Much smaller than most people think! And like Wadnes said, what matters most is that your audience trusts you and values you. A small audience (+- 100 people) who LOVES what you do will make you a lot more money than a large audience who thinks you're 'okay'.
Great question. Do your best to build an audience of 100 true fans. You can monetize that audience of supporters who trust your value. Do some research there’s tons of great content around this concept.
Really appreciate the simplicity of this article! I also love that you mentioned 5-day educational email courses as a type of freebie one can offer. That is what I build for my clients and I find relatively few people know about them and how effective they are at driving higher conversions than just PDFs, ebooks, checklists etc. Consistency in anything is key, and building an audience takes time. Appreciate you!
We all have this within us. When we truly examine ourselves, our skills, our superpowers, there is something of value that we can teach someone. It often requires a shift in mindset or perspective to realize that people are ALREADY paying for things that are second nature to us.
I was chatting with a friend this morning. She works in customer success and has completely revamped all systems and processes for the agency she works at. Trained the new hires, and recently was promoted to the teams lead. And to me, I shared with her how people are willing to pay for a Notion template. The knowledge she possesses has the potential to become a great little side hustle if she wanted.
Thanks Jari, that makes sense seen as Substack and X users appear to be different in the content they wish to receive. A question regarding Substack subscribers though. Do you just email them via the Substack app or use external software to do this?
I think step 4 is where my imposter syndrome kicks in. "Who am I to claim that I can instruct someone about something I know - much less charge them for it?" There's no reason per se, but it feels icky.
Even if it isn't skill or knowledge someone already, anyone can learn something (e.g., copywriting) and offer it somehow as products or services. How successful you are at this digital real estate depends on grit, discipline, and like you mentioned, patience.
Love this breakdown, Jari! The idea of 'productizing' your expertise is so empowering, especially in today’s digital landscape. Identifying monetizable skills and building an audience with consistent content is spot on.
Great summary. Thank you. I'm currently building a high-value lead magnet to grow my audience, as my current one is more of a nice-to-have. Next is paid offers and I'm reminding myself of the step-by-step mentality, to not go bananas with all the things I want to do.
What's your best productivity advice, being a former procrastinator?
The size of the top of the funnel can be problematic, though. If you have a skills that's interesting to a small market, you probably won't make enough money from low cost products. An sometimes products aren't even an option, your market may demand consulting.
What a great article! This is more or less what I was planning but you provide some much-needed structure.
In your experience, how much of an audience do you need to build before it makes sense to monetize?
Much smaller than most people think! And like Wadnes said, what matters most is that your audience trusts you and values you. A small audience (+- 100 people) who LOVES what you do will make you a lot more money than a large audience who thinks you're 'okay'.
Awesome, that feels doable! Time for me to get to work :)
Great question. Do your best to build an audience of 100 true fans. You can monetize that audience of supporters who trust your value. Do some research there’s tons of great content around this concept.
You already got two great questions. But I want to add that the sooner you put out something small for sale, the better. Even just a consulting call.
This way, people get used to it.
Thanks Alberto, I'll keep that in mind :)
Really appreciate the simplicity of this article! I also love that you mentioned 5-day educational email courses as a type of freebie one can offer. That is what I build for my clients and I find relatively few people know about them and how effective they are at driving higher conversions than just PDFs, ebooks, checklists etc. Consistency in anything is key, and building an audience takes time. Appreciate you!
Yeah those 5-day email courses are super effective!
We all have this within us. When we truly examine ourselves, our skills, our superpowers, there is something of value that we can teach someone. It often requires a shift in mindset or perspective to realize that people are ALREADY paying for things that are second nature to us.
So true.
Most people underestimate the value of their own knowledge and skills.
I was chatting with a friend this morning. She works in customer success and has completely revamped all systems and processes for the agency she works at. Trained the new hires, and recently was promoted to the teams lead. And to me, I shared with her how people are willing to pay for a Notion template. The knowledge she possesses has the potential to become a great little side hustle if she wanted.
Well written.
Thank you :)
This is a great breakdown Jari! I'm going to share this in my newsletter next week :)
Amazing! Thanks, Jamie :)
Agreed. We do live in "unique times" and they will reward those of us who embrace and leverage our uniqueness!
Yesss totally agreed.
'Leverage your uniqueness', I like that.
This is good.
Great article Jari! How do you treat each of your email lists? Are Substack and medium separate?
I treat my Convertkit email list and Substack as two different lists, yes.
On my Convertkit list I have everyone who joined via Medium, and X. And my Substack list is only people who joined me via Substack.
But I definitely repurpose a lot of the content for both lists!
Thanks Jari, that makes sense seen as Substack and X users appear to be different in the content they wish to receive. A question regarding Substack subscribers though. Do you just email them via the Substack app or use external software to do this?
I only email Substack subscribers via Substack, yes!
All other subscribers from other social media platforms I email via ConvertKit.
I think step 4 is where my imposter syndrome kicks in. "Who am I to claim that I can instruct someone about something I know - much less charge them for it?" There's no reason per se, but it feels icky.
Only way to get over this is to go through it!
And keep in mind, people love to buy. Buying something new (like an info product) is exciting to people because they want to learn new things.
That was super clear and simply put! Thanks so much! What CRM do you for your email list? Thanks!
I use ConvertKit! Can highly recommend them.
Thanks! I’ll check it out!
Even if it isn't skill or knowledge someone already, anyone can learn something (e.g., copywriting) and offer it somehow as products or services. How successful you are at this digital real estate depends on grit, discipline, and like you mentioned, patience.
Absolutely true!
Love this breakdown, Jari! The idea of 'productizing' your expertise is so empowering, especially in today’s digital landscape. Identifying monetizable skills and building an audience with consistent content is spot on.
Thank you!
Great summary. Thank you. I'm currently building a high-value lead magnet to grow my audience, as my current one is more of a nice-to-have. Next is paid offers and I'm reminding myself of the step-by-step mentality, to not go bananas with all the things I want to do.
What's your best productivity advice, being a former procrastinator?
Thanks for these tips - very succinctly presented.
Great tips and so clearly laid out. Thank you!
This recipe has been working for 20 years!
The size of the top of the funnel can be problematic, though. If you have a skills that's interesting to a small market, you probably won't make enough money from low cost products. An sometimes products aren't even an option, your market may demand consulting.