{"id":3824,"date":"2014-09-03T11:33:11","date_gmt":"2014-09-03T16:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/blog\/?p=3824"},"modified":"2014-09-03T11:33:11","modified_gmt":"2014-09-03T16:33:11","slug":"mailbag-how-do-you-make-money","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/?p=3824","title":{"rendered":"Mailbag: How do you make money when you don&#8217;t have ads?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/Skitch\/floating-sidebar-template_key_19B7775F.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"701\" height=\"372\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/Skitch\/floating-sidebar-template_key_19B7775F.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"701\" height=\"372\" \/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m back from Costa Rica.<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;and so is the Mailbag.<\/p>\n<p>Thanks for keeping the Videofruit ship afloat over the last 10 days. I successfully unplugged, deleted 95% of all incoming emails without reading them and unsuccessfully applied sunscreen (which resulted in the worse sunburn I&#8217;ve ever experienced).<\/p>\n<p>My wife&#8217;s reaction to my crazy sunburn?<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 550px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/Skitch\/iPhoto_19B764FE.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"857\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/Skitch\/iPhoto_19B764FE.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"550\" height=\"857\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Use sunscreen or else<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>On to the mailbag.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nathan writes:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #353a3d;\">&#8220;How are you making money if you never use\u00a0ads? Is it all from video production?&#8221;<\/span><\/strong><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>I don&#8217;t openly sell\u00a0anything on the blog or allow advertisers. So, how do I make money from Videofruit?<\/p>\n<p>I have 4 primary income sources.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1.) <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/blog\/mentor\" target=\"_blank\">Coaching<\/a>:<\/strong> I charge $350 a month for one-on-one coaching sessions. I have 15+ clients in this program<\/p>\n<p><strong>2.) <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/video-course\/\" target=\"_blank\">Course<\/a>:<\/strong> I sell a $397 course. This routinely get 15-20 sales per month.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3.) Clients:<\/strong> I work with individuals (like KISSmetrics) and do consulting and service work for them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4.) Saas:<\/strong> I own 4 different web\/iOS apps that were built in the pre-Videofruit days. These produce a little over $1,000 per month.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Felix writes:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>(In reference to <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/blog\/build-by-writing\/\" target=\"_blank\">this post about writing<\/a> 250 words every day)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #3f4549;\">&#8220;Do\u00a0you write\u00a0250 words every day just on your own blog or do you break it up between this blog and other mediums?&#8221;<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If you are just starting, it doesn&#8217;t matter. The point isn&#8217;t to pen a masterpiece it is to build a habit.<\/p>\n<p>After 9+ months I now write on the Videofruit blog everyday PLUS journaling, answering emails and guest blogging.<\/p>\n<p>However, that&#8217;s way too much to start with.<\/p>\n<p>If you do nothing else but scribble in a journal, count it.<\/p>\n<p>Here are several ways you can get your 250 in:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Personal journal<\/li>\n<li>Working on a blog post<\/li>\n<li>Answering email (although this gets sketchy)<\/li>\n<li>Writing a video script<\/li>\n<li>Working on your manuscript<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Here is a snapshot of my journaling app. Notice how active it was when I first started.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/Skitch\/Day_One_19B76CE8.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"888\" height=\"593\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/Skitch\/Day_One_19B76CE8.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"888\" height=\"593\" \/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p>The main objective is to build the habit and skill of being able to communicate through writing.<\/p>\n<p>Focus on that and less on the medium.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Dean\u00a0writes:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span><strong>&#8220;Hey Bryan, what is the LeadPage\u00a0template you use on your pop up landing page? I can&#8217;t\u00a0find it anywhere?!<\/strong>&#8220;<\/span><\/p>\n<p>This <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/blog\/ultimate-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\">is the template<\/a> that Dean is talking about.<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;and it&#8217;s not a LeadPages template.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s just a basic WordPress page with some custom styling.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve used that template on several of my major landing pages throughout the site (<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/blog\/formulas\/\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/blog\/ultimate-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/blog\/3000pm\/\" target=\"_blank\">here<\/a>)<\/p>\n<p>I wanted something slightly more &#8220;Videofruit looking&#8221; so I mocked up a sample of what I envisioned\u00a0inside of Keynote and then sent the mockup to <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/blog\/save-money-wordpress\/\" target=\"_blank\">WPcurve<\/a> for them to build.<\/p>\n<p>A few things I learned in that process:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Thing 1:<\/strong> WordPress has something called a Page Template.<\/p>\n<p>These are extremely handy.<\/p>\n<p>A page template\u00a0can easily change the base configuration of each page (not post) on your site.<\/p>\n<p>The first thing I did was have them create a new page template that was full width &#8211; no sidebar &#8211; with no padding. This allows the blue wrapper to stretch all of the way to the edge of the page.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/Skitch\/Add_New_Page_\u2039_Videofruit_\u2014_WordPress_19B76EF0.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" height=\"358\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/Skitch\/Add_New_Page_\u2039_Videofruit_\u2014_WordPress_19B76EF0.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"310\" height=\"358\" \/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p><strong>Thing 2:<\/strong> I had them create some code that allowed me to indent the wording when I was ready.<\/p>\n<p>I didn&#8217;t want the copy of my page stretching all of the way to the edge of my template and I didn&#8217;t want to have to email them every time I needed a new page made.<\/p>\n<p>So, they made a little code snippet that I could insert when I wanted to create a new page.<\/p>\n<p>Here is a quick behind the scenes video of how it all works:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7dIOsfxo0L4?rel=0\" width=\"550\" height=\"413\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Note: Actually after looking at this a little closer, I&#8217;m pretty sure <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/pop-up-lp\" target=\"_blank\">this is the landing page<\/a> Dean was referring to.<\/p>\n<p>That page is based on the &#8220;Social Proof Giveaway&#8221; template.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/Skitch\/LeadPages\u2122_-_Available_Templates_19B77B04.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"771\" height=\"347\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/Skitch\/LeadPages\u2122_-_Available_Templates_19B77B04.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"771\" height=\"347\" \/><\/noscript><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Chung writes:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Noticed you&#8217;re using <a href=\"https:\/\/xero.com\" target=\"_blank\">Xero<\/a> for accounting. Do you use anyone to help you with when you get stuck with Xero?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I do.<\/p>\n<p>I use a guy named Chaz who is a\u00a0top notch CPA and bookkeeper.<\/p>\n<p><strong>My system is setup like so:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1)<\/strong> Everyday I spend 2-5 minutes categorizing transactions.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2)<\/strong> Once a week I look at my P&amp;L.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3)<\/strong> Once a month I send him my monthly bank statement.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4)<\/strong> Once a month he logs into my Xero account and makes sure I haven&#8217;t screwed anything up.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5)<\/strong> Once a quarter he tells me how much to pay to the IRS.<\/p>\n<p>I pay him $65 per month to do that.<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s great and it allows me to spend less than 2 hours a month on accounting.<\/p>\n<p>I hate accounting.<\/p>\n<p><strong>If you want his contact info<\/strong>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/blog\/vault-lp\" target=\"_blank\">get on the Vault waiting list<\/a>. All of my accountants contact information as well as designers, coders, editors and writers information will be inside of the Vault when it launches later this month.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/blog\/vault-lp\" target=\"_blank\">You can get on the waiting list here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stine writes:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #3f4549;\">&#8220;Thanks for demonstrating how you plan your day!\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #3f4549;\">I saw in the video that you also use Trello &#8211; I just discovered it about a month ago and am still not completely comfortable with it. How do you use Trello?&#8221;<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Currently I use Trello for project management and task management for my contractors.<\/p>\n<p>Trello has been a program that have taken me a long time to figure out a workflow for.<\/p>\n<p>Here is a quick tutorial on the ins and outs of my Trello system.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/y39pSTaM4fw?rel=0\" width=\"550\" height=\"413\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Peter writes:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>&#8220;Will the new\u00a0College Football\u00a0playoff system in college football finally show that teams like Ohio state and Notre dame suck?&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Didn&#8217;t the old system prove Ohio State and Notre Dame sucked?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=k0V0P1acjnI\" target=\"_blank\">War Eagle!<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Have a question?\u00a0<\/strong>I&#8217;ll try to answer\u00a0everything\u00a0you throw my way. Just leave a comment below with your question and I&#8217;ll\u00a0try to work it into next weeks mailbag.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I&#8217;m back from Costa Rica. &#8230;and so is the Mailbag. Thanks for keeping the Videofruit ship afloat over the last&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3824"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3824\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.growthtools.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}