If I Had To Start Over

Recently, I was thinking back on my long marketing career. It goes all the way back to 2003. Back then, I was an insecure, introverted kid. But I made it work.

I have the unique perspective of time – it's always easier to see how things have come together and evolved by looking back rather than forward, which is opaque and unknowable.

I've certainly had some major success, and I've had both public and private failures. Some of which have been catastrophic.

But at the end of the day, you don't often see the blindspots. You don't know how the landscape of your industry will change — especially if your industry is on the cutting edge of technology.

It's a different world, post-Pandemic. There is more desire for remote work and jobs. And the landscape of work has been changed irrevocably by artificial intelligence.

The New Marketing World

ChatGPT is an example of this. Who would have known a few years ago that creating marketing and sales content could be so different. And the advancements of AI into video editing, with my favorite editing software, Descript, I never would have seen coming. With Descript I can remove all the stop words (um, uh, like, etc.) in a single click. And I can edit my videos like a text editor.

Look how cool it is to edit like this:

Descript is WILD and it saves me so much time – but the biggest change is that my videos are much better, shorter and more engaging because the stop words are removed.

But this post is not about my specific tech stack.

(By the way, if you are interested in my tech stack, or the new AI tools coming out, I have a free AI Newsletter called “The Bot.”)

I want to just check in with where we are now in terms of the ability and your potential to make money online – and what I would do if I had to start fresh on day one.

My Perspective Bias

I have a unique skill set. I am a natural seeker. And I have tried more methods and software than I can count. This has given me insight into many different methods of making money online.

I love breaking down funnels and businesses to see how they operate.

And I have also been blessed to create some recurring income in programs.

As I mentioned, I have had big wins and tough losses.

Money Making Options

Some methods, like creating an Amazon store, require you to be flawless at multiple aspects of digital marketing including product selection, rebranding, funnel development, conversions, and setting up and scaling paid ads.

There is no room for failure.

This type of income is definitely not for beginners.

Creating Your Own Product

Other tried-and-true methods, like creating your own digital product have also changed.

Getting good video production now is easier, even with an iPhone as a camera. The platforms to deliver your products have improved. And with ChatGPT as a super-powered assistant, you can speed up the process of outlining and creating a course.

Also, there is now a market for niche courses, which were not as common several years ago. Got an idea for an obscure course? Maybe we should collab on that.

But creating your own digital course still requires a lot of time and money.

It is very worthwhile to create your own course. I make passive sales every week of my digital course The Invisible Creator. And I make daily income on Udemy and Skillshare from multiple courses.

MLM is a different method I have had success with, but I wholeheartedly do NOT recommend it. The landscape has changed dramatically over the past few years. Having been on the inside of some very successful companies, I have been privy to how leaders really think and speak about their downlines. It is a business that is full of backstabbing and deal-making.

And you may not know this, but often leaders get paid cash enticements to join a certain company, or they get “inserted” into a downline or matrix above a ton of people.

At the end of the day, though, MLM requires a long-term build. And people don't want that anymore. But more importantly, the world has changed. During the heyday of MLM, online information about certain programs and products was not widely available. Now people can research products, find alternative and even research MLM companies. Back when they were big, and Amway and Melaleuca ruled the day, this was not possible. This is a huge point that I think has been one of the main causes for the destruction of MLM companies in the digital age.

Frankly, it's easier for people to find products they want online without forced autoship. It's just not what the market desires anymore.

The Alternative Solution

So you need something that can be started easily, with not a huge amount of upfront capital, and that still can earn a decent commission.

This is where high-ticket digital products shine.

The increased profit margin is what separates selling digital products from being just an affiliate. When you are an affiliate, the commissions and prices are typically very small. I just sold a couple of subscriptions to Descript, for example, and the commission is less than $10. It takes a lot of sales to equate to something really life-changing. But it does help.

In the end, when you are starting out, you should look for something that has more of a direct sales feel. I remember the first direct sales program called Mentors in Motion that I joined like this was $499 and we earned $400 per sale! It was amazing. The content was a single, 3+ hour-long training audio training by industry veteran Val Smyth – and while it was quite good, people were really buying this for the income opportunity.

This was the first time I had a 5-figure month online.

No list, no assets, and I was able to create a full-time income in my first month or two in this program.

That's why digital products are the best place for beginners to start.

The Decision That Changed Our Lives

And then a year later, I joined Emerald Passport, which cost $1295, but had 1000 commission.

$15K in our first month, and over $250K in our first 15 months. It changed our lives. At the time, it was a big decision to get started. Putting up $1295 to get started was tough. But we believed in ourselves and in a better future, and went forward even though it was scary. And the results changed our lives.

I can't imagine going back to before making that decision and making a different choice. What if we had decided it was just too risky, or that we were too scared to take a chance? We probably would still be scraping by in a dingy little basement apartment instead of exploring the world as we have been able to do.

Why This Works?

The digital products option was better than MLM because I could be in control of my own results, and my commission was not being shared by a bunch of people in my upline. (Which meant more commissions for me!)

Today, this is the best model.

Everything moves in cycles, and we are now in a cycle where selling digital products online is now the best option. More people are interested in creating and consuming digital courses. And that number is going to continue to grow.

Back when I started, people did not understand or buy digital products in the same volume that people are buying digital information. It used to be a small niche – spending money on an ebook. But now, universities have entire courses you can take online for free.

Digital Legacy Builders: New Hope

That's why I joined Digital Legacy Builders.

Both those other two direct sales opportunities, Mentors in Motion and Emerald Passport required you to give away your first or and/or second commission to your upline, with the Digital Legacy Builders Program you simply buy the course and you can sell it INSTANTLY and earn 100% commission.

(It's a way better deal for you now.)

But the other thing is that Digital Legacy Builders has a community that offers real support. Check this proof video:

Both of these things the other programs never had. Part of that is the advancement in technology. Digital Legacy Builders uses the Skool platform to help and support people – and in my mind it is light years better than the business opportunities that still use a Facebook Group as a support system.

No ads, more focus, better integrations, less distraction, gamification elements.

It just works better.

But the course content from Digital Legacy Builders also matches exactly what a new (or inexperienced) marketer needs. Look at the course content, and you will see it is exactly what you need to build any business – And the course also has marketing options and trainings for introverts. There are even free ads that you can place with the content in this course. And you can see that these free ads are working for people in the community! Yes, there are people saying, “I just made a sale from the free ad training!” There is a place in the community to add “wins” and you can see that people are using this and making consistent sales.

And this is where the real key is: if you can find something that teaches what people need to learn anyhow, it creates a lightning-in-the-bottle situation. This is what happens when the intent (make money) and the content (how to make money) are perfectly aligned.

The Risk

Any business is risk. But even a job is risk. You could get fired. There is no upside without risk. That's a fact. If you want change, you invite the possibility of risk.

You have to evaluate the risk-to-reward ratio. What is the maximum potential loss, and that probability of that, vs what is the maximum possible or probable gain?

And then you make a decision.

Life life, there are no guarantees. But if you want to win, you have to play.

There are a lot of businesses that take more time and money than this one. Consider sourcing a product from China and creating a funnel website funnel with ads. Or a business that requires a salesforce and office space!

Not only will you NEED to run paid ads that have a low profit margin, but the product might not sell.

With digital licensing, you know the product is already selling. And the cost to make your money back is negligible. Most other projects I have been a part of have seen inflated and unanticipated costs.

You need hosting, and web development, and programmers to fix stuff and make updates. And that's not including marketing. And at the end of the day, the commission you get for selling a Digital Legacy Builder product is much higher.

Want to change your life? Start stacking those $900 payments.

Final Takeaway

So in summary, if you have no assets like an email list, and not a lot of marketing skills, but you need to make some decent money every month, start with Digital Legacy Builders.

Even just making 2 sales a month is $1800. And that is more than a full-time minimum wage job in North America.

Make 2 sales a week, and you're at $7200 per month.

And that's a reasonable expectation for anyone that puts some energy into this system.

My advice? Get this system working for you immediately.

Questions before getting started? Comment below and I'll get in touch.