📖 Read Time: 4 minutes
📩 What you’ll get out of this newsletter: the anti-viral path to a 6-figure (or 7-figure) creator business.
💡 Thanks for being here! Know someone who would love Ordinary Genius? Don’t forget to forward this.
We had a blast chatting with a some of you this past week (!) and have a couple more slots left open for brand audits and ghostwriting in September.
If you are a founder, exec, coach, or VC and want clarity + speed in building your brand online and offline, let’s chat!
And now…*dramatic pause*…this week’s newsletter:
Most creators are chasing scale.
Followers. Views. Virality. It so often feels like it’s never enough and that you’re always behind the ball. That you could be doing more. That you’re not far enough along.
I came across this Business of Creators podcast episode last week (linked below, if you’re interested) and $10 billion in data from Kajabi says that chasing followers or scale is the wrong race.
Turns out, you don’t need millions of people to say “kinda interested.”
You just need a few hundred to say: “I’m in.”
Here’s what I learned from Kajabi’s creators, 1,800 of whom have hit millionaire status, and 70+ who’ve crossed $10M+ in revenue.
s/o Ian Shepherd for putting this out into the world and Scott Van der Berg for bringing it to my attention this past week. You can listen to the whole episode here, I found it prettay prettay prettayyyyy good.
The Kajabi Reality Check
The average 6-figure Kajabi creator:
1,000–10,000 followers
4,000 email subscribers
309 paying customers
Works 4 days/week
Has a team of 2 or less
Let that sink in.
You don’t need millions of fans.
You need a few hundred believers.
What's Actually Going On
Forget the influencer playbook. Here’s what works in 2025:
Build depth, not width.
You’re not going viral. You’re building trust.
Serve, don’t chase.
Instead of chasing eyeballs, these creators serve small, engaged communities exceptionally well.
Own your audience.
Social is top-of-funnel. Real revenue comes from your email list and digital product sales.
You’re not a creator. You’re a CEO.
Top performers treat this like a business, not a side hustle. They track data, refine offers, build funnels, and optimize customer journeys.
5 Steps to Monetize a Small Audience
Let’s break it down:
1. Pick your niche + promise a result
What specific transformation can you help people achieve? Clear, specific outcomes outperform generic content.
2. Start an email list
Social media = borrowed traffic. Email = owned. Use a simple lead magnet to capture emails (e.g. PDF, webinar, checklist).
3. Launch a Minimum Viable Product
A live cohort, a workshop, or a 1-hour consult. You don’t need a fancy setup—just a result people care about.
4. Build a value ladder
Once they’ve bought once, serve them again. Add community, coaching, templates, deeper trainings. Bundle wisely.
5. Focus on relationships, not reach
Send weekly emails. Respond to DMs. Create for the 309, not the 3 million. That’s where the money (and meaning) lives.
Genius Tips: Small, but mighty wins.
Start your email list today. Own the relationship. Social platforms are just rented attention.
Think “value ladder,” not “viral hit.” One product isn't enough. Creators with 5+ offers earn 4.5x more than single-product businesses.
Lead with community. Build connection before conversion. Start cohorts, launch memberships, go beyond the transaction.
Revenue comes from trust, not reach.
Selling is not sleazy if you believe in your product.
Bigger isn’t better. Better is better.
If You Take Nothing Else From This
I know it’s easy to feel behind.
Especially when the internet tells you that you need to be everywhere, post constantly, and rack up millions of likes.
But here’s what this week’s insight proves:
You can build a thriving business with a tiny but trusted audience.
The key?
Stop trying to be famous.
Start trying to be useful.
If this hit home for you, forward it to a creator who’s been grinding and needs to hear this. Or reply and tell me your biggest takeaway, I read every message.
Hopefully useful,
— alex 💭 (@heyalexfriedman)
P.S. Forward this to a friend who’s definitely got 300 people who would pay them for what they’re making 💸
P.P.S. if you missed it at the top… Y’all we are opening just a couple more slots for September. If you are a founder, coach, or VC and want clarity + speed in building your brand online and offline, let’s chat!
