Airdrop is still a good option, but you need to spend time and money,
Most airdrops are for free, though? That is what makes them very appealing to people. They don’t really need to actually invest something to get back some profit. Although of course it’s only very rare that an airdrop actually gets value later on after its launch.
The first thing you should do, it's education, and find a good community of the likeminded people!
In all that you do, education is the most important thing. You don’t want to dive head first without any prior knowledge especially if you are going to be with a community. Sure they can teach you but it’s still good to have some head start.