Making $16,000 From Her Solo Media Business
How the "unhinged productivity girl" runs a successful solo media business
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Hello! Can you introduce yourself and tell us about your business?
I’m known as the “unhinged productivity girl.” (Search it up on Google, and you’ll see my face.)
But to my friends, I’m Jennifer from Vancouver, BC!
I grew my Instagram account: VeganTechNomad to 49k+ followers in 2 weeks after a few of my unhinged videos went viral.
This kickstarted my newsletter, which now has 18k subscribers.
But this wasn’t the first time I’ve done this - I’ve written for another newsletter (40k+ subscribers) and grew my work’s TikTok to 48k+ followers.
After sharing my story online, I saw many business owners struggle with social media marketing - which is why I started a social media marketing agency for B2C SaaS startups (specializing in short-form video).
How was the business started?
“You should delete your account.”
Someone told me that when I was just starting out.
He meant well - he saw my Instagram had been dead for 4 years (I hadn’t posted anything) and thought that creating a new account meant the algorithm would boost my content. I didn’t listen to him.
But I also didn’t revive my account. In February 2023, I paid $300 for a blogwriting course because I loved writing. But I didn’t finish the course. It was only when I had a clear “why” did I actually start to take off.
First, I posted random videos on my personal TikTok account. I vlogged my entire marathon training journey from March to July 2023. The content didn’t give much value to strangers, but my friends said it inspired them.
Even though it never took off, it helped me get better at creating videos. I wanted to share vegan food and travel content, but it was too hard to edit the videos together.
It was easier to create productivity and tech videos. I enjoyed it more and wanted to help others improve their lives.
That’s why I kept posting about my unhinged productivity system. I posted about it many times before it took off in December 2023.
So consistency and timing (New Years resolution hype) really helped!
How did you get your first initial customers?
I have 2 types of offerings for 2 types of users.
First is more B2C - premium newsletter subscriptions, templates, affiliate links, 1-on-1 consultations, etc.
Second is more B2B - sponsorships, marketing agency services, consultations, etc.
On the B2C side, I give out my templates for free to acquire users. I make people comment a key word on my posts, and set up DM automation to send them a direct link to my templates.
I also encourage them to subscribe to my newsletter for more templates. This boosts my post and gives my account a high engagement rate, allowing me to charge sponsors more. And more newsletter subscribers also means I can charge sponsors more - but also eventually sell my own producs.
On the B2B side, I’ve been sharing all my wins, learnings, and mistakes on Twitter. I validated a demand for my marketing agency services through Twitter. Most of the sponsors and prospective clients I’ve gotten so far have also been people I networked with - either on Twitter or LinkedIn.
One key thing I learned is to be proactive and consistently promote your offering (whether it’s your newsletter or something else). People don’t always see it the first time. But you need to promote it naturally and ensure it adds value.
Instead of saying “I’m building this, check it out,” reframe it to benefit your audience. “I faced a similar problem as yours, here’s how I fixed it.” Then, people will be grateful for your help, trust you, and be more willing to pay.
Since launch, what are your marketing strategies or channels to get new customers?
“You’ve gained 687 subscribers today.”
I got these daily email updates from Beehiiv (my email newsletter platform).
But growth has slowed down a bit. Now, I get emails like “you’ve gained 138 subscribers today.”
I shared this on Twitter, and someone commented “Wow, I’m lucky if I get 10 subscribers a day.” This made me realize that what came naturally to me didn’t come naturally to everyone.
I always doubted myself: “Why would anyone pay for my short-form video marketing services? It’s so easy, anyone can do it.”
But now I realize it’s *not* easy for some. You need to play to your strengths. If you’re a good writer but uncomfortable on camera, focus on a text-based channel (Reddit, Twitter, LinkedIn).
If you prefer making videos, try YouTube or Instagram. But you need to stay consistent to improve.
And always focus on value. Every time you post with the intent of gaining new users, ask yourself: “What value can they get from this content? Why should they care?”
How does your business make money?
“Figuring out pricing strategies is the bane of my existence.”
After I tweeted this, so many people shared insightful advice.
I spent hours in meetings with mentors and researching market rates to figure out monetization. But I simplify all my learnings into 1 newsletter article.
That’s what I publish every Friday in my premium newsletter: All my learnings about building a business and monetizing your audience. I even report on my monthly earnings and expenses (including pie charts and everything).
But here’s the TLDR:
Premium newsletter subscriptions
Sponsorships
1-on-1 consultations
Future revenue streams: - Templates, playbooks, and other digital products -
Agency clients - Courses
Since January 2024, the business has made a total of $16,000 this year.
I spent around 10-15 hours a week - mostly spent writing my newsletters (free and premium) or editing videos.
Where can we go to learn more?
Thank you for reading!