How to Make $50,000 a Month on YouTube

First of all, a warm fuzzy welcome to our 9 new subscribers. I wish this email was a better first impression but…

It’s a public holiday… I just moved into a new apartment… my rent is due… the ATM ate my debit card… the bank is closed… and I’m an hour behind my deadline for sending this…

And yes, the dog really did eat my homework.

But does that mean I’m gonna myself a break and take this week off? Of course not. When you subscribed to this newsletter you became my ride or die.

Just ignore the typos. I’m in a rush.

Here’s what’s in today’s email:

• How to Make $50,000 a Month on YouTube

• How to Pitch Paid Blog Posts From Africa

• Turn Your Linkedin Profile into a Sales Page

• TalentPoel is Making Hiring (and Getting Hired) Much Easier

• This Week in AI

• Remote Jobs This Week

• Career and Business Opportunities

How to Make $50,000 a Month on YouTube

Pat Flynn from Smart Passive Income is an OG internet marketing influencer. He’s been creating online businesses for over a decade and sharing his insights and lessons through blogs, podcasts, online courses, and even an annual conference.

Two years ago, he started a Pokemon YouTube channel, Deep Pocket Monsters, as a hobby project with his kids. Pat claims the channel is making $50,000 a month in revenue.

In this interview with Niche Pursuits podcast, he gives a quick masterclass on growing a Youtube channel and online community from scratch. Highlights include:

• How to use “building in public” to grow as a solo creator or business owner.

• Finding easy opportunities to stand out in crowded online spaces (read the YouTube comments).

• The importance of data and analytics (“every video teaches us something about the next video”).

• How to hook viewers at the start and end of your videos.

• The importance of strong communities.

• Much, much more…

Now, it’s true, Pat Flynn was already a multi-millionaire before he started the channel. He has many successful businesses earning money in the background. And has been doing this for 10+ years.

How to Pitch Paid Blog Posts From Africa

Sandra Tabansi wrote a useful Medium post on pitching paid blog post ideas to online publications if you live “in a developing county.“ (Sandra’s based in Nigeria)

I read the post last week and found it incredibly insightful. Because I’m in a rush, here’s a screenshot previewing the content:

The final point is a job paying $100 per post.

Turn Your Linkedin into a Sales Page

Lara Acosta shared a handy guide to optimizing your Linkedin profile for inbound leads – whether you’re selling services (like me!), products, or anything else.

Late last year, I started updating my long-dormant Linkedin profile with the help of a career coach. All I did was add some keywords, change my profile photo, write a better headline, and I immediately started getting inbound interest from businesses looking for SEO help in Africa.

I still rarely post on Linkedin, but continue to build strong relationships in the background, thanks to my profile. Later this week, I’ll be implementing some of Lara’s suggestions, and expect an even bigger boost in my Linkedin presence.

TalentPoel is Making Hiring (and Getting Hired) Much Easier

Last week I got a quick, behind-the-scenes look at TalentPoel – a “talent network“ being built to help businesses hire for non-techie roles in Africa.

I’m excited, and here’s why.

For business owners, TalentPoel will make finding top non-technical talent (VAs, accountants, marketers, etc. ) in Africa much easier, by taking over most of the hiring process. According to Jephtah, the founder, out of 50 applicants to a role, Talentpoel only sends on average 3 candidates to a hiring partner.

For freelancers, TalentPoel will help you stand out from the crowd and get matched with the best businesses hiring remotely in Africa.

Also, Talentpoel will offer ongoing support to both businesses and freelancers to ensure everyone is happy with the working arrangement. They’ll be hosting regular career coaching and development workshops, and much more.

In a future email, I’ll be sharing more details, but for now, follow TalentPoel to get the latest updates.

This Week in AI

Grammarly has joined the AI arms race with the beta launch of its GrammarlyGo AI writing assistant. As I’ve had Grammarly’s Chrome extension installed for years, and can’t live without it, I was intrigued when it prompted my to turn on GrammarlyGo.

So far, I’ve only had time to run one very quick, totally scientific test before it started annoying me and I turned it off. All I can say at this moment is GrammarlyGo is a total prude…

Maybe one day I’ll find a more appropriate use and report back.

On a more serious note…

OpenAI relied on Kenyan labourers being paid less than $2 per hour to make ChatGPT “less toxic,“ according to Time. The full story is sobering and frustrating, another example of Big Tech exploiting cheap labour to build products worth billions of dollars and labeling the whole exercise as “social impact.“

I’m still processing the story and how to respond meaningfully. Feel free to reply with your thoughts and suggestions.

Lastly – writers, AI may not replace you just yet. You probably saw the viral Forbes story “I’ve Never Hired A Writer Better Than ChatGPT“ and felt a healthy dose of anxiety and dread.

Well, as a counter-argument, Rand Fishkin found the author’s website and posted a concise review on Linkedin. In summary, the AI content is boring and crap. Only someone who doesn’t understand good content would claim it’s better than human writers.

The takeaway: work with clients who appreciate good content, and you’ll still have a job in 5 years.

Remote Jobs This Week

Virtual Marketing Assistant – For a US-based marketing agency offering digital advertising, SEO, CRO and marketing strategy for eCommerce, pet, real estate, apparel, beauty, fitness, CPG, and SAAS businesses. ($5/hour)

Content Writer – For CopySmiths agency. We posted two roles at CopySmiths last time, and they’re still hiring for a full-time writer in Kenya. (KES 75,000/US$552 per month)

Technical Content Writers – Draft.dev is hiring for open writing roles for people at every experience level. ($315 to $578 per post)

Freelance SEO Manager – For the polyamory, kinky hook-up app Feeld. Might be South Africa only. Compensation not included in the post.

Career and Business Opportunities

This short section is a preview of something we’re working on with our close friend Furaha Ruguru. Each week, we’ll find the best support programs for professionals and small business owners in Africa.

It won’t be a list of VC funds and mega donors looking for the next world-changing unicorn. We’re here to help the little guys who get overlooked.

Heels and Green are running an info session for their upcoming career accelerator the Wednesday, May 3rd.

Africa’s Business Heroes is still accepting applications for its annual business pitch competition. The winner gets a share of $1.5 million in grant support.

Okay, we did it. 3 hours late but, who’s counting?

I’m kind of embarrassed by this email.I did not bring the heat this week. Maybe I over-committed. Stay tuned to see what happens in two weeks!

Happy May 1st to all the workers out there!

Conor