How To Learn The One Skill You Need To Build An Online Empire
Most solopreneurs avoid marketing. That’s not the group you want to follow.
There’s just one difference between your role models and you: marketing.
Their success isn’t because they’re wizards, or once-in-a-generation geniuses, or experts beyond compare.
We perceive them this way because they’ve taken the time to learn how to present themselves this way.
First comes the marketing, then comes the reputation of an expert, and then comes success.
Most solopreneurs ignore marketing.
They think it’s too complicated, too expensive, or they just don’t feel “comfortable” selling themselves.
I have one thing to tell you: if you’re in this to feel comfortable, better give up now and go get a “real job.”
Learning marketing means learning:
- How to attract and hold attention on any online platform.
- How to create irresistible content.
- How to use basic human psychology to get people out of their own way.
- How to select the right audience.
- How to get your readers to trust you more than they trust their own mothers.
- How to use algorithm changes to accelerate growth (instead of fearing updates).
- How to sell anything (which you’ll hopefully use to sell good stuff).
Before I decided to learn marketing…
I was just a writer on Fiverr. I’m in the top 1% of freelancers on the platform, making 4–5 figures per month, but it’s still Fiverr.
- I couldn’t charge what I wanted. My competitors determined my pricing.
- I didn’t have a consistent stream of work. The algorithm determined how many people saw my offers.
- I couldn’t choose my clients. Sometimes they were awesome, sometimes they were idiots who had no idea what a copywriter does.
Fiverr is a great starting point and a good revenue stream, but that’s all. If you’re only focused on one online platform, you’ll never be able to make a good living with your business. There may be a few exceptions out there, but they’re the exception, not the rule.
After I decided to expand my business, I started landing 5-figure clients and charging up to $12K for website content.
If you want a powerful 6–7 figure business you can count on, you need to stop outsourcing marketing to platforms and get back in the driver’s seat.
How to learn marketing in 20 hours (or less)
Ayodeji Awosika recently wrote an article about Josh Kaufman’s TED talk, where he shares the idea that you only need to learn the key components of most skills to be good at them.
“20 hours is long enough to experience dramatic improvements in skill, but not so long that it feels overwhelming to get started in the first place.” — Kaufman
Let me give you an example:
- If you learn the 7 subject pronouns, 10 key verbs, and about 100 words of any language, you’ll be able to have basic conversations.
- If you learn guitar chords, scales, and basic music theory, you’ll be able to play guitar at parties and impress girls.
- If you learn the key components of marketing, you’ll be able to create buzz around your name and start attracting opportunities.
But what are the key components of marketing?
#1: Branding, or what you’re about.
Marketing is mostly about the what. If you figure out the what — your key message — half the job is done.
Whatever you do online, you’ll have fierce competition. Your what is what will differentiate you.
What, as in:
- What are you about?
- What do you stand for?
- What do you believe in?
- What do you offer?
- What makes you different?
- What’s the key message behind your business?
Here are a few successful people with original, interesting over-arching messages that make marketing easy for them.
Marie Forleo — Everything is figureoutable.
Marisa Peer — You are enough. It’s easy to understand & control your brain.
Tony Robbins — Success is 80% psychology, 20% strategy.
Joanna Wiebe — Copywriters are the most expensive people in the room.
Here are a few of my key messages.
- Marketing is easy.
- Small steps add up.
- Anyone can start & grow a one-person business, even if they don’t feel they can.
I haven’t created a big, overarching one yet, but that’s okay. It’s a process.
To start that process:
Step 1: Look at competitors you like. Fill your brain with ideas.
Step 2: Look at your most successful pieces of content. What are they about?
Step 3: Write what you think is most important & valuable about your content/offers/business. Don’t stop yourself, just write everything that comes to mind.
Step 4: Circle what seems most important and what excites you the most. Your key message should be a message you’re proud of, and one you’re excited about spreading in all ways possible.
#2: Targeting, or who are the people who would care.
Tony Robbins says success isn’t about loving what you do; it’s about falling in love with your audience.
My audience is made of solopreneurs. Mostly writers, but not only. All types of solopreneurs who want to make it big and sell a lot of their services or products.
And I love them. I love solopreneurs because it takes a certain type of moxy to be one. We’re still seen as “different.” As “get-a-real-job” kind of entrepreneurs.
But I know we’ll soon rule the world, and we’ll do it on our terms.
I’m always up for a chat with a solopreneur. If one shakes my shoulder at 2 a.m. to ask me a question, I’ll sit up, rub my eyes, and answer to the best of my abilities.
If you find the right audience, it will be easier to create or curate content for them. It’ll be easier to sell anything to them because you’ll know what they need.
And you’ll find your work easier as a whole because you’ll work for people you like.
How to find your ideal audience.
Step 1: Forget demographics and think psychographics. What unites your audience? Are they moms, runners, writers, entrepreneurs, singles? Are they ambitious, worried, skeptical, lonely?
Note: you must be specific. Women doesn’t count.
Step 2: Many content creators target themselves from two years ago. If you want to help people make it online, that’s a good starting point.
Where were you two years ago? Struggling to start as a solopreneur? Just starting out and facing new problems? Still at 5 figures and now you’re at 6?
Step 3: Do you love these people? Are you excited to work for them? This is the ultimate test.
#3: Writing, or how to talk to your audience so you get their attention.
Every now and then, I’ll get a thoroughly confused client who expects me to make their boring business sound like the greatest thing after sliced bread.
Writers aren’t magicians.
Without the what and the target audience, we can’t write your way to sales & success.
But without knowing how to write/create irresistible content, you’ll misrepresent even the best business idea.
Great writing has helped some solopreneurs build empires, while others struggle to make 5 figures and quit their jobs.
So, how to learn great writing quickly?
Step 1: Structures
All successful writers use structures. Whether you’re writing direct response copy, articles, social media posts, e-mails, novels, screenplays — anything.
There are always many structures you can choose from. Start reading & learning, and choose one you like. Follow it for a while. Then, learn another. Iterate. Learn another. Mix and match if you need to, but always follow a structure.
My favorite copywriting structure is this:
- Problem
- Solution
- Credibility
- Call to Action
My favorite article structure is this:
- Claim
- Reasoning
- Evidence
Our minds look for the logic in things. Don’t write random journal entries and expect to become a millionaire.
Step 2: Headlines, subject lines, hooks
You need a strong beginning, whether it’s a headline, a subject line, or a hook.
Marketing research suggests traffic can vary as much as 500% based on the headline alone.
Stats are even more cruel when it comes to subject lines and social media hooks: they define visibility.
The best way to learn how to write great headlines, subject lines, and hooks is to write a lot of them. I write at least 10 headlines before choosing one for every article I post.
Another trick I use is, when I see something I love by another writer, I copy and paste it in my inspiration notes. I could use it as an inspiration, steal a powerful word, or copy the structure to design my own.
Step 3: Emotion
If you don’t evoke emotion, it’s like you haven’t written anything.
My advice? Keep stealing.
If any piece of content makes you feel scared, excited, hopeful, sad or angry, it’s doing its job. Study it. What words specifically make you feel the emotion? What about the story is most powerful?
Another popular advice is to write mid-emotion. Whenever something makes you feel intense emotion, use that emotion to write first drafts.
Don’t forget to edit them later and add substance, though. Emotional writing shouldn’t be rushed writing.
#4: Distribution, or where to write what you’re writing.
One word: platforms.
Social media platforms, Medium, Substack, Amazon, Radish.
Platforms already have an audience. You can tap right into it.
In the beginning, choose up to 3 platforms where you’ll create consistently.
I strongly recommend that one of them is Substack, so you can direct people to your Substack newsletter and get their e-mails.
Final Words.
We learn all our lives.
The problem is that many people use the concept of life-long learning to postpone taking action.
Now, you don’t have an excuse. Here are the basics. Here’s the timeline.
You cover this, you can put yourself out there.
I hope you do.
Write your way to your dream one-person business, one small step at a time. Sign up for the free Smarter Solopreneurs newsletter.
