how i make money as an influencer (pt 4- selling services)

hiiii friend,

today we’re getting into the last newsletter in our series where i’m breaking down the different ways that i monetise my audience.

in case you missed the previous newsletters, you can go read them here:

—> part 1 - this newsletter
—> part 2 - brand deals
—> part 3 - platform monetisation

this week we’re getting into selling services, digital products, courses, that kind of thing.

this is one that i have tried but definitely found the hardest. and by the hardest, i mean i actually failed at it.

don’t get me wrong. i think selling services or digital products as a creator is great. if you can figure out a way to target a specific audience and package up something to sell them, that’s awesome.

but for me, it’s something i tried but wasn’t able to crack. and i think a lot of that comes down to the fact that i suck at wanting to sell stuff.

so i’m going to tell you my thoughts and experience with this way of monetising an audience, but just know that i can’t tell you exactly how to be successful from my personal experience since it’s something i didn’t end up sticking with.

first and foremost, if you’re thinking about monetising an audience this way, you need to have something of value to offer.

i mean technically you can trick people into buying shit if you just make enough content about it and make it cheap enough. but that’s not really what i’m talking about here.

in my mind, in order to sell a service or digital product, you should have valuable knowledge that will either help someone achieve something or help you achieve something for them. seems obvious, right?

there are tons of creators who have done a really great job monetising their audience this way:

shelby sapp sells her course on how to do high-ticket sales

ali abdaal has a full educational platform aside from his youtube channel

jesse jean has been so successful because she was super, super specific on the value that she gives in her products

those are just a few examples, but the thing they all have in common is they all built an incredible brand that is incredibly targeted in terms of who their content is for.

if you’re building an audience with the goal of selling a digital product or service of some kind, my first piece of advice is to go hyperniche. so whatever industry you are in, you have to show that you have a lot of value to give in that niche.

that means you can’t just talk about what you do. you also need to share your opinions about the industry, things you have learnt, easy wins your audience can implement. you need to provide as much value as you can.

here’s where you go ok, but if i give away everything i know for free, why would someone pay me?