🔴 It's Not Too Late To Do What You Love
Take risks under your own name, and society will reward you.
The time to become an influencer isn’t over — it’s just beginning.
Someone reading this groans, “But I don’t want to be an influencer”
Reframe influencer to mean “I get to talk about and do things I like and get paid for it”
That’s your version of being an influencer.
Hell, I got a taste of being an influencer last month, when I sold $1,000 in photography prints, live streaming on Whatnot.
Not bad for a small-town boy from Webberville Michigan.
The month before that, I sold exactly $0 in photography prints. And the month before that, and the month before that… The last time I sold a print was in 2020.
I don’t tell you this to brag (even though I’m proud of it). I tell you because if I did it, you can too. I’m going to share with you how I did this so you can learn from it and start something for yourself.
If you want to see live shopping in action, click here for $15 off your first purchase on Whatnot and join my next livestream Wednesday, December 11th at 7:30pm ET. Bookmark here so you don’t miss it (it also helps my stream).
It’s high energy and fun. I’m already planning some ridiculous bits to make people laugh and enjoy their time.
Just Start
It really is this simple.
Just start.
I’m going to share four things I did to excel at Whatnot, but if you get overwhelmed in any way by it, remember:
You don’t need a ten-step plan or a big following to start.
Download Whatnot, schedule a show, text 25 of your closest friends and family, and do it. Sell stuff in your house. Sell your used clothes. Sell your Brita. Resell shoes… It doesn’t matter.
Go live to get the reps and see if you like entertaining and selling on livestream. Picture every livestream like you’re going to practice. The sales don’t matter much at first.
Three Things To Grow Your Livestream
If you enjoy live streaming and want to grow your side hustle, perhaps to match your income, these three sections will help.
How will people find my stream?
The answer is social media. It’s free. It’s not overcomplicated.
Record a simple selfie video talking about your favorite thing you’re selling. Or talk about the reason you’re going live in the first place. Or talk about your favorite sports team or favorite coffee brand.
Talk about things you’re interested in and connect with those interested in the same things. People buy from people they know.
Don’t expect people to buy at first. Take people on a date. Let them get to know you first.
Talk about your personal origin story or a show and tell of your products. Talk about what gets you inspired. Talk about the message behind what you’re selling. Talk about a thing that made yo ulaugh yesterday.
Sometimes, you don’t need to talk at all.
In fact, a TikTok of me taking a picture just got 19,000 views and a few followers.
If you’re really struggling for ideas, I’ll show you how to use ChatGPT.com to get unstuck.
So, how will people find your stream? You have to put yourself out there on social media.
Record a video and post it on Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube Shorts. These are all free platforms where you don’t need any followers to start. TikTok and YouTube Shorts especially.
How to sell and be entertaining on live stream
Tell people about your live stream before you go live
Be yourself
Make the live stream about them
That’s pretty much it.
If you’re selling one type of thing, you’ll get bored of talking about the product (so will your viewers).
I act goofy and do bits with the audience in my livestream. It’s good to just keep people engaged with what you’re doing by asking questions and turning it into a back and forth discussion.
My friends who had never watched a Whatnot livestream before said they liked how they were able to talk to others through the text chat. It felt like a small community that they were part of. That’s part of the appeal of these streams.
Before going live, plan a handful of things you’ll say or do to be entertaining, but beyond that, it’s generally a good rule of thumb to ask questions to people that are open ended and easy to answer.
As for the product you’re selling, I generally suggest having a product to sell that’s at or under $25.
$25 is the new $5.
Make it easy for a newcomer to support you by having a cheap option for them to buy.
If you don’t know about a product you can sell, ChatGPT can help.
Use ChatGPT the right way
ChatGPT is an incredible tool, but most people don’t give it enough context to their problems.
There’s a big difference between telling ChatGPT:
come up with content ideas to promote my livestream
and giving a detailed prompt like this:
I’m a 27 year old male selling fine art photography prints of places and things I find interesting in New York City. My photos are landscape and detail shots that make great wall art. I have a small following of 2,000 people on social, and I’d like your help with ideas on how I can promote my livestream to my followers without constantly talking about the product and pushing them to buy on social media because that gets annoying. The videos should also appeal to someone seeing my content for the very first time. Please give me 10 video ideas I can film myself that take less than 20 minutes to film and edit on my phone. Then, ask me three follow up questions about the content so that I can answer and provide feedback so we can come up with the very best content ideas.
If you’ve never tried a prompt with that much context about your problem, you’re going to be blown away by how helpful ChatGPT can be when you use it properly.
I’ve also used it to come up with new products in different price ranges so that I could keep my photography prints accessbile but also capture some higher ticket sales.
If you’re not sure what product to sell, fill i nthe blanks and copy and past this into ChatGPT:
I’m a ____ year old looking to sell a product on livestreams. I have skills and interests in ____. ____, _____. I’m looking for a product to sell and ship to people who buy on livestream. This product can be original and branded with my name. I want a product without a lot of overhead (no overhead is best) and a high profit margin, so I can sell products for a reasonable amount to start ($25). Give me options that people can come back and buy multiple times per year so I don’t have to constantly grow my viewer base to survive. Give me 10 original product ideas, 10 resell product ideas, and then ask me 3 clarifying follow up questions so that I can easily give feedback on your answer.
The geenral formula for these kinds of questions are: I am ____ My problem is _____ I need you to help me figure out ______. The demographic my problem solves for is _____. Give me 10 ______ and ask me 3 questions to clarify so I can give feedback easily.
Use the prompt templates above to drastically improve its critical thinking skills.
Follow along
The internet is only 30 years old
Doors are constantly opening for you. This is the next wave of doing what you like and getting paid for it. It’s time to try it for yourself.
I plan to go live a TON in 2025. Follow me on Whatnot to see the journey happen in real-time.
My website shows a few of my limited edition prints that will be for sale.
Open edition prints start at $30.
There will also be auctions starting at $10, so you might be able to snag for cheaper.
Don’t forget to click here for $15 off your first purchase!