All this week we’ve been going over my 4-step plan for what I’d do if I had to start completely over from zero in business… and what I’ve really been showing you is how I’d build towards ~$8k/month (6 figures).
So far we’ve covered…
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Step 0: Start with the end in mind (Timeline: Do this NOW)
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Step 1: Learn how to write copy (Timeline: Keep your job & dedicate 3 to 6 months, 1-2 hours per day, to learning)
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Step 2: Build an email list (Timeline: Start 5 or 6 weeks after you begin learning copywriting)
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Step 2a: Start becoming a valuable contributor on free social media platforms and in forums (Timeline: Start this NOW)
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Step 2b: Setup a landing page (Timeline: Start 5 or 6 weeks after you begin learning copywriting)
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Step 3: Deliver "massive value" & sell nothing (Timeline: Start NOW and continue for 3-6 months)
Today we’ll get into how I’d actually start making money with this business.
Step 4: Start Testing Offers
After I’d have established myself as someone who provides huge value for free in Step 3 (yesterday’s email), I’d move to monetization.
Remember the goal-post business setup that I established in Step 0: Ultimately (not overnight but within a reasonably short amount of time) I’d want to run an online business with…
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Low-stress
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Minimal time commitment once it’s up and running
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A one man or woman team (with a couple contractors you hire from time-to-time)
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Earning a healthy 6 figures with 7 figures in reach.
For me, I prefer a business model where I sell digital products (preferably informational, "how to", products). I’ve been building courses for clients and for myself for 15-ish years now and I like the flexibility, freedom and income potential of these businesses.
What this means is when it comes time to "cash in" on the goodwill I’ll have built in Step 3, I’d then…
- Look for affiliate products I could sell to my list.
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Use the pre-sell sequences that I’ve developed (and teach inside of my course Email Delivered Courses) to start testing the waters and seeing what my list wants to buy.
During this stage I’d just be trying to figure out what exactly people want to buy. But more specifically, I’d be trying to figure out exactly what type of digital products people like to buy.
When I’d figured out what type of information products they like, I’d set out to build my own, unique, version. (Here’s a note I wish I didn’t have to include: if you try to copy everything another company does you will get crushed, shut down or sued, so be smart.)
Remember that I’m pretending that I’m keeping my day job to start. This means that I hopefully wouldn’t be feeling super stressed about cash – especially since the methods I’ve laid out above have costed us near zero dollars in startup fees.
If immediately making money was a big concern, I’d consider other business models to start before working towards my goal post business.
For several years at the beginning of my "career" I provided copywriting and marketing services.
Selling services is a great way to a) make revenue faster, b) gain necessary experience for becoming an expert in your field and c) learn about your target audience.
You might want to make offers that sell your services in the beginning too.
Now, let’s put this whole week’s worth of advice together.
If I was starting from ground zero in business, my recommendation would be to…
- First, write out exactly what you want your business to look like at the end when it’s setup and running smoothly. Dream a little. This won’t be precise and you might not even know what you’ll ultimately be selling. Do this starting now. (See Tuesday’s email for more)
- Next, learn how to write copy. You will use copywriting in almost every aspect of business and especially during the next phases of starting in business. Do this with your spare time starting now and for the next 3-6 months without quitting your day job. (See Tuesday’s email for more)
- After you’ve written out what you want your business to look like, start thinking about how you’ll attract an audience to an email list – free & paid methods. Signup for social media or forums in your market. (Where do your future customers hang out?) Start learning how paid traffic works. Do this starting now (See Wednesday’s email for more)
- 5 or 6 weeks into learning copywriting, you can start building an email list and attracting leads. (See Thursday’s email for more)
- Deliver massive value to people in your new network and on your list and promote NOTHING at all. Do this starting now. (See Friday’s email for more)
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Monetize your list by providing massive value while you make them offers. Do this 3-6 months after you’ve begun. (See this email for more)
There you have it. This is my entire plan for what I’d do if I had to start over from zero in business but only had a few hours of free time to work each day.
It’s important to note that your journey might be different depending on a host of different factors. I had a few questions come in with people asking me how I’d start if I was in their exact situation.
For example someone said, "My audience doesn’t hang out in forums or on social media! What do I do?"
Let me answer this question from a high-level perspective.
Businesses really only need 2 things:
- Leads (Leads are contacts, email addresses, phone #’s — people looking to buy your things)
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Sales of products.
I can’t tell you exactly where the leads in your preferred business hang out – that’s for you to figure out. That’s what being an entrepreneur is all about.
My idea in this series of emails is that you figure out where the leads you want hang out (I prefer to look for online hanging out places but your’s might be more offline) and that you set up shop where they are – and then you deliver free and massive value to those people.
Then, when you’ve established yourself as a trusted advisor, you start making offers (selling them products).
Now, as you can probably see – ALL of my strategy hinges on the ability to write good copy.
The better you are at writing copy, the more attractive you can make yourself to leads through the free value you provide. And the better you are at writing copy, the more sales you’ll naturally make.
If you want to be a successful solopreneur you are absolutely screwing yourself over if you’re not learning how to write copy.
That’s just a fact of business life in 2024.
Every person, company or email list that you "love" and ultimately buy from, is utilizing fundamental copywriting concepts to sell you, whether they know it or not.
The fundamentals of what makes words (like you’re reading now) turn into sales are universal and learnable. In other words, I can teach you how to write copy that sells like crazy.
So if you want to write 6 or 7 figure copy as a solopreneur, then I recommend you join CopyHour this Monday September 9th when I open it for the final time in 2024.
CopyHour is considered the world’s simplest, fastest, and most effective copywriting training system.
That’s what students of mine have told me including Ian Stanley, Dan Ferrari, Sam Parr, Ning Li, Austin Lee, Chris Orzechowski, Sarah Mueller, Jon MacLennan and many, many more.
And CopyHour students have collectively generated $800mm+ with their copy.
If you know that you need to learn how to write copy, stay tuned next week because I’ll share a half dozen CopyHour student stories with you that illustrate just how quickly you can learn this profitable skill for yourself.
In the meantime, enjoy the rest of your weekend!
— Derek