Something that commonly happens is that the manifest file isn’t named properly. Double check the name (and extension) and be sure that it doesn’t end with .txt (for example).
In order to determine this, make sure you aren’t hiding file extensions:
- Open Windows Explorer
- Go to Folder and Search Options > View tab
- Uncheck Hide extensions for known file types
Also, note that the naming of the manifest file is, in fact, case sensitive, i.e. manifest.json != MANIFEST.JSON.