Hi Reader, New writers and creators start with low-ticket offers. These exist at the bottom of an offer pyramid. That’s what I did a few years ago, and it’s a mistake. Here’s why: I started by selling books. Books are fun to write, but they take months to ship, and they don’t generate a great return. Other writers follow a similar approach with printables and low-price digital downloads. You’ve got to sell a lot of these to earn. I also scraped together money from the Medium partner program and freelancing. Freelancing is time-intensive. Partner programs are a grind. And you’re a slave to an algo (more about that tomorrow). Then, I moved up the pyramid to affiliates and sponsors. I’d multiple five-figure months from working with affiliates. Lucrative, yes, but affiliates regularly change and even kill their programs. And many programs are terrible. (I generated over $10k in sales for one grammar app, and they paid me only a few hundred dollars.) Now… Courses sit further up the offer pyramid. They’re profitable… if you can sell them. But course completion rates are low. And this type of content dates. I still sell courses but only as an add-on to what’s at the top of my offer pyramid: I work with a few Pro Writers every month and help them build a writing business. Here’s an example: I host two live writing workshops a month for a one-time fee. These workshops are actionable. I don’t sell on them. But ticket holders can upgrade to work with me if they want more help for a weekly fee. All I have to do is… Write a daily email like this one. Host two workshops a month. Deliver value to paying clients. I’ll show you how to develop your own offer pyramid. It includes creating one offer with increasing levels of access: Then, I’ll show you how to capture weekly recurring revenue and the big one-off payments that we all love. Tickets are just $97. They expire in 2 days. You in? Write on, |
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Hi Reader, Being polite to your list is expensive. I was chatting with a small business owner the other day. They’ve built a reasonably sized email list of several thousand subscribers. But they only send a newsletter about what their business is up to once or twice a month. “Why don’t you want to email your list more often?” I asked. “I don’t want to annoy my list,” the owner said. That’s a common objection from many list owners. But being over-polite is costing him sales. When I fired up...
Hi Reader, For years, I ran a content publishing business. I published 100s of articles a month with the help of a team of freelance writers. I got millions of page views from SEO. I earned five figures a month from display ads and affiliate revenue. Last year, I let my editorial team go. I sold off most of my niche websites. And I changed my business model. Now, I run a daily newsletter. And I provide content strategy and coaching services to a few high-paying clients. When I posted about...
Hi Reader I send a newsletter to my list every day. I spend 15-30 minutes writing a newsletter in the morning using a Markdown app. I write while wearing noise-cancelling headphones, drinking tea and listening to ambient music like Brian Eno. Then, I schedule my email and move on with client work, a workout or another creative project. If I'm travelling or busy, I write a few emails in one go and schedule them in advance. Like last week. I went to Portugal for an Ironman. I spent a few months...