Read time: 3 min

"What's ONE thing you wish you did differently?" He asked.

"Honestly? I wish I monetized earlier," I said, "But not for the reason you may think..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, when you have a smaller audience, you have more room to mess up and iterate. When you have a bigger audience, people expect your first offer to be flawless."

"So..." I took a deep breath out, "It's much better to launch early. As your product grows, so does your brand. And as your brand grows, so does your product. Does that make sense?"

"Completely."

That was a snippet of my conversation with one of my clients earlier this morning. And while the dialogue is spotty, the message is clear...

You don't need to be an expert to monetize your brand.

In fact, today I'll reveal 'The P2P Business Model' to launch your first two offers...

The 4 Roadblocks

When I do consulting calls with people, they often face 1 of 4 problems standing in their way of monetization:

1) They don't have a valuable skill to offer2) They don't understand who they're helping3) They have little to zero social media presence4) They don't know how to craft an irresistible offer

If any of those problems apply to you, then read on.

The People-to-Product Business Model:

Step 1: Upskill

"You are paid in direct proportion to the difficulty of the problems you solve." - Elon Musk

"Making money" is not a skill.

The only way to get money is to solve problems.

Instead of thinking, "How can I get wealth for myself?"

Ask yourself, "How can I create more wealth and value for others?"

Because that's all that money is - an IOU for the future.

You give them value, they give you money.

So naturally, you need to find ways to give value to others:

• What quantifiable end result can you promise?• What's a transformation you can deliver?• What's a skill you can teach?

If you can't do any of those three, then upskill your way to becoming a valuable person.

(If you don't know what skill to pick, I'd pick copywriting)

Step 2: Understand Your Customers

Most people skip talking with their customers and jump straight to building a digital course.

Then they launch, get 3 sales, and wonder why it didn't work.

You have to understand who you serve.

Understanding your customers helps you:

• Create a more useful product• Write more compelling copy• Collect a portfolio of testimonials• Get your first customers

Here are a few questions you can ask your audience:

Step 3: Solve Specific Problems

After talking with 10-20 people, you should have a grasp of the common problems they're facing.

Create a minimum viable product (MVP) and send it to them for free.

Use the ABC Editing Method to get feedback:

Awesome - What was good?Boring - What didn’t add any value?Confusing - What can I clarify?

Iterate off their feedback... then, it's time to launch!

Step 4: Productize Your Solution

By now, you should have:

• A specific problem solved• A validated solution/system• 10-20 advocates of your system

Next? Productize yourself.

• Write a banger sales page• Build your digital product• Craft a promotion plan

Step 5: Promote Your Offers

And lastly, each week, I plug my offers at the bottom of my newsletter.

If people want to accelerate their progress, they invest.

If not, they just scroll past.

That way, you don't have to hard sell or send spammy promotional emails all the time. And your audience can continue to get value from your weekly newsletters.

And there you have it! The P2P Business Model anyone can follow to start building independent income on the internet.

This business model is great for 2 reasons:

1) You can target two levels of your audience2) It creates a natural reinforcing growth loop 👇

Is this the business model I'll keep forever? Probably not. But it's a great way to start building your income online.

Alright, that's all from me this week. It's getting pretty late. Catch ya next Sunday :)

Jay "Start Small, Start Now" Yang

P.S. When you want to accelerate your progress, here's how I can help you:

1) Steal my proven system for content creation and audience growth to help you consistently create 12+ pieces of content every week.

2) Gain clarity on your niche, growth, and systems with a 1:1 Strategy Session.

3) Promote yourself to 4,000+ subscribers by sponsoring this newsletter

LAST WEEK'S FEEDBACK

JAY'S PICKS: 🔥

• 🧵 What I got wrong about monetizing my brand

• 🎙️ How to Build The Future with Peter Thiel

• 🎥 How One Guy Sold the World on an $80 Used Tissue (this was good 🤣)

• 📝 Nat Eliason: Great Writing Is Invisible

• Side note: This song is an absolute banger 🔥

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