the fourth one is don't ask creators  for money. So, this one might surprise you,  
but it is something that I actually  deal with regularly. I, for example, is teaching about how to earn money online. I can  see why you might think that they have a ton of  
money to spare. But just because someone teaches  about earning methods does not mean they have   unlimited money to give away. I actually recently  had someone who asked me to just send the money.   And when I then told them that I have free content  that shows many ways to start earning without any  
investments at all, they asked me why I could not  just give them money instead since I earn online.   And the honest answer is that even if I could  set money to everyone who asked, which I cannot,   but even if I could, it would not really help  because tomorrow you will then be in the exact  
same situation again. But if you learn how to earn  it yourself, that is something that actually stays   with you. So the free content both on my channel  and on other channels and on my website, it's   there for a reason. It's to show you how to do it  yourself and then you can actually keep doing it.  
The fifth and final point is don't expect free  private coaching. And this one is a bit related   to the previous point because I for example put  a lot of effort into creating free content. I   have thousands of videos, articles, reviews and I  reply to every single comment here on my YouTube  
channel. So, there are many ways to get help for  free, and there are many other great channels and   websites as well where you can get free help. But  I regularly get people asking me to spend hours   giving them private coaching, walking them through  everything step by step, one on-one. Sometimes  
people even ask me for my private phone number or  WhatsApp number so they can just call me whenever   they have a question. And I want to say this in a  kind way because I understand the desire for help.   But try to think about it this way. If a stranger  came to you and asked you to do the work you were  
best at completely for free for as long as they  needed, would you say yes? And would you give   them your private phone number so they could call  you anytime and ask you to show up and help them   whenever they needed it? Nobody would say yes  to that and nobody has the time for it either,  
even if they wanted to. But the good thing is  that there's already so much free help available.   So use the videos, use guides, ask questions here  in the comments also. I reply to every single   comment. So that's what all of it is there for.  But neither me or any other person who's earning  
online and sharing content about it. It can offer  free private coaching one-on-one whenever you want   to. And just wanted to make that clear because  I see some people keep asking about it. So it's   just to help you so you can focus on the right  things to get the best possible results online.  
So, those are the five things I would suggest  to avoid if you want to have the best chances   of actually earning money with online side  hustles. And none of it is meant to discourage   you. It's actually the opposite. If you avoid  these things, you are already ahead of most people  
who are just starting out. And I'm also curious to  hear from you. Have you seen any of these patterns   yourself? Or is there something else you think  people should stop doing? Please just let me   know in the comments. And I will also leave some  links in the description to help you get started  
if you're new to this. I will leave a link to a  free email course that shows you some of the best   tips and tricks to get started with free online  earning methods. And I also have a list of more   than 20 different free online side hustles you  can get started with. I will also leave a link to  
that below. And finally, if you found this video  helpful, please make sure to hit the like button   and don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube  channel and hit the notification bell so you won't   miss out next time I release a video with tips and  tricks about different ways to make money online.