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Ryan Gum 🕶

26 Jan, 11 tweets, 5 min read

"I really want to start a side hustle / become a creator / earn income online... But first I need to learn more about [topic]... Then I need to research the best tools... And I'm really busy right now, so I'll start later when things calm down."

Sound familiar? 🧵👇

There's a good chance this is you. And if so, you've probably been telling yourself this same story on repeat for years.

The only thing you're creating is excuses.

But don't worry, you're not actually that far from your dream. You already have the skills, knowledge, and tools you need to make your first dollar online. You just need to take action.

So if you want to stop dreaming, follow this plan:

∙ Set a 1-month deadline. Constraints breed creativity.
∙ Aim small. What can you make in 1 month?
∙ Schedule time in your calendar. Prioritize it.
∙ Reverse engineer your action steps from your deadline.
∙ Lower your standards. You can always iterate on it later.

Choose one of these 3 small products that everyone can create, ship, and generate income from in less than a month:

@nathanbarry

🎥 A course / workshop

∙ @nathanbarry created a 10 lesson course in 24 hours. It sold over $4k in 3 days.
∙ @JustinSaaS made a course in less than a month. It's sold over $35k in its first month.
∙ Nichelle Hines makes 6-figures selling @LumaHQ workshops

@creative_ben

🤖 A no-code product

∙ @creative_ben created a Notion templates pack for freelancers in 2 weeks. It's sold over $15k.
∙ @HugoAmsellem made a Creator Economy database in a few days. He gave it away for free, yet still made $600 in donations.

@anthilemoon

📖 A book

∙ @anthilemoon wrote an ebook in 1 month and sold 136 copies in 1 week.
∙ Amy Hoy wrote and shipped a book in 24 hours. It's now sold over $40k.

So stop creating excuses. Set a deadline, aim small, make a plan, and take action. In 1 month from now, you could earn your first dollar online.

And if you do, it won't be your last.

Further reading / case studies from examples above:
- nathanbarry.com/24hours/
- gumroad.com/theofficialjus…
- lu.ma/jbgnld9n
- supercreative.design/download/notio…
- gumroad.com/l/creatorecono…
- medium.com/women-make/how…
- stackingthebricks.com/24-hour-produc…

@ryangum

If you enjoyed this thread and want to learn more about creators and the creator economy, follow @ryangum and subscribe to my newsletter: ryangum.com

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More from @ryangum

Ryan Gum 🕶

@ryangum

27 Jan

@fortelabs

In 2020, Building a Second Brain and Write Of Passage had thousands of combined students & $1M+ in revenue.

Not many cohort-based courses are operating at this scale.

Luckily, @fortelabs @david_perell and @will_mannon shared their hard-earned learnings, summarized 🧵👇

On curriculums & live classes:

- "Running a live course is like organizing a music tour, but having to develop the music before every single new show."

- Curriculums aren't set in stone. The advantage of live classes is you can adjust the curriculum to cater to students needs.

- A day or two before every session, they typically spend between seven to nine hours preparing the next lecture.

- How? They have existing building blocks and assets, adjust based on where students are getting confused, and reassembling the blocks into the next lecture.

Read 22 tweets

Ryan Gum 🕶

@ryangum

25 Jan

With a good pre-sale you can validate audience/idea fit with real money in the bank... Before you even create the product.

The secret to a good pre-sale? Treat it like a Kickstarter.
4 examples in the thread 🧵👇

🎯 Set a goal

How many customers / much revenue will you need to continue working on your product? How long will you give it to hit that target? 1-2 weeks at most. Don’t drag it out.

📄 Create a lean sales page

Don't focus on the design or layout too much. Messaging is what's important. Include:

∙ What the pain point is

∙ Why your product is the solution

∙ What's included. Be specific, e.g. chapter outlines.

∙ Who you are / why you're credible

Read 12 tweets

Ryan Gum 🕶

@ryangum

19 Jan

@APompliano

Each week:

@APompliano publishes 5 podcasts, 5 newsletters to 35k paid subs, 5 YT vids, while running an investment firm. @anthilemoon publishes 2 articles, a newsletter to 25k subs, while running a paid community with 1500 subs.

What separates top creators from the rest? 🧵👇

They're prolific.

Content platform algorithms reward publishing good content frequently over great content sporadically. B-grade content with A-grade consistency beats A-grade content with B-grade consistency.

And the more you create, the faster you learn and grow. Your first article, video, or podcast will suck. Your 100th won't.

Read 11 tweets

Ryan Gum 🕶

@ryangum

18 Jan

∙ Yesterday by The Beatles
∙ Single Ladies by Beyonce
∙ Your Song by Elton John
∙ Skyfall by Adele
∙ Royals by Lorde

What do they have in common? 👇🧵

They were all conceived and written in less than 1 hour.

Is this the result of creative genius that's only accessible to superstars? Unlikely. It's more probable that they were tapping into a level of creativity that only exists when striking while the iron's hot.

The most passionate you'll ever be about an idea is moment the epiphany strikes.

Read 11 tweets

Ryan Gum 🕶

@ryangum

17 Jan

In 2020:

∙ 56 Teachable creators made over $1M.
∙ 10 Patreon creators made over $1M (est).
∙ 10 Substack writers collectively made over $10M.
∙ 8 Gumroad creators made over $1M.
∙ 8 Twitch streamers made over $1M (est).

What's their secret? 🧵👇

At this level, almost no one is doing it alone. They’re supported by YouTube editors & writers, podcast producers, online course coaches, agents that find and negotiate brand sponsorship deals, and assistants.

These are the people behind the growth of many successful creators.

Leverage makes the creator economy unique. Individuals can reach wider audiences more than ever before. But while creators run businesses with atypical leverage, they still have typical business needs.

Read 9 tweets

Ryan Gum 🕶

@ryangum

15 Jan

In the last 10 days I've grown my email list from 0 to a few hundred, gained thousands of followers, had writers I admire reach out to me, been invited onto podcasts, into communities, made new friends, and been offered some great career opportunities.

How? 🧵👇

10 days ago I had a stale Twitter account, a fear of writing, and a bigger fear of publishing. Since then I've written & published 10 short essays online, & my ideas have now been seen over a million times.

In effect, online writing changed the trajectory of my life in 10 days.

@david_perell

Why write online? Sharing your ideas online creates more opportunities for luck. @david_perell calls this a "serendipity vehicle – a magnet for ideas and people and opportunities from potentially every corner of the globe."

Read 9 tweets

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