Do this for 3 months
Listen, there’s no escaping the real work.
If I’m able to work 3 hours a day today is because I was side hustling alongside my 9–5, a job which was already 10 hours long a day. Alongside that, I wrote at least 15 articles a month on Medium, which were 800 –1200 words each, and did freelance work.
That's 10h a day of work and almost 20,000 words on essays, and client work.
It’s not going to be a cakewalk. If it was, you probably wouldn’t have procrastinated on it.
If it was, everyone would be living the 3h workday. But most don't, and never will.
So, do the below two consistently:
- Writing: at least post 3x a week on LinkedIn and have a weekly newsletter on Substack.
- Engage: take out 10min a day to engage with those in your niche with a large and small audience. Post meaningful comments so their audience would want to open your profile and follow you.
In Month 3, start this:
If you’re doing the above two.
And I mean a hard yes to both, not just writing. You may not know this, but engaging is half the work for building an audience online.
If you don’t engage, don’t expect growth.
So once you do both, only then this step will be applicable.
- DM frequent readers
- DM people you engage with
- Observe the theme of conversations in your posts
Now, double down on your engagement. This is so you can borrow big creators' audience and build relationships with those who have a smaller audience.
Pro tip: it’s much easier to engage with people when you actually enjoy your content.
In month 4, give freelancing a try
To freelance, you either learn a skill or build an existing skill. There are plenty of free YouTube videos and paid courses, so there are no excuses on why you cannot acquire a skill in today’s day and age.
You can either
- look for jobs on Upwork
- look for roles on LinkedIn
- talk about it on LinkedIn and see where that takes you
In month 6, taste the creator economy (optional)
Either do a
- cohort-based course
- 15min consultations
This way, you get to test out creator economy.
Why free? Because people are more likely to pay you when they like your free stuff. I make money from 1% of my stuff. 99% is free — which is content across platforms and newsletters. And then I earn from the 1% via courses and Authentic Influence.
Doing something for free also gives you the opportunity to get social proof.
For every free call, ask for a testimonial. People are more likely to buy from a page that has testimonials compared to a page thats empty.
Note: If you're a mid/senior professional, skip the action of month 4 and 6. I recommend you build your brand for long enough around your expertise so opportunities knock on your door eventually.
Lastly
After this, see what you lean towards more. If you do all of the above dilgently, you’ll get an idea of the path you want to be on.
Now, either you can try to ‘figure it out’ and then start.
Which you probably have been at the back of your head all year… am I right?
Or just follow the above and take real action, because that’s what moves the needle.
All the best!
PS: Don't forget, enrollment for Authentic Influence closes in 24 hours!
Love,
N