Hard or not, really depends on how motivated you are, how much and how badly it is you wanna make money online. The more motivated you are, the harder you will work at it, and I guess results will show.
But making money online is really like what Steve said, a result of providing lots more value than the amount paid for to you. People always look for value in trades. I wanna make sure that I get value for my hard earned money.
The other aspect of online money making is the relationship you have with those that buy from you, or at least pay you money. Your customers want to know that the person they are paying their money to and getting stuffs from are reliable and sincere and credible. All of us are like that.
There are many money making opportunities out there, but you gotta be very careful not to get conned. Most important is to do your due diligence, research on the industry and the company that you wanna invest in. Or better still, create your own products to sell online! This way you know for sure you won't be cheated; but then you have to prove to your potential customers that your product is what they want!
For me, I'm learning about Internet Marketing myself and looking at the possibility doing it. One business you may want to research further on is
Success University. They compile lots of articles and lessons and stuffs on success for life challenges, all from people who are experts in their respective areas. One tough part about this business, though, is that you've gotta learn and apply promotion and marketing strategies, like blogs or article marketing and stuffs like that. Can be quite painful... but pays off!
Another possibility is subscribing to pay-to-read email businesses, but this pays very slowly!
My personal view is to develop your own system such as a electronic book for sale. And this should be something you are passionate about.
Hope this helps!
Kayceez
The World Thru Kayceez Eyes My Success Plan Through Personal Development