My path to 7 revenue streams

I’m investing BIG on video this year for two reasons:

1. It’s the best way to grow brand affinity and human connection with your audience
2. It’s incredibly effective for influencing and motivating purchasing decisions

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The creator economy has forever changed how I make money.

My 6-figure side hustle, The Reeder, now has 7 revenue streams (on top of my 9-5) and I want to share how you can do the same.

But let me be clear: It’s not for everyone.

Hell, I’m not even saying you should to do it.

But if you’re curious how to create more income and open doors to life-changing opportunities, below are the steps I took and decisions I made to monetize my experience, expertise, and perspective.

Everything until this point has been 100% inbound and the result of curating a reputation and consistently publishing valuable content over time.

That’s the foundation for everything that follows.

Let’s ride.

1st revenue stream: My full time job

This is might be obvious but it’s worth stating. I do have a full time job as Director, Content & Thought Leadership at Clari.

And it’s my first ‘career’ priority.

And I wouldn’t have been able to launch my next revenue stream without all that valuable full-time experience.

2nd revenue stream: Consulting

I used my experience, results, and reputation from my time at Gong to start consulting.

It started four-ish years ago with people reaching out to me on LinkedIn asking to pick my brain.

Being new to marketing I was shocked people wanted my advice. I was roughly one year into the role and still felt like a fraud.

But after a few of these brain-picking convos, I realized that I was giving much more than I was receiving. That imbalance motivated me to start charging folks for my time because I had something of real value to offer.

I started at $250/hr. After a couple months I increased it to $500. A year later $750. Now it’s even more.

If that seems high, I agree. But my goal is not to be affordable to everyone. My time is very valuable given I have a full time job and my family, so I price my time accordingly.

Pro tip for pricing your time: Raise your price until you start hearing “no.” Otherwise you’re leaving money on the table.

3rd revenue stream: Newsletter ads

I’ve always wanted to write a book. So I decided to pen a marketing playbook that reveals what I’ve learned and the tactics behind my audience growth, content strategy, and content creation.

So I decided to dedicate one hour every Sunday to chip away at said book.

But that didn’t last long because on the third week I remember dreading going up to my office to do it. I wasn’t enjoying it.

But I wasn’t ready to give up either. I still wanted to write, and I liked the idea of a weekly deadline to force me to write consistently.

So I decided to launch a newsletter instead. I figured I could commit to publishing ~750 works every week. Then grow an audience that I could sell my book to once it was ready along the way.

About four months after I first hit Publish, one of my readers unexpectedly replied asking to sponsor my newsletter. I (excitedly) said yes and once that first ad went live, more inbound offers poured in.

Now I earn ~$1,500 every week to write and I have a healthy email list of 12.5k.

Pro tip: The most valuable asset is an email list. If you don’t have one, start now. There’s unlimited upside and it’s not too late.

4th revenue stream: LinkedIn course sales

By now it’s 2021 and my reputation and audience growth is gaining real momentum.

I was Head of Content at Gong which was doing incredibly well, I had roughly 50k LinkedIn followers, and 5k newsletter subscribers.

My friend Chris from John Barrows Sales (now at Sell Better) approached me to produce a full-length video course for sales pros who wanted to grow their LinkedIn presence.

They’d cover all production costs, we’d split revenue, and cross promote to grow our audiences. It was a no-brainer because I knew I could provide tons of value by sharing my LinkedIn content strategy. Here’s the course if interested.

I priced it at $97 and sold a few hundred licenses, making 5-figures semi-passively. And the best part is that I get dozens of messages from happy students who took the course and loved it.

Pro tips for producing an information product:

1. Launch it after you have an audience. You don’t need a huge audience but you don’t want to launch a product into the void.
2. Any format works — video, written guide, etc. Start with your most valuable skill that would have the biggest impact on your audience.
3. Pick something you’re confident in and could teach rather easily without los of prep.

5th revenue stream: Sponsored LinkedIn posts

I stumbled into this one.

One day I got a reply to my newsletter asking if I also sell LinkedIn posts. I hadn’t really thought about it.

I said yes and threw out the price of $500. They didn’t hesitate.

Then I started advertising this offer in my newsletter and raised my price every couple deals as my audience grew. I went from $500 → $750 →$1,000. Now I charge much more and only make it available to larger brand deals (more on that in the future).

Pro tip for getting started: If you don’t have a lot of name recognition yet, go outbound to brands that align with your audience and values to pitch being an influencer for them. They have budget and you’d be surprised how open they are to saying yes.

6th revenue stream: Speaking gigs

I’ll keep this quick because historically I haven’t advertised them much, but I do a handful every year and plan to do a lot more this year.

It’s a fun way to make a few grand, and I evaluate offers based on who’s asking, the audience demographic, size, required prep, and their budget.

Pro tip for pricing: Charge more than you think you should. After a handful of these, I realized I spend A LOT more time than anticipated. They’re fun but the ROI can quickly slip if you’re not careful.

7th revenue stream: Ebook Sales

Remember that book I always wanted to write?

I finally did it.

I took inventory of all my newsletters, then revised, repackaged, and redesigned it to be the most valuable resource I’ve ever produced.

I priced Content That Converts at $149 because the skill I teach — earning attention with your content and converting it into business growth and income — is the most valuable skill right now for any marketer, seller, creator or entrepreneur.

And I love the messages I get from folks saying how it doubled their social engagement, helped them overcome self doubt, and accelerated the results.

I also really like the daily Stripe notifications because it’s how I’m funding my next (and biggest) project to date…

8th revenue stream: coming soon…‍

I can’t share what it is quite yet. But I will soon. I promise.

But I can share that I’m launching a new channel and already monetizing it with sponsors to fund the project. Follow me on LinkedIn if you’re not already because I’m announcing it there first in early Feb.

Final thoughts to get you started (and prevent feeling like you’re behind)

Could I have done all this faster. Probably.

I admit, I think about that sometimes. Especially when I see other people sharing their success on social media. The comparison is unhealthy but it happens occasionally.

But I didn’t want to do it faster. I didn’t want to rush.

Keeping my 9-5 gave me the safety new to build at a steady pace and avoid operating from a place of anxiety or desperation. (Sometimes having your back against the wall is a good thing and produces great results, but it’s not healthy or productive being in that state for a long time.)

Also, I was growing my family. I have two daughters — I prioritize them and my wife over making as much money as fast as possible. Time and focus has become my most valuable resources and it’s not even close.

My best advice: be intentional and find your own pace.

Holler at you next Saturday,
Devin

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