What's Actually Working (And What Isn't) In My Solo Creator Business

Let me show you some numbers.

Last month, I launched a workshop. $197. Called it "Create Epic Sh!t."

(Subtle, I know.)

Here's what happened:

53% of the people who bought were subscribers I added in the last seven weeks from social media content.

Not my "warm list." Not people who've been following me for years.

Brand new people. Seven weeks or less.

And here's the cool part…

70% of them took my $97 upsell.

Compare that to my other sources… people who were on my other lists, or came from different channels… only 45% took the upsell.

Same offer. Same sales process. Different conversion rates.

Here's what that taught me:

The quality of subscriber you attract determines the quality of buyer you convert.

The numbers proved it.

And right now, I'm in the middle of figuring out exactly where my best buyers live… and how to systematically turn them into customers without burning out or hiring a team.

So today, I'm pulling back the curtain.

No fake case studies. No "here's what you should do" bullsh!t.

Just a transparent field report on what's working, what's not, and where I'm going next as I build this solo creator business toward seven figures.

Let's go.

Here's what I think most creators miss:

They obsess over follower counts, reach, and engagement.

Meanwhile, the only number that actually matters is:

How many subscribers become buyers?

And more specifically:

What KIND of subscribers convert fastest and spend most?

That's the game.

Not, "how many people see my content."

But, "how many of the RIGHT people see my content, subscribe, and eventually buy."

Last week's newsletter, I talked about content as a filter. (If you missed it, read it here… it's the foundation for everything I'm about to share.)

The short version:

Your content should repel the wrong people and magnetize the right ones.

Tire-kickers scroll past…

Buyers lean in.

And if you're doing it right, your conversion rates prove it.

So when I looked at my workshop numbers and saw that over half my buyers came from subscribers I added in the last seven weeks, and they converted at a 25-point higher rate on my upsell, I knew something was working.

These weren't people who "stumbled across me" or found me through some viral post.

They were people who saw my content consistently, resonated with my message, subscribed to my newsletter, got indoctrinated through my emails, and bought when I made an offer.

That's the system.

And it started with one decision:

Post consistently on the platforms where my buyers actually are.

Not everywhere. Not, "because you're supposed to be on LinkedIn."

Where. My. Buyers. Are.

For me right now, that's Facebook and Instagram.

Let me show you why.

About two months ago, I made a commitment.

I was going to post consistently on Facebook and Instagram with one rule:

Value-first, authentic content.

No algorithm tricks. No engagement bait. No bullsh!t.

Just useful ideas, clearly explained, in my voice.

Not "5 tips to scale your business" carousels.

Not motivational quote graphics.

Not whatever trending audio format is hot this week.

Real insights. Real stories. Real utility.

The kind of content I'd actually want to read if I saw it in my feed.

Here's what happened:

My reach went up. Nothing viral. Nothing explosive.

Just steady, consistent visibility.

More importantly:

The quality of subscriber who found me was dramatically higher.

These weren't scroll zombies looking for free tips.

They were established experts… coaches, consultants, course creators… who recognized themselves in my content and wanted more.

They joined my newsletter.

They read my emails.

And when I launched the workshop, they bought.

Why?

Because my content did its job.

It filtered out people who weren't serious.

It attracted people who were.

And by the time they hit my sales page, they already trusted me. They already believed I could help them. They were already pre-sold.

That's what happens when your content acts as a qualification system instead of a reach machine.

Facebook and Instagram aren't "dead platforms" or "only for Boomers" or whatever dismissive bullsh!t people say about them.

They're platforms where real people still respond to real value.

And if you show up consistently with content that actually helps them, they'll subscribe, engage, and buy.

That's what's working for me right now.

But not everything is.

Let's talk about LinkedIn.

I believe… deeply… that LinkedIn has the highest-quality prospects for what I do.

Established professionals. Decision-makers. People with money who are looking for leverage.

My ideal buyers.

So I've been posting there consistently. Good content. Valuable insights. Stories. Frameworks.

The kind of stuff that's converting on Facebook.

And you know what's happening?

Crickets.

Well, not complete crickets. I'm getting a few newsletter subscribers. Some engagement.

But compared to Facebook, it's a fraction of the results for the same effort.

But why?

My best guess is because LinkedIn is rewarding ”engagement-pod” slop.

You know the playbook:

Post generic "5 lessons I learned" content. Drop it in your engagement pod. Get 50 comments in 10 minutes from people hoping their slop gets seen too. Algorithm rewards the "engagement." Rinse, repeat.

It's a giant f#cking slop-fest.

And the algorithm is eating it up.

Meanwhile, I'm posting thoughtful, useful content... and the algorithm is like, "Nah, we're good."

It's frustrating as hell.

But…

I'm not going to game a broken system just to get reach.

I'm not joining engagement pods.

I'm not writing "LinkedIn-voice" bullsh!t that sounds like a motivational poster written by ChatGPT.

I'm not optimizing for what the platform wants. I'm optimizing for what my buyers need.

And if LinkedIn doesn't reward that right now, fine.

I'll keep experimenting. I'll keep testing.

But I ain’t gonna waste time chasing an algorithm that hates the kind of content I believe in.

Which brings me to the real lesson here:

Not every platform rewards the same behavior.

Some platforms (like Facebook and Instagram for me) still reward authentic, value-driven content.

Some platforms (like LinkedIn right now) are optimizing for engagement shenanigans.

You can either:

I'm choosing the latter.

And speaking of where I'm focusing next…

Here's what I know about myself:

I spend more time on YouTube than any other platform. (Way more than I'd like to admit.)

And I'm not alone.

YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world.

It rewards depth over hacks.

Substance over slop.

Long-form value over short-form tricks.

It's where people go when they're serious about solving a problem… not just killing time between meetings.

That's where my buyers are.

And that's where I'm going next.

I'm not abandoning Facebook or Instagram. Those are working. I'm doubling down there.

But I believe YouTube is the highest ROI content play I can make long-term.

Here's why:

When I want to learn something, I go to YouTube. When I'm looking for someone who actually knows their sh!t, I find them there.

I believe the best content strategy is to create where you naturally consume.

You understand the format. You know what good looks like. You're not reverse-engineering someone else's playbook.

Plus it's evergreen… a video I post today can still generate leads two years from now. (Try that with a Facebook post.)

So that's the next experiment.

I'm building out a YouTube strategy. Long-form. Value-first. The same approach that's working on Facebook, but in a format that compounds over time.

Will it work? I don't know yet.

But I'm betting it will.

And here's what makes all of this possible...

Let me be blunt:

I can't do this manually.

Testing three platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn).

About to add a fourth (YouTube).

Creating consistent, high-value content on each one.

Running my newsletter.

Building offers.

Launching workshops.

If I tried to do all of this by hand, writing every post from scratch, designing every graphic in Canva, manually repurposing content across formats—I'd burn out in six weeks.

Or I'd have to hire a team.

And I'm not doing either. (Never again.)

I'm building a solo seven-figure business. That's the whole point.

Maximum leverage. Minimum overhead. No employees.

So here's how I'm actually doing this:

I built systems.

Not "hacks." Not "shortcuts."

Infrastructure.

Three pieces specifically:

I use AI to multiply my output. But if it sounds like everyone else's ChatGPT bullsh!t... I'm out.

So I captured my voice…my patterns, my phrases, my personality…and trained an AI twin that sounds like me.

Not corporate. Not generic. Not like every other asshole pumping out dogsh!t content.

Me.

That's how I can create a week's worth of content in a couple of hours without sacrificing quality or authenticity.

I need scroll-stopping graphics. Carousels. Images that make people stop mid-scroll.

But I'm not spending 10 hours a week in Canva.

I built a complete brand kit with my colors, fonts, templates… that works with AI tools so I can generate on-brand visuals in minutes.

Professional. Consistent. Fast.

One core insight becomes 5-7 pieces of content across different formats and platforms.

Without manually rewriting everything.

Without turning into a content factory.

I take what I know, multiply it strategically, and publish it where my buyers are.

That's leverage.

And it's the only reason I can test Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and soon YouTube without losing my mind.

This is what lets me run experiments and double down on what converts.

I'm not guessing. I'm measuring.

I'm not grinding. I'm systematizing.

I'm not trying to be everywhere. I'm strategically showing up where it matters.

And when something works (like Facebook), I can scale it without burning out.

When something doesn't work (like LinkedIn right now), I can keep testing without wasting time.

Look, I'm not writing this from the top of the mountain.

I'm not some guru who "cracked the code" and now I'm here to sell you the secrets.

I'm in the middle of building this thing.

Some stuff is working. Some stuff isn't. Some stuff I'm still figuring out.

But here's what I know for sure:

The numbers don't lie.

Over half my buyers came from seven weeks of content. And their upsell rate crushed everybody else's.

Can't argue with that.

It’s proof that:

And proof that you don't need to be on every platform, chase every trend, or game every algorithm.

You just need to:

That's it.

That's the playbook I'm using to build a solo seven-figure business.

And if you want the same infrastructure I'm using… the voice system, the brand kit, the content multiplication system… I put it all into The Magnetic Brand System.

It’s what I’m using right now to help me write this very newsletter (and all of the content you see from me).

Here’s what you’ll create with it:

Takes 1-2 hours to set up.

You walk away with the infrastructure to test platforms, scale what works, and build your business without hiring a team or burning out.

👉 Grab The Magnetic Brand System Right Here.

Oh, and if you already picked it up, I’d love to hear what you think about it.

Reply to any email or hit me up on the socials and let me know.

Until next time,

—Tim Erway

P.S. This is the real sh!t. No fake numbers. No pretending I've got it all figured out. Just what's actually working (and what isn't) as I build toward seven figures solo.... stick around. It's about to get interesting.

P.P.S. Like I said, YouTube is next. I'll report back in a few months with what's working there. My bet… It's going to start slow, but then it will crush. We'll see… That's the whole point of building in public. You get to watch the experiments in real time. And if you're smart, you'll run the same experiments in your business and compare notes.