I made $2k with 20 Subscribers (So Can You)

Vanity metrics don't pay the bills

Followers don’t pay the bills.

In this age of social media influencers and the pressure authors feel to be present on every platform, I want to help you keep things in perspective.

I had 20 subscribers on YouTube when I made my first sale. How, you ask?

I made a video about developmental editing and put (GIVEAWAY) in the title. The giveaway was a free developmental edit of the first chapter of a manuscript. About 10 people watched it the first day. Exactly two people commented (which entered them into the giveaway).

I then gave the free edit to both those commenters. And one liked it so much, she paid me to edit her whole book. With her word count, that made me about $2000. This was the first money I ever made for myself.

Your social media should work like this for you.

You do not need thousands of followers to:

• book a speaking engagement.

• sell your book or associated product

• pitch your service in the DMs

Fiction authors, this goes for you too!

When I had 30 followers on Twitter, I asked for i…