Any artistic pursuit has a legion of online money grabbers with their hands out. When my band was active I ran into them all the time. Most of them didn't ask for a big layout of money, but they instead nickeled and dimed musicians with promises of amazing opportunities.
A big one was music licensing. Record producers and music supervisors posted their needs/wants and for the low, low price of $20.00 to $30.00, you, too, can have your shot at fame! We never once had a track chosen, but every once in a while another opportunity would pop up that sounded exactly right and I'd fall for it again. Sometimes they were big names, like Rick Rubin; mostly they were anonymous industry folks, and I'm not saying their postings weren't legit; I'm just doubtful that they ever found anything they wanted via this method. Did they have a financially beneficial relationship with these companies? Probably. If you've ever found an altruistic benefactor online, let me know.
That's but one of the money-sucking schemes available to artists. Then there are the songwriting contests. And the "radio play" guarantees. Radio, as in low bandwidth internet stations that no one listens to, because we have Spotify. When one is new to the game and seeking a smidgen of recognition, they'll fall for pretty much anything.
Once I became more savvy, I gave up on throwing my money away. The net result, though, is cynicism. Now as an author, I'm instantly wary of anyone who offers anything to me or asks me for even something as innocuous as an Amazon link to one of my books. If the person isn't an average Joe reader, what's in it for them to ask for a link? Simply, they want to sell me something. I received a LinkedIn message like that from a stranger telling me that I am a tremendous writer. Oh? How do you know? You haven't purchased any of my books, and I have the KDP reports to prove it. Immediately I viewed the person's occupation. Well, of course ~ they are a digital marketer. Guess what, lady? You can have a link, but you can't have any of my money.
I made the acquaintance of a fellow indie author, also on LinkedIn. She asked if I was interested in talking about writing. Of course! I have no one else to talk to about it. And it was all fine for a while, before she asked about my sales and I told her they're pitiful. "Have you tried a publicist? That's what I use." Uh, no. "Well, here's a link to mine." Turns out the guy is in Africa and had already solicited me until I told him I have no budget for "publicity". So, fine. I thought I was going to have a nice dialogue with a fellow writer, but she was more interested in pushing paid services on me. (And she keeps nagging me about whether I've contacted the guy yet.)
Even seemingly innocent Goodreads posts raise my antenna. "I've started an online bookstore and if you'd like me to include your book, just message me." Where's the link? Is it a secret bookstore? What's your business model? Will readers just accidentally discover your hidden site?
The thing is, indie authors are a desperate bunch. It's nigh impossible to get any traction, no matter what we try. So we're eager to latch onto even the faintest glimmer of hope.
But I just won't do it. My music pitching experiences taught me that the only money to be made is for those offering the "opportunity".
I hesitate to say it, because other authors have actually realized benefits from book marketing, but all of these services, too, only seem to make money for themselves via authors laying down money for ads. I've tried the most highly touted ones and the only one that demonstrated any return whatsoever was BookBub, and that was only in downloads of books I advertised as free.
I'm through purchasing anything on faith. Show me results that relate to my genre (not thrillers or romance) and maybe I'll take a chance on you.
But you only get one chance.
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