10 Steps I'd Take to Build a Profitable Online Brand from Zero
10 Jun 2025 #miscIn 2018, I wrote my first words online.
I had no idea what to do and how to do it. I just Googled how to get better at coding and found “start a blog.”
After procrastinating for a couple of days, choosing a name and a theme for my blog, I dumped a bunch of words into a file and hit Publish.
After years of trial and error, my analytics grew from 10 visitors a month to 1,000 visitors and I made my first $100 by pure luck.
But if I had to start all over again, here are 10 actions I’d take:
1. Think of my online presence as a business
Writing online was just something cool I did on the side of my 9-to-5.
For so long, I only thought my online presence would make me appear “attractive” to recruiters and hiring managers. I didn’t know our online presence is our most valuable asset. It’s our own one-person business.
2. Start on a social blog like Medium or Quora
I started a blog because it was the only free advice I found.
But the thing with blogs is that our content is at the mercy of search engines, SEO, and their bots. Social blogs have a “feed” and algorithm to match readers with content. And that’s the best way to get faster feedback as a writer.
3. Use a social platform like X or LinkedIn
I only started on LinkedIn 4 or 5 years after starting my blog.
And I only shared links to my posts, pretending to steal LinkedIn users for my blog. Instead, I’d use X or LinkedIn to test ideas, share nuggets of my long-form content, and grow a newsletter. Speaking of which…
4. Start a newsletter from day 1
Subscribers are the real metric to track.
They are our true fans. From day 1, I’d invite readers to join my newsletter at the end of every post and I’d email them weekly.
5. Use consistent user handles
Oh boy! I used to think hacker-like user handles, like Napster, Codemaestro, or Neo were cool.
Instead I’d use a more professional user handle across all platforms.
6. Go for volume first
I only wrote on my blog when I thought I had something to say.
That was once in a blue moon. And when I started on LinkedIn, that was once a week. It’s no surprise I only saw traction when I went for volume.
If I were to start again, I’d go with volume: 30 long-form pieces and at least 100 short-form posts to get the juices flowing.
7. Come up with a simple content plan
For so long, I only wrote when I had something to say. No content plan.
But to fix that, I’d send one or two long-form emails to my newsletter, and repurpose them into one daily short-form post every week. That’s the simple content plan from millionaire creators.
8. Find ways to monetize earlier: courses/ebooks/templates
Making money from my online presence was an afterthought. I didn’t even know I could make money online.
To start again, I’d come up with monetization strategies after the first or second month. For example, I’d package my best-performing content into an ebook or a course and put a price tag on it somewhere like Gumroad.
Those first few dollars would motivate me to keep creating and fund higher-quality products.
9. Only after #1-#8, buy a domain and start a website
I’ve built my presence on rented land. Ooops!
And when I tried to buy a domain under my name, it was already taken. It turns out there’s a famous soccer player, a singer, and a film director with my same first and last name. Arrggg! I’d buy a domain name, even if I didn’t use it.
10. Invest in courses, training, and coaching
Six years passed before I bought my first writing course.
Of course, I had consumed a lot of YouTube content to learn about SEO and blog post writing. But those were only two skills I needed to learn to make my online presence a real business.
I’d invest more in education to save myself a lot of time and take all the money I was leaving on the table. Well, it’s never too late to start again and invest in our online presence and turn it into something real.