src=”https://buffer.com/resources/content/images/2023/07/alexey-suslyakov-btR8o2Mqn68-unsplash–1-.jpg” alt=”How My Creator Startup Made 4-Figures in 5 Months While Working a 9 to 5″>
My creator startup reached four-figure earnings for the first time five months after launch. All of this was achieved while running my family’s traditional company as my 9-to-5.
The decision to start this venture was the result of a multi-year procrastination process, accompanied by fear and doubt. As I was short on time and money, the odds were against me. What I had was years of startup and marketing experience.
To be successful quickly, I needed to think more like a businessman and not like a traditional artist.
What activities could I do to get the best results with my limited time and resources?
When I reflected on my answer, I used the Pareto Principle, or 80/20 rule. This means that 80 percent of the outcomes should be a result of 20 percent of the causes.
I would like to share my experience of building a business as a creator while working full time. Here’s what I did in the first 5 months to achieve growth, monetization and success.
Focus on Evergreen and Owned Platforms
The majority of creators publish their content first on social media platforms. This approach is not wrong, but it takes a lot of time and has little to no return for those who are just getting started. You’ll also be dependent on these central platforms.
Tobias Lutke Founder and CEO Shopify once said in a Tweet: “On the Internet, you only own two things: Your website and your mailing list. “Everything else is only temporarily rented.”
If you are serious about creating a creator’s business, then you will need a website at some point. It’s for this reason that I started a blog to serve as my content hub. Content should be published on a website, while social media is the place where it’s distributed. YouTube is a combination of both. However, due to my time constraints I was unable to create a YouTube channel or videos.
Some creators may disagree with me, but I did not have the patience or time to wait for virality. I didn’t also have the money to maintain a omnipresent marketing strategy. I have a background in marketing, finance and accounting, so my decisions are based on data. And I knew that Search Engine Optimization (SEO), which targets keywords with high search volumes and intent, was a powerful tool.
My blog generated more than 25,000 impressions in five months. The blog now averages around 16,000 monthly visitors.
Only 70 articles were used to achieve this.
But that’s not it.
On my website, each page was a touchpoint for customers. I placed Calls to Actions (CTAs), which encouraged them to subscribe to my email newsletter. I was able to grow my email list while doing this.
Harness the power of AI
In an ideal world, 70 articles over five months would be three and a quarter articles per week. Only problem was that I had a job full-time.
When I run a family-owned business, my work does not end at 5 pm, nor do I get weekends off. I would be lucky if I got one good piece every two weeks.
So how did I do it? I used AI writing tools.
It’s not wrong to use AI when writing. According to a study conducted recently, 85.1% marketers use AI when writing articles. The key is to not publish AI content in its raw form, as these tools produce content that is similar to their training data.
If I use ChatGPT for an article, (not including access to the plugin via a Plus subscription), then it will only refer to facts that are valid up until September 2021.
If it was to scan SERPs to analyze articles already published, it could only produce an article which matched the top few. This means that I will not be adding any value to readers.
They help me to save time and money in order to create a solid foundation. This means that you must achieve the minimum elements of on-page SEO (keywords and word count) as well as headers. To compete on Google’s first page. The goal is to create better content.
I added the following to maintain a distinct human touch and provide more value:
- Personal anecdotes
- Professional expertise
- Humor
- The sentence is not correct
- Rich media
- Unique case studies
Instead of using the saved time to write another piece, I spent it on improving the one I had already written.
To add personality to my brand, I used AI image creators such as MidJourney, to create unique anime-style graphics to be used in my blog posts and social media posts.
Outsource
I would not have been able achieve these figures, despite the content. It wasn’t enough to increase my frequency of publishing from once a week to weekly, while maintaining the quality. As a sole founder, I was responsible for every role in the company – from CEO to C-suite. I had many other tasks to do besides content creation. Outsourcing was the only way I could scale my business and concentrate on strategic activities.
After I met my obligations, having a steady income allowed me to invest some money in my creator’s business. It was at this point that I decided to hire writers.
After working with my initial hires, I quickly encountered some problems. I was not getting high-quality content, the hiring process is extremely manual and I have no systemized method of tracking progress and status.
Priority number three was to find a solution.
- SOPs are Standard Operating Procedures.
- Writing tests
- Automated hiring system
Creating SOPs helped me maintain consistency and streamline the writer onboarding process. Notion was the best option for me because Google Drive’s folders were too cumbersome and didn’t offer all of the features I needed to create my Wiki-like Knowledge Base. It started out as a few general notes for writers but grew to a comprehensive editorial guide. It’s actually still growing and will continue to grow over time.
The next step was to create writing tests that would be short enough for candidates to take, but extensive enough so I could evaluate them properly.
I gave the writers references and instructions to follow. I was looking to see how they:
- Writing Style
- Research Capabilities
- Attention to detail
- AI Tools: Reliance on AI
- Topic expertise
- Basic SEO Knowledge
- Contextual linking understanding
It was the only way to efficiently filter out poor candidates before offering a paid test.
It was now time to automate the hiring process. I tried a few products that were paid for, but decided to build my own using Airtable. It was a cheaper option.
The system was easy to build: I created two tables: one for the applicant’s records, and another for the test submissions. It was then a simple matter of automating the process to glue them together. This is how the system functions:
- Add the Airtable Application Form link to job advertisements.
- Post job advertisements on Facebook groups and onlinejobs.ph.
- After clicking on the link to the application form, the candidate enters his/her details.
- The applicant form will be filled out with all their information (including their resume, portfolio and contact details) and the default status will be “Applied.”
- When the status changes to “Test Sent”, an email with the link to the test form will be automatically sent to the applicant.
- The applicant will receive an automatic email if the status changes to “Rejected” from “Applied”. This email informs them that they did not make it.
- The test and the applicant record form are automatically updated once the test is submitted. Status will change automatically from “Test Sent to “Test Done.”
- When the status changes to “Accepted” from “Test Done”, an email is automatically sent to the applicant to inform them that they have passed and to request their preferred messaging application.
- The same email will be sent if the status is changed from “Test Done”, to “Rejected”.
The accepted candidates will be asked to participate in a paid test, to determine how well they perform under official conditions. Also, a content brief will be provided.
Networks, monetization, and relationships
After the hiring system had been implemented, I could finally increase my output to between two and three articles per month while still having time to do other more impactful things. I wanted to focus my efforts on tasks that would lead me to greater growth, such as networking and building relationships.
I was lucky to already have some of my roundups ranking on Google’s first page and generating traffic before scaling up my outreach efforts. It was at that time I also decided to begin affiliate marketing and monetize.
Reps from SaaS firms who read my articles and realized their product was not included, contacted me to ask for an insert. At the time, I did not have the leverage to demand compensation. Instead of asking for money, I asked for backlinks in order to increase my website’s Domain Rating (DR).
I also started digital PR on platforms like HARO (Help a Reporter Out), Help a B2B Writer and Terkel to build more brand authority. To build brand authority, I started digital PR using platforms such as HARO (Help A Reporter Out), a B2B writer and Terkel. I received a number of high-authority links from large publications. This increased my Domain Rating and traffic to my page.
The first date was March 2023. Affiliate commissions in March and April were barely $100. In May, my articles started to take off because of the snowball effects of all of the above mentioned activities. In May, I also received some sponsorship requests and finally had the power to ask for payment. This was my first four-figure-month!
Collecting testimonials
Social proof is a powerful psychological marketing concept that can influence decisions. I wanted that but didn’t possess it. Or did I?
Around this time I was analyzing different SaaS sites and noticed that they had a large wall of customer testimonials. I was not selling anything. I didn’t have anything to offer anyone for review. It was because I had relationships that I decided to ask for reviews.
Senja helped me to build credibility by displaying social proof and testimonials of other creators and former colleagues.
My future plans
It has been a five-month journey. All of these were achieved while working nine to five. Just a few hours each day, before and after the office, were spent on this project. In the future, my plans include expanding my services by creating digital products and doing consultations. I also plan to get started on YouTube, do more collaborations, as well as launch my creator community.
On social media, sometimes it looks like other creators have achieved meteoric success. This is not the norm, but the exception.
I hope that sharing my early experiences gives you some motivation and realistic expectations for building a creator’s business while working a full-time.
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