If you’re dreaming of a side business online, this one post may just change it all for you.
And not because of what I’m writing, but with what I’m sharing.
Despite the resource being 10 years old.
But it’s that good.
But let’s start with a small lesson.
One of the biggest speed bumps for many people building their first side business is getting fixated on one idea.
And sure, focusing on something is important. But resourcefulness and the skill of weighing other options are just as equally important.
I usually don’t repost Twitter threads here, but today I’ll make an exception. Because it provides the context for the one idea I want to share today.
Here’s what I shared yesterday on Twitter (it has a couple of images so if you didn’t see it, maybe it’s easier to read it on Twitter — here):
Imagine offering a SMOKING HOT deal to millions of hungry buyers.
- Without owning a traffic source
- Without your own social media following
Ready for a little story from 10 years ago (ft. Barack Obama) about how to do exactly that?
A thread to unleash your creativity ?:
[img:MQE3MpUDg]
I have NEVER shared this with ANYONE.
Because the method is almost too powerful.
But I don't mind because only 1% of the people reading this will take action.
(And if you want EVEN MORE methods like this, sign up via the link in my bio...)
But now...let's go:
Obama was inaugurated on January 20 2009.
And you know what that meant?
EMOTIONS!
The US presidential election is a real-world MEGA-TREND.
But why would I care, living in Finland at the time?
Oh, I did...I cared a lot!
Enter "trend-jacking 2.0":
So.
Trend-jacking, according to our new robotic overlords is simply riding a trend:
[img:TloXT7L-7]
Just hop on a popular topic.
But wait!
There's more to this one...
It turns out, if you are resourceful and creative, you can bend trend-jacking to pretty wild heights.
Especially when there are mega-events happening...
... such as the presidential elections of the mightiest country on the planet!
How's THAT for a trend?
So...What I did:
In three steps:
Step 1) I quickly scanned the Internet for any Obama-related well-paying affiliate offers (i.e. I refer a sale, I get a cut of the selling price)
I discovered "Obama coins".
I still don't know what's the purpose of these.
But apparently they are/were popular!
2) I DMed random YouTube accounts that were talking about Obama in a favourable tone.
They were fierce Obama fans!
So I pitched the idea of honouring Obama with these coins...
And they were even going to get paid for it!
Many agreed to do this:
3) My new online partners added my Obama coin affiliate links, with a dedicated sub-id in the URL for tracking (sorry for the geek-talk), in their best-performing videos.
And the rest is history.
The scheme worked like magic.
Granted, not for years, but for a good while.
And truth be told, in the end, I got fed up with the manual work involved.
I've never been a "build for money" type of guy.
I do these things to explore what is possible and to develop my creativity.
The affiliate network is long dead.
My old YouTube alter-egos are all dead.
But the idea is there and will never die.
Read what I did above again and zoom out...detach a bit, and you'll see the same principle can be applied everywhere on the Internet.
Is your mind blown yet?
And even YouTube itself is stronger than ever if you want to go that way.
3.7 million new videos uploaded daily.
How many of those videos are unmonetized?
How many of their description...could use a link?
And could that be YOUR link?
I think it can.
Let that sink in.
Oh, just one more thing...
There's a forgotten old-school traffic hijacking training online...if you just know where to look.
12+ methods like this one.
It's from 2013 but could easily sell for $2999 in 2023.
And you'll get it tomorrow if you get my emails (the link in bio).
The bottom line of all this is simple.
Don't overcomplicate.
Get creative.
Get resourceful.
Learn the basics and get out there.
That's all for today, folks!Now, what many people do is get stuck endlessly trying to conquer one traffic source without testing anything else.
Even if there’s the entire world out there to go explore.
There’s traffic everywhere.
There are social media platforms everywhere. New ones are created daily. And if you make friends with the right accounts… well, you can have their traffic.
And some people are literal artists in tapping into traffic sources.
This is an almost illegally good read for opening your eyes on what everything is possible if you’re a creative devil: https://trafficleaks.com/
It’s from 2013, but a lot of the ideas inside it are still completely valid and phenomenally good.
See you next week!