Make $100K Online in 5 Steps — What I’d Do if I Didn’t Work 9–5
Provide unlimited value and grow an audience of superfans
Making $100K purely from online income is like beating Gordon Ramsey on his own cooking show.
$100K in annual income is the magic number. It’s enough to quit one’s job and live financially free. But there’s a catch.
Before making the tastiest beef tartar that blows away the most well-known TV chef, you must learn how to make a grilled cheese.
Learn the ins and outs of your chosen side hustle while working a job.
A job teaches you discipline and consistency. A side hustle teaches you the value of your time. Use both to recalibrate your mind.
If I wasn't lucky enough to have a job, here's how I'd make the magic number ($100K) in an online income.
Step 1: I'd write long-form content
Hello, and welcome to my version of long-form content.
Long-form content takes minutes to hours for the viewer to consume. It could be an 8-minute Youtube video or a 20-minute-read blog post.
I choose to write even though it takes time and effort. But the real reason I write is that I can turn an article into any visual medium.
It doesn’t work as well the other way around.
I can turn a written story into a script for a Youtube video, I can gather friends and record a podcast, or I could make a short film.
Daily writing is a powerful habit because of its compounding effect.
Imagine writing 500 words a day, every day for a year. You'd have written 182,500 more words than you did the year before. That's 182,500 chances to attract someone to your blog, or better yet, your newsletter.
Long-form content = Growth potential
Not only will your audience grow, but you'll grow.
The not-so-funny thing about writing 500 words daily is that you'll learn what works and doesn't. Most of what you write, especially in the beginning, won't make much sense — people won’t care about you.
But eventually, an article will click, and people will beg for more of you. This is when you double down.
Step 2: I'd recycle platforms
Writing is a powerful tool. It's the best way I've found to put ideas on paper, so they aren't forgotten.
But, an idea doesn't just belong locked away in a notes app like Notion; it belongs on every social media platform built on words.
Medium, Linkedin, and Twitter, to name a few, are places to write for mass, built-in audiences.
Whatever you write is yours:
You can put it wherever you want
You don't need to keep it to one platform
If anything, it's irresponsible to only publish in one place
Tap into different audiences on different platforms
Step 3: Repurpose short-form content
I have a vision of my TikTok one day.
I would alter my articles slightly for a more speaker-friendly voice. Then I'd set my phone on a tripod and record myself speaking the main points of my best-performing articles.
While a long-form article is valuable, the real value lies hidden in the nuggets of info within.
I'm going to break the fourth wall:
This article could be repurposed as five TikToks. Read that again.
This paragraph (about repurposing long-form as short-form) is valuable. On camera, I’d say how a great way to build an audience is to write a blog post and divide each paragraph into a TikTok. Boom, instant credibility.
Twitter is another place you can provide insane amounts of value. Anything people highlight from my articles can become a Tweet.
I could even turn this article into a tweet thread.
Step 4: Leverage a free newsletter
The best part about a newsletter is that you control every aspect.
Even Substack can't pull the rug under you when you have the code to your stack of emails. You can simply take them to another email newsletter service.
Free = Less friction
People are hesitant to pay for something unknown. They need to know who you are first, and you have to get to a point where you provide finger-licking good value for them.
Practice your value skills while your newsletter is free. Your audience won't care as much if your content is mediocre because they're not paying a dime for it. They can ignore you until you get better, write attractive headlines, and keep them occupied with insanely good copy.
People are more likely to sign up for a free newsletter if you have something to give them upfront.
Give away your value for free, and amass an audience that respects the hell out of you. Do this for as long as possible.
Step 5: I'd sell digital products
I helped confound a beverage startup a year before the pandemic.
Physical products are a mess. You have to rely on many other people to do their jobs right, or your product looks like a bottle of sludge.
The problem is, most others won’t work as hard as you. Especially now, people care less about work and more about the value of their own time.
So, how can you help save people time or improve their time on Earth?
Digital products are the way to go. It's the only way to package a skill into something other people will buy.
Why am I working 9–5 if I have these ideas?
Building an audience of superfans takes time.
This process isn’t something that happens overnight or even within a year. It’s more like a rollercoaster of ups and downs.
I’m not even sure I’ll ever work completely independently because:
I want real-life work experience
I don't plan on making any significant money off these ideas for at least five years
I'm still establishing myself as a young adult
I like my current job
At the end of the day, you don’t need to make money off your side hustle at all (if you don’t want to).
The real point of a side hustle is to do something fulfilling for yourself. Help yourself, teach one person something new, or touch the lives of thousands.
When all is said and done, will you be remembered for your 9–5 or the side hustle that gave you purpose?