There’s a better way to sell your products
ll these opportunities just seem to land in your lap! How do you do it, Scott?”
I smiled. My mum knows what I do, but she doesn’t dig deeper.
That was until last night.
I told her about:
- Winning clients (without having to pitch)
- Tim Denning DMing me on Twitter
- Making money online
And the countless blessings that have come my way.
Here’s what I told her.
If you need money quickly…
This strategy won’t work.
My suggestion?
Get a part-time job. It’s the ultimate lifehack. You can pay your bills and work on your own stuff.
I know it sounds flippant. I know it’s not easy. But if you want to make money online, you need to be secure.
People can sense when you’re desperate.
And there’s no bigger turn-off.
“People with a well-paying job ask my advice because they want to quit to become full-time artists. But full-time artists ask my advice because they’re finding it impossible to make money.
For both of them, I prescribe the lifestyle of the happiest people I know.
1) Have a well-paying job.
2) Seriously pursue your art for love, not money.”
— Derek Sivers
Okay, here’s the punchline…
Consistently produce content for at least two years.
I’ve got a steady flow of dollars through online courses and writing.
It’s been a long time in the making. I’ve been creating content — week in, week out — since September 2018.
Back then, I took one piece of advice to heart: Consistently produce content. Karma will take care of the rest.
If you like videos, start on YouTube. Audio fan? Launch a podcast. If writing’s your thing, write on Medium.
It doesn’t matter.
Your first 100 pieces of content may suck. And that’s okay. You’ll be putting in the hours and improving your skills.
It’s not just me saying this. One of my favourite YouTubers, Ali Abdaal, preaches consistency.
He goes one step further. Ali says you shouldn’t think about making money until you’ve put out one video a week for two years.
Produce, improve, repeat.
This strategy takes guts. There are no obvious payouts. However, the best opportunities come from nowhere…
Here’s what can happen
Example #1: “Tim Denning DMed me”
You know Tim.
He’s one of the internet’s most prolific writers with 245K followers.
Last weekend, he dropped me a message out the blue:
After some back and forth, he then sent me this:
He’s helping me and I’m now helping him outsource to a virtual assistant.
Win-win.
Example #2: Collaborating with Zero to Mastery
Zero to Mastery (ZTM) is a global academy of 500,000+ developers.
Someone from their team found my Udemy courses. He reached out, asking if I’d like to collaborate.
Our first course went live in September 2021. It’s made just under $1,200 to date. With the upcoming launch of my next course, I’m hoping to grow this to $2,600 a month.
When you’ve got clarity on your goals, the world conspires in your favour.
A six-month plan can help.
Example #3: My favourite writer emailed me
Derek Sivers is my favourite writer, so imagine my surprise when this landed in my inbox!
Life = complete
It’s the same with my courses. After the launch, I barely mention them, and they continue to make money. Other people seem to promote them on my behalf.
Just like this mention from Kristina:
You’ve seen the benefits.
Now it’s time to win your first client.
Winning clients (without having to pitch)
Step #1: They reach out
Someone you’ve built a connection with wants to work with you.
This lady reached out on LinkedIn. She was one of my coaching clients (a gig I accidentally built on the side):
It’s not just people you know.
My second client reached out after reading my content. I didn’t know who she was. We’ve been working together since.
Step #2: Jump on a call
When they reach out, jump on a call. This will help you understand what they’re looking for and how you can help.
I told my first client that I hadn’t written for someone else before. I made it clear I was willing to learn, though, and I’ve been writing consistently for over a year.
I also asked her lots of questions, such as when she’d want to start and the tone of voice she was looking for.
“I like your newsletter. Write like that!”
After 20 minutes, we agreed on actions. She was going to email me examples of newsletters she’d written in the past. I was going to email her a proposal by the end of the week.
Step #3: Send a proposal
I hadn’t written one before.
However, I’d learned from other writers that this is the way to go. You can charge higher prices when you package things up.
I found a template and copied it. I then put together this ugly-looking Google doc. I figured she wants to work with me for my writing skills — not my designs.
With pricing, I followed Michael Ellsworth’s advice: charge your “happy price”.
He recommends a series of gut checks.
For example, my first client wanted one blog post per month — 500 to 1000 words. I considered all the steps (writing, research, etc) and asked myself how long this would take.
Next, I considered an hourly rate that would make this worth my time.
Slide up and feel the energetic shift. You want to go from “not worth my time” to “yeah, I’d do that”.
I’m going through a similar process to secure sponsorship for my podcast.
Here’s my proposal template in case you’re interested.
Takeaways
It takes balls.
There are no obvious returns to this strategy. And let me repeat: if you need money quick, this strategy won’t work.
We can smell those who are desperate for a quick buck. Don’t get me started on webinars.
Here’s a summary of how you can sell products (without having to pitch):
Consistently produce content for at least two years.
Produce, improve, repeat.
Let the cards fall as they may.
It can be this simple.