The Most Reliable Way to Make 6-Figures Online

I recently had a Tweet go semi-viral on Twitter. In case you haven’t seen it yet, here it is:

Let me expand on this a little…

First of all, can you really learn all of these skills in just 6 months?

Yes, I truly think you can. In fact, you can do it part-time. Just 1-2 hours per day on weekdays and a little extra on weekends will do the trick.

Of course, you’re not going to be an expert in anything after 6 months. But you should have a good understanding of the subject. Good enough that you can charge money for it and make a nice living.

The key points are:

1. Only pick 1 skill to learn. Forget about everything else for now.
2. Work on improving every single day.
3. Log off Twitter, YouTube and stop reading anything related to making money online.

You need singular focus. Don’t become distracted by new shiny objects that may be more profitable.

Most will fail at this.

Even I still struggle with shiny-object-syndrome all the time. I can afford that now, but as a beginner, you cannot. If you try to master 10 different skills, you will get nowhere. You will spin your wheels and end up reading tons of content, buying eBooks and courses, but never making any money.

Loads of people fall into that trap. Don’t be one of them.

You might be wondering which of these 7 skills to choose…

While including a list of 7 skills is great for going viral on Twitter, it makes it harder for you to choose, right?

Well, I don’t have any secret tip here. Choose the skill that appeals to you. Doesn’t have to be a logical decision either. An emotional decision based on your gut-feeling will do for now. As long as you stick with it, you can make money with any of these skills.

If you’re truly stuck, I’d recommend learning copywriting. Copywriting is a great base that allows you to either work as a general copywriter, or better yet, specialize down the road (email copywriting, ecommerce copywriting, etc.).

How to Learn These Skills

Next up, let’s talk about how to learn these skills.

The truth is, I’m not qualified to teach many of them. I’m not an expert in all of these. In fact, I’m completely useless at some of these skills.

What you’re going to do is…

1. Find in-depth articles through Google.
2. Pick up 1-2 books or courses on the topic

Learning from books and courses is the way to go. Someone has taken the time to condense all their experience and knowledge into an easily-digestible format. Take advantage!

In general, books are better for evergreen skills like copywriting.

For any skill that is rapidly changing, like email marketing, conversion rate optimization and funnel building, you are better off with a course. Getting that info from books is likely to be outdated by the time you read it. Doesn’t mean you can’t learn the fundamental principles, but still, a good course is generally the right bet.

Next up, let’s cover the work experience part of the equation…

Why You Need to Get Freelance Jobs

You’re not good until you’re getting paid for your performance. Studying a course and reading hundreds of articles doesn’t mean anything unless you can perform.

If you’re good at any one of these skills, people will happily pay you for it. In fact, I plan on hiring people with every single one of these skills in the next 12 months. (That’s how I came up with the idea for the tweet, actually.)

If you are truly good at any of these things, you are in-demand.

You can deliver value to businesses.

They pay you $200 for an email that makes them $1000 in revenue. Very realistic numbers even for a small business with a mediocre copywriter. Getting people to pay you for your service proves that you are good.

In addition, you’re essentially getting paid to practice your skill. Time to see what you’re made of. Studying courses will only take you so far. Money is made in the real world. Time to apply what you’ve learned in theory to get some cash in your pockets.

And I know it’s tough starting out…

The marketplace values your skills according to the value you can provide. That can be harsh. There is no hiding from the truth. If you suck, you’re going to get paid accordingly.

Having said all that, the barrier to entry is incredibly low on freelancing sites. Anyone can join which means that your competition absolutely sucks. If you write coherent sentences and deliver on time, you’re already ahead of 80% of people on sites like Upwork. You may think it’s too competitive, but really, there are very few truly knowledgeable people on those sites that are worth hiring.

So, that actually brings us to the final point…

Where to Find Freelance Work

I recommend sites like Upwork to find your first gigs. You’ll start off as a nobody which means you’ll have to apply to quite a few jobs before finally getting a chance to prove your worth. I have to admit, the early days of working on any of these platforms absolutely suck. You’ve got no reputation and no clients.

This is when you’ll have to hustle. There is no way around it.

Don’t worry though, it does get better over time and you’ll soon be able to increase your rates and work on more interesting projects. Very few people ever get to that point. Consider the early stages a right of passage. It keeps all the competition away for those who are willing to go through the agonizing stages and keep going.

(Most people would prefer to just get into running their own thing because they think it’s easier. The truth is if you can’t charge $50/hour for your skills on a freelance platform, your chance of success with dropshipping are slim.)

So, that’s about all I have for you today.

Hope this was helpful.

Catch you next time,
James Holt

P.S. I truly believe what I outlined here is the most reliable way to get to 6-figures online. Dropshipping is faster. Niche sites are more passive. But it doesn’t get any more reliable than freelance work. If you take the time to develop a valuable skill, you will get paid for that skill. End of story.

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