These 5 art revenue streams made me $151,414 last month

Summary

In this video, the creator shares their journey of building and scaling Creative Hive, a business focused on digital products and online courses. They discuss the struggles of growing a business, the challenges of selling intangible digital products, and how they revamped their sales funnel and invested in expert help to see success. The creator emphasizes the importance of content marketing, YouTube as a platform for passive income, and the mindset shift that led to greater profitability. They offer valuable insights on building a sustainable business, managing expenses, and avoiding overthinking while starting out.

Takeaways

• 😀 Building a course-based business is harder than it seems, and requires continuous testing, tweaking, and improvement.
• 😀 Digital products are more challenging to sell than physical products due to their intangible nature and high competition.
• 😀 Small missteps in pricing, messaging, or funnels can make the difference between profitability and loss.
• 😀 Investing in high-quality resources, such as hiring an instructional designer, can significantly improve course offerings and business results.
• 😀 Content marketing and building trust with your audience through consistent, valuable content is key to growing a successful course business.
• 😀 Focus on building authority and trust through platforms like YouTube and blogs, rather than relying solely on social media for sales.
• 😀 YouTube's long-form content can have a lasting effect, offering a higher return on investment in the long run compared to short-form platforms.
• 😀 A shift in mindset about ads and sponsorships on YouTube can be lucrative and create passive income streams.
• 😀 YouTube monetization through ads and sponsorships, along with course sales, can result in significant earnings, like over six figures in 2024 alone.
• 😀 Posting frequently is not always the key to success on YouTube; strategic content creation and leveraging algorithms can attract subscribers more effectively.
• 😀 Scaling to six figures of sales requires understanding and managing expenses wisely, particularly with paid ads, while maintaining a healthy profit margin.

Q & A

What was the speaker's experience with profitability in their business during the early years?

In the early years of the speaker's business, Creative Hive was barely profitable. Despite working on it for several years, they struggled with growth and found that making $10,000 a month wasn't enough to sustain a full-time salary after factoring in expenses.

Why does the speaker believe digital products are harder to sell than physical products?

The speaker believes digital products are harder to sell because they are intangible. Customers cannot physically hold or touch them, so it's challenging to convey their value. Additionally, there is a lot of competition in the digital product space because they are easier to create.

What major change did the speaker make to improve their sales funnel and marketing approach?

The speaker invested over $20,000 in hiring an instructional designer to revamp their A Sale A Day course, and they spent over a year working on it. They also worked with various coaches to refine their approach and learned valuable insights, which helped improve their sales funnel and marketing strategy.

How did YouTube contribute to the speaker's success and income growth?

YouTube played a significant role in the speaker's income growth. By creating content and building a presence on YouTube, they generated significant passive income from AdSense and sponsorships. In 2024, they tracked over six figures in sales directly from YouTube, with even more coming from indirect sales.

Why did the speaker hesitate to monetize their YouTube channel and accept sponsorships initially?

The speaker hesitated to monetize their YouTube channel and accept sponsorships because they were concerned about how their audience would perceive them. They feared being seen as 'selling out.' However, after some reflection, they realized that working with companies they actually use and recommend wasn't a bad thing and could generate additional income.

What key insight did the speaker have about the effectiveness of posting videos consistently on YouTube?

The speaker realized that posting consistently on YouTube alone doesn't guarantee a lot of views or subscribers. Instead, they developed a system to ensure their videos would appear on YouTube's homepage, leading to higher reach and engagement. This system made it easier to gain subscribers with less effort.

What strategy did the speaker use to grow their YouTube subscriber base more efficiently?

The speaker initially posted once a week for a year to gain 100,000 subscribers but found that many of those subscribers did not return for future videos. Later, they developed a more effective strategy that allowed them to gain another 100,000 subscribers with fewer videos and less work by focusing on content that attracted more views.

How did the speaker's mindset about monetizing their content evolve over time?

The speaker's mindset evolved when they realized that monetizing their content, including through sponsorships and ads, was not inherently bad. They started to view it as an opportunity to earn passive income while providing free valuable content to their audience, which was a win-win situation.

What were the major expenses for the speaker's business in the past month?

The major expenses for the speaker's business included spending $8,361 on paid ads for their Etsy shop, $50,000 on ads for their coaching business and Shopify stores, $14,096 on print and product costs for their print-on-demand business, and $14,989 on team salaries. These expenses totaled significant amounts, but they were necessary for business growth.

What advice did the speaker offer to people just starting their own businesses?

The speaker advises beginners to focus on one thing and see it through before moving on to other projects. They emphasize the importance of not spreading oneself too thin and avoiding overthinking, which can paralyze progress. The key is to stay focused and consistent in the initial stages of business building.