Where would you be today if you started your email list a year ago?
Ramp up now so you can hit 2023 like a ton of bricks
Let’s Talk Turkey
Things are expensive and it’s not going to get better anytime soon.
Asking your boss for a raise isn’t going to change things.
Not buying coffee? Ha, not a chance.
Making more money is the best option. Seriously.
So let’s ramp it up now to get ready for 2023.
2023 is the year to take matters into your own hands.
No story this week.
I’m talking specifically about the system and tools I use to make money.
No matter what you do: small business owner, product creator, or blogger, this stack will help you make more money in 2023.
You’ve read my stuff, but do you know how I make money?
I create products and sell them online.
I also sell products that other people have created as an affiliate
The nutshell version:
I create an audience (blog posts and Twitter), get them to sign up for one of my email lists (ConvertKit), stay in touch with them, and show them products I think they’d like.
Anyone in the world can do this.
It just takes a little creativity, some time, and a few good tools.
Here are the tools I use to make this happen:
Medium (My favorite blogging platform)
Medium was on fire a few years ago. Now people complain about how they can’t make any money on Medium.
Nonsense.
That’s just a cope.
There is money to be made, but you have to approach it the right way.
First: the Medium Partner Program. You need 100 followers to apply, but once accepted you earn money when people read your stories.
Second: Google loves Medium so your stories rank fast. Do your keyword research and your articles will be found by people searching for that topic on Google.
Medium is the top of my funnel. I include a call to action at the bottom of each article asking readers to join an email list. It might be how you ended up here.
Join Medium today if you’re not already a member.
I love Twitter. It’s going to explode over the next few months and is a great time to jump on.
No need to hype Twitter, it’s good and everyone uses it.
But not everyone uses it effectively. Fortunately, there are tools and practices that you can use to keep up with your competitors.
Hypefury
I use Hypefury to help me manage my Twitter accounts.
The Twitter algorithm loves consistency, so I load up the scheduler with tweets for those periods when I know I’m not going to be posting (weekends, vacations, meetings, etc).
Hypefury will retweet for your stuff, un-retweet, and auto-comment on your tweets to include a link to one of your products or lists — all of which are designed to increase your engagement and follower count.
Hypefury is a fantastic tool. I know because I’ve tried quite a few, and it’s the one I give my money to.
Start your free trial of Hypefury today and take it for a spin. Hit me if you have any questions about it, I’ve been using it for a while and there are a few things that aren’t so obvious but will help your follower counts grow.
OK, I’ve automated Twitter. Now what?
I’ve been blogging and selling products online since November 2003.
Want proof?
Here is a link to my first sales page on the Wayback Machine. I wrote a book about my divorce to pay off my lawyers and begin to finance my life as a broke single Dad.
The lessons I learned about online marketing are worth more than the money I made at the time.
But even with that experience, I buy products from people that are successful online so I can learn from them.
Eddy Quan is one of those people.
He’s got a training course on Gumroad called:
Write Once, Sell Twice: The blueprint to build a six figure business with a 200 word work day
It’s a mouthful, but it’s incredibly informative and easy to follow.
Eddy walks you through using Twitter to build your email list so that you can reach your audience consistently.
Medium is good, Twitter is good, but being able to reach you directly via email is 🔥
Get your copy of Write Once, Sell Twice today.
Here is Eddy’s personal guarantee (click the link above and look on the bottom of the sales page):
If you don’t make at least 10x the cost of your investment back in the next 90 days, just send an email to eddy@eddyquan.com and I’ll cut you a check for the total cost of your investment.
Zero risk, check it out now.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is what it’s called when you sell a product someone else has created for a cut of the sale.
If you’ve clicked on a Facebook ad and landed on Amazon, you clicked on an affiliate link.
I’m an Amazon Affiliate and will often link to books in my tweets.
But I also find and promote products that aren’t on Amazon.
Finding good affiliate programs using Google can be a challenge because of all the spammers.
But I found the answer:
The Ultimate List of Highly Profitable Affiliate Programs
Click the link, scroll to the bottom of the sales page, and look for the ‘Demo’ link. The demo is a scaled-down version of the actual product.
I guarantee you will find something on this list to promote.
And don’t forget…
You can promote your own products and services to your list.
Speaking of lists…
What about that email list?
I obviously use Substack, but I don’t usually promote stuff on here.
I also use ConvertKit to create landing pages and built niche-specific email lists.
BTW - ConvertKit is free while you have less than 300 subscribers.
I want you to take action today
I want you to start today so that when January rolls around (in 6 weeks) you will be up and operational.
Some of you have been around for years, others are new.
But you long-timers know I don’t talk trash and promote nonsense.
I’ve talked to many of you personally to try to get you moving, and I know the spark is in there.
Don’t let overthinking slow you down (And yes, I know, I benefit from being the dumbest guy in the room).
Someone out there wants to hear your story. You have experience and knowledge that will help someone.
Here is how you are going to start making money online in 2023:
Join Medium, and start writing. One to two posts a week. If you want a few tips, here is my no-cost guide to getting started on Medium.
Use your Medium posts to create tweets.
Tweet regularly, at least 6 every day.
Send people to a landing page to sign up for your list.
Send useful information to your list and occasionally make them aware of products that would benefit them. You can promote your products and services for yourself or others. There are many ethical ways to make money from an email list.
That’s it.
Follow these steps, create your own process, and make modifications as needed.
The magic will happen, trust me.
Thank You
Hope this week is going well.
It’s Thanksgiving week around here and I’m looking forward to catching up with my family on Thursday.
I’m thankful that you’ve stuck around.
Reach out if I can be of any assistance.
Thanks,
Travis