Another way to make money online
Most creators don't consider this.
The question “how to make money online” is the one I hear most often.
This question sucks.
I’m a certified coach, I should know. The main thing I paid over $3000 for was to learn how to ask the right questions.
It was worth it.
Asking how to make money online is like Douglas Adam’s characters asking “the answer to life, the universe and everything”.
If you’ve read THGTTG, you know the answer is 42.
There. Did that help?
“How to make (more) money online?” has in itself at least 100 smaller questions:
Why can’t I make myself do stuff online when I know people get rich from it?
Why am I not getting rich even though I’ve been doing what *name of guru* said?
Why can’t I repeat that great result I once got? Was it only luck?
What’s my niche? Is it the one I’m interested in or the one people are interested in?
What platform to choose? Which platform will make me the most money?
Why aren’t people buying my products or services? How to make people buy more?
… I can go on forever.
All these questions have different answers — but here’s the funny thing.
There’s one common thread here.
Tim Denning calls it fear.
I don’t like to work with emotions — they’re like explosives. Difficult to handle & could make a big mess.
So I call it “indecisiveness.”
The answers aren’t clear because there are no answers.
You have to choose the answers. You have to choose your answer.
It’s difficult because you have very little information to make this decision.
But if you get too much information, the decision won’t get easier. You’ll end up even more confused.
So what the fuck do you do?
You close your eyes, call the shot and jump.
It’s the only way to figure it out. Act. On. Something.
Better yet, if you’re a beginner, act on a few things simultaneously. You’ll get more data this way.
Give it your best. Don’t “try”. Fucking make it happen. Don’t take no for an answer. Keep pushing. At least for a while.
Then look at the data. Stop some things, intensify some things. Add new ideas to the mix.
It’s a messy process.
Example:
I started on Fiverr. Then grew my service business by actively looking for recommendations from my entrepreneur friends. I made a bunch of money, and had an agency for a while, but discovered service business wasn’t my thing.
I moved to Medium. Made some money. Loved writing what I like to write. Then the platform changed. I still use it, but now, I use it for different purposes.
Started a Substack. It grew very slowly at first. Then I turned on the paid subs and got 20. But I made a banking error and had to turn the paid subs off and lose them. Restarted, then gained some more. Got 2000 subscribers in a year.
Built micro-products on Gumroad. Started selling them through my e-mail list and affiliates. Made a thousand bucks. Not bad for a start.
Looking into Amazon & print on demand options.
As you can see, I’ve been a solopreneur for 10 years and still don’t have it all figured out. I still try new things, I still change my mind.
One thing never changes though. I make quick decisions, and after I make a decision, I don’t change my mind easily.
Here’s an easier way for you to make these decisions.
Why not start a faceless business?
A bunch of people do that.
They don’t care about building a personal brand. They don’t use social media. Sometimes they don’t even use their own names.
Instead, they research the crap out of Amazon and sell low-content books (journals, planners, etc) that sell like crazy. Instead of focusing on social media, they focus on finding the next trending keyword on Amazon that doesn’t have a lot of competition yet.
They build products on Gumroad based on what sells best on the platform.
They’ve made a million bucks on Fiverr.
They do write on Medium and do invite people to their e-mail lists. This isn’t to build a personal brand but to make even more sales. Their sales proposition is super clear — I’ll teach you how to do what I do.
You’ve never heard of these people but they make more money than most of us.
And it’s easier for them to make decisions because their decisions are entirely data-driven.
They don’t care if something matches their personal brand. They don’t care about getting featured on Forbes or becoming viral on X.
They’re all about sales. Doesn’t make them bad people. They don’t sell drugs to kids. They just sell what’s easiest to sell — what people already want.
This is the right decision for you if:
Your top priority is making money, fast.
You’re a beginner. It would take you much less time to figure out what already sells than to build a personal brand.
You’re naturally a data-driven person rather than an artist who wants to do what you’re called to do.
Examples of people who’ve built successful faceless solo businesses online.
Here are a few successful faceless solopreneurs to learn from:
Kirsten Walters. She runs a one-person publishing agency and is making a lot of money on Amazon, and some money on YouTube and Gumroad. When she posts on Medium, it’s usually because she has a specific money-making advice to give. She’s useful, so she has 21K followers and (I assume) a decent e-mail list without really pushing for it.
Georgia Austin is one of ±100 creators who’s cross the $1 million mark on Fiverr, and the most successful Fiverr writer (based on my extensive research). Her main focus is using Fiverr to keep growing. She offers subscription-based services to increase the lifetime value of clients & upsells anything she can. Yet, you probably haven’t heard of her, right?
Me. Yes, I’m building my brand now, but for 10 years, I was building a 6-figure writing business online and nobody knew my name. I’ve made $240K on Fiverr, $200K from referral clients, and another $30K from other freelance platforms.
My anonymous best friend. One of my best friends, who prefers to stay anonymous, is killing it on Etsy. She started as a solopreneur and grew her business to a mini-factory. Yet, the Internet has no idea who she is, and she’s not interested in building courses on the topic.
Do you want to do the same?
If that’s your thing, I invite you to consider the Fiverr Launcher mini-course.
Fiverr Launcher is the mini-course where you’ll build your Fiverr profile & your first few gigs so that you can get your first sale within one week.
The course includes:
9 video lessons where I walk you through the platform and explain exactly how to do research & build your profile and gigs from scratch.
My Awesome Bio Builder formulas so your profile captures instant attention.
My cheat sheet of Fiverr keywords for freelance writers + the process of finding the best Fiverr keywords for any kind of service or industry.
My proven-to-work template for gig descriptions that will have people run to get their wallets.
My exact quick-response messages so that you can close any lead.
My highly-optimised intake questionnaires so you instantly build a process for delivering your services.
The course also comes with a full 7-Day money-back guarantee. You can learn more & get it here.
I also follow Tim closely :D Question: what kind of banking error you made on Substack?
This reminds me of the start fast fail fast strategy and there's a lot to be said for that ... having a hobby mentality is a business killer ... Great update thanks