I Don't Want Your Money
Last week, I had a business call with someone. He asked how I monetize my followers. He said, “I see you have a website. But there’s no sales funnel. There’s no email sign up. There’s no store. You’re leaving SO MUCH money on the table! Why are your templates free? You could be charging $10 per download!”
He asked how many clicks I’ve gotten. How many downloads. I said somewhere in the thousands.
“THOUSANDS?” He shouted. “Dude even if like, 1000 of them paid for the template, that’s an easy $10,000.”
“What about the thousands who didn’t want to pay, though?” I asked.
But he really didn’t get what I was asking.
I said: “You know, I got on social media to be the alternative to the guy who was always selling something. Finance TikTok was overrun by course bros. Buy this course. Pay for a one on one. Download my $10 template. I’m the alternative. The people who can’t afford a $10 template or a $300 per hour one on one are the people who need the education the most. That’s why I do this.”
“So, how do you get paid?” He asked.
“Brand deals,” I said. “In my opinion, it’s the least offensive thing I can do to make money. I’m not taking money out of the pockets of people who should be investing that money instead of giving it to me. I’m not hiding behind a paywall: Oh you wanna learn how to invest? I’m happy to help … for a price. In my opinion, brand deals are the least offensive option. The brand pays me to talk about their product. Nobody is required to buy anything, and because I have such high standards with the brands I promote, I turn down thousands of dollars per month in shady brand deals. And usually, the brands I promote are no cost apps or websites who make THEIR money from advertising. I won’t promote anything I don’t know, use, or trust.”
Does this make things harder for me as a content creator? Absolutely. Brand deals can be lucrative, but they can also be … the opposite of that. They can also be few and far between. I can go six months without a brand deal and then have 5 brand deals in a month.
But: I’ve been trading stocks for 13 years. And my goal back then was simple: Make what I’d make working a 9-5 job. I wasn’t trying to be a millionaire stock trader, pushing a $600 a month course, standing behind a rented Lamborghini.
And as a minimalist with no kids and a home that is paid off, I was able to do just that. I kept my expenses low, my investments high. I’m no stranger to not having stable income. I make it work. I could also switch to selling products and courses and make money hand over foot.
But that’s not who I am.
I know brand deals sour some people, who think I’ve sold out. But I’m a regular guy just like everyone else. I have a job, just like you. I have bills. I could leave TikTok and stop making free content. I could go back to trading full time, which leaves me with MUCH less free time to make content and answer questions. Or I could take money from brands to promote only products I know, use and trust.
That’s my decision. If you’d do something different, feel free to do it!
At the end of the call, the guy said, “I think I know why you’re so successful: You never started out to get millions of followers or make money. People who start with the goal of fame or money are the ones who burn out quickly. You’re not here for any other reason than you want to be.”
