The One Person Startup

What is A Lead Magnet For & How to Make OneLead magnets are nothing but a digital product meant to help your audience and provide them some sort of value. The most common lead magnet is a guide.In this video, I explain how I came up with the idea of this guide, how I created the guide, and the steps for making a lead magnet for your audience.Steps For Creating This Lead Magnet* Wrote a rough draft of the entire guide* Asked AI to help fill in missing details* Removed unnecessary information* Had AI Edit my guide for reading clarity and easy to understand* Added database with all park details* Added all the links* Added images to help support the text* Filmed and edited a video explaining the guide* Published it onlineWatch As I Build a Brand in Public Starting From Nothing(Documentary Series)I’m building a new brand called California Digital Nomad with no audience, no content, nothing.Every week, I’ll show you how I create & publish content, leverage AI, record & edit videos, and share my weekly results—subscribers, revenue, everything. Join me in this brand-building journey from day one.You can subscribe here. Get full access to The One Person Startup at theonepersonstartup.substack.com/subscribe

In 2012, Red Bull did something no other brand had ever attempted.They didn’t launch a new energy drink.They didn’t release a celebrity-endorsed commercial.They didn’t spend millions on traditional marketing.Instead, they filmed a man jump from the edge of space for the best marketing stunt ever attempted. Here’s the brilliance behind their product marketing.Felix Baumgartner, an Austrian skydiver, ascended 24 miles above Earth in a helium balloon, then jumped—breaking the sound barrier on his way down.Eight million people watched it live on YouTube, making it one of the most-watched live events in history.And Red Bull?They weren’t just a drink company anymore. They became the brand that pushes human limits.This wasn’t about selling a drink. It was about selling an idea—that Red Bull truly “gives you wings.”And the impact was massive.* Sales skyrocketed after the jump, further cementing Red Bull’s dominance in the energy drink market.* Brand loyalty exploded, with Red Bull becoming synonymous with extreme sports and adventure.* They built an audience, not just customers, by creating one of the most talked-about marketing campaigns of the decade.But here’s the thing—this wasn’t just a stunt. It was brilliant product marketing.And if you’re a creator, you can use the same principles to dominate your niche.And I don’t mean jumping from the heights of space.The Marketing Genius Behind the Stratos JumpMost brands focus on traditional advertising—TV ads, billboards, influencer sponsorships. Red Bull didn’t.They built their own platform.They created their own media empire.They made the audience come to them.Think about it. They didn’t sponsor an event. They became the event.Rather than flooding the market with ad campaigns saying, "Drink Red Bull! It gives you energy!” they showed people what their brand stood for. They made Red Bull synonymous with pushing human limits, defying gravity, and chasing the impossible.And the result? They didn’t need to push their product—because people naturally associated Red Bull with extreme sports - high energy, risk-taking, and peak performance.Now, let’s break down exactly what they did—and how you can use these same principles to market your own business.1. Sell an Idea, Not Just a ProductRed Bull doesn’t sell drinks. They sell adrenaline, adventure, and pushing limits.Their product is an extension of that idea. When you buy a Red Bull, you’re not just getting caffeine—you’re tapping into a different mindset.Most creators and entrepreneurs make the mistake of only selling features:* "This course has 100+ hours of content."* "This software has 2,000+ integrations."Instead, you should sell the outcome and the feeling:Ask yourself: What does your audience truly want to experience? That’s what you sell.2. Create Spectacle & Build AnticipationRed Bull didn’t just drop Felix from space overnight. They built the hype for years.* They released teasers.* They gave behind-the-scenes footage.* They made the audience feel like they were part of the journey.By the time the Stratos Jump happened, millions were already invested in the story.For your business:* Tease your product launch weeks (or months) in advance.* Share behind the scenes how you’re building your product.* Make your audience feel like they’re part of the journey, not just spectators.When you create anticipation, your audience isn’t just waiting for your product—they’re rooting for it to succeed.3. Own Your Distribution Channel (Don’t Rely on Others)Most brands rely on external media for coverage. Red Bull became the media.They built Red Bull Media House—a content empire that produces documentaries, extreme sports films, and viral stunts.They don’t depend on TV networks.They don’t rely on journalists.They own the entire distribution pipeline.As a creator, this means:* Build your own email list (so you’re not at the mercy of social media algorithms).* Create content that keeps your audience engaged on your terms.* Invest in platforms you control—your website, your newsletter, your personal brand.When you own the distribution, nobody can take your audience away from you.4. Give Away Value First, Then MonetizeRed Bull gave away the biggest marketing stunt of all time—for free.They didn’t charge people to watch the Stratos Jump.They didn’t run ads on the stream.They delivered insane value upfront—and cashed in later through brand loyalty and product sales.Creators should be doing the same.* Share free, valuable content that attracts the right audience.* Build trust before asking for the sale.* The more you give, the more authority you gain—so when you do launch a paid offer, people trust you enough to buy.This is exactly why I created the 5-Step Product Marketing Guide—to help creators like you build a system that attracts, nurtures, and converts the right audience.Red Bull’s Stratos Jump Wasn’t Just a Stunt—It Was a Masterclass in Product MarketingLet’s recap the four key lessons:* Sell an idea, not just a product. Make your audience feel something.* Create spectacle & anticipation. Hype matters more than you think.* Own your distribution. Stop relying on platforms you don’t control.* Give value first, then monetize. Trust builds sales.These are the same principles I use in my 5-Step Product Marketing Guide—the exact system that helps creators sell without constantly chasing customers.Want to build a marketing funnel that actually works?Grab the free 5-Step Product Marketing Blueprint here: Get full access to The One Person Startup at theonepersonstartup.substack.com/subscribe

Three thousand years before conversion funnels and lead magnets, a group of frustrated marketers cracked the code on the most impossible sale in history.They'd been trying for over a decade. Their target audience had built impenetrable walls. Every campaign they tried failed. Every pitch was rejected.Then, they created something so irresistible, their prospects didn't just engage – they literally dragged it through their front door.That’s right. Before digital funnels, before social media, before the internet there was a marketing strategy so good that we’re still talking about it today. I’m talking about the original "lead magnet" – the Trojan Horse.Today we're looking into one of the most brilliant marketing strategies ever executed—one that happened over 3,000 years ago.This is the exact blueprint you need when your audience has built walls against your message. When they're filtering out your emails, scrolling past your content, and immune to your ads.And the way to do it isn’t by brute force. It’s by offering something so compelling, so irresistible, that they can’t help but bring it inside.By the end of this post, you'll have my 5-Step Product Marketing Guide that transforms the oldest marketing hack in history into a strategy that breaks through even the most resistant modern audiences.Picture this: You’ve been trying to break into a market for years. You’ve thrown everything at it—content, ads, direct outreach—but nothing is working. Your audience has built these impenetrable walls against anything that looks like selling.That’s exactly what the ancient Greeks faced when they spent ten grueling years trying to conquer the city of Troy. Ten years of direct assaults, and they couldn’t break through.But then, they did something brilliant—something that holds the key to breaking through to your resistant audience today.Instead of forcing their way in, they got invited in. And that’s where everything changed.THE CAMPAIGNSee, the Greeks had a problem. They had spent a decade outside the walls of Troy, trying every strategy they could think of. They had the best warriors, the best weapons, and the best tactics, but none of it even mattered. The walls of Troy were just too strong, and the Trojans refused to engage the Greeks on their terms.Does that sound familiar?This is what happens when marketers take a direct, hard-sell approach. You post content, you run ads, and you send cold emails—but your audience barely even notices. They’ve built walls. They’re skeptical. They’ve seen too many sales pitches before.The Greeks realized they needed a new strategy. One that didn’t rely on brute force. One that played into the desires and psychology of their audience.THE MARKETING STRATEGYThis is where Odysseus stepped in—the cunning advisor to King Agamemnon and one of the most brilliant strategists in the Greek army.Instead of continuing their failing direct approach, he came up with something radical: the Greeks would stop trying to break through Troy’s walls and instead, they would create something so valuable, so compelling, that the Trojans would willingly bring it inside themselves.They built the Trojan Horse, an enormous wooden structure that was both a work of art and a supposed "peace offering." They made it look like they had given up and sailed away, leaving the horse as a tribute to Troy’s victory.See, what the Trojans really wanted was more than just to win the war—they wanted to prove they were better than everyone else. They took great pride in their strong walls and believed no one could ever defeat them. The Greeks were clever and used this pride against them. By pretending to give up and leaving behind a huge wooden horse as a gift, the Greeks gave the Trojans exactly what they wanted: a big, impressive monument that showed off their victory.It was like a trophy the Trojans could display to visitors, proving that even the powerful Greeks couldn't beat them. This gift was perfect because it made the Trojans feel important and superior—exactly the feelings they were looking for.And the Trojans couldn’t resist. They dragged the horse inside their city walls, celebrating what they thought was a sign of their triumph.And this brings us to the first crucial marketing lesson.MARKETING LESSON 1: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF VALUEThe Greeks understood something that many marketers miss: people don’t just buy products—they buy what those products represent.People don’t buy a fitness program—they buy the confidence of having a six-pack. People don’t buy an online course—they buy the transformation it promises. People don’t buy luxury brands—they buy status, exclusivity, and admiration.Every purchase is an emotional decision.The Trojans didn’t bring the horse inside because they needed more statues. They did it because the horse symbolized victory. It reinforced their identity as the dominant power.This is where most marketers go wrong. They focus too much on features—what the product does—instead of the deeper emotional desires it fulfills.Social media is your Trojan Horse—it’s where you capture attention, but you need to frame your content around what truly motivates your audience.The Trojan Horse wasn’t just a random gift—it was designed to resonate with the Trojans’ desires.* It symbolized power.* It reinforced their self-image as victors.* It appeared to be a reward, and not a trick.Your marketing needs do the same. It needs to be crafted in a way that aligns with what your audience already believes and desires to be.MARKETING LESSON 2: LEAD MAGNETThis is what gets people in your Funnel Marketing—your lead magnet is the modern Trojan Horse. It’s not just a freebie. It’s something designed to make your audience feel like they’re getting immense value upfront.A powerful lead magnet should:* Solve an urgent problem.* Offer immediate transformation.* Reinforce the identity your audience desires.Of course, the brilliance of the Trojan Horse wasn’t just getting inside of Troy—it was what happened next.Inside the horse were Greek soldiers. Once night fell over the city and the Trojans were celebrating, the Greeks emerged, opened the gates, and let the Greek army in.This is just like your Email Marketing.Your lead magnet gets inside your audience’s inbox. But what happens next determines everything. You need to continue delivering massive value so that, when the time comes, they naturally transition into paying customers.Think about it. When your email sequence nurtures leads effectively, it's like the Greek soldiers inside the horse—strategic, patient, and ready to strike at the perfect moment. But instead of conquering a city, you're winning hearts and minds. Every valuable email you send builds more trust, just like every Greek soldier added more strength to their mission.You're not just selling something—you're creating allies. When the Greeks finally emerged from the horse, they didn't face resistance because they had already positioned themselves exactly where they needed to be. Your email marketing should work the same way: by the time you make your offer, your audience should be anticipating it.This is permission marketing at its finest. The Greeks didn't need to force their way in—they were invited.MARKETING LESSON 3: PRODUCT MARKETINGAfter what happened at Troy, you can guess that no city ever accepted a giant wooden horse again. Audiences evolve. What worked five years ago won’t work today.People are bombarded with marketing messages every day. If you want to stand out, your marketing needs to feel like a genuine gift, not a disguised sales pitch.This leads to my last point, Product Marketing—where everything comes together to create real value for your audience.Your product isn’t just a product. It’s the final step in your customer’s transformation. When it’s positioned correctly, your audience doesn’t just want it—they feel like they need it.If you want to master this strategy and use it in your own business, grab my 5-Step Product Marketing guide.It walks you thr… Get full access to The One Person Startup at theonepersonstartup.substack.com/subscribe

Ten billion dollars. One hundred million users. And a product that feels like a cultural phenomenon.That's Notion today.They built a $10 billion empire using free product marketing.But here's what most people miss about their meteoric rise: Notion didn't get here through massive ad spends, a huge sales team, or growth hack shortcuts.They built a $10 billion empire using something far more powerful – their own users.Think about it.Every creator who builds a Notion template becomes a product marketing lead magnet – not just for the creator’s own business, but for Notion itself. It's pure marketing genius.Today, we're diving deep into how a startup that was once on the brink of failure engineered one of the most brilliant product marketing strategies of all time – and how you can apply these same principles to your business.So in this post, we'll break down Notion's journey from where they’re at today, to how they first got started. We'll explore how they turned a clunky product into a template-driven system that essentially markets itself.And most importantly – we'll extract actionable lessons that you can apply to your own business.Whether you're building a SaaS company, creating digital product, or running a service business, Notion's community-led growth strategy offers a masterclass in product marketing.This is How Notion Built a $10 Billion Empire With Product Marketing (And What You Can Learn From It)2025: The $10 Billion Productivity GiantToday, Notion is everywhere.From personal to-do lists to entire company workflows, it powers the workspaces for some of the biggest brands like Pixar, Spotify, and Amazon, as well as millions of students, freelancers, and entrepreneurs.But here’s what’s wild:Unlike most SaaS companies that burn cash on advertising, Notion barely spends anything on paid marketing. Instead, they built a product so shareable that it does all the marketing for them.Let’s look at the numbers:* Over 7 million YouTube videos about Notion.* Over 4 million publicly shared templates.* Thousands of paid courses built around their app.* A booming ecosystem used by consultants and influencers.Notion’s product isn’t just a tool—it’s a platform for creators to build and distribute their own digital assets.And every time a creator shares a template, that’s free marketing for Notion.This wasn’t just luck either. It was product marketing genius.2019-2023: The Community-Led Growth ExplosionBy 2019, Notion had found a market fit for their product.But what happened next is where the magic really began.They basically handed their marketing over to their own users. They sat back, letting their customer base generate content around the templates they created.* Thomas Frank built an entire YouTube channel around Notion, pulling in millions of views.* Marie Poulin launched a Notion Mastery course, turning herself into one of the top Notion creators.* Easlo, among other creators started selling Notion templates, making six figures a year.And it wasn’t just big names either. You also had:* Students who shared their Notion study systems.* Freelancers who built Notion dashboards for clients.* Agencies who created content marketing workflows inside Notion.* Entrepreneurs who built business trackers, hiring systems, and so much more.Every single one of these users published content and templates, that served as a lead magnet for Notion. And Notion made sure that every new shared template brought them more users.Here’s how they engineered this:* Templates required an account. If you wanted to use someone’s Notion template, you had to sign up for an account first. Instant leads.* They incentivized creators. Notion gave away account credits (and later real cash) to creators who referred new users. This turned template creators into a marketing force.* They amplified their community. Notion’s always showcased user-created templates, driving even more traffic to them on social media.The result?A self-sustaining marketing loop:✅ Users created templates → Shared them → New users signed up.✅ Notion grew without spending a dime on ads.✅ Creators built their businesses around Notion—which kept marketing for them free.This is the ultimate form of product marketing:Make your product, then turn your audience into your marketing team.2018: The Near-Death Pivot That Changed EverythingBut before Notion became the leading app of the productivity world, they were on the brink of failure.In 2018, things were looking bad.* Their product was clunky.* Customer Growth was slow.* They were running out of money.Co-founder Ivan Zhao literally moved to Japan to cut costs while they figured out how to pivot.The game-changing decision?They reworked Notion to be template-driven.Instead of just being a note-taking app, they turned it into a system where users could build, share, and remix their own workflows.This one shift changed everything because it:* Gave users full customization flexibility.* Made the product easier to use.* Created a built-in referral engine.Notion didn’t need a massive ad budget—they just needed to make sure every new user can bring in more users. This is exactly how you should be thinking about your own product, course, or service.Ask yourself: Does my free product promote my paid product(s)?The Marketing Playbook You Can Steal From NotionSo, how can you apply Notion’s strategy to your own business?They created a product in which their users can easily share their Notion templates, which pushed new users to open new accounts. Notion used their product’s sharing feature to expand their reach through their creators work.This strategy works perfect for other SaaS companies, but how does this relate to the everyday creators building much smaller products?It comes down to something that you can easily share with your audience. Start with a product you can give your audience for free (lead magnet), and implement content they can apply to solve their current problems. Then, provide the next logical solution to their upcoming problem within the product itself.Notion executed this perfectly by offering a free plan that lets users experience the core features. They solve immediate needs through templates, systems, and trackers - but strategically reserve premium features for their paid tiers.As users become more invested in the platform and hit the limitations of the free plan, upgrading to paid becomes the next natural step. This creates a smooth journey from free user to paying customer, all while delivering genuine value at every stage.The second marketing lever they used was to incentivize their audience through a referral program. Notion rewarded its users with commissions for bringing in new sign-ups.You can implement this by using the 5 marketing strategies I teach in my guide. You can get that guide for free here.Whatever it is, make sharing beneficial for your audience.Build a Marketing System That Works For YouNotion didn’t win by running ads.They won by building a product that marketed itself.And that’s exactly what I break down in my 5-Step Product Marketing Blueprint—a system designed to help creators, consultants, and entrepreneurs turn their product into a marketing engine.Inside, I’ll show you:* How to use social media to attract the right customers.* How to build funnels that convert attention into sales.* How to create email sequences that keep your audience engaged.* How to design products that market themselves—just like Notion.If you’re tired of grinding for every single sale, this blueprint is your ticket to sustainable growth.Get the 5-Step Product Marketing Blueprint (Free)Because at the end of the day, the best marketing strategy is a product so good that people can’t help but share it.That’s it for this marketing story.I hope you enjoyed it.Follow me for more marketing stories like this. 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You can have the best product in the world, but if you don’t know how to market it, you’ll end up like Blockbuster—crushed by a competitor who understood the game better than everyone else.Blockbuster was the video rental giant that once ruled the world, and Redbox, the scrappy underdog that came out of nowhere to dethrone them. It’s a story of missed opportunities, bad decisions, and a competitor who played the marketing game so well that they rewrote the rules entirely.This isn’t just a story about movies and kiosks though. It’s a story about you. Because if you’re a creator trying to build a one-person business, you’re facing the same challenges Blockbuster did. You’ve got a product (or an idea for one), but you’re struggling to get it in front of the right people.You’re posting content, but no one’s engaging.You’re sending emails, but they’re going to spam.You’re stuck in a cycle of creating, posting, and hoping—while your competitors are out there eating up all the sales.Let’s dive into the story of Blockbuster and Redbox—and how you can avoid Blockbuster’s fate with Redbox’s playbook.The Rise of Blockbuster: A Giant Built on ConvenienceIn the 1990s, Blockbuster was unstoppable. They had thousands of stores, a massive inventory of VHS tapes (and later DVDs), and a brand that was synonymous with movie nights. Their blue-and-yellow stores were everywhere, and their catchline, “Make it a Blockbuster night,” was a 90s cultural slogan.Blockbuster’s success was built on convenience. They positioned their stores in high-traffic suburban areas, making it easy for families to grab a movie on the way home. They had exclusive deals with Hollywood studios, ensuring they got new releases before anyone else. And they created an in-store experience that felt like a destination—bright lights, organized shelves, and friendly staff who could recommend the perfect movie for your Friday night.For a while, it worked. Blockbuster was printing money. But then something happened.The First Cracks in their Business: Late Fees and ComplacencyBlockbuster’s downfall didn’t happen overnight. It started with a series of small, seemingly insignificant decisions that added up over time.The first was late fees. Blockbuster made billions of dollars from late fees, but they were universally hated by customers. It was a classic case of short-term profits over long-term customer loyalty. People felt nickel-and-dimed, and it created a growing resentment toward the brand.The second was complacency. Blockbuster was so focused on their stores that they failed to see the bigger picture. They dismissed Netflix’s $50 million buyout offer in 2000, thinking their mail-in DVD service was a fad. They ignored the rise of streaming, clinging to their physical stores even as the world shifted to digital.And then, in 2002, Redbox entered the scene.Redbox: The $1 Kiosk That Changed EverythingRedbox started as a side hustle for McDonald’s—a vending machine experiment that eventually pivoted to DVD rentals. By 2004, those bright red kiosks were popping up everywhere: grocery stores, pharmacies, and Walmarts. For just $1 a night, you could rent a movie without ever stepping foot in a Blockbuster store.At first, Blockbuster laughed. A kiosk? Really? But Redbox wasn’t just a kiosk—it was a marketing machine.Redbox understood something Blockbuster didn’t: convenience wasn’t just about location. It was about simplicity, speed, and value. While Blockbuster was charging $4 for a rental and slapping customers with late fees, Redbox offered $1 rentals with no late fees. You could return the DVD to any kiosk, anytime. It was frictionless.And Redbox didn’t stop there. They used SMS campaigns to send discounts and promotions directly to customers’ phones. They created a mobile app that made renting movies even easier. They even partnered with studios to get new releases, just like Blockbuster—but without the baggage of physical stores.While Blockbuster was stuck in the past, Redbox was rewriting the rules of the game.The Fall of Blockbuster: A Cautionary TaleBy 2010, Blockbuster was in freefall. They tried to pivot with their own kiosks, but it was too little, too late. Redbox had already captured the market, and Netflix was dominating streaming. Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy, and by 2014, all but one of their stores had closed.It’s easy to look back and say Blockbuster was doomed from the start. But the truth is, they had every advantage. They had the brand, the inventory, and the customer base. What they didn’t have was a marketing strategy that could adapt to a changing world.The Lesson for Creators: How to Avoid Blockbuster’s FateSo, what does this mean for you?If you’re a creator trying to build a one-person business, you’re facing the same challenges Blockbuster did. You’ve got a product (or an idea for one), but you’re struggling to get it in front of the right people. You’re posting content, but no one’s engaging. You’re sending emails, but they’re going to spam. You’re stuck in a cycle of creating, posting, and hoping—while your competitors are out there eating your lunch.But here’s the good news: you don’t have to end up like Blockbuster.Redbox didn’t beat Blockbuster because they had a better product. They beat Blockbuster because they had a better marketing strategy. They understood their audience, created a frictionless experience, and used every tool at their disposal to hook, nurture, and convert customers.And you can do the same.The Solution: The 5-Step Product Marketing BlueprintThis is where my 5-Step Product Marketing Blueprint comes in. It’s the same framework Redbox used to dominate Blockbuster—and it’s the same framework you can use to grow your one-person business.Here’s how it works:* Social Media Marketing: Hook your audience with attention-grabbing content that teases your product’s value.* Funnel Marketing: Build a system that turns casual followers into paying customers.* Email Marketing: Keep the relationship alive with personalized, value-packed emails.* Blog Marketing: Educate your audience and upsell your products with long-form content.* Product Marketing: Make your product the star by embedding upsells and value at every touchpoint.This isn’t just a theory—it’s a proven system that works. And it’s the same system that helped Redbox crush Blockbuster.Get the guide here →Your Next MoveBlockbuster’s story is a cautionary tale, but it’s also an opportunity. If you’re ready to stop struggling and start growing, it’s time to take control of your marketing.My 5-Step Product Marketing Blueprint is the solution you’ve been looking for. It’s the framework that will help you hook your audience, nurture them through the funnel, and turn them into paying customers.Don’t end up like Blockbuster. Learn from Redbox’s playbook and start dominating your market today.P.S. If you’re ready to build your own product marketing funnel, grab my Lead Magnet Blueprint Framework to create a freebie your audience will love. It’s the first step to turning casual followers into paying customers. Get full access to The One Person Startup at theonepersonstartup.substack.com/subscribe

Let's be honest about what it means to be a creator.It's a daily grind of waking up, opening the laptop, and continuing the piece you started the night before. The constant pressure to keep producing. The reality of needing to create something for others to consume, day after day.We've all heard creators preach that you can't just be a consumer – you need to be a producer. The creator. Constantly feeding content to the masses scrolling through social media.You produce. They consume.But here's the truth: nobody has an unlimited well of original ideas to sustain a long-term content business single-handedly. That's just not realistic.The Endless Cycle of ConsumptionYour life naturally procures moments of stress and challenges. Your desires drive you to want more in life. No one can escape the need for consumption to some level.But to be a creator, consumption seems to be the devouring beast that feeds on you.In order to create, you first must consume.That’s why the fingerprints of the beast remain on all my devices. Caged into organized folders across my mobile screen. Tabbed across my browser. Easy points of access on the home screen. Notifications ringing to be fed or to feed.We are the creators. But do we possibly create more than we consume?My shelves are filled with books. The top shelf is stacked with book towers. Teetering pillars of more books litter my bedroom floor. Each stack is higher and wobblier than the last.The never-ending list of watch later videos on each YouTube account.The growing list of read later articles on the Medium account.The never ending scroll of bookmarked posts on X (Twitter).Content is a mountain built by creators. Stacking higher with each passing day. Everyone shoveling more and more onto the pile. And as the content mountain grows, expectations of making it as a creator are raised. The floor continuously rising up.The only way to really make it as a creator is to consume before you produce. And then continue to consume, to continue to produce.The Bar Continues To Rise To Make It As A CreatorThe only way to the top is to climb the creator content mountain. And the mountain grows exponentially as more creators pile in. The floor of being an “ok” creator is raised, and so are expectations of what you should create.This part made me nearly throw in the towel. The mountain that looks impossible to climb. How the hell am I supposed to catch up to creators who’ve been doing this for years? How am I going to compete with people who have a decade of experience?But as you look back down the trail you’ve blazed, you realize that you’ve gone on for so long, that the trip back down is quite far too. This begs the question lingering from the back of your mind, “Should I keep going? I’ve made it this far. Should I really quit now?”The Decision You Make Is A Life-Long CommitmentIt’s a fair question to think through whether this life is for you. To create. To consume.I’ve never climbed a giant mountain before (IRL). I’ve only climbed hills and small mountains. It’s always hard to get started, but once you’ve done it, it becomes easier and easier with each trip back up. It becomes so easy that you seek the next big thing. The next big climb. Because everything else is too easy and not as satisfying as it once used to be.And here you are. Climbing the big mountain creators have built before you.The one that every creator has to climb.Now the question becomes a reminder of “Why are you here?”Why did you get started?Why did you decide to climb this mountain?What made you want to climb to see new heights?For me, it was desire and dreams.The inner child that dreamed of having a large house with lots of land. A home I can give to my parents as they age and need my support. A place that can house my kids in a place we all enjoy. To escape the tyranny of the 9-5 clock. To no longer trade 40-70 hours of my life every week to remain Just Over Broke. J-O-B.I desire a life where I can spend more time with my kids. Hang out with family. Go out with friends. Spend more time in life living than working. Not give up work completely, but simply not be enslaved by it.The life of a creator can feel just like another job. Trading one for another. A business that pays close to nothing for months or years before you find a breakthrough. A mountain so steep, that it can be a long lonely climb before you enjoy those beautiful sunrises and sunsets.How Long I Waited Before Reaping The Rewards Of My JourneyI spent 15 months climbing this mountain. Learning how to create content. How to write. How to film. How to edit. Then once you reach that rest camp on the side up the mountain, you take a break to catch your breath and look both ways: looking down to see how far you’ve come along, and looking up to see how much more there is to go.You realize you have to pack back up the mountainside and create your online store, create your own products, create a brand, create a marketing strategy, create, create, and create. One step after another is what it takes. The trek up Creator Mountain.Each step taking you closer and closer towards the goal of creating the life you want. The life you desire and dream. And with each trip you take, you find others along the way. Other creators who are journeying up for the first time, learning everything as they go. Some are slower than others. Some faster than usual.Then you see groups blow right past you, moving 5x faster. Because they paid the upfront cost to acquire a guide to help them up so they wouldn’t have to do it alone. So they wouldn’t make the same mistakes that everyone else makes. So they can ensure they have the best chance to make it to the top and see life from the peak of this mountain.It’s in the journey that you realize how much easier it would be if only you wouldn’t have gone up alone. If only you reached out to others who have gone up this mountain before you.It took me 15 long months to learn how to trek up this mountain. I fell so many times and failed so many times. I nearly quit at least a dozen times, but as I treaded my way back down, I realized I was going back to a life I didn’t want anymore.Looking back down, I was reminded of why I started this journey in the first place. All the reasons that made this long, difficult journey worth pursuing.* 70-hour work weeks* job terminations* unemployment* homelessness* repossession* starvation* evictionThere’s a hundred other reasons that motivate you up that mountain. Each one fuels your will to continue trekking up. Each one giving you a reason to not give up.It’s these reminders that tell you, it’s not about how you obtain the goal of getting to the top. But, to actually make it up far enough to where you want to go. Whether it’s on your own, or with the guidance of another.That’s why I continue to climb this creator mountain. To create and enjoy a life that is far more rewarding for the effort you put in. What I learned is that it’s better to get help and support from those who have come before you to ensure you make it further up this mountain.If you want to make your climb up, then here’s your opportunity to speed things up.I’m not at the peak of this mountain, but I’ve climbed a long way. I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I can be your guide to get you to the next level of this steep mountain.The 5-Step Product Marketing Blueprint is the same guide I use that will help you grow your business and learn exactly how you can start making money online as a creator. This is your chance to receive the guide and make it further along with help from someone who’s been through it before.You can get the free guide here →This is your way to get started. With one jam-packed guide to help you make it further up in far less time and far less stress and headaches. It’s something I wish I had when I first started.Not only will this guide help you with marketing and sales, but it will also walk you through each step with clear directions and examples for growing your audience… Get full access to The One Person Startup at theonepersonstartup.substack.com/subscribe

This past week, a few people asked me, "How do I know when to start charging for the products I create?"Another person asked, "How do I create a paid product that people will actually want to buy?"Questions like these remind me that it's not always clear the direction our business should take or how we can start monetizing our work. So, in this newsletter, I'm going to share with you the strategy I learned and continue to use to turn lead magnets into paid products.This is the most straightforward and easy process of creating something your audience wants and investing time only when it's worth pouring more time into. That way, you don't waste tons of time on products that no one actually wants.Sometimes, the best business moves happen completely by accident.That's exactly what happened when I created what I thought would be just another basic lead magnet. What began as a simple list of ideas somehow turned into one of my most valuable offers—without me even trying.Here's how I stumbled into creating a premium product and the straightforward lessons that could help you do the same (but maybe with actual intention).Start With A Simple Lead MagnetMy lead magnet was embarrassingly simple: 75+ High Demand Niche Ideas.I chose to write "75+" instead of the actual number (which was 91) because it sounded better in the marketing. Little did I know this small decision would make future updates incredibly easy without having to change any of my promotional materials.The first version was nothing special—just a straightforward list with zero explanations, no stories, no context, and nothing fancy at the beginning or end. Just ideas, one after another. Basic doesn't even begin to describe it.How Iteration Turned It Into a Winning Lead MagnetAs I started giving away this list, something unexpected happened. People actually wanted my lead magnet—a lot of people. It helped me get over a thousand leads from this one product. That's when I realized I needed to make this even better.The problem with the first version was that leads could quickly skim through it without getting much value. And if they didn't find value in my work, why would they bother with any of my other products or services?So, I started making improvements. I added more content and context. When I offered the updated lead magnet again, the response was even better. People weren't just downloading it—they were leaving positive reviews and comments. My basic list had transformed into something people genuinely liked.This feedback loop motivated me to keep improving. Instead of just making the lead magnet longer, I created a complementary email sequence. Anyone who downloaded the list would receive a series of emails packed with additional tips and insights on niche selection. These emails helped solve specific problems and achieve actual goals—and that's when everything really took off.The Power of Continuous ImprovementToday, I'm working on the fourth version of this lead magnet simply because people keep showing interest. And that's the secret I discovered to turning simple freebies into premium products:Start with something basic, then let your audience guide you.Here's the process I follow now:* Create something simple: Your first lead magnet doesn't need to be complicated or fancy. Just keep it straightforward and easy to consume.* Test interest: Share it with your audience. If it gets lots of downloads or engagement, you're onto something good.* Make updates based on feedback: Add value where needed. Don't go overboard—focus on improving one thing at a time. Keep adding value if the feedback stays positive.* Listen to your audience: Pay attention to comments, reviews, and messages. When people consistently engage with and praise your content, that's your signal to invest more time in developing it further.* Decide the next step: If interest remains high, consider whether to keep it as a lead magnet or transform it into a premium product.Should You Turn It Into a Paid Product?If you've updated your lead magnet multiple times and people still love it, you might wonder: "When should I start charging for this?"Here's how I approach this decision:* Option 1: Keep it as a lead magnet. A high-value freebie builds your credibility, authority, and trust. It positions you as someone who delivers more than expected, making people curious about your paid offerings.* Option 2: Upsell it as a premium product. If the content has grown significantly in depth and value, it might be worth charging for. Use the reviews, testimonials, and social proof you've gathered to justify the price.The choice depends entirely on your overall strategy. Either way, you've created something valuable, and that's what matters most.Your leads want value from your content and products. If you keep making improvements, they can't help but notice. The real challenge is getting them to see the potential value before they actually experience it.Your Next Move To Turn Lead Magnets Into Premium ProductsStart small—just enough to test your market. If people respond positively, then improve it. If not, move on to something else. There’s no stress and no wasted effort.That's literally all you need to do.* Begin with something simple* Update it if it gains traction* Then, update again if interest continues to grow.If people keep loving your product, add more value, doubling down on what your audience wants.By the third version, you'll have a truly valuable product that could potentially earn you revenue by adding a price for this new premium version. Plus, you'll have collected plenty of comments and reviews to screenshot and use as testimonials when promoting the premium version.But to get started, you need a lead magnet people actually want. That's why I created the Lead Magnet Blueprint Framework—to make it easier for you to create lead magnets and digital products that your audience will love.The biggest problem creators face is knowing how to structure their lead magnet’s content. They struggle with what to write, how to create compelling titles and subtitles, and how to organize everything effectively.The blueprint framework solves all of that by making the entire process of creating a digital product straightforward. If this is something you need, you can get it here:Lead Magnet Blueprint Framework Get full access to The One Person Startup at theonepersonstartup.substack.com/subscribe

I've been reflecting a lot on the growth of my business these past couple of years. There was a time when I was stuck and had no idea what to do next. I felt I had done everything right, but nothing was happening. I wasn’t seeing any growth, I wasn’t getting many sales, and I felt like I was wasting my time—and I mean a ton of time, too.Month after month, I was feeling less and less motivated to continue going on as a creator. I really felt like giving this all up after nearly a year and a half of not seeing any meaningful results for the thousands of hours I had put in. But it was at this moment I realized that I was putting so much time into the business, but I wasn’t doing it the right way. I was just running with every idea that popped in my head, with no direction, no plan, and no true validated idea of what my audience actually wanted.So, in the following 12 months, I decided to do things differently. To go about building this little one person startup business the right way. So, I'm going to share with you the simple strategy that helped me build a profitable online business in just 12 months.When I first started, I had no system in place. I was randomly posting content, throwing together digital products I thought people wanted, and hoping something would work. Sometimes, I’d get a few sales, but most of the time, nothing happened. It wasn’t until I broke everything down into four phases—researching, building, testing, and scaling—that I started seeing real results.Now, my system brings in thousands of leads every month, and I’m going to walk you through how I built it in under a year.Months 1-3: The Research PhaseBefore I started creating any more content or marketing anything else, I spent three months studying what actually works. I didn’t just watch what the big creators did, though—I analyzed why they did it.Here’s what I discovered:* Focus on one topic and build content pillars. If your content is all over the place, your audience won’t know what to follow you for. Stick to one niche and go deep.* Post daily and engage with others. The fastest way to grow is to show up every day and interact with people in your space. You need to be social on social platforms.* Repackage and reuse content. Your best ideas should be used more than once. Turn a blog post into a thread, or turn a thread into multiple short posts. Good content should be reused.* Read through forums and community chats. This is where people share the exact problems they have. You can learn what those pains are, the words they use, and the key phrases.Most people skip the research phase and jump straight into creating. This is a mistake because they don’t know what they need to build and who they are building it for. By studying what works, you’ll save months or years of trial and error. You don’t want to find out five months later that no one wants the products you spent several months building. You’ll spend a whole year of building and marketing a failed product. So don’t skip this step.Month 4-6: The Creation PhaseOnce I realized what was working and what my target audience wanted, I had a solid idea of what I needed to do. I needed to put together content in a document, label it as a guide, and ensure it provided a solution to my customers' problems. This is where I spent the next three months creating digital products (both free and paid) and building the marketing funnels.This is what I learned:* Your marketing funnel needs to be frictionless. Confusing landing pages, messy checkouts, and weak CTAs will kill your conversion rate. Make the customer’s journey easy for people to buy.* Your content should sell without selling. People don’t want a sales pitch—they want solutions. Write about strategies, insights, and experiences that lead naturally to your product.* Build products based on demand, not assumptions. Instead of guessing what my audience wanted, the research phase revealed what they needed. This shift from assumption-based to data-driven product development dramatically improved my success rate.Creating content, products, and marketing became so much easier because I had a clear understanding of what I needed to do based on the research phase. Instead of guessing, I knew what to create and how to position it. I knew what words to use and how to phrase things. I knew the exact problems my audience had and how they explained them. Every question they asked was another insight that made marketing and creating so much easier.A fast way to find out what your audience wants is simply by offering them a free product. A simple lead magnet that you can offer to help them while helping you build an audience. It doesn’t need to be extraordinary at first. Just make a simple, valuable product. You can even use this Lead Magnet Blueprint Framework to help you make a lead magnet fast and easy.Month 7-9: The Testing PhaseNow, it was time to put everything to the test. Everything I learned from the research phase and everything I built in the creation phase. I created the funnel, put it all together, and spent 90 days running experiments on content, funnels, copy, and sales strategies.This is what I learned:* Every post should lead somewhere. Your content isn’t just for engagement—it should drive traffic to your profile, email list, or product page. It’s the bridge that connects people back to you.* Lead magnets attract a lot of leads. The moment I started offering free products, my email list and follower count skyrocketed. But instead of waiting for people to find my website, I offered it directly on the platform they were already on (X).* A well-designed funnel gets way more upsells. The best time to make a sale is right after someone signs up for something free. Upsells immediately boosted my monthly revenue.For the first 30 days of testing my new system, nothing seemed to work. It’s like everything I did was a complete failure. At times, I felt like giving up and scrapping the whole system and starting all over. But I kept adjusting, kept refining, and eventually, the system started running on its own. My content was getting leads, the messages were converting, and the entire marketing system was bringing in money. Everything was hitting, and I was so damn happy that it finally started to work.I recorded an entire video showing you exactly how I did it. You can watch that video here.Month 10-12: The Scaling PhaseWith a proven system in place, it was time to scale things up. Until now, I had focused on validating my ideas rather than polishing them - my marketing wasn't that good, my lead magnets were basic, and my products delivered just enough value to work. But now that I had proof this system worked, I knew exactly where to invest my time to make everything better.Here’s how I’m doing it:* Post daily and link back to your products. Every piece of content should have a purpose. Whether it’s growing your list, making a sale, or building trust, everything will add up.* Running giveaways to build my email list. The bigger your list gets, the more sales you'll make. Social media traffic easily disappears, but email subscribers stay with you for the long run and become your most loyal customers.* Optimizing landing pages and funnels for higher conversions. Small tweaks—like adjusting CTAs, testing different copy, or simplifying checkouts—can make a huge impact on sales.At this point, the hard work was done. Everything was built, and now it's just about repeating the process that works and making it better as I go. You don't need to make it perfect the first time around. You just need to make it good enough. The moment you find success, you have to analyze why it worked and test other areas in your marketing to see if it works there, too.You have to optimize the entire funnel—from social media content to landing page copy, images, and the actual product you're offering. The scaling phase is all about making it incrementally better than before, easier to run, and running the system as often as possibl… Get full access to The One Person Startup at theonepersonstartup.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to The One Person Startup podcast. I'm your host, Amado Aguilar, and today we're getting into something that's changing the entire creator landscape.We've entered what I'm calling "The Creators Economy Level 2" - and if you're a content creator, coach, course creator, or anyone selling information products online, you need to understand what's happening right now.The Shift in the Creator EconomyWhen I first started in this space, everyone was buying tons of information-based digital products. They paid good money for information because it simply wasn't easy to find.But that doesn't work anymore. Information is too easy to find now. Everyone is sharing information, and so many more creators are putting out content every single day. We've reached the next level of the creator economy.Let's call it "the age of results, systems, and experiences." - Creator Economy Level 2.The AI RevolutionAI has completely transformed how people access information. It's made it easier to get steps, guides, advice - it's even becoming a teacher, assistant, guide, mentor, and so much more.So you have to think - what can you provide that isn't readily available anywhere else? What value can you offer that people can't get from a free AI tool?But what can that possibly be? AI has the whole internet available to pull information from. It has all the answers. It has all the strategies, even if they're outdated.But here's what AI doesn't have:It doesn't have feelings.It doesn't know fear.It doesn't know regret.It doesn't know confusion.It doesn't have relatable history.It doesn't know what goes through your mind when you second-guess yourself and battle with the idea of quitting or continuing. It doesn't know the thoughts that race through your mind when someone insults you, when your car breaks down, when your kids get in trouble, when you get snowed in, when you're low on cash, when you're starving, when you have no emotional support.It doesn't understand anything that people have to mentally deal with while chasing their dreams, knowing it can all fail if something goes wrong because you're down to your last dollars, bills are piling up, your employer is forcing unplanned overtime, you're feeling burnout, and your body feels exhausted after a long day's work.The Reality of Everyday LifeIt's not as simple as having a set of tasks to complete because you already have tasks to complete. Go to work, punch in for 8-12 hours, pay bills, shop for groceries, maintain your hygiene, maintain your car, your home, your relationships, and still squeeze a little time in for leisure because you just need a break from the daily grind that wears you down.But you can't stop, so you need to unwind a bit before doing it all over again. And again. And again.AI doesn't know what that feels like. It can't possibly share these kinds of experiences or know how to really deal with them because while everything looks good on paper, in reality, your energy gets drained, accidents happen, working with others doesn't always align, emotions flare up, opportunities suddenly appear, your boss promotes you to more pay but with more responsibility, more work, more time... and the world wants more of you.The Human ConnectionIt's what we desire as humans - for others to want us in some way and to some capacity. We do everything for status, appreciation, recognition, or to support, to care, to self-indulge.A million things are juggling around us, and the systematic step-by-step guide from a professionally prompted chatbot that spits out a 1,000+ word wall of text in a pretty framework with headings and dividers is supposed to be the solution to our "simple" lives?If you believe that an AI can just magically take all the juggling pins off your hands and allow you to deeply focus like some Shaolin monk on some extreme new skill, with all your life's spinning saucers balanced on chopsticks, then you don't understand the majority of humanity.Everyday people don't know about half the stuff you know about because they care more about everyday interactions - their relationships with friends, family, and partners. They care about what they're going to do on the weekend, where to watch the game, where to go hiking, where to vacation, where to have dinner. They care about going to the gym, getting that summer body, eating a healthy diet, and improving their health.They don't care about the best prompts to write a blog post in their client's voice to produce 30 pieces of short-form content and one thread a week. They don't care about reading or writing a weekly newsletter, doing hours of research about the latest Grok update, or finding the best email service provider to connect with their audience every Saturday morning.The 1% OpportunityAI is the future.99% of the population doesn't care.You are the lucky 1% that does.You are the lucky 1% that is taking advantage of this opportunity - an opportunity of a lifetime.When people look back on history, they think:"I wish I sold shovels during the gold rush.""I wish I struck oil so I could become rich.""I wish I could have invented the iPhone."They think, "I wish I could be rich to give my family everything we dream about, so we would never have to worry about expensive healthcare, expensive food, cars breaking down on our way to work, or money problems when the landlord pushes an eviction notice through the door, or the repossession letters from the car financing company, or the relationship problems caused by lack of money and other basic needs like transportation, shelter, and a better living situation."The AI Gold RushAI can always spit out an answer, but it doesn't actually know the real experiences, feelings, and emotions that people go through as they pursue their dreams.AI has the answers and can outline plans with steps of how to make something happen, but it doesn't take into account what can happen everyday in our lives because life is unexpected, and spontaneous things happen more often than we realize.AI is the next gold rush with tons of people trying to sell shovels, gold pans, and excavators. You're in the middle of this rush, but what I've learned from observing the creators around me is that what worked a couple years ago doesn't work now.Information is abundant and easy to get. It's free all across YouTube, easily provided at the top of Google's AI summaries, free from OpenAI and its fierce competition - Claude, Grok, Deepseek, and more.Information is almost as easy to get as oxygen. You pull a phone out of your pocket, and you're connected to a wealth of information. So, your offer cannot be what is abundantly available anymore. It's no different than me going to the tropical islands of Hawaii or the mountain tops of Wyoming and filling a glass bottle with oxygen to sell back to the public as the "best" O2 you can get in a 16 oz glass.You Are the OfferI'm not going to tell you anything revolutionary here that will help you become a millionaire because AI could do that already. What I will share with you is that your information is no longer the offer - but you are.People want to know what you think.People want to know what you would do in their shoes.People want to know how you deal with life while pursuing your goals.Because you know what it feels like to experience their pains.Because you know what it feels like when things go wrong.Because you know what it feels like to be overwhelmed with everything when all you want is to finally succeed at the one thing you teach.I'll have to cut this off right here and pick it back up later because I've got stuff to do. I have to get out of bed, help my kids, make some breakfast, do some school work, work on the side business, and handle everything else life is dropping on me.But don't worry, you can always find me here if the algorithm decides to share me with you, or you can guarantee to find me in my newsletter.This is Amado Aguilar, and I'll see you next time.Final ThoughtsAI can give you the answers, … Get full access to The One Person Startup at theonepersonstartup.substack.com/subscribe

The 5-Step Product Marketing Blueprint is the same guide I use that will help you grow your business and learn exactly how you can start making money online as a creator. This is your chance to receive the guide and make it further along with help from someone who’s been through it before.You can get the free guide here → Get full access to The One Person Startup at theonepersonstartup.substack.com/subscribe