The truth about building an online business: it's f*cking hard

Week 18: Earnings and Learnings

Jun 28, 2024

After 18 months of writing online and 18 weeks of The Bored Millennial, I thought this was the perfect moment to share a state of affairs.

My current verdict on building something online? It's not easy.

It's f*cking hard.

(Spoiler: it’s worth it! Keep reading!)

The constant expectations and dopamine hits versus feeling disappointed and discouraged often. The never-ending question loops: ‘Is this one gonna be it?’

Is this the right trigger for people to be willing to become paid subscribers?
Is this the right note for new people to find me and subscribe?
Is this going to be a successful post?

The constant thinking, ‘Am I doing the right thing?’ and the fear of losing what I've built so far.

The narrative of the gurus goes like this:

Figure out what problem your followers have (and solve it)
Build an offer they can't refuse
Sell it and become rich

Sounds doable. But let's go over it one by one.

Figure out what problem your followers have.

Nobody tells you how to figure out what people want or which problem you can solve. Before building an offer “people can't refuse,” you'll have to go through a lot of trial and error to figure out what you can offer.

Followers or subscribers don't tell you: “I have this problem. Please solve it for me.”

You need to figure those out yourself by spending time and effort talking to your followers or subscribers, reading between the lines, and analyzing which posts perform well and which don't.

And then you figure something out, thinking, 'this might be it,' getting the door closed into your face. Then you get a new idea, you think, this is really it, to get that door closed again. Then you try again and again and again until something clicks.

Expectations build up every time, leading to a 90% disappointment rate. But you need this 90%! Without it, you won’t reach the 10% success rate you seek.

Gurus often forget to mention this 90% rate, the long build-up to the big success ticket. Coincidence? I don't think so. Otherwise, their products and courses wouldn’t sell. People want a quick and simple to-do list that will lead to great results. But there’s no quick success scheme to follow. It doesn't work like that. You will and need to fail to get there.

So, know that you are doing great. You are where you need to be. But keep moving forward!

That's what I'm telling myself, at least.

Build an offer you can't refuse

I have not yet mastered ‘creating irresistible offers.’ My limiting beliefs about selling, marketing, and creating offers are the main problem.

I feel a lot of resistance. Here are some common thoughts I’m having:

Does this sound too salesy?
My readers might think all I want to do is sell.
Did I put too much 'promotional' content in this newsletter?
I don't need all the tricks in the book, I can make it work my way. (But can I? Really?)

I need to debunk these limiting beliefs and accept that selling and creating offers with fitting marketing and copy are inherent and essential to selling online products. The fact that I don’t have much experience on this front might also be a big reason for these doubtful thoughts.

This comment from

Lucy Werner

was super helpful:

At the same time, I don’t want to sound like a broken record, either, repeating the same things over and over. But I’ve read that people need to read or see something seven times before they buy. Not sure if that’s true.

It’s also the whole psychological science behind selling and buying that sometimes feels a bit icky. For example, you’ll see a lot of online products offered like this:

Course about XYZ = worth 1500 $
Bonus A = worth 500 $
Bonus B = worth 200 $
Bonus C = worth 200 $
You will get all of this for the total price of only 750$

This makes you feel like you did an amazing bargain, but of course, that’s the whole selling tactic. It doesn’t feel right to me this way. I have fallen for the trick and felt like I wasted my money afterward - if the product was low-quality (!). I think that it’s worse for your business in the long run if people feel bad about giving you their money. They will never promote you or talk about your products to others if that’s the case.

So, all this is to say that crafting and selling a good offer is an art.

But I’m 1000% sure that once you’ve got something you feel good about and when it resonates with your readers, keeping it clear and simple will allow it to sell almost by itself.

Another note to myself 😉

Sell it and become rich.

Well, if it were that easy, we would all be rich and retired now. If your drive is pure money, I'm pretty convinced copy-pasting all the tactics and desperately trying to make it won't cut it in the online writing business. Or maybe I'm just too naive because I don't have the hustle mentality or could not live with myself making money online by selling empty products.

Of course, I hope to earn decent money with my newsletter. I'd love to see The Bored Millennial grow into a full-time business. It would be a flat-out lie to claim that's not the case.

But after (only!) 18 weeks of TBM and 18 months of writing online, I can say this: your heart needs to be in it. Your heart and soul need to be fully in it. Otherwise, you wouldn't have the stamina to keep showing up and doing boring tasks. Also, accept you sometimes just have to be brave to suck as

Mika

described so eloquently in her article.

The cringe moments are real. But without trying, you never know what works and what doesn't. Some ideas sound brilliant in your head, and then you let them out in the world, and all you get is...crickets.

Other times, unexpected things - like AI images - become a whole product on its own.

The vital ingredient here is doing something you and your readers value. It's the sense of helping others and getting better together.

What I know for sure is that it's a journey with unexpected encounters, weird twists, and turns. But without really noticing, you suddenly realize you've already climbed a lot.

You look around, see this awesome view, breathe in and out, and think: yes, this is all worth it.

Let's climb higher.

Earnings and Learnings

We crossed the 2,500 subscribers mark!

Welcome everyone! I hope you have a lot of fun and enjoy reading.

In the meantime, we have 37 paid subscribers, but 2 have unsubscribed after finishing the course. I knew this could happen, but it still stings a little bit.

I'm also expanding my offer for paid subscribers.

Here comes the dreaded sales part 😅

From July on, I'll organize a monthly TBM Connect session. 90-minute talks and conversations on different topics.

So, as a paid subscriber, you now get the following:

Make your newsletter pop: access to the exclusive AI Image Course
Monthly 90-minute Connect Sessions: engaging talks on productivity, substack, mindset, and so much more
Join the inner circle! Access to the paid subscribers' community
You would support me and show value for all the time and effort I put into this newsletter. If you enjoy this newsletter and believe in its value, please consider a paid subscription.

All of this for only 50€ per year!! That's one overpriced fancy coffee per month.

Upgrade to paid

Here are the topics for the first 3 months:

You can still participate in the AI image workshops if you sign up now.

Here's the weekly spreadsheet where you can see my journey in numbers:

Here's the Stripe payout screenshot:

What I loved this week.

Well, my life now consists of nothing more than work, writing, eating, cleaning, puppies, and trying to catch up on sleep.

I'm binging YouTube videos on how to train your puppy, and I'm still exhausted.

Writing is done completely differently; instead of a long session, I do it in short bursts of 20 minutes or 10 minutes before getting interrupted again by the cute monsters.

With a lack of sleep, the thinking goes slower, making it harder to focus on things.

I have not managed to pick up my book, enjoy the sun, or even run or walk outside. I know this is temporary, but it's a huge change in our lives, and right now, I'm truly hoping it's all worth it. But I'm sure it is!