Content Creation Has Become a Pyramid Scheme

The MLM industry has rebranded for the TikTok era. Now, instead of hawking LuLaRoe leggings, women are paying $500 for PDFs on how to become micro influencers. Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Substack: https://www.usermag.co The "hustle economy" is no longer about selling essential oils or leggings to your neighbors. A new wave of multi-level marketing-style schemes has taken over Instagram and TikTok. Digital courses specifically targeting young mothers with the promise of "passive income" and "financial freedom" by becoming a content creator have become pervasive. In this episode, I sit down with Caroline Moss (founder of "Gee Thanks, Just Bought It") to break down how content creation became the new digital pyramid scheme. We expose the dark reality of the influencer economy, the rise of Faceless Marketing scams, and why so many women are buying $500 PDFs just to turn around and sell that same PDF to someone else. We talk about influencer saturation, the use of ChatGPT to write generic "chaos mama" scripts, the rise of "course core" and the heartbreaking reality that most of these creators are making absolutely zero dollars. Follow me: https://www.instagram.com/taylorlorenz https://www.instagram.com/taylorlorenz3.0 https://www.tiktok.com/@taylorlorenz https://bsky.app/profile/taylorlorenz.bsky.social https://twitter.com/taylorlorenz Follow Caroline: http://geethanks.substack.com https://www.instagram.com/geethanksjustboughtitpod In This Video: The evolution of MLMs. Why "Faceless Marketing" is the new trap for introverts. Selling courses about selling courses. The role of ChatGPT in generating low-quality influencer content. Why viral views don't equal a paycheck. The psychology of targeting stay-at-home moms. The origins of the mommy blogger world, Heather Armstrong aka "Dooce"