Doubling down on your top two sources of online income

People develop online platforms for multiple reasons. For most of us, our platforms are born out of a desire to help people while communicating a message that we feel passionate about. Personally speaking, I can say that the motivation to be helpful is true for both my faith-based and business platforms.

And even though most of us would say our primary motivation ties back to that desire, I usually think it's wise for us to consider using our platforms to generate some level of income as well, and I don't think it's greedy for people to do that. I actually think it's wise for several reasons.

• 1. If you can earn an income from your online platform, you'll be more likely to create additional content because you'll have more time for it.
• 2. If you earn an income online, you'll have more flexibility to do things with your family.
• 3. If you earn an income online, you'll have time to devote to programs, causes, and ministries that you feel passionate about.

Earning an income from our online platforms is a goal that many of us are aspiring to, but we're all at different stages of achieving it. Within our Members' Club in Platform Launchers there are people who have just earned their first dollar online, people who are earning a part-time income, and people who are earning an above-average income through the content they're creating. We celebrate them all because every stage is an important milestone that few people ever bother attempting to reach.

In my years of interacting with people who earn a living online, there's a pattern I've noticed within the business practices of many of the higher-earners. From what I can see, most of them stay focused. Instead of jumping around to ten different things at once, they stay committed to developing one or two streams of income before adding anything additional. Once they gain traction in those areas, and develop systems to make that income automatic, they add a third or fourth stream. Most millionaires actually have seven streams of income, but those streams are developed over time, not on the same day.

If the thought of earning an income online intrigues you, how do you plan to do it? Does your platform have any streams of income in place, and if so, which two are producing the best results for you so far?

My first two sources of online income were book royalties and the money I made from recording voiceovers. The book royalties are an ongoing source of passive income, and the voiceovers helped me produce a good source of linear income from offering a specialized service.

So let's talk about a few sources of income that you might want to consider exploring. These are some of the typical areas that online content creators tend to focus on.

1. Coaching

2. Affiliates

3. Crowdfunding

4. Services

5. Courses

6. Advertising

7. Royalties

8. Memberships

9. Speaking / Webinars

10. Masterminds

Of those potential sources of income, which catch your attention right away? Are there some that interest you more than others? I will confess to you that at present, I'm earning an income from nearly all of them, and that income continues to grow as long as I stay focused on providing helpful content and services.

But if you're just starting out, I would recommend you select no more than two sources of income to develop and double down on. And if you're still in the early stages of building an audience, you might want to make your selection from the first four options on my list (coaching, affiliates, crowdfunding, and services) because those streams are the easiest to develop even if your audience is small. But if you already have decent connections in place, you could start with one of the other income streams on the list. Either way, don't try to add all ten right when you're getting started.

The reason I placed coaching at the start of the list is because it's a higher-priced option that can be offered on day one without producing products that take longer to create (like books and courses). Depending on what you charge, you could find yourself earning a healthy part-time or full-time income online just from coaching, even if you have no other streams of income set up. I know people who make six-figure incomes from online coaching. I also know of at least one person who took her coaching offer into seven-figure territory over the course of just a few years.

If you're just starting out, you could also begin your platform monetization with higher-ticket affiliate offers. I would recommend only endorsing things you actually use and feel good about because that's the ethical thing to do and people can usually sniff out someone who is being dishonest. The most recent affiliate relationship I have created is with Kajabi software. I was able to build the entire Platform Launchers site and business with that tool, so I enthusiastically recommend it to others. When people sign up for Kajabi via my affiliate link, they get a free trial of the software and I earn roughly $59.70. And that's $59.70/month for as long as that person is using Kajabi. That means I'm giving myself a $716.40 yearly raise with every person who joins Kajabi through my affiliate link. If just 100 people sign up, that's a yearly income of $71,640. And that's just one of my affiliate relationships. I'm also a fan of Amazon Associates and other referral programs that operate similarly.

Crowdfunding is another great way to get the financial engine behind your platform revving. You can set something up with PayPal, Patreon, or Buy Me a Coffee to allow your fans and followers to express their appreciation with a small gift. And believe me when I say, if you keep producing helpful content, people will say "thank you" by participating in your crowdfunding options.

One other option that you might want to focus on during the early days of your platform is services. The main service I offered at first was voiceover work. Like coaching, it didn't produce recurring income, but it paid rather well each time I did it, and it definitely didn't consume as much time as a traditional job might require. What kind of service could you offer your audience that can be delivered online? If it can be delivered digitally, you can do it from anywhere. I know people who do things like editing, designing, writing, and recording (both audio and video). This is something you might want to consider right away if you need to build an early income stream.

So, what sources of income do you plan to develop? Are there two that you think you'd like to focus on initially? Do you have a few in place already, but now feels like a good time to add an additional option? Let me encourage you to pick one or two to start with or to add to what you're currently offering, then remain focused on them long enough for them to gain traction and succeed.

-John